Question

How does paragraph 16 help the reader understand gliding?

here is paragraph 16

That’s where we broke loose from the small, powered plane that towed us into the sky to begin our “free flight.”)

Answer 1

Paragraph 16 is using an analogy to assist the reader in understanding what gliding is. It is comparing gliding with a "free flight". It also allows you to use context clues to deduce what gliding is.