You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 34.200.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪JJMC89‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider or colocation provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts and colocation providers may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host or colocation provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a colocation provider's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a colocation web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host or colocation provider (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host or colocation provider.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and requests should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 05:16, 2 September 2025.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪Jon Kolbert‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: See the help page if you are affected .
- Start of block: 05:38, 21 February 2024
- Expiry of block: 05:38, 21 February 2029
Your current IP address is 34.200.250.87. The blocked range is 34.200.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((Short description|Aerial vehicle capable of sustaining flight without onboard propulsion))
((More citations needed|date=December 2022))
[[File:Hanggliding03042006.JPG|thumb|300px|Hang glider launching from [[Mount Tamalpais]]]]

'''Unpowered aircraft''' can remain airborne for a significant period of time without onboard propulsion. They can be classified as [[Glider aircraft|gliders]], lighter-than-air [[balloon (aeronautics)|balloon]]s and tethered [[kite]]s. In the case of kites, lift is obtained by tethering to a fixed or moving object, perhaps another kite, to obtain a flow of wind over the lifting surfaces.<ref>[http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=tayHAAAAEBAJ System and method for wind-powered flight Dale C. Kramer]</ref> In the case of balloons, lift is obtained through inherent [[buoyancy]] and the balloon may or may not be tethered. Free balloon flight has little directional control. Gliding aircraft include [[Glider (sailplane)|sailplanes]], [[hang glider]]s, and [[paraglider]]s that have full directional control in free flight.

==History==
((main|History of aviation))
The first manned aircraft were kites, balloons and gliders. Man-lifting kites were used in ancient China and Japan, often as a punishment for prisoners. Unmanned hot-air balloons and toy "bamboo-copters" are also recorded in Chinese history.

The first manned free flight was in a hot-air balloon built by the brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne [[Montgolfier brothers|Montgolfier]] in Annonay, France in 1783. The hydrogen balloon appeared at about the same time and proved more practical.

The first practical, controllable glider was designed and built by the British scientist and pioneer [[George Cayley]] who many recognise as the first aeronautical engineer.<ref>((cite book |last= Dee |first= Richard |title= The Man who Discovered Flight: George Cayley and the First Airplane |year= 2007|publisher= McClelland and Stewart|location= Toronto |isbn= 978-0-7710-2971-4 ))</ref> It flew in 1849.

Tethered balloons and, to a lesser extent, kites were developed for military and meteorological observation, however the use of kites has remained largely recreational. Free-flying ballooning using coal gas (which has about half the lifting effect of hydrogen) became a popular sport. Gliders were used mainly for aerodynamic research until their sporting use was developed in the 1920s.

During the two World Wars, tethered [[barrage balloon]]s were made and deployed in large numbers. Military assault gliders were also developed during World War II, while the [[rotor kite]] was used by the [[German Navy]] for seaborne observation.

Modern applications include experimental [[high altitude wind power]] generation.

==Gliders==
[[Glider (sailplane)|Sailplanes]], [[Hang gliding|hang glider]]s and [[Paragliding|paraglider]]s are all types of glider aircraft.

For a glider to generate lift, it must first gain and then maintain sufficient forward air speed.

Launching a glider gives it the initial forward airspeed to start flying. This is often done by towing the aircraft into the air on a long line, using either a ground-based winch or vehicle, or a powered "tug" aircraft. A small foot-launched glider is launched by running downhill or stepping off a high location.

Forward speed is then maintained by a gradual descent through the surrounding air, with the wings angled slightly down so that their lift also provides a small forward thrust to counter the drag of the wing.

If the air is rising faster than the aircraft is descending through it, the glider will gain height and additional [[potential energy]]. Sources of such [[lift (soaring)|rising air]] include warm [[thermal]]s and hill ridges.

In the past, unpowered [[military glider]]s have been used for military applications.

Today, the majority of use of all types of glider aircraft is recreational.

==Balloons==
Free-flying [[Balloon (aircraft)|Balloons]] drift with the wind. The pilot controls the altitude either by heating the air more or by releasing ballast weight. The wind direction usually changes with altitude, so crude directional control can be obtained by changing altitude.

A round tethered balloon is unstable in any significant wind. A [[kite balloon]] is streamlined to make it stable in strong winds.

Today, the majority of manned balloon flights are recreational, whereas unmanned and usually free-flying balloons are widely used for meteorological measurement.

==Kites==
Kites are aircraft<ref>
((cite web
  | title = Kites
  | publisher = [[NASA]]
  | url = http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/kite1.html
  | access-date = 2009-03-18))</ref> that are tethered to some other object (fixed or mobile) or other means that maintain tension in the [[kite line]]; and rely on virtual or real wind blowing over and under them to generate lift and drag. [[Kytoon]]s are balloon kites that are shaped and tethered to obtain kiting deflections, and can be lighter-than-air, neutrally buoyant, or heavier-than air. Kites have been developed for commercial applications using [[kite control systems]], including the airborne wind energy systems of [[high altitude wind power]].

==See also==
*[[Kite types]]
*[[Gliding]]
*[[Gliding competitions]]
*[[Gimli Glider]], a passenger jet aircraft that ran out of fuel
*[[Gyroglider]]
*[[Colditz Cock]], a glider built to escape from [[Colditz]]

==References==
((reflist))

==External links==
((Commons|Gliders))
*[http://www.fai.org Fédération Aéronautique Internationale] This is the world organisation for air sports such as gliding, hang gliding and paragliding

((Aircraft types (by method of thrust and lift)))
((Authority control))

((DEFAULTSORT:Unpowered Aircraft))
[[Category:Unpowered aircraft| ]]
[[Category:Unpowered flight|Aircraft]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

Unpowered aircraft (edit)
Template:Aircraft types (by method of thrust and lift) (edit)
Template:Aircraft types (by method of thrust and lift)/table (edit)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Cite book (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite web (view source) (protected)
Template:Commons (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Main (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:More citations needed (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Plainlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Side box (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Sister project (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Tooltip (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Tooltip/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Wrap (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Yesno (view source) (protected)
Template:Yesno-no (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Yesno-yes (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Authority control/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Commons link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:EditAtWikidata (view source) (protected)
Module:Find sources (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/links (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/templates/Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Format link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote list (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Labelled list hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:Side box (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Side box/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to Unpowered aircraft.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unpowered_aircraft"