the.com/glide
the art of going far while doing almost nothing — gravity's quietest accomplice
means To move smoothly and effortlessly, as if on a frictionless surface, with little or no visible effort.
from From Old English glīdan, 'to move smoothly, slip along,' part of a quiet family of gl- words in the old Germanic tongues — relatives include glide's German cousin gleiten. Some have noticed that English gl- words often hint at slickness and slipping (glide, glissade, glib), though this is more a poetic pattern than a proven law of language.
- engine optional
- Gliders fly hundreds of miles without a motor
- bird logic
- Albatrosses glide for hours barely flapping a wing
- best ratio
- Modern gliders travel 60 feet per foot dropped
- snake trick
- Some snakes flatten their bodies to glide between trees
- silent landing
- Owls glide on wings shaped to erase sound
glide ratio — measure of how far aircraft travel forward per unit of altitude lost; sailplanes achieve 40:1 to 60:1
glide slope — precision approach path at airports; typically 3 degrees descent angle for safe landing
glide consonant — phonetic sound like /w/ and /j/ in english that transitions between vowels