File:Glider_finishing.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
gliding
Sign in to saveGliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.
Key facts
- Sport.name
- Gliding
- Sport.image
- Glider finishing.jpg
- Sport.imagesize
- 220px
- Sport.caption
- A Ventus-2 glider landing while jettisoning water that has been carried as ballast
- Sport.union
- Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
- Sport.country/region
- Worldwide
- Sport.mgender
- Yes
- Sport.category
- Air sports
- Sport.olympic
- No
- Sport.IWGA
- 2017 (aerobatics)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- PZL Bielsko Glider, Air Show Bielsko-Biała (2009).JPG
Show 1 more fact
- Commons category
- Gliding
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~34 min read
Article
27 sectionsContents
- History
- Soaring
- Thermals
- Ridge lift
- Wave lift
- Other sources of lift
- Launch methods
- Aerotowing
- Winch launching
- Auto-tow
- Gravity launch
- Cross-country
- Maximizing average speed
- Badges
- Landing out
- Use of engines or motors
- Aerobatic competitions
- Hazards
- Notable incidents
- Training and regulation
- Challenges for the gliding movement
- Related air sports
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.
Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s. Initially the objective was to increase the duration of flights but soon pilots attempted cross-country flights away from the place of launch. Improvements in aerodynamics and in the understanding of weather phenomena have allowed greater distances at higher average speeds. Long distances are now flown using any of the main sources of rising air: ridge lift, thermals and lee waves. When conditions are favourable, experienced pilots can now fly hundreds of kilometres before returning to their home airfields; occasionally flights of more than are achieved.