RE: power out flight
The distance any aircraft is capable of gliding is ruled by its height above ground, or sea, its speed, its glide ratio(and thus its glide angle), its weight and the prevailing weather conditions. Its speed and weight are combined to help arrive at the aircrafts glide ratio.
Every aircraft has a glide ratio, and it is best represented by the right-angled triangle. The vertical edge denotes the height above ground, and the hypotenuse represents the distance the aircraft covers. The glide angle changes the angle of the hypoteneuse, between o(!) and 90 degrees. For example, 90 degrees equals a glide angle of 0! or STRAIGHT DOWN. Some gliders (the stemme S10 for example) have glide ratio’s of 1:50. so for every vertical unit of measure travelled downwards, 50 units of measure are travelled forwards.
In simple terms the glide ratio depends on the L/D of the aircraft. This is a definite term for each aircraft.
the speed required to maintain minumum lift requires the aircraft to achieve a certain nose down angle, and thus descent rate. The heavier the aircraft the greater speed required.
this is affected by the prevailing weather(is this aircraft flying into the wind??) and the height of the aircraft(glide farther if you are higher up) I have heard that one aircraft managed to ‘glide’ 60 odd miles to reach the nearest airfield, after running out of fuel.
coanda
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