On Monday, February 13, 2017 at 8:36:35 PM UTC+3, Jim wrote:

Well, on a good soaring day, about 70-80% of the flight is non-thermalling, non-turning flight.
And the lifting force always matches the weight of the glider, regardless of wing loading.

Yes. I understand that. If the glider is not to accelerate downward the total "lifting force" equals the current gross weight (and drag vector too I guess) of the glider. My silly curiosity has been about exactly the point you make. Everything else being equal ( I know, never happens), does a wing that supports 10 lbs per square foot of wing area require the same TOTAL"lifting force" as a wing that supports 5 lbs per square foot of wing area - but has twice the wing area? IF this is the case it would suggest that the glider with half the wing loading but twice the wing area could be sustained by a smaller "lifting force".

They both need exactly the same total lifting force. The one with twice the wing area needs half the lifting force per square foot.