For a glider, the lift is the opposite downward force of the gravity (named, weight), which is produced by the dynamic effects of the surrounding airstream acting on the wings of the glider. See the following diagram to get the idea:
Lift is perpendicular to the flight direction of the glider. The coefficient of the lift is a dimensionless number that is the ratio of the lift pressure and area of the wing. So, the lift directly depends on the airfoil of the glider. There is an equation for finding out the lift of a glider. If L is the lift, then:
where CL is the coefficient of the lift, V is the velocity of the glider, r is the density ...