USHPA Paragliding Novice (P-2) Practice Exam

When you fly near terrain, the air flow around the hill and the wind you’re flying in can be unpredictable, creating a strong wind gradient and possible rotor effects. A steep turn changes your direction quickly, but your ground track doesn’t just follow your nose—it rides the wind. If the wind is pushing you toward the hill, that drift can move you into the slope even while you’re banking to turn away. With limited altitude margin close to terrain, this wind-driven drift reduces your clearance and makes it easy to hit the hill. So, the main danger here is being carried downwind into the terrain during a steep turn. Keeping a safe distance from the hill, using moderate bank angles, and maintaining awareness of wind direction and terrain effects helps prevent this drift. The other factors—extreme bank angles, strong inputs, or sudden sink—are risks in general, but they’re not the specific, immediate threat created by performing steep turns near terrain.