Winward Performance Llc OWL

1 aircraft

**Gliders** — also called **sailplanes** — are fixed-wing aircraft that fly without engine power, staying aloft and even climbing by soaring in rising air: thermals over sun-warmed ground, ridge lift where wind is deflected up a slope, and mountain wave. They are launched by aerotow behind a powered aircraft, by ground winch, or — in self-launching motorgliders — under their own retractable engine. A modern glider trades a long, slender, high-aspect-ratio wing for extraordinary efficiency: the best designs glide more than 50 feet forward for every foot of descent. Competitive soaring is organized into FAI classes — Standard, 15-metre, 18-metre, Open, Club, and two-seat — and has produced celebrated designs from Schleicher, Schempp-Hirth, Rolladen-Schneider, Grob, PZL-Bielsko, Glasflügel, and Schweizer. Because ICAO Doc 8643 assigns an individual type designator to only a minority of glider models, most sailplanes share the single generic ICAO code **GLID**.