Glide Ratio
Calculator
Results
- Glide ratio
- 10.126859
- Distance per 1000 ft lost (NM)
- 1.666666
- Glide angle (degrees)
- 5.63952
Aviation and marine results
| Glide ratio | 10.126859 |
| Distance per 1000 ft lost (NM) | 1.666666 |
| Glide angle (degrees) | 5.63952 |
formula-map diagram
- Glide ratio
- 10.126859
- Distance per 1000 ft lost (NM)
- 1.666666
- Glide angle (degrees)
- 5.63952
Aviation and marine relationship
Formula
Glide ratio = horizontal distance ÷ height lost= 10.126859142609
Note
This is a simplified model: it applies a standard navigation, performance or seamanship formula to the numbers you entered. True airspeed and density altitude use the ISA troposphere model for dry air and ignore humidity, compressibility and instrument or position error, so they are not a substitute for your aircraft's flight manual or an air data computer. Wind, climb, descent and fuel figures assume a steady wind and a constant speed and fuel flow for the whole leg; they ignore manoeuvring, holding, taxi and start-up fuel, terrain, turbulence and air traffic control routing. Takeoff distance scales an entered sea level figure by a rule-of-thumb percentage per 1000 ft of density altitude and is not a certified performance chart. Weight and balance results depend entirely on the arms and weights you enter and must be checked against the approved loading envelope. Hull speed is the classic 1.34 × √LWL displacement estimate, boat fuel burn is a horsepower-based approximation, anchor scope is a rule of thumb, and the rule of twelfths is a linear approximation of a sinusoidal tide that does not hold in all locations. Always use official charts, tide tables, the aircraft or vessel manuals and current weather, and treat these numbers as planning estimates only.
More in Aviation and marine
See all →Frequently asked questions
What does glide ratio mean?+
Glide ratio is the distance an aircraft (or glider) travels forward for every unit of altitude it loses with no engine power, expressed as a ratio like 10:1 — meaning 10 units of forward distance for every 1 unit of altitude lost. A higher ratio means a more efficient glide.
How is glide ratio calculated?+
It's horizontal distance traveled divided by altitude lost: glide ratio = distance ÷ altitude loss, with both measured in the same units. It can also be derived from best-glide airspeed and the corresponding sink rate: glide ratio ≈ airspeed ÷ sink rate (with matching units).
Does wind affect the aircraft's inherent glide ratio?+
No — the aircraft's glide ratio through the air mass is unchanged by wind, since it's a function of aerodynamics at a given airspeed. However, a headwind or tailwind changes the effective glide ratio over the ground, shortening or extending how far the aircraft travels relative to a fixed point below.
What's a common misconception about best-glide speed and glide ratio?+
Pilots sometimes assume flying slower always extends glide distance, but flying slower than best-glide speed increases drag and sink rate, actually reducing glide distance. Best-glide speed is specifically the speed that maximizes the lift-to-drag ratio and therefore the glide ratio.
How is glide ratio used practically in an engine-out scenario?+
Pilots use the glide ratio, combined with current altitude, to judge the maximum distance they could reach in a glide, then work backward to identify which runways or landing sites fall within that range. It's a critical number for deciding whether a forced landing site is realistically reachable.