>>hibberd: this gliders made of carbon fibre. so quite expensive materials. carbon and kevlar same as racing cars and yachts... >>cowley: modern gliders have a glide angle of 1 in 40, 1 in 50. the best ones in excess of 1 in 60...which means for 1 mile of height lost you've got 60 miles gliding. that's pretty impressive tech. reporter of course, that technology tends to look more impressive airborne...but on this gloomy day at the british club class finals in husbands bosworth...the gliders were firmly earthbound...conditions...farfro ideal... >>skysbrook: there is a cumulus cloud there, there is another littleone there, and they are the sorts oflouds the glider pilots are looking for. >>reporter: the basic problem is: this just enough heat getting through to bounce them back up? >>brooks: yeah, absolutely. that's the main problem. >>reporter: that's the technical analysis of it. >>yeah close enough. >>but on a good day and in the right place...gliding races can be truly spectacular...with pilots flying at up to 300km/hr most commonly by riding winds lifting

>>hibberd: this gliders made of carbon fibre. so quite expensive materials. carbon and kevlar same as racing cars and yachts... >>cowley: modern gliders have a glide angle of 1 in 40, 1 in 50. the best ones in excess of 1 in 60...which means for 1 mile of height lost you've got 60 miles gliding. that's pretty impressive tech. reporter of course, that technology tends to look more impressive airborne...but on this gloomy day at the british club class finals in husbands bosworth...the gliders were firmly earthbound...conditions...farfro ideal... >>skysbrook: there is a cumulus cloud there, there is another littleone there, and they are the sorts of clouds the glider pilots are looking for. >>reporter: the basic problem is: this just enough heat getting through to bounce them back up? >>brooks: yeah, absolutely. that's the main problem. >>reporter: that's the technical analysis of it. >>yeah close enough. >>but on a good day and in the right place...gliding races can be truly spectacular...with pilots flying at up to 300km/hr most commonly by riding winds liftin