Glider FLight
... a long time. Being towed to 3000 feet a glider can generally stay aloft to 20-25 minutes. Gliders can stay up in the air significantly longer if it finds a way to climb using rising air. One type of rising air is thermals. Thermals are places on the ground that are heated faster than surrounding areas. This provides rapid rising of air in a concentrated area. The glider pilot will find these thermals and do a constant rate turn over it. This will provide lift for the aircraft as long as the pilot desires, or until the thermal dies down. The most common way of telling where a thermal is, is to fly where cumulus clouds are forming, because thermals cause the rising of cumulus clouds. Another method of gaining lift in a glider is ridge soaring. As wind blows it gets deflected upward by mountains and ridges. This creates an up flow of air and a glider can get lift because of the rising air. The gliders can fly along the ridge for hours and stay aloft, but not much altitude is gained. Another method of gaining lift in a glider is mountain wave soaring. When winds of twenty-five knots or more blow perpendicular to a mountain. The air flows up the mountain and down on the other side, there it hits a layer of stable air and bounces upward again. Then the air hits another layer of stable air and bounces downward. This continues for some time and creates large amounts of lift. Use wave soaring altitudes of up to 35000 feet can be achieved. Sailplanes and gliders can stay aloft for long periods of time do to lifting actions in the environment. Even though gliders are similar to airplanes, there are some glairing differences. Gliders have significantly larger wingspans compared to airplanes. They can very in size between forty to seventy feet. The length of the fuselage varies between twenty to thirty feet. Gliders are quite a bit lighter than most airplanes. They can weigh as little as 250 lbs to 1000 lbs. This unique shape and weight allow the glider to create lift a lot more efficiently than airplanes can. Gliders are a lot more inexpensive to fly than powered airplanes. New sailplanes vary in price between $20,000 and $50,000. This is much cheaper than airplanes because a new Cessna 152 costs upwards of $150,000. A new option for glider pilots is motor gliders. These are gliders with small power plants that are used to launch the glider but are turned of in flight. These are more expensive than normal gliders, but not having to pay for a tow might have the price even out. This type of glider ranges from $30,000 to $60,000. Gliders provide the excitement and joy of flying but at an inexpensive price. Landing a glider is exactly the same as landing an airplane, but without a go around option. Gliders traditionally have one wheel and there light weight allows them to land on rough and unimproved terrain. Gliders can land with a very short ground roll, less than one-hundred feet, so they can land in plowed fields and parks. When a glider goes on a long flight the glider pilot does not need to return to the home airport. A ground crew will usually follow the route of a glider and will pick up and return the glider to the home field when the glider lands. Gliders break down and fit easily into special trailers for transportation from the landing spot. Glider pilots have a unique opportunity to fly cross countries without picking out a landing spot ahead of time and can just go where the thermals allow. Gliders have an ability to do acrobatics better than most airplanes. Gliders are generally built very sturdy and even the most inexpensive glider can do even the most complex of acrobatic maneuvers. Gliders do not have a fuel...