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Airplane gliding occurs when all the engines of an aircraft shut down, but the wings are still functional and can be used for a controlled descent. This is a very rare condition in multi-engine airliners, [1] though it is the obvious result when a single-engine airplane experiences engine failure.
Although the human application of gliding flight usually refers to aircraft designed for this purpose, most powered aircraft are capable of gliding without engine power. As with sustained flight, gliding generally requires the application of an airfoil, such as the wings on aircraft or birds, or the gliding membrane of a gliding possum.
The most common human application of lift is in sport and recreation. The three air sports that use soaring flight are: gliding, hang gliding and paragliding. Energy can be gained by using rising air from four sources: Thermals (where air rises due to heat), Ridge lift, where air is forced upwards by a slope,
The first German gliding competition was held at the Wasserkuppe in 1920, [8] [9]: 51 organized by Oskar Ursinus. The best flight lasted two minutes and set a world distance record of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). [9]: 54 Within ten years, it had become an international event in which the achieved durations and distances had increased greatly.
Unpowered aircraft can remain airborne for a significant period of time without onboard propulsion. They can be classified as gliders , lighter-than-air balloons and tethered kites . In the case of kites, lift is obtained by tethering to a fixed or moving object, perhaps another kite, to obtain a flow of wind over the lifting surfaces. [ 1 ]
This gives a thrust increase for a particular blade pitch angle, or, alternatively, the power required for a thrust is reduced. For an overloaded helicopter that can only hover IGE it may be possible to climb away from the ground by translating to forward flight first while in ground effect. [ 11 ]
Thus, flight proceeds in a leisurely vertical zig-zag pattern. Because no energy is consumed directly in creating thrust, the principle allows for flights of long duration, although at slow speeds. The proposed Hunt GravityPlane is a hybrid airship designed to take full advantage of gravity gliding. [7]
An ultralight trike or paratrike is a type of powered hang glider where flight control is by weight-shift. [1] These aircraft have a fabric flex-wing from which is suspended a tricycle fuselage pod driven by a pusher propeller .