How much altitude will an airplane lose when gliding at an angle of attack of 8° over a distance of 3 statute miles?

To determine the altitude loss during a glide over a specific distance at a certain angle of attack, we can utilize basic trigonometric principles. When gliding, the descent angle can help us calculate the altitude loss based on the distance traveled horizontally.

Given an angle of attack of 8°, we can assume that this angle directly corresponds to the angle of descent in a glide scenario. The vertical descent can be found by calculating the tangent of the glide angle, which gives the ratio of vertical distance lost to horizontal distance traveled.

First, we convert 3 statute miles into feet since 1 statute mile equals 5,280 feet. Therefore, 3 statute miles equal 15,840 feet.

Next, using the angle of 8°:

• The tangent of 8° can be calculated (using a calculator or trigonometric tables), which is approximately 0.1405.

To find the altitude lost, we apply the tangent:

• Descent = Horizontal Distance × tan(9°)

• Descent = 15,840 feet × tan(8°)

Calculating this gives:

• Descent = 15,840 feet × 0.1405 ≈ 2,224.32 feet

However,