trivia: highest glide ratio

[[email protected]]

Here's a trivia question for you all. I've tried googling for it, but
nothing has turned up.

What airframe (commercial or experimental) had the highest recorded
glide ratio, and what was it?

Ratios of 50:1 are common in modern gliders, of course, but what's the
very best anyone has managed, presumably using some wildly experimental
airframe?

Johan Larson

[Air Head]

The Gossomer Albatross perhaps?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gossamer_Albatross

[kestrel254]

wrote:
> wrote:
> > Here's a trivia question for you all. I've tried googling for it, but
> > nothing has turned up.
> >
> > What airframe (commercial or experimental) had the highest recorded
> > glide ratio, and what was it?
> >
> > Ratios of 50:1 are common in modern gliders, of course, but what's the
> > very best anyone has managed, presumably using some wildly experimental
> > airframe?
> >
> > Johan Larson
>
> A bit of googling turned up a discussion
> <http://forums.x-plane.org/lofiversion/index.php?t20112.html> that
> mentions a German motor-glider called the "eta", and a glide ratio of
> 72.
>
> The eta is a monster two-seater with a 30 metre wing-span.
> <http://www.leichtwerk.de/eta/en/project_eta/index.html> There does not
> appear to be any specific glide ratio given on the website.
>
> Johan Larson

Johan

The eta was supposed to have a glide ratio of about 70:1. Don't know
what has happened recently as the tail boom broke during a spin test.
The previously mentioned gossamer albatross would not have had a good
glide angle as it was designed to have a very low sink speed - that is
not the same as having a good glide angle.

HTH

George

[kestrel254]

wrote:
> wrote:
> > Here's a trivia question for you all. I've tried googling for it, but
> > nothing has turned up.
> >
> > What airframe (commercial or experimental) had the highest recorded
> > glide ratio, and what was it?
> >
> > Ratios of 50:1 are common in modern gliders, of course, but what's the
> > very best anyone has managed, presumably using some wildly experimental
> > airframe?
> >
> > Johan Larson
>
> A bit of googling turned up a discussion
> <http://forums.x-plane.org/lofiversion/index.php?t20112.html> that
> mentions a German motor-glider called the "eta", and a glide ratio of
> 72.
>
> The eta is a monster two-seater with a 30 metre wing-span.
> <http://www.leichtwerk.de/eta/en/project_eta/index.html> There does not
> appear to be any specific glide ratio given on the website.
>
> Johan Larson

Johan

The eta was supposed to have a glide ratio of about 70:1. Don't know
what has happened recently as the tail boom broke during a spin test.
The previously mentioned gossamer albatross would not have had a good
glide angle as it was designed to have a very low sink speed - that is
not the same as having a good glide angle.

HTH

George

[Markus[_1_]]

The ETA's website can be found here:

http://etaaircraft.zoecom.com/

As far as I know they have build at least 6. Giorgio Ballarati placed
2nd in an eETA in the Open class at the Worlds in Sweden this year. The
broken boom was a result of leaving the required flight envelope during
spin testing and supposedly had no implications for the certification.
They reinforced the boom anyway.

The project to watch is Dick Butler's Concordia Open Class glider
combining the powress of Dick Butler, Georg Waibel (the retired W of
Alexander Schleicher) and Luk Boermans (the dutch airfoil guru who,
among others recent designs, was responsible for the super eliptical
wings and high performance airfoils of the Antares). Going by the names
they'll have a good chance of upping the ETA.

Markus

[[email protected]]

but what's the very best anyone has managed, presumably using some
wildly experimental airframe?

Johan,
At operating altitude, the space shuttle 'flies' thousands of
miles without losing any altitude. So they have an glide ratio
approaching infinity until they put the bakes on.

Horst
L33

[[email protected]]

but what's the very best anyone has managed, presumably using some
wildly experimental airframe?

Johan,
At operating altitude, the space shuttle 'flies' thousands of
miles without losing any altitude. So they have an glide ratio
approaching infinity until they put the bakes on.

Horst
L33

[MaD]

schrieb:

> but what's the very best anyone has managed, presumably using some
> wildly experimental airframe?
>
> Johan,
> At operating altitude, the space shuttle 'flies' thousands of
> miles without losing any altitude. So they have an glide ratio
> approaching infinity until they put the bakes on.


As would any object placed at the same speed at that altitude...

If wildly experimental airframes had ever achieved an L/D of something
above 40 they would probably have been used as gliders.
Come to think of it - they have: LS4,6,8, ASW20,24,27, ASH25,...

Regards
Marcel Duenner

[Bob Kuykendall]

Earlier, wrote:
> but what's the very best anyone has managed, presumably using some
> wildly experimental airframe?

I think that the ETA is it with a best L/D of around 70:1.

I think it's a bit extreme and certainly extravagant, but not what I
would call "wildly experimental."

[SAM 303a]

I recorded a glide ratio of 54 in a PW5 going from Midland to Lubbock. Had
one hell of a tailwind. Don't ask what it was going _to_ Midland, I'm sure
it was about as small a positive number as you can have.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Here's a trivia question for you all. I've tried googling for it, but
> nothing has turned up.
>
> What airframe (commercial or experimental) had the highest recorded
> glide ratio, and what was it?
>
> Ratios of 50:1 are common in modern gliders, of course, but what's the
> very best anyone has managed, presumably using some wildly experimental
> airframe?
>
> Johan Larson
>

[Nyal Williams]

I recorded 174/1 under a long cloud street in Moriarty.

At 19:12 04 August 2006, Sam 303a wrote:
>I recorded a glide ratio of 54 in a PW5 going from
>Midland to Lubbock. Had
>one hell of a tailwind. Don't ask what it was going
>_to_ Midland, I'm sure
>it was about as small a positive number as you can
>have.
>
> wrote in message
oups.com...
>> Here's a trivia question for you all. I've tried googling
>>for it, but
>> nothing has turned up.
>>
>> What airframe (commercial or experimental) had the
>>highest recorded
>> glide ratio, and what was it?
>>
>> Ratios of 50:1 are common in modern gliders, of course,
>>but what's the
>> very best anyone has managed, presumably using some
>>wildly experimental
>> airframe?
>>
>> Johan Larson
>>
>
>
>