5 ms·
I always assumed "gliding well" is a fundamental principle of an airplane.
by benburleson 13y ago
I always assumed "gliding well" is a fundamental principle of an airplane.
- blueskin_ 13y agoJust about any can glide, but not necessarily well. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider
- awongh 13y agoI never knew about the glide ratio of large jets! And this story is amazing, mostly for the simultaneous levels of stupidity and competence involved.
- blueskin_ 13y agoIsn't one person's competence offsetting another person's stupidity what programmers and sysadmins do all day, every day anyway? ;)
- thedufer 13y agoMany military aircraft are designed to not glide well, because gliding well means that a plane is less agile. Most modern fighter jets go almost immediately into a tumble if they lose power, since they require constant computerized corrections to remain stable. Its probably a bit more important in a hobbyist or even a commercial plane.
- wiredfool 13y agoI read somewhere (pre internet, so it must be true!!!1!) that the wing loading of a fighter is roughly equivalent of using a manhole cover as a frisbee. In other words, anything can fly if you give it enough afterburner.
- parrots 13y agoIt actually is - each plane as an ideal glide speed that you pitch the plane to match during an engine-out. 1 mile per 1k feed above ground level is a good rule of thumb for glide distance at this speed.