Question

The tangent of glide angle is ________

(a) equal to drag to lift ratio

(b) lift to drag ratio

(c) inverse of thrust

(d) equal to thrust

The question was asked in class test.

This is a very interesting question from Flight Mechanics topic in division Performance and Flight Mechanics of Aircraft Design

Answer 1

The correct choice is (a) equal to drag to lift ratio

To explain: The tangent of glide angle is equal to the drag to lift ratio. Lift to drag ratio is called aerodynamic efficiency of the aircraft. Tangent of Glide angle is inverse of the Aerodynamic efficiency or inverse of the lift to drag ratio.