Downwind turns require more altitude to recover should lift be lost during/exiting the turn than upwind.
This is exactly the type of stuff I am talking about.......I can not believe some of you guys are serious. Part of me believes this is still a joke but April 1st is long past.
Again.....a helicopter or parachute or airplane does not know the wind. It only knows airspeed. Ignoring gusts, gradients and wind sheer, thermals, the altitude lost in recovery will be the same. It is only the distance tracked over the ground that will be different.
I must be sounding like a broken record at this point, but I cant believe some are serious.
Now to really stir the pot a little,......... Here is the scenario. Two gliders are flying at less then 1000'agl. One makes a downwind turn and the other makes a turn into the wind. Upon turning, the pilots stall both aircraft,... if a steep wind gradient exists, the recovery on the downwind would happen with less altitude lost then the aircraft that was flying into the direction of the prevailing wind.