Glider (sailplane)
Type of aircraft used in the sport of gliding / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about recreational gliding. For the armed forces aircraft, see Military glider.
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring).[1][2] This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplanes are aerodynamically streamlined and so can fly a significant distance forward for a small decrease in altitude.
In North America the term 'sailplane' is also used to describe this type of aircraft. In other parts of the English-speaking world, the word 'glider' is more common.