In article ,
Roy Smith wrote:

One amazing thing about the final approach is how steep it is. I've always
known it was steep (the NASA web site says "seven times steeper than the
average commercial airliner landing", which I take to mean 21 degrees. But
the numbers don't prepare you for the "pilot's eye view" they showed. It
seems like you're looking straight down at the runway.

The shuttle is known for having the glide ratio of an accelerated brick...

At 15 miles out, the shuttle is at 20,000ft.

An interesting article from AOPA Pilot on the Shuttle Training Aircraft:
http://www.aopa.org/pilot/features/9703feat.html

The STA is a modified Gulfstream II. To simulate the shuttle, the
gear is dropped for additional drag, the modified flaps are deflected
upward past neutral for additional drag and the thrust reverses
are deployed.

John
--
John Clear - http://www.clear-prop.org/