Load factor is the load the aircraft structure is supporting divided by the aircraft's weight. The unit is G. In steady, straight flight the load factor is about 1: the wings or rotors support the weight of the aircraft and nothing more. The moment you bank in a level turn, or you pull abruptly, the structure supports more than the weight. That ratio is the load factor. It is not the payload mass, and it is not "how many batteries are installed."
Figure 2 is a table, not a vibe
FAA-CT-8080-2H Figure 2 prints the load factor for a level bank. The course reads the table as 1.0 at 0 degrees, 1.015 at 10, 1.154 at 30, 1.414 at 45, 2.000 at 60, 2.923 at 70, 5.747 at 80, and 11.473 at 85. The underlying relationship for a level turn is 1 divided by the cosine of the bank angle. You do not need to derive it on test day if you can read the row you were given.
Figure 2 is the level-turn table. Do not invent a factor for a bank the figure does not list, and do not apply the 60-degree row to a shallower turn because the maneuver "felt steep."
A 60-degree bank is the clean memory point: load factor 2.000, so the structure supports twice the weight. A 45-degree bank is 1.414. A 30-degree bank is 1.154. The questions multiply. A 20-pound aircraft in a level 45-degree bank supports about 28 pounds, because 20 times 1.414 is about 28. A 40-pound aircraft in a level 30-degree bank supports about 46 pounds, because 40 times 1.154 is about 46. The wrong choices usually forget the bank and leave the load at the aircraft weight, or they apply the 60-degree factor of 2 to a shallower bank.
What changes the number in the air
Load factor on a small unmanned aircraft increases most when the pilot banks steeply or yanks the controls. A gentle cruise does not. Smooth inputs keep the load factor low. A small multirotor does not have a manned-aircraft spar, but the frame, the motors, and the propellers still have to produce the extra force. A steep bank or an abrupt stop can overstress the airframe or make the aircraft unstable, and it spends battery faster because the power demand went up.
Weight and load factor are related and still not the same limit. Adding payload increases the weight the 1 G hover must support, which hurts endurance. Banking multiplies whatever that weight already is. An out-of-limits center of gravity is a third problem: the aircraft can be under maximum weight and still be uncontrollable if the balance point is wrong. Read center of gravity as its own page. Do not "fix" a bad CG by banking.
Performance around the maneuver
The manufacturer's limits are limits. Maximum wind, maximum takeoff weight, and the temperature range are not targets. If the wind is gusting above the published maximum, the flight is a no-go even if you promise to keep the banks shallow. Cold weather cuts battery performance, so the same maneuver that was fine at 20 °C can sag at freezing. High density altitude, the hot high humid case on the density altitude page, means the rotors are already making less lift before you ask them for extra G.
Loading and performance is only about 2 percent of the scored UAG test under the PSI bulletin effective September 29, 2025. The items are still predictable: define load factor, read Figure 2, and multiply. Practice the three rows 30, 45, and 60 until the factors 1.154, 1.414, and 2.000 are automatic, then do one multiplication with a realistic weight so the "about 28 pounds" style of answer looks familiar.
