Dynamic 301 — Fly vertical into movement

Application

This unit is a vertical head-down (or head-up) jump into movement. The group exits in a head-down or head-up round, builds an accordion, breaks grips and follows the leader out onto a line; the formation ends on an angle. It is the first component part of through-vertical group flying: FFP-DY302 trains the opposite direction (movement into vertical), and FFP-DY303 links the two into the pass-through.

The accordion creates the line of belly and back flyers. The leader departs on belly. The flyer adjacent to the leader in the accordion also comes out on belly, and the other line of the accordion comes out on back. The same assignment applies for head-down and head-up.

The coach briefs this slot-to-orientation assignment in the dirt dive so every flyer knows their departure orientation before grips break, nobody improvises a transition inside the group. The head-up version carries two extra briefing points.

The back line departs from head-up onto the steep back angle while the group accelerates, a flyer who shallows onto flat back-fly instead corks under the departing line, so the back flyer lays away onto the steep angle and keeps the speed on.

And a head-up leader builds the formation with eyes on the horizon rather than the ground, so the leader confirms the ground picture, the landmark fixing the departure point, before giving the grip-release key.

The abort geometry. The group departs onto the line only from a complete, stable accordion. When the formation has not built by the planned point, or is not stable at the grip-release key, the leader withholds the key and the jump completes as a vertical formation jump, a jump every participant is qualified for on this unit’s own prerequisites.

A flyer who misses the key does not chase the departing line: hold orientation, let the group depart, and follow from below.

The departure and the level-change caution. APF006 cautions against radical level changes on vertical jumps, naming the transition to belly as its example (§3.3), and this jump’s departure is exactly that manoeuvre.

The simultaneous key and the assigned orientations are the control: every flyer changes level at the same moment, in a briefed direction, into airspace they have just cleared, so no flyer carries a large speed difference to the rest of the group.

The same control gives the off-key rule its logic: a late transition into the departing line recreates the speed difference the caution describes, so the off-key flyer holds orientation and follows from below.

Leadership. The leader is on belly once the group is moving: the belly leader reads the ground and the line directly and owns navigation and the opening point. This jump transitions from vertical into movement once and never passes back through vertical, so a single belly leader serves for the whole moving segment.

The full through-vertical leadership doctrine, two approved leaders and the belly-led handover, lives in FFP-DY303 and FFP-DY304.

Fly dynamic small: start at 2-way, build to 3-way, then 4-way, group sizes 2–4 are the guide for this unit. Anything over 6 is highly advanced and best avoided; that scale belongs to dedicated competition-style teams working up incrementally, not a weekend load.

Mastery-track note: the Dynamic track carries no sign-off, completion of this unit is a milestone, not a permission, and its prerequisites are course-internal safety standards.

Environment: sky, with tunnel drills (vertical formation craft, belly/back transition mechanics) as preparation. Exits, navigation, group flow and breakoff are sky-only skills.

Supervision: the coach leads. The candidate flies each departure slot in turn, the belly slot beside the leader, then the back line.

Pre-requisite units

FFP-DY202 (the Dynamic 200 tier, near-vertical belly angle with the transition to back, carrying the belly-to-back bail-out check), plus FFP-HU301 or FFP-HD301 in the orientation the jump is flown: the jump starts as a static vertical formation, a round and an accordion, so group vertical skills in that orientation are prerequisite. RPL route: see the RPL evidence set.

Elements and performance criteria

1. Plan the jump

1.1

State the jump's single declared objective and success criteria.

1.2

Plan the sequence, the exit round, the accordion build, the grip-release key, the departure onto the line and the closing angle, fixing the departure point by landmark reference.

1.3

Verify every participant's standing against the jump: FFP-DY202, group vertical competence in the planned orientation (FFP-HU301 or FFP-HD301 standard), and currency.

1.4

Match group size to the least-experienced flyer within the 2–4-way guide.

1.5

Design the flight path clear of jump run and other groups' airspace, with planned opening points and a backup plan for weather or jump-run changes.

1.6

State the breakoff and deployment altitudes (guides: 5,000 ft up to a 4-way, 5,500 ft for five or more; where the vertical segment is flown head-up the floor rises, head-up groups 5,500 ft minimum; breakoff at least 1,000 ft above the highest planned deployment), the fan-out plan, and the lost-leader protocol.

2. Prepare

2.1

Complete a freefly-specific gear check on self and a cross-check of one other flyer (handles, BOC, riser covers, closing loop, helmet, audible set and functioning; a second audible recommended).

2.2

Walk the full sequence in the dirt dive, round slots and grips, the accordion build, the grip-release key, and each flyer's slot on the line.

2.3

Brief the slot-to-orientation assignment in the dirt dive: the leader departs on belly, the flyer adjacent to the leader in the accordion follows on belly, and the other line of the accordion comes out on back, the same assignment for head-down and head-up, adding the head-up variant's two extra points where flown: the back line's steep-angle departure under acceleration with the cork risk named, and the leader's ground-picture check before the key.

2.4

Brief the abort criteria: the group departs onto the line only from a complete, stable accordion, when the build is incomplete or unstable at the grip-release key, the leader withholds the key and the jump completes as a vertical formation jump, and a flyer who misses the key follows from below rather than chasing the line.

2.5

Confirm exit order, separation and the planned flight path with the load, manifest and any other movement groups (guide: two movement groups per load).

3. Perform

3.1

Exit in the briefed round, linked where the aircraft and group allow, otherwise building it promptly, flying the assigned slot without destabilising the formation.

3.2

Build the accordion on the briefed key, taking the briefed grips and holding level through the build.

3.3

Abort the departure when the accordion is incomplete or unstable at the grip-release key: the leader withholds the key, every flyer keeps flying the formation, and the jump completes as a vertical formation jump.

3.4

Break grips on the leader's key, coming out in the assigned orientation, belly beside the leader, back on the other line, establishing the slot as the leader sets the angle.

3.5

Execute the off-key rule after missing the grip-release key: hold orientation, let the group depart, and follow the group's line from below, transitioning only in clear air, never late into the departing group.

3.6

Clear own airspace visually before every transition, no blind transitions.

3.7

Hold the briefed slot and level through the moving segment, matching the leader's speed and pitch (entering the leader's zone, no line busts).

3.8

Control closing speed along the line, slowing, never turning 180° from the group heading, if overtaking the leader or the group.

3.9

Recover in slot on any instability, never track away, rejoining only when stable and on level.

3.10

Execute the lost-leader protocol immediately on losing sight of the leader on a moving segment: transition to back, turn onto a back angle, and follow the group from below; on the vertical phase hold formation discipline instead, recovering any instability in the vertical recovery position (APF006 §4.2).

4. Complete

4.1

Initiate breakoff at the briefed altitude (within −0/+300 ft).

4.2

Roll from back to belly only when on a clear trajectory with no one above.

4.3

Fan out on the briefed arc line and track, checking airspace.

4.4

Deploy at the planned altitude after clearing airspace.

4.5

Fly the agreed canopy separation plan, holding off the jump-run line until airspace is confirmed clear.

5. Review

5.1

Debrief against the declared objective using video, marking formation faults (round and accordion) and line faults (slot and level misses) separately.

5.2

Identify one vertical-formation fault and one line fault, with a correction for the next jump.

5.3

Log the jump with criteria results and a reflection naming the unit and skills assessed (e.g. "FFP-DY301 vertical into movement, head-up round, back-line departure, held slot to breakoff"), entries like this make the logbook a meaningful training record.

Bold criteria are safety-critical. Within FFP courses they are treated as non-compensable: any Not Yet Satisfactory makes the unit Not Yet Competent. They are strongly recommended best-practice standards with the risk reasoning stated. Regulation remains your federation’s and your drop zone’s.

Foundation skills

• Group briefing and landmark-based navigation communication.
• Altitude, separation and closing-speed numeracy.
• Planning and organising (sequence design, slot and orientation allocation, load coordination).
• Teamwork and mutual monitoring from formation grips to a moving line.
• Self-management under stress (abort, no-blind-transition and in-slot recovery discipline).

Performance evidence (suggested sufficiency, adjust locally)

Ability evidenced across a guide of 8 coached jumps (2-way building to 4-way). The number is a guide to how long it might take, not a quota; competence against the criteria is the standard. The evidence should include:

• At least 4 jumps completing the full sequence, round, accordion, grip release, line, ending on the angle.
• Both departure slots evidenced: the belly slot beside the leader and the back line.
• Jumps flown in the orientation of the group vertical prerequisite held (head-down or head-up); a flyer holding both standards may evidence either or both.
• Two consecutive jumps meeting all criteria without coach assistance or prompts.
• At least two different days/conditions.
• All within a recommended 6-month currency window.

Tunnel time may substitute for vertical-formation-craft and transition-mechanics development reps, but never for exits, navigation, group flow or breakoff, whole-task integration jumps precede assessment.

Knowledge evidence

• Explain the unit’s place in the Dynamic track: vertical into movement is one component part of through-vertical group flying, movement into vertical (FFP-DY302) is the other, and the pass-through (FFP-DY303) links the two.
• Explain the accordion slot-to-orientation assignment, the leader departs on belly, the flyer adjacent to the leader follows on belly, the other line comes out on back, the same for head-down and head-up, and why briefing it in the dirt dive matters: every flyer knows their departure orientation before grips break, so nobody improvises a transition inside the group.
  • Relate the assignment to the angle’s fly-zone geometry: belly flyers ride above and ahead, back flyers below and slightly behind (APF006 §5.13).
• Explain the head-up variant’s two extra briefing points: the back line departs from head-up onto the steep back angle while the group accelerates, and shallowing onto flat back-fly instead is a cork under the departing line.
  • And a head-up leader builds the formation with eyes on the horizon rather than the ground, so the leader confirms the ground picture before giving the grip-release key.
• Explain the abort logic: the group departs onto the line only from a complete, stable accordion.
  • Explain the hazard an incomplete or unstable build creates at the grip-release key, flyers transitioning out of a moving, broken formation, and the leader’s response: withhold the key, and the jump completes as a vertical formation jump every participant is qualified for.
• Relate the departure to APF006’s caution against radical level changes on vertical jumps, whose named example is the transition to belly (§3.3): the simultaneous key and the assigned orientations are the level-change control, putting every flyer through the transition at the same moment in a briefed direction.
  • Explain the off-key rule’s logic: a late transition into the departing line recreates the speed difference the caution describes, so the off-key flyer holds orientation, lets the group depart, and follows from below.
• Explain why the leader is on belly once the group is moving, the belly leader reads the ground and the line directly and owns navigation and the opening point, and state where the full through-vertical leadership doctrine (two approved leaders, the belly-led handover) lives: FFP-DY303 and FFP-DY304.
  • This jump never passes back through vertical, so a single belly leader serves.
• Explain line integrity in zone and level terms: a line bust is failing to enter the leader’s zone or level.
  • Explain why a blind transition, rotating without first clearing the airspace you are about to occupy, is the classic collision set-up in group dynamic flying.
• Explain the in-slot recovery rule: on any instability hold the group’s heading and speed and never track away, off-heading flight paths are the dangerous collisions, and the group’s line is the known-clear airspace.
  • Rejoin only when stable and on level.
  • If separated, deploy higher, after checking above (APF006 §4.3).
• Explain the lost-leader protocol’s logic: the transition to back and the turn onto a back angle regain visual on the group from below, using the belly-to-back transition trained and checked at FFP-DY202.
  • Explain why the protocol is scoped to the moving segment: inside the vertical formation the flyer holds formation discipline instead, recovering any instability in the vertical recovery position (APF006 §4.2), turning onto a back angle inside a gripped vertical build is itself the radical level change to avoid.
• Describe the freefly-specific gear check and why each item matters, including why a functioning audible is essential on every dynamic jump, and a second recommended, given the loss of altitude awareness associated with movement jumps.
• State the freefly breakoff guides, 5,000 ft for groups up to a 4-way, 5,500 ft for five or more, and a 5,500 ft minimum for head-up groups, so a head-up version of this jump raises the floor, noting that most modern jumpers plan 5,500 ft for any freefly group and will generally not accept 4,500 ft.
  • Apply the fan-out arc arithmetic to a 2–4-way: flyers fanning across the arc away from the group’s line of flight have generous angular separation, every flyer keeping at least 1,000 ft between breakoff and deployment.
• Explain why a back-flyer at breakoff rolls to belly only when on a clear trajectory with no one above (USPA SIM 5-10.E).
• State the group-planning guides: group sizes 2–4 with anything over 6 in dedicated-team territory.
  • Two movement groups per load.
  • The moving group carries the whole responsibility for avoiding the straight-down groups.
  • Movement groups exit in the freefly slot and fly a line clear of, typically perpendicular to, jump run.
• Explain why group vertical competence in the orientation flown is a prerequisite: the jump starts as a static vertical formation, with docking craft and formation discipline at vertical speeds (FFP-HU301/FFP-HD301 standard).
• Analyse own video to diagnose one vertical-formation fault and one line fault.

Assessment conditions

Sky jumps from a recommended 12,000 ft minimum (guide, the build and the moving segment both need working time). Assessment jumps are flown as a real group within the 2–4-way guide: a qualified leader plus at least one other flyer, completing the full sequence from round to angle.

Video of assessment jumps is required for a valid assessment (outside camera or leader-flown; candidate identifiable). Required equipment: visual altimeter, functioning audible (second audible recommended), AAD recommended, freefly-suitable gear. The group declares the flight path to the load and manifest, and conditions stay within all participants’ cleared limits.

Assessor: a freefly coach current in dynamic/movement coaching, using the published FFP-DY301 checklist (Satisfactory / Not Yet Satisfactory per criterion).

Coaching priorities

Deliver in the project’s priority order: Safety → Fun → Learning (curriculum Part A0). Safety criteria are non-compensable. The coach designs the session to be enjoyable: one declared objective per jump, with tempo matched to the group. End each debrief on a win with one improvement focus.

RPL evidence set

For experienced entrants, the following alternative evidence is suggested:

• Logbook evidencing equivalent jumps that break a vertical formation into movement (hybrid or mixed-orientation group jumps departing onto a line).
• A video portfolio demonstrating the Perform criteria, including a clean departure in an assigned orientation.
• Tunnel records covering vertical formation craft and belly/back transition mechanics, plus sky validation of navigation, group flow and breakoff.
• Or a challenge assessment of two jumps against the full criteria with a qualifying assessor.

The group vertical prerequisite (FFP-HU301 or FFP-HD301 in the orientation flown, or national crest-level equivalent) applies on every route, and the FFP-DY202 assessment jump is recommended for every entrant regardless of route.

Sources