Angles 301 — Plan an angle jump

The checklist

1. Plan the jump

1.1

Build the day's picture from the pattern ingredients: winds in all three layers (freefall, canopy, landing, with units checked), jump run (direction, offset, zero point, green light, type), expected drift, other groups on the load, DZ rules and terrain, and the group itself, including yourself and your experience with today's specific conditions (APF006 §5.14).

1.2

Design a flight path that meets the two governing objectives: avoid every other group's line of flight, and bring the whole group back to the landing area. Draw it on a DZ map with turns keyed to ground references, and plan the opening area for the whole group, the path ends in a cone of separating jumpers, not a point. Plan wind drift before intentional movement, total displacement is wind drift plus intentional movement. Work out the drift for the day's uppers and freefall time first, and visualise it on the DZ board, before adding any planned movement footprint. Drift acts on every group whether it moves or not, and it differs by discipline: a belly group drifts more than an angle group, which drifts more than a faster freefly group. A lane drawn without the drift underneath it is drawn in the wrong place (USPA SIM 5-10.F; APF006 §3.2; the project's coaching doctrine movement-jump planning doctrine).

1.3

Choose the simplest pattern that does the job, sized to the least experienced flyer and to the leader's leading experience. Straight 90 and 45-45 are the developing leader's patterns; complex patterns trade accuracy for manoeuvrability and are "really easy on paper but not so easy to fly" (Folgerts, one turn is better and safer).

1.4

Screen every participant, including any camera flyer, by evidence rather than self-report: proximity footage or a docked-on-your-leader history, a demonstrated body position, a hand-demonstration of levels. Treat unproven flyers as lower-skilled until seen, "you don't know what you don't know", and self-reported speed or "biggest jump" answers screen nothing (an unbriefed camera flyer is a participant too).

1.5

Design the breakoff on the ground, never in the air. Set the breakoff altitude: the guides are 5,000 ft up to a 4-way and 5,500 ft for 5 or more, and most modern groups brief 5,500 ft regardless of size; for a head-up angle group raise the floor, minimum 6,000 ft, and 6,500 ft for a larger group, the recommended FFP standard for head-up angle work, because a head-up breakoff buys almost no separation and rotating to head-first costs altitude (see the head-up-angle breakoff item in Knowledge evidence). Plan the last turn no lower than ~7,000 ft so the group settles onto one heading before separating ("we definitely don't want to break off in a turn, that's where the collisions happen"). Plan a peel-off fan away from jump run with no flyer turning more than ~90° and nobody, ever, turning 180° back toward the jump run, an explicit breakoff assignment for anyone slotted above the leader, and separation complete at least 1,000 ft above the highest planned deployment. Breakoff is the trigger point for movement-jump collisions; it is designed, briefed and walked, not improvised (the project's coaching doctrine breakoff standards;, the Australian "to the basement" incidents; APF006 §5.10;.

1.6

Prepare a conditional plan B that is simpler than plan A and changes only what must change (same exit, same slots, same breakoff where possible), plus the left-behind and lost-flyer protocol. Plans go off-script often enough that the response is designed before boarding ("you have to change what you have to change, but don't change what you don't have to change";, pre-briefed conditional plans; APF006 §4.3).

1.7

Choose the group's slot in the exit order as a navigation tool, wind cone, offset side, pattern shape, other groups, rather than by habit (movement groups do not have to exit first), and check whether the plan survives a changed jump run. Draw each lane parallel to jump run with a clear intent arrow, and where two movement groups share the load, plan different airspace, by default opposite directions. Worked example of the strong-upper-wind variant: when the upper wind is strong enough that both groups must fly the same way (toward the landward side), split the airspace into sectors instead. One group takes one side of the run, the other group the other side, with an explicit separation buffer of at least one board-grid square between them, so two same-direction lanes never converge (Burke, an angle group must not claim a tracking group's exit priority; USPA SIM 5-10.E; the project's coaching doctrine movement-jump planning doctrine).

1.8

Confirm the local drop zone's policy for taking part in and leading movement jumps before planning one, approval requirements, group-size limits and any local lane rules differ between drop zones, and the plan starts from what the host drop zone permits.

2. Brief and prepare the load

2.1

Declare the movement jump to manifest and the pilot, and coordinate patterns with every other movement group on the load before boarding: draw the pattern where the next group can see it (map or flight-planning board), agree lanes or walls, and count novice solo freeflyers as a moving group that owns the corridor perpendicular to jump run, both sides. On the DZ board, draw the group's planned flight path first, before the detail. A lane and intent arrow already on the board while everyone is dirt-diving lets the other groups and the load master read each movement group's intentions at a glance, and that is what removes the last-minute coordination scramble. Confirm the exit order and aircraft plan with the load master as part of this (Spaceland flight-board practice; USPA SIM 5-10.E; the project's coaching doctrine movement-jump planning doctrine).

2.2

Deliver the briefing early, the 20-minute call, rehearsed at the 10, because a rushed brief produces rushed jumpers. Structure it dry data first: jump run, the three wind layers in digestible form, the drawn plan, exit order; then approach doctrine (quadrant → level → close), heading discipline, the left-behind protocol, the breakoff walk-through, and after-opening instructions, all phrased as what TO do, never only what not to do. The FFP briefing minimum defines six planning outputs for the jump: direction (lane or sector), distance (in grid squares or nautical miles), the breakoff and separation plan, the opening area, the initial canopy direction, and plan B. A movement jump is not briefed until all six are stated (APF006 §5.14; the project's coaching doctrine movement-jump planning doctrine).

2.3

Walk the dive with the group, walking backwards where it simulates real body inputs, and spend more time on the getting-together and breakoff phases than on the rest of the walk combined.

2.4

Confirm before boarding that every participant can point out the jump-run direction and the briefed ground references, and that gear is checked: audible heard functioning and set to the briefed profile, visual altimeter, movement-suitable equipment (APF006 §5.14, §3.1; the project's coaching doctrine audible check protocol;, dirt-dive your audible settings).

2.5

Brief the high-and-behind case as a mandatory item: a jumper who ends up high and behind the group must never chase it. Brief the mindset plainly: the jump is done; accept it, and do not try to catch back up. Chasing compresses vertical separation and raises closing speed at breakoff. Instead slow the fall rate, stay high and behind, keep visual contact with the group, and deploy at the briefed altitude when the group breaks off (the project's coaching doctrine movement-jump contingency doctrine;, break off at the group's timing, not its altitude; APF006 §3.3).

2.6

Run the ground organisation to the boarding point: gather the group by the aircraft in reverse exit order before boarding, with the climb-out, exit and initial navigation visualised before the door. Confirm with the leader that the plan-B call stays available until the moment the door opens. Nobody in the group opens the door; door timing belongs to the aircraft crew (the project's coaching doctrine movement-jump contingency doctrine; APF006 §5.14, §3.1).

3. Observe the lead

3.1

Fly belly in the briefed observation slot beside the leader, holding level and slot, never between the leader and the group, and never inside the group's briefed lanes or fan. The observation slot is a working slot: it is screened, briefed and flown to the same standard as every other slot on the jump.

3.2

Track the jump against the plan in the air: the turns against the keyed ground references, the drift under the group, the group's state at each phase, and how the leader applies the in-air priority order (Aviate → Navigate → Communicate, flown as leading skill in FFP-AN302). Watch the leader's sight picture: where they look, when they turn, what they do when the group spreads.

3.3

Fly the briefed breakoff exactly as planned for the observation slot, peel at the briefed altitude and angle, clear airspace in all directions, and deploy at the planned altitude over the planned area (APF006 §5.10, §3.3; the project's coaching doctrine breakoff standards).

4. Review the plan

4.1

Debrief with the group to the protocol: participants speak first; watch the whole video once through without stopping; safety points first, then positives, then improvements.

4.2

Compare planned versus flown: draw what you think the group flew, and, if a GPS trace is available, compare all three pictures (the plan, your perception, the trace), remembering the trace includes drift. The gaps are the navigation curriculum for the next plan.

4.3

Log the jump and bank what the day taught, flags you missed, conditions you now have experience with, what the leader did that the plan never captured, into the next plan.

Criteria in bold are safety-critical: they protect the group being planned for and every other group on the load. A coach should not sign off the course while a bold criterion is Not Yet Satisfactory, however good the rest of the planning and briefing. Outside a course they are strongly recommended practice. Regulation stays with your federation and your drop zone.

Assessment conditions

• The assessor watches the whole cycle: the day’s picture and the drawn plan, the coordination with manifest, the pilot and the other groups, the brief and walk-through, the observation jump, and the plan-against-flown debrief.
• Sky jumps from 10,000 ft or higher (recommended), with a real group of at least 3 flyers of suitable experience, led by the mentoring coach. The flyer being assessed flies the observation slot beside the coach.
• The record: the flyer’s drawn and photographed flight plans, the brief watched live or recorded, the flyer’s talk-through of the plan’s reasoning (the flags counted, the pattern chosen and why), video from the observation slot, and a GPS trace where one is available.
• Equipment: a visual altimeter, a working audible set to the briefed profile, and gear suited to movement. An AAD is recommended.
• Conditions within every participant’s cleared limits.
• The assessor is an experienced movement-jump leader or a freefly coach current in leading movement jumps. In Australia, that is an APF Freefly Coach or a leader approved by the drop zone safety officer (Operational Regulations 9.9.3).
• Each criterion is marked Satisfactory or Not Yet Satisfactory.
• Tunnel time does not count toward this course.
• For an experienced planner or leader: a logbook with a long tracking and angles history (300 or more is a common benchmark, as a guide only), and a portfolio of drawn plans with talk-throughs or an existing leader approval under a published drop zone scheme.
• Add a reference from a drop zone safety officer, safety and training adviser, chief instructor or equivalent who has seen the flyer plan and brief. Then one full cycle (plan, brief, observe or lead, debrief) against the whole checklist.
• Safety-critical criteria are always assessed live, never credited from history. A pass in Angles 302 by this route covers this course.
• As a guide, fly them over at least two days with different upper winds and two jump-run situations, within 6 months.
• Tunnel time doesn’t count toward this course.
• If you already plan and lead movement jumps, one full cycle with your logbook, drawn plans and a reference can cover the course, and so can a pass in Angles 302.

Coaching priorities

• Safety first, then fun, then learning. The planner builds the jump’s safety into the plan, and the bold criteria protect groups this flyer will one day lead.
• A good plan also lets a group relax and enjoy the sky, so design the observation jump as a good skydive in its own right.
• End each debrief on something that went well, with one thing to improve in the next plan.
• Skills to watch alongside the flying: clear, positive briefing scaled to the group, and precise language with manifest, pilots and load masters (“0.5 before” what?).
• Wind-report reading, unit conversion (knots, mph, m/s) and drift arithmetic, and map reading at two scales: detail within about 1–2 miles, far references for orientation.
• Honest self-assessment: simplifying or standing a plan down as the flags stack.
• The pattern catalogue by difficulty: straight 90 and 45-45 for a developing leader, then 45-90. The zigzag, back-trail and 270 are advanced-leader patterns, often led too early. The last turn by about 7,000–7,500 ft.
• In the fan, flyers look before turning and turn flat from the hips. The belly and back group-size limits are separate, so a flyer cleared for bigger belly groups learns back-fly angles in groups of three or fewer first.
• Teach novice freeflyers on their own about the corridor they drift across, without mocking them. It is the reason learners fly angles behind trained leaders.
• Walking the dive backwards simulates the real body inputs. Spend most of the walk on the getting together and the breakoff.
• The breakoff numbers behind the head-up angle floors (Carlton’s GPS data): head-up cruises at about 140 mph vertical and 40 mph horizontal, head-down at about 135/90 mph slow to 120/105 mph fast. In a modelled 6-way, a slow head-up breakoff gave 268 ft (about 1.4 s) of separation and a fast one 392 ft (about 2.7 s), against 690–1,165 ft head-first.
• Carlton also measured a 1,500–2,000 ft lag before horizontal speed builds after the transition, with no glide gain moving into a head-up breakoff. Hence head-first initiated by about 6,500–7,000 ft in groups of six or more, in a team layout on the line of flight. The in-place layout is the worst option. He calls a head-up breakoff in six or more unacceptable, and five pushing it.
• The 6,000/6,500 ft head-up angle floor applies to head-up angle work only. The general ladder (5,000 ft up to a 4-way, 5,500 ft for 5 or more) applies elsewhere, including belly-led angle groups. It extends an earlier Australian practice (by 2015) of a head-up angle track-off at 5,500 ft or higher, turning and clearing the air head-up before going head-first.
• Pulling to clear airspace is unsafe: a deployment puts fabric into the airspace, and clears nothing.

• APF Freefly and Angles Guide (APF006, August 2023): gear, planning, exit order and breakoff (§3), plan B (§4.3), and leading angle jumps, including the belly-flying leader and the pattern ingredients (§5.10, §5.12–5.14).
• The Leading Workshop and The Leading Workshop OZ (Modern Skydiving Concepts, 2021), sessions A to C: the leader’s responsibilities, the flags, the day’s picture, the pattern catalogue and its graded difficulty, lanes and sectors for several groups, the briefing order, screening participants, plan B, the breakoff arithmetic and the debrief.
• Jake Carlton, “Head Up Angles and the Breakoff Problem” (Skydive Mag): GPS separation figures for head-up breakoffs, and the head-first window for groups of six or more.
• Community writing on movement jumps: Burke, “The Horizontal Flight Problem”, Alethia Austin, “Leading a Movement Jump”, Joyriders, “Covering All the Angles”, West, “Ten Tips for Safe Tracking Dives”, and Folgerts on one-turn plans.
• Drop zone policies on movement jumps: Skydive Arizona and Skydive Spaceland (approved leaders and the flight-planning board), and Stockholms Fallskärmsklubb (plan and plan B, two groups per load).
• Newcastle Sport Parachute Club, Hunter Valley angle and movement jump guidelines: movement groups per load, the load master conversation, cloud, the belly-flying approved leader, beginner group sizes, belly and back limits, and what a movement jumper needs to know.
• USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual 4-7 and 5-10, and the British Skydiving Tracking Progression Manual.
• Australian Skydiver Magazine issues 78 and 80: raising the head-up track-off and clearing the air head-up before going head-first.
• The Freefly Project’s coaching guides: the breakoff altitudes, the head-up angle floors, drift-first planning, the six items in a movement brief, and the high-and-behind brief.
• APF Operational Regulations (V01-2026), as jurisdictional context.

Regulations change, so each rule is given with its document edition, as context for where you jump.

• Australia (APF), APF Operational Regulations V01-2026. A tracking or angles leader is an approved Freefly Coach or holds at least a Certificate Class C, and is approved by a DZSO at the intended drop zone (Operational Regulations 9.9.3(a)).
• DZSO approval rests on the leader’s knowledge of that drop zone’s jump runs, exit-order procedures, freefall drift (upper winds and wind shear) and opening locations (Operational Regulations 9.9.3(c)). This course builds that knowledge. Its record can support the conversation with a DZSO, and confers no approval itself.
• Participants in groups larger than a 3-way need a Certificate Class C plus a written DZSO logbook endorsement (OR 9.9.2(c)(ii)). Participants show the DZSO a clear flight-path plan and an understanding of the current jump run before the jump (OR 9.9.2(d)(i)).
• The 1,000 ft separation height is mandatory (OR 9.1.4).
• Where this course and the APF documents differ, the APF documents prevail.

Acronym key. APF, Australian Parachute Federation. OR, the APF Operational Regulations. DZSO, drop zone safety officer.