AN302 Coach
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Angles · Group · The brief
Angles 302
Lead an angle jump
Leading: you are the only person navigating.
What the course is about
You'll lead an angle jump through the exit, the navigation, the group and the breakoff, with your coach flying belly beside you and stepping back over the series. Angles 301 and Angles 202 on belly and back come first, because every lead starts from your own plan and brief.
In Australia, an angle leader needs a freefly coach rating or at least a Certificate C, and approval from the drop zone safety officer at that drop zone.
What comes before it
Screen 2 · What to watch
What to watch
The same short list the flyer sees on their card, in the same words.
2.2
Safety critical
Lead belly-to-earth for the entire jump, angle jumps are never led from the back. The leader is the only person navigating: they must hold continuous visual on the ground, the references, the group and the other groups, and none of that is reliably possible on your back (APF006 §5.12; the project's coaching doctrine; British Skydiving TPM §3.7 and Skydive Arizona treat any back-flying by a leader as requiring a dedicated belly mirror, an advanced arrangement outside this unit's scope).
Do you lead belly to earth for the whole jump, never from the back?
2.3
Run the check cycle continuously through the working time, how is my heading → how is the group → how am I → repeat, with direction always first: no playing to the camera, no coaching mid-jump at the cost of navigation. Order the whole jump by the in-air priority order Aviate → Navigate → Communicate. Aviate first: fly yourself, hold personal stability, heading and fall rate, and stabilise before re-engaging if task-saturated. Navigate second: protect the airspace and the footprint, watching drift, lane and range, and reduce or stop horizontal movement rather than press on when position is uncertain. Communicate third: signal the group to hold cohesion and the plan. When tasks conflict the higher priority always wins; navigation and stability come before helping any individual flyer (the project's coaching doctrine movement-jump priority-order doctrine; APF006 §5.14).
Do you run a continuous check cycle in the air: how is my heading, how is the group, how am I?
2.5
Safety critical
Stay predictable when someone struggles: hold the plan and the line. Never dive, flatten sharply or turn the group back to "pick up" a dropped flyer: changing the closing speed on someone already struggling is a documented collision cause. Never chase a flyer who leaves the plan: the group follows the leader, so a chasing leader drags everyone into the hazard. Adjust only gradually, one small iteration at a time (the "accommodation" collision, the chase ruling;, "the tighter we are, the safer we are").
When somebody is struggling, are you able to notice, and do you hold your line and speed instead of diving, flattening or turning the group, whilst still navigating?
2.6
Safety critical
Keep the group's path moving away from jump run at all times, never turn the group back toward the line of flight, and never rely on vertical separation from other groups: the airspace on and behind jump run belongs to everyone else on the load (APF006 §3.3;, the Sebastian jump-run crossing).
Are you able to maintain constant awareness of jump run and your group’s agreed flight plan, and navigate an angle that sticks to the plan and stays off jump run?
Screen 3 · What blocks a sign-off
What blocks a sign-off
A safety-critical item marked not yet stops the sign-off, however good the rest of the flying was. The rest of the jump cannot make up for it.
Safety-critical items on the short list
2.2
Lead belly-to-earth for the entire jump, angle jumps are never led from the back. The leader is the only person navigating: they must hold continuous visual on the ground, the references, the group and the other groups, and none of that is reliably possible on your back (APF006 §5.12; the project's coaching doctrine; British Skydiving TPM §3.7 and Skydive Arizona treat any back-flying by a leader as requiring a dedicated belly mirror, an advanced arrangement outside this unit's scope).
Do you lead belly to earth for the whole jump, never from the back?
2.5
Stay predictable when someone struggles: hold the plan and the line. Never dive, flatten sharply or turn the group back to "pick up" a dropped flyer: changing the closing speed on someone already struggling is a documented collision cause. Never chase a flyer who leaves the plan: the group follows the leader, so a chasing leader drags everyone into the hazard. Adjust only gradually, one small iteration at a time (the "accommodation" collision, the chase ruling;, "the tighter we are, the safer we are").
When somebody is struggling, are you able to notice, and do you hold your line and speed instead of diving, flattening or turning the group, whilst still navigating?
2.6
Keep the group's path moving away from jump run at all times, never turn the group back toward the line of flight, and never rely on vertical separation from other groups: the airspace on and behind jump run belongs to everyone else on the load (APF006 §3.3;, the Sebastian jump-run crossing).
Are you able to maintain constant awareness of jump run and your group’s agreed flight plan, and navigate an angle that sticks to the plan and stays off jump run?
Everything this course says about breakoff and deployment
1.1
Produce the day's plan to the FFP-AN301 standard: the day's picture, the drawn flight path with wind drift planned first, the breakoff designed on the ground, plan B as a pre-briefed conditional, and the load coordination, declared to manifest, drawn on the DZ board, agreed with every other movement group (FFP-AN301 Elements 1–2).
1.2
Deliver the briefing and walk-through to the FFP-AN301 standard, including the six planning outputs (direction, distance, breakoff and separation plan, opening area, initial canopy direction, plan B) and the mandatory high-and-behind brief.
2.7
Start the last turn no lower than the briefed altitude (~7,000–7,500 ft guide), then fly straight and settle the group onto one heading before breakoff, the formation "breathes" in turns, and people separating with residual turning motion is where collisions happen.
3.1
Initiate breakoff at the briefed altitude (within −0/+300 ft) with the briefed signal, and continue straight, fast and efficient, never turning in place and never stopping or flaring to watch. The leader's unbroken line is the reference every other flyer fans off ("if they don't have a reference point, they're just floating in the sky"), and a stopped leader is a standing target for the one flyer they didn't see (APF006 §5.10).
3.2
Flatten progressively toward deployment, converting the jump's speed into horizontal separation, no snap-flat, no barrel rolls to "clear airspace" (look under arms/legs, or use a clean, trained back transition that holds heading, speed and pitch) (APF006 §3.3, barrel roll before opening only if smooth and reliable).
3.3
Deploy at the planned altitude over the planned area after visually clearing the airspace, always assuming somebody is there, and never "pull to clear airspace": deploying dumps fabric into the airspace, it does not clear it (APF006 §3.3).
3.6
(Head-up movement only.) Brief and fly the head-up-movement breakoff as a plan PLUS talked-through what-ifs, the plan alone is not enough, because head-up movement jumps routinely produce off-plan states (the project's coaching doctrine).
4.2
Review the lead itself on video with the coach who flew beside you, against every element of the job: the exit line and first turn, the communication to the group (signals given, signals missed), personal stability through the working time, the navigation (turns against the keyed references, planned versus flown), and the breakoff (timing, line, fan). Name one leading correction to train on the next lead.
Recording a sign-off says what you saw on one jump. Permission to jump, and anything the drop zone requires, stay with the drop zone.
Screen 4 · Conditions
Conditions
Where the evidence is allowed to come from, and how much of it there needs to be.
Assessment conditions
- Sky only, since leading can't be assessed in a tunnel. Sky jumps from 10,000 ft or higher (recommended).
A real group of at least 3 flyers of suitable experience (a 3-way to 6-way is suggested), with the assessing coach flying belly beside the leader.
The assessor sees the whole cycle: the plan and brief to the Angles 301 standard, boarding, the lead from the slot beside the leader, landing accountability, and the debrief of the lead.
Head-up movement (criteria 2.8 and 3.6) is assessed only for a leader seeking it. A belly-only leader is assessed on the rest without it.
When head-up movement is assessed: a head-up movement jump of 4 or fewer, head-up-experienced participants, a briefed 6,000 ft minimum breakoff, and an assessor and participants current in head-up movement.
Evidence for the in-air criteria: the coach's footage from beside the leader and/or the leader's helmet footage, with the leader talking through their decisions, the flags they counted, and what they saw at each turn and at breakoff. A GPS trace is welcome as planned-versus-flown evidence but not required.
Equipment: a visual altimeter, a working audible set to the briefed profile, and movement-suitable gear. A second audible or a raised alarm for the last turn is recommended for leaders, and an AAD is recommended.
The series: at least 8 movement jumps as leader, with the coach first flying beside the leader, then in the group but passive, then observing only. Include at least 2 jumps with back-flyers and at least two days with different winds aloft, within a recommended 6 months.
Follower history, as context: published leader benchmarks run from 300 tracking and angle jumps, through 500 jumps including 25 tracking dives as a follower (Skydive Arizona), to 750 jumps and a formal approval (Skydive Spaceland). The standard here is the whole cycle flown well.
Conditions within every participant's cleared limits. An assessment jump is never the place to stack flags.
The assessor is an experienced movement-jump leader or a freefly coach current in leading movement jumps, using this checklist.
Each criterion is marked Satisfactory or Not Yet Satisfactory, and the course result is Competent or Not Yet Competent.
For experienced leaders: a logbook with a substantial tracking and angles history including documented leads (300+ tracking and angle jumps is a common benchmark), any existing leader approval, a video and/or GPS portfolio of at least 3 led jumps, and a reference from a drop zone safety officer, a USPA safety and training adviser, a chief instructor or equivalent who has seen them lead.
The experienced leader then flies one full challenge cycle (plan, brief, lead, breakoff, landing accountability, debrief) against the whole checklist, with the assessor flying belly beside. A pass this way also covers Angles 301.
As a guide, that takes at least 8 leads, building from 2- and 3-ways toward about six, within about 6 months.
Tunnel time doesn't count toward this course.
If you already lead movement jumps, your coach can assess you on one full lead cycle with your logbook, video and a reference. Leader approval stays with the drop zone safety officer.
Performance evidence
After each lead, debrief the group, review the lead with your coach against the plan and any GPS trace, log it, and report any near-miss to the drop zone's safety staff.
You've finished Angles 302 when you fly two full lead cycles in a row that meet everything on the coach's checklist below without the coach's help: plan, brief, lead, breakoff, everyone down, debrief.
Screen 5 · Debrief
Debrief
Safety first, then fun, then learning. In that order, every time.
Coaching priorities
Safety first, then fun, then learning. In a leader course the flyer learns to hold that order for other people, and the bold criteria protect the group. The fun is a group that stays tight and on level and lands back on the drop zone happy. A well-designed plan B lets everyone enjoy the sky.
End each debrief on a win with one thing to improve, which models the debrief the new leader will run for their own groups. Leading accuracy can't be judged by feel: there is no trail in the sky, and references shrink and grow with altitude.
The three-picture debrief (plan, what the leader thinks they flew, the GPS trace) closes that gap, and a coach plus a trace gets there in fewer jumps. Coach precise language with manifest, pilots and other leaders: "0.5 before" needs a "before what".
Half of this course is when to stand down: the conditions, the group, and an honest look at your own experience. Help an unready group assess itself without talking down to it.
One fault, one correction
Ask for their read before you give yours. Then leave them with one fault and one correction, in their words if you can get them. One of each is easier to carry onto the next load than six points.
A jump marked not yet is a jump to fly again. Tell them that as part of the debrief.
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This card is a summary. The full Angles 302 course page carries the reasoning, the sources and everything left off here. All briefing cards.