Glide Distance Calculator
How far the glide reaches: altitude AGL times glide ratio, with the POH-figure conversion and the always-too-optimistic warning attached.
The number assumes best-glide speed flown precisely, a stopped-or-feathered situation matching the POH test, and zero wind — three assumptions reality rarely grants together. Plan with two-thirds of it and the maths will forgive the day.
Formula
⚠️ For flight planning and education only — verify with your POH/AFM and official sources. Not for primary navigation or in-flight emergency decision-making without POH data.
How far the glide reaches: altitude AGL times glide ratio, with the POH-figure conversion and the always-too-optimistic warning attached.
About Glide Distance Calculator
The engine stops and one multiplication stands between you and a plan: height above ground times glide ratio. This calculator runs it instantly — distance in nautical miles and kilometres, plus the per-thousand-feet figure worth memorizing for your aircraft — while being honest about the asterisks: the POH glide assumes perfect speed, a windmilling-prop test condition and still air, which is why field discipline applies a healthy discount.
How to use Glide Distance Calculator
- 1Enter — sensible defaults are pre-filled so you see a worked result immediately.
- 2Read the live results: .
- 3Check the "With your numbers" line to see the formula distance = height × glide ratio; a 9:1 ship glides ≈ 1.5 nm per 1,000 ft substituted step by step.
- 4Adjust inputs (or flip the unit toggle) until the scenario matches yours, then copy or share the result.
Why use Glide Distance Calculator?
- ✓Instant, free and private — every calculation runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded
- ✓Built on the published formula distance = height × glide ratio; a 9:1 ship glides ≈ 1.5 nm per 1,000 ft with sources cited on the page
- ✓The number assumes best-glide speed flown precisely, a stopped-or-feathered situation matching the POH test, and zero wind — three assumptions reality rarely grants together. Plan with two-thirds of it and the maths will forgive the day.
- ✓Switch units, tweak any input and watch every result update live
Frequently asked questions
What glide ratio should I use for my aircraft?+
The POH's maximum glide chart implies it: a chart showing 13.5 nm from 9,000 ft means 9:1. Typical trainers run 8.5–10:1, slick singles a bit more, and the figure assumes best-glide speed at gross weight, flaps up, prop windmilling. If your POH gives only the chart, divide its distance by its altitude once and carry the ratio forever.
How much does the propeller's state change the glide?+
Noticeably: a windmilling prop is a drag-producing turbine and most POH figures include it. A stopped prop (possible at low speed in some types) glides measurably better — and a feathered prop in a twin dramatically so. Conversely, leaving the prop control forward (fine pitch) while windmilling is the worst configuration; pulling it back (coarse) in a constant-speed single buys real ratio.
Why discount the computed distance by a third?+
Stacked realities: the turn toward the field costs height (up to 1,000 ft for a 360° assessment turn), speed discipline wanders under stress (±10 kt off best glide cuts the ratio meaningfully), the air sinks as often as it lifts, and arriving exactly at the field boundary at zero height is not an approach. Two-thirds of book glide reaching a field with pattern height to spare is a plan; 100% of book is a bet.
Does weight change the glide?+
It changes the speed, not the ratio: best-glide IAS scales with √(weight), so a lighter aircraft glides the same distance but more slowly (more time aloft, same geometry). That's why POHs quote best glide at gross — fly a few knots slower when light. Gliders exploit the converse: water ballast for faster glides at the same ratio.
Related Field tools
Sunrise & Sunset Calculator
Exact rise, set, solar noon and day length for any place and date — the NOAA solar equations with the refraction fine print included.
● LiveGolden Hour & Blue Hour Calculator
Tonight's golden hour and blue hour, computed from sun elevation — the photographer's light windows with the angles that define them.
● LiveDay Length Calculator
Hours of daylight for any date and latitude, how fast it's changing, and the swing between your solstices.
● Live