Soaring
Gliding is the art of keeping aloft in an engineless vehicle (a “glider”); soaring is the competitive version of gliding. Several methods of remaining aloft are used in both pursuits; all rely on pilot skill and knowledge in finding air currents rising at a greater rate than the glider’s “built in” rate of descent—between 45 and 90 meters per minute. Soaring is considered a sport due to the challenge of finding and using ascending air currents to keep the glider aloft so that distance, height, or flight durations that are not possible in still air can be achieved. Updrafts are the fuel of gliders. ...
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