Skip to content
HD305 Coach
Flyer card Full unit

Swipe sideways, or tap the dots. 5 screens.

Head Down · Group · The brief

Head-Down 305

Fly intermediate vertical formation skydiving (VFS)

Intermediate vertical formation skydiving: blocks, inters and close-range fall rate.

What this unit covers

Covers flying an assigned slot in intermediate Vertical Formation Skydiving (VFS): building randoms and entry-level blocks in small formations at head-down and head-up fall rates, with the grip discipline and fall-rate matching the vertical version demands.
VFS is the vertical analogue of belly Formation Skydiving, the same randoms, blocks and rounds, flown in vertical orientations. This card is the intermediate step for a flyer moving from group work into competition-style formations; open-class VFS (the full pool, hardest blocks) is FFP-HD404.
The rest of it
Assumes FFP-HD301 and comfortable head-down docking. Tunnel for repetition of formations and grips; sky for exits, altitude and breakoff.

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.

3.3
Fly the inter move relative to the partner, arresting closure before taking the next grip.

Can you fly an inter move relative to your partner and arrest the closure before taking the next grip?

3.5
Match fall rate at close range, riding the burble interaction between bodies with small inputs rather than overcorrecting.

Can you match fall rate at close range, riding the burble between bodies with small inputs rather than overcorrecting?

3.7 Safety critical
Recover to a stable solo position on any cork or lost formation, separating laterally rather than holding a failing grip.

On a cork or a lost formation, do you separate sideways to a stable solo position rather than holding a failing grip?

Screen 3 · What blocks a sign-off

What blocks a sign-off

A safety-critical criterion marked not yet stops the sign-off, however good the rest of the flying was. There is no averaging across this line, and no trading a good jump against it.

Safety-critical criteria on the short list

3.7
Recover to a stable solo position on any cork or lost formation, separating laterally rather than holding a failing grip.

On a cork or a lost formation, do you separate sideways to a stable solo position rather than holding a failing grip?

Everything this unit says about breakoff and deployment

1.3
State breakoff and deployment altitudes and the lost-formation plan; VFS breakoff runs higher than belly because the head-down fall rate spends altitude faster.
2.1
Complete a freefly-specific gear check (handles, hand-deploy pouch, riser covers, closing loop, helmet, audible set and functioning).
4.1
Initiate breakoff at the briefed altitude (within −0/+300 ft).
4.3
Deploy at the planned altitude after checking airspace.

Recording a sign-off says what you saw on one jump. It is not a rating, it is not a permission to jump, and it does not replace anything the drop zone requires.

Screen 4 · Conditions

Conditions

Where the evidence is allowed to come from, and how much of it there needs to be.

Assessment conditions

Sky and tunnel. Real formations are required for the Perform criteria that build points with others. Tunnel evidence is preparatory only for exits, altitude and breakoff. Sky jumps from a recommended 12,000 ft minimum (higher toward the VFS competition altitude for larger draws).
Video: the primary debrief and evidence tool. Equipment: visual altimeter, functioning audible, AAD recommended, freefly-suitable gear. Assessor: a freefly coach or VFS competitor current in the discipline, using the published FFP-HD305 checklist.
Each criterion Satisfactory / Not Yet Satisfactory; unit Competent / Not Yet Competent, recorded as a milestone.

Performance evidence

- A guide to how long intermediate VFS takes.
Competency against the criteria is the standard. Progression through the recognised VFS build at small scale: single randoms, then randoms in sequence.
Entry-level blocks in isolation (top, inter, bottom).
Then short mixed draws. Tunnel time is normal for repetition.
It evidences formations and inter moves but cannot substitute for exits, altitude awareness or breakoff.

Screen 5 · Debrief

Debrief

Safety first, then fun, then learning. In that order, every time.

Coaching priorities

Deliver in the project's priority order: Safety → Fun → Learning (curriculum Part A0). Safety criteria are must-meet, the coach never trades a cork recovery or a clean breakoff for a point.
The coach runs VFS debriefs off video without blame, celebrates the points that built, and ends on one focus for the next round.

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. Six points is six points forgotten by the next load.

A jump marked not yet is a jump to re-fly, not a failure, and saying so out loud is part of the debrief.

Record this jump

Your notes for this unit

Saved on this device only. Nothing is sent anywhere, there is nowhere for it to go, and no account is involved. They will be here next time you open this card.

This card is a summary. The full Head-Down 305 unit carries the reasoning, the sources and everything left off here. All briefing cards.