re: #51 Shug

Do you think it would have been different if they were departing for Los angeles or Vegas etc instead of charlotte.
Is there a lot less fuel and therefore weight on those relatively shorter flights?

I’m no expert on the airlines, still flying in the military but my guess is there was a lot less fuel for the short trip to Charlotte. The glide ratio doesn’t depend on weight but on making sure you are at a constant airspeed; in my aircraft that is 180 kts which gives me 2.2 NM per 1000 ft of altitude drop.