concept

Corner speed

The airspeed at which a flyer turns tightest and fastest - the meeting point of two entirely different limits. Fly slower and the wing is what stops you: pull any harder and it stalls, so every extra scrap of speed buys a tighter turn. Fly faster and the wing could pull harder but the body cannot take it, and from there on speed only widens the circle. Exactly at that intersection the animal reaches its maximum load factor and its maximum lift at the same moment - which is why dogfighting pilots spend their lives trying to fly near this one number.