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• The radius of the turn and the path of the powered parachute over the ground should be easily noted and changes planned and effected as circumstances require. 

• Drift should be easily discernable, but not tax the student too much in making corrections. 

• The altitude should be low enough to render any gain or loss apparent to the student, but in no case closer than 500 feet to the highest obstruction or lower then 200 feet above the ground. 

During these maneuvers, both the instructor and the student should be alert for available forced-landing fields. The area chosen should be away from com - munities, livestock, or groups of people to prevent possible annoyance or hazards to others. Due to the altitudes at which these maneuvers are performed, there is little time available to search for a suitable field for landing in the event the need arises. 

## Drift and Ground Track Control 

Whenever any object is free from the ground, it is affected by the medium with which it is surrounded. This means that a free object will continue to move in its current direction and speed unless acted upon by another force. For example, if a powerboat is cross- ing a river and the river is still, the boat could head directly to a point on the opposite shore and travel on 

a straight course to that point without drifting. How- ever, if the river were flowing swiftly, the water cur - rent would have to be considered. That is, as the boat progresses forward with its own power, it must also move upstream at the same rate the river is moving it downstream. This is accomplished by angling the boat upstream sufficiently to counteract the down - stream flow. If this is done, the boat will follow the desired track across the river from the departure point directly to the intended destination point. Should the boat not be headed sufficiently upstream, it would drift with the current and run aground at some point downstream on the opposite bank. [Figure 9-1] 

As soon as a powered parachute becomes airborne, it is free of ground friction. Its path is then affected by the air mass in which it is flying; therefore, the powered parachute (like the boat) will not always track along the ground in the exact direction that it is headed. When flying with the longitudinal axis of the powered parachute aligned with a road, the powered parachute may get closer to or farther from the road without any turn having been made. This would indi- cate the air mass is moving sideward in relation to the powered parachute. Since the powered parachute is flying within this moving body of air (wind), it moves or drifts with the air in the same direction and speed, just like the boat moved with the river current. [See Figure 9-1] 

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