In article ,
"vaughn" wrote:

"Mike Ash" wrote in message
...
In contrast, if you're down at 1,000ft above the ground, you had better
have a landing spot right there.

At that point (depending on your glider and conditions) you have perhaps 3
minutes of fuel in your "tank".

More like 7-10 minutes. Minimum sink rate in a typical glider will be
100-150 feet per minute. (Of course our patterns only last about 2
minutes, because we burn it off artificially in order to get down.)

Still a very small amount, and that's why you must have your landing
spot picked out and decided upon by that time.

--
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon