Posted on 12/18/2014 2:33:38 PM PST by SeekAndFind
That is not true at all. Commercial airliners GLIDE at a ratio of about 15:1, which means for every foot they descend, the travel horizontally fifteen feet. A nice glider for two people can do about 40:1. You can think of of all aircraft as gliders, some of them powered, if that makes it easier for you. As for size, most ultralight aircraft have a glide ratio of less then 10:1, but they are going so slow they are more like a parachute than a glider, not that they won't kill you anyway if you land into a brick wall.
What this means is that a commercial airliner, flying at 40,000 feet above the ground, could cut the engines and glide for over a hundred miles without straining, and then land safely. Please don't post such trash to the contrary, there are some who would believe it, repeat it, and that is not helpful to anyone.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.