If a Boeing 747 loss all of its engines and can not restart them whatsoever, how many miles would it be able to glide forward for every mile that it loses in altitude?
by 
kuyakev
ANSWERS: 5
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If I did my math right, about 41 miles, thanks for the physics review.
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With only this information, here is what I can provide. I cannot give you an exact number of miles because it would be different if the aircraft were full or empty. Other factors would include altitude it was at during engine failure and wind conditions as it reaches lower altitudes. What I can say is this, if your riding on a 747 and all four engines fail, the ratio of miles travelled to altitude lost is in your favor. It is very likely that the aircraft will be able to make it to an airport somewhere. There have been incidents of out of gas aircraft which landed safely, I believe they were a 752 and an A330 from Air Canada. (would have to check this one)
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A 747-100 has a glide ratio of about 17:1, meaning it will travel forward 17 units per 1 unit of altitude loss if trimmed correctly. So, assuming you lost all the engines at typical cruising altitude of about 32,000 feet, you can go about 100 miles ( actually a little more, but I'm rounding numbers down) before you need to fold up your table and put your head between your knees. Last call anyone?
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1) "Glide ratio, also called, Lift-to-drag ratio, glide number, or finesse, is an aviation term that refers to the distance an aircraft will move forward for any given amount of lost altitude (the cotangent of the downward angle). " Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glide_ratio 2) "Glide ratio of a Boeing 747: 17.7 (Boeing 747-100)" Source: http://cadlab6.mit.edu/2.009.wiki/anchor/index.php?title=Anchor_Quantities So it would be able to glide forward 17.7 miles for every mile that it loses in altitude. (same with kilometers)
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The "Gimli Glider" comes to mind even though it was a 767 not a 747.
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