Originally Posted by
cjboy
Rain makes a huge difference to the performance of a lot of gliders, I remember a shower turning the performance of an early 1990s fibreglass single seater I was flying into something like an olympia 2
You may find that was more to do with the downdraughts being produced along with the rain, than the droplets themselves. Falling rain evaporates slightly, latent heat absorption cools the air, making it sink. Heavy enough rain also imparts momentum onto the air due to friction, also causing it to sink.