Angles 302 — Lead an angle jump

The checklist

1. Plan and brief the jump (the FFP-AN301 standard, now flown as the leader)

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.

1.3

Hold the plan under pressure: no late add-ons, no extra moves, no unvetted joiners at the mock-up ("learning how to say no, and then how to say no, is probably one of the most challenging things"), while staying open to a genuinely better point. If the plan must change, change the minimum, and always change to the simpler option.

1.4

**Assemble and board the group as the leader: gather the group by the aircraft in reverse exit order before boarding, and visualise the climb-out, the exit and the initial navigation before the door. Assess the actual conditions (cloud, visibility, aircraft position) and be ready to call plan B before the door opens, and do not open the door yourself; door timing belongs to the aircraft crew** (the project's coaching doctrine movement-jump contingency doctrine; APF006 §5.14, §3.1).

2. Lead in the air

2.1

Exit without turning hard off the door: stay with the aircraft's line for a few seconds (referencing the plane, not the back-flyers), count, then start the first turn gradually.

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).

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).

2.4

Fly for the group: a neutral position with a little speed, and no heavy brakes, "no slow go": speed equals lift, and a braked leader makes the jump hardest for the back-flyers. Manage the line and the speed-on-the-line as separate levers. Fly turns as smooth curves timed to arrive at the planned place at the planned time, holding the briefed heading between turns, within about ±45° as a plain guide, because precision comes from turning at the right place at the right time, not from chasing a compass (smoothness is the core skill).

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").

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).

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.

2.8

(Head-up movement only.) Lead a head-up movement group of 4 or fewer from the belly, running the gather-then-navigate sequence:

Notes on 2.8, the knee-fly position and the gather-then-navigate sequence:

• In knee-fly the wind meets the belly and chest at a shallow angle, which drives the leader backwards while the group back-flies toward them. A strong flyer can fly knee-fly from near belly speed to near head-down speed.
• Fall rate comes from leg width and foot turn-out. Knees apart and feet turned out, so the sides of the feet catch the wind, is slower. Knees and feet together, so the tops of the shoes meet the wind, is much faster and adds drive, because the hip angle changes.
• To add drive and speed, the leader extends the arms, keeps the chin up and moves the legs back, one step at a time.
• Full extension, legs straight with the hands pushing on the wind above the head, is the fastest and a mastery position. It can collapse suddenly to belly-down at full lift, which leaves the leader above and behind the group. Teach in knee-fly.
• Sequence: exit, turn 90° off jump run, knee-fly mostly vertical while the group comes on level and into slot, then start the backwards drive. Navigate off big horizon features (the ocean, a low sun, a mountain range), since the vertical start puts the leader’s eyes on the horizon.
• Group shapes: two in front back-flying toward the leader, or one in front and one to the side. Keep to 4 or fewer, with participants stronger than a belly group of that size.

3. Complete, breakoff to landing

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).

3.4

Under canopy, hold position and do not fly back toward the jump run until the other groups' canopies are seen open; keep heading discipline immediately after opening and join the pattern with minimal disruption (the post-opening wrap; APF006 §3.3).

3.5

Confirm every group member is back on the ground before standing down, and activate the off-landing plan if anyone is unaccounted for, the leader's job is to bring everybody safely to the ground, and it does not end at their own landing.

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).

Notes on 3.6, the head-up movement breakoff:

• Get head-down first, then move. In a 6-way, a slow head-up breakoff gives about 268 ft between neighbours (about 1.4 s) and a fast one about 392 ft (about 2.7 s), against 690–1,165 ft head-down. Carlton calls six or more unacceptable for a head-up breakoff and five pushing it.
• Raise the floor to a minimum of 6,000 ft and be head-first by about 6,500–7,000 ft, because horizontal speed takes 1,500–2,000 ft to build after the change. Flyers feel this as a sudden loss of height at breakoff and everyone suddenly closer.
• The usual route is a team layout: each back-flyer does a bottom loop or a tight back layout to a belly angle, turning head-first around a centre point, staying on the line of flight and keeping momentum. The in-place layout is the worst option, because it loses the line and the lag bites hardest.
• A cartwheel from head-up to a belly angle keeps the group in sight and keeps momentum, though it never matches a head-down angle for distance.
• A flyer about 100 m behind the group takes a belly angle back the way they came. Mostly vertical, they fly the head-up static breakoff: rock to back-fly and check above, back angle away, roll to belly, check below, deploy.
• Brief against turning 180° and back-tracking. A head-up formation that all did it would back-track into each other.

4. Review the lead

4.1

Debrief the group: participants speak first; watch the whole video once through without stopping; safety points first, then positives, then improvements, teaching by showing the good example in the group rather than dwelling on the individual who missed.

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.

4.3

Compare planned versus flown: draw what you think you flew, and, if you have access to a GPS, compare all three pictures (the plan, your perception, the trace), remembering the trace includes drift.

4.4

Log the jump; report any near-miss, off-landing, airspace conflict or plan deviation to DZ safety staff; and bank what the day taught, flags you missed, conditions you now have experience with, into the next plan.

Criteria in bold are safety-critical: they protect the group and everyone else 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 flying and briefing. They are always assessed live, including on the route for experienced leaders. Outside a course they are strongly recommended practice. Regulation stays with your federation and your drop zone.

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.

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.

• APF Freefly and Angles Guide (APF006, August 2023): breakoff, clearing the air and deployment (§3), leading from the belly and the movement-jump contingencies (§5.10–5.14), and briefing and leading a jump under supervision (Part 8, Angles Level 2).
• The Leading Workshop (Modern Skydiving Concepts, 2021), sessions A to C: exit and turn timing, the last turn by 7,000 ft, holding position after opening, breakoff, saying no, smooth and predictable leading, the debrief method, GPS feedback, the six-way ceiling for intermediate groups, and incident analyses including the Sebastian jump-run crossing and a collision caused by a leader changing speed to help a flyer.
• Jake Carlton, “Head Up Angles and the Breakoff Problem” (Skydive Mag): GPS separation figures for head-up and head-down breakoffs, the transition lag, the team layout, and the in-place layout as the weakest option.
• Team Fly4Life’s Head Up Camp entry standard, which asks for head-up static group flying and breakoff before head-up movement.
• Alethia Austin on leading movement jumps and on the Skydive Spaceland evaluator model, Joyriders on leaders starting on their belly, and Folgerts on one-turn plans.
• Leader policies from Skydive Arizona, Skydive Spaceland and Stockholms FSK, and the British Skydiving Tracking Progression Manual on belly-to-earth leaders.
• Australian Skydiver Magazine (issues 56, 65 and 73): hard openings after too little slow-down, height lost at breakoff, and a drop zone safety officer’s warning about unplanned big angle dives.
• USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual 4-7 and 5-10: movement jumps and GPS as a recommended accessory.
• Newcastle Sport Parachute Club, Hunter Valley angle and movement jump guidelines: movement groups per load, talking the plan through with the load master, cloud, approved belly-flying leaders, the leader’s skills, and beginner group sizes on belly and on back.
• 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. Where anything on this page conflicts with the APF documents, the APF documents prevail.

• Australia (APF), leaders. A tracking or angles leader must be an approved Freefly Coach or hold at least Certificate Class C, and be approved by a DZSO at the drop zone (OR 9.9.3(a)).
• DZSO approval rests on knowing that DZ’s jump runs, exit-order procedures, freefall drift (upper winds and wind shear) and opening locations. The DZSO may revoke it at any time if they judge the leader unsafe (OR 9.9.3(c)).
• Leading groups over 8 requires a Freefly Coach rating or 300 completed tracking or angles jumps, plus DZSO approval (OR 9.9.3(b)).
• Australia (APF), participants. Groups larger than a 3-way need Certificate Class C plus a written DZSO logbook endorsement (OR 9.9.2(c)(ii)). Groups of more than 10 require the Australian Star Crest (OR 9.9.2(d)(ii)).
• In Australia this course can be assessed by an APF Freefly Coach or a leader approved by a DZSO under OR 9.9.3. Elsewhere, the national or drop zone equivalent, such as a Skydive Spaceland movement-jump evaluator.
• Completing this course supports the OR 9.9.3 leader-approval conversation with a DZSO. The approval itself is the DZSO’s.
• Elsewhere. The British Skydiving Tracking Progression Manual (§3.7) and Skydive Arizona treat any back-flying by a leader as needing a dedicated belly mirror flyer, an advanced arrangement outside this course.

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