A sailplane has a best glide ratio of 30:1. How many nautical miles will the glider travel while losing 2,000 feet?

• A. 9 NM
• B. 10 NM
• C. 11 NM
• D. 12 NM

Answer: (B)

Glide ratio tells you how far you can travel forward for each foot of altitude you lose. With a best glide ratio of 30:1, you cover 30 feet forward for every 1 foot of altitude lost. Losing 2,000 feet means a forward distance of 2,000 × 30 = 60,000 feet. Since 1 nautical mile is about 6,076 feet, 60,000 feet is 60,000 ÷ 6,076 ≈ 9.88 NM, which rounds to about 10 NM. So the glider would travel roughly 10 nautical miles.