rate of climb


rate of climb

[′rāt əv ′klīm] (aerospace engineering) Ascent of aircraft per unit time, usually expressed as feet per minute.

rate of climb

The rate of gain of vertical height per unit of time (i.e., feet/minute or meters/second). The rate of climb is normally calculated when an aircraft is climbing at its specified climbing speed and not in zoom climb. In helicopters, there are two rates of climb: the maximum rate of climb and the maximum vertical rate of climb. A vertical speed indicator (VSI) shows the rate of climb.