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GATE 2026 AE – Question 31

Flight Mechanics & Space Dynamics · Airplane performance: drag polar, take-off and landing, climb and descent, ceilings, range and endurance, load factor, turning flight, V-n diagram, winds · 1 mark · Numerical answer

An aircraft starts gliding in power-off condition at an altitude of 4 km. Given that the maximum lift to drag ratio of the aircraft is 15, the maximum glide range that the aircraft can cover, measured along the ground, is ________ km (rounded off to the nearest integer).

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Correct answer: 60

Explanation

In a power-off glide the range over the ground is $R = h \cdot \frac{L}{D}$ for a small glide angle, and it is largest at $(L/D)_{max}$. So $R_{max} = 4 \times 15 = 60$ km.