A glider is a light plane with no engine. It gets towed into the air by a tow plane, then released. It then glides (hence the name) on rising thermals, often for hundreds of miles, before eventually landing.

Our own Mike Ash is a glider pilot in his spare time, and had a bit of an adventure yesterday. You can read all about it in the Northern Virginia Daily (Screenshot here). My favorite bit has to be this:

"You are looking for basically flat [land], no tall crops and no cows," he said. Cows can actually eat parts of the glider, Ash added.

Outstanding. Mike was quite safe (and can assure any and all that an emergency glider landing really isn't a big deal), and is still working hard on the next release of Airfoil. How apropos!