It’s the wings that do the work!

An aircraft wing has a special shape. The angle at which it is mounted on the aircraft is also important. When the wing is moving through the air, the underside is pushed upwards because of the angle. At the same time, the special shape results in a lower pressure above the wing which sucks it upwards. This suction usually provides about 2/3rds of the total lift.

The first thing you will notice about a glider as distinct from any other aeroplane is the length of the wings. This is because a glider depends entirely on its wings to stay airborne.

A glider is in balance about a point more or less in the centre of the wingspan. This is important when it comes to controlling the aircraft.

Controlling the glider in flight is a matter of adjusting attitude (nose up or down) and roll (wings level or not) and yaw (nose traveling left or right) around this point of balance.

Attitude is controlled by moving the stick forwards or backwards. Moving the stick forwards moves control surfaces on the tail - elevators - downwards. This forces the tail upwards, and the nose is lowered. This makes the glider fly faster.

Moving the stick backwards moves the elevators in the opposite sense. As they move upwards, the tail is forced downwards and the nose rises. This slows the glider down.