glider flight
Engineless aerial journey
Glider flight is unpowered aviation—flying an aircraft without an engine, using rising air currents to stay aloft.
Pilots seek thermals, ridge lift, or wave lift to gain altitude: She logged three hours of glider flight over the mountains.
The term covers both the activity and individual flights.
Also called soaring.
- soaringRising effortlessly upward
- sailplaneEngineless soaring aircraft
- thermalsWarm air columns
- updraftUpward air movement
- ridge liftWind forced upward by terrain
wings · silent · altitude · glass cockpit · cockpit · tow · lift · descent · airborne · circling · landing · cross country · aerodynamic · wind · air currents · sky · drift · floating