🪂 Glide Distance
How far you can glide from any altitude
About this calculator
Glide ratio tells you how many feet forward the airplane travels for every foot of altitude lost. A 9 to 1 ratio from 5,000 feet gives about 7.4 nautical miles in still air. Wind changes the answer: a headwind shortens your glide, a tailwind stretches it, and the effect grows the longer you stay aloft.
Tip: know your best glide speed cold before you need it. In a real engine failure, pilots who rush tend to fly too fast, which only steepens the descent.