P2 Test – Study Guide

Have a good understanding of the following terms and concepts:

Flying Speeds – Trim, Min Sink, Best Glide, Best L/D …
Speed to Fly concepts
Airspeed, Groundspeed and Airspeed vs Groundspeed
Upwind, Downwind, Crabbing
Rotors and Mechanical Turbulence
Full Stalls and Constant Stalls
- Know that Full Stalls have no true warning signs, they occur when the angle of attack is too high. When a stall does begin, the pilot swings forward and usually falls leaning backward.
- The worst thing to do once a full stall has begun, is to let the brakes up quickly. This can result in a giant surge of the wing where if dives below you and you fall into it (we call this getting gift wrapped, and it is no joking matter – avoid this at all costs!). Instead, hold the brakes down if the wing has begun a stall until your body has swung back under the wing. Then you can let the brakes up smoothly all the way to trim.
Porosity and its relationship to a wing’s life
Angle of Attack and its relationship to a Stall
Right of Way Rules
- Ridge, who has right of way
- Give Way to the Right
- Low Man has right of way
- Thermalling, first in sets direction – All circle in same direction
Know what Glider certification says about a glider
Know that there is no specific number of hours of UV that can be specified for the life of a glider, it depends on original fabric and intensity of radiation etc. People generalize about this, but nothing is set in reality.
Know the following terms:
- Wind Gradient
- Lapse Rate
- Dew Point
- Rotor
FAR Part 103:
- Class A, B, C, D, etc.
- Know what Controlled vs Uncontrolled airspace is
- Know what Restricted and Prohibited Airspace are
- Know where Ultralight craft can and cannot fly (specifically what zones on a Sectional we cannot fly in).
USHPA Part 103:
- Study over all Criteria for P2 Skills and Recommended Operating Limitations , know them and know what and be able to recognize what is not recommended. There are many questions about the recommended operating limits in the exam, make sure you know what the below list contains. For example, note that no stall or spins are required. USHPA would put themselves in a liability situation if they recommended such practices.

C. Recommended Operating Limitations for Novice Paragliding Pilots

Should exceed these limitations only after thoroughly mastering all required tasks, and after acquiring a full understanding of the potential problems and dangers involved in exceeding these limitations.
Maximum base wind of 12 MPH
Maximum peak gusts to 15 MPH
Maximum gust rate of 5 MPH in 5 seconds.
Should not fly in thermal lift where peak climb rates exceed 200 fpm.
If foot launching, should launch only on slopes steeper than 4:1, where the wind is within 25º of being straight up the slope.
Visual contact with the landing zone.
Avoid application of either brake beyond 2/3 of the way from slack to stall position.
Limit turns to 30º of bank, limit speed in turns to 1.5 times the straight line, brakes off, cruise speed, and smoothly exit any spiral turn which shows a tendency to steepen or accelerate.
Should fly a canopy recommended by the manufacturer as suitable for Beginner to Intermediate pilots.

Know what Object Fixation is and why it is important to look where you want to fly rather than to fly toward what you fear.

Know how to deal with and understand Critical Flying Situations like Collapses, Spins, Spirals etc.

Learn the below to be able to estimate how far you will go with regard to a headwind or tailwind.

Gliders generally get their best glide near trip. Trim is generally near 20 MPH. So, if a glider gets a Best Glide rate of 8 to 1, then if it flies from a 500 ft. hill in 0 wind with no lift or sink, it should glide 8 times 500 ft., so 4,000 ft.

The math is to simply multiply the height by the glide ratio number (8 in this case). So:

Distance travelled “DT” in 0 wind will be
DT = Height x Glide or DT = 500 x 8

So, if you are told that a glider gets an 8 to 1 glide at 20 mph and there is a 5 MPH headwind. Losing 5 of 20 MPH is 25% loss of speed and would eat up 25% of the distance or you could say you would go 75% as far.

DT = Height x Glide x .75 — So, 75% of 4,000 = 3,000 ft.

If we turn this around, to calculate how far you will travel with a 5 mph tailwind, you would gain 5 MPH and would gain 25%. So, with a tailwind, instead multiply by 1.25.

In all cases, your sink rate does not change, so the time you will be in the air is constant. What changes is simply your groundspeed and that is in direct correlation to the distance you will travel.