During a level turn, increasing the bank angle requires what change to maintain altitude?

When making a level turn, increasing the bank angle effectively increases the load factor, or the amount of lift required to maintain altitude. This is because a greater bank angle means that more lift is needed to counteract the increased weight acting perpendicular to the lift vector in the turn.

To maintain altitude while increasing the bank angle, the pilot must increase the angle of attack. By doing so, the wings can produce more lift to counter the increased load factor resulting from the bank. If the angle of attack is not increased, the aircraft will begin to lose altitude because the lift being produced will not be sufficient to counteract the weight in the banked turn.

Maintaining or decreasing the angle of attack could lead to a decrease in lift, complicating altitude maintenance during the turn. Additionally, reducing thrust is generally not necessary unless managing speed is required for a specific flight context; it does not directly address the need for increased lift resulting from a steeper bank. Thus, increasing the angle of attack is essential to maintaining altitude in this scenario.