Dynamic 403 — Fly eagles

The checklist

1. Plan the jump

1.1

Design the jump in the shared FAI Dynamic vocabulary, naming each pass as over or under, through belly or back, with a front or back layout, and classifying the crossings as eagles or reverse eagles with their half-eagle equivalences, so both flyers brief from one language.

1.2

Verify both flyers' standard status against the track's course-internal safety standards: head-down competence at crest standard, both orientations, and the bail-out standard (the FFP-DY202 transition check).

1.3

Assign the leader and follower roles for every pass, matching the plan, pass count, closing speeds and signal reliance, to the less experienced flyer.

1.4

Plan the flight path off the jump run with a landmark reference for each phase, coordinated with every other group on the load (a guide: no more than two movement groups per load, an eagle jump is nearly vertical and consumes little more air than a vertical jump).

1.5

State the breakoff plan, breakoff altitude, the last-pass floor (no pass begun below breakoff plus 1,000 ft), the head-up rotate-head-first rule, the back-flyer roll rule and deployment altitudes, with separation complete at least 1,000 ft above the planned deployment height (guides: 5,000 ft for freefly groups up to 4-way, noting most modern jumpers use 5,500 ft for any freefly group and will generally not accept 4,500 ft; the head-up passes make this a head-up movement jump and raise the floor to 6,000 ft minimum).

2. Prepare

2.1

Confirm both flyers hold the entry standard before the first eagle jump: static eagles through belly and back, flown in the sky and the tunnel, and front and back layouts at high speed.

2.2

Brief and dirt-dive each pass at tempo, confirming the signal set, over, under and "come to me", the leader's approach-speed budget, the vertical displacement of each over-pass, and the abort plan: each flyer's pre-assigned lateral offset side, briefed per pass, covering a missed or late call and any ambiguous read.

2.3

Complete a freefly-specific gear check: handle and pin protection, genuinely tight BOC, riser covers, closing loop, helmet, AAD on, audible(s) set to the briefed altitudes.

2.4

Confirm exit order and separation with the full load, notifying manifest of the group's flight path and planned opening area.

3. Perform

3.1

Exit head-down unlinked and turn to face the other flyer, establishing the closing line off the jump run.

3.2

Maintain eye contact with the other flyer through every approach, pass and rejoin.

3.3

Fly the leader role, judging who is higher and who is lower on each approach, signalling the follower over or under, and calling "come to me" to open the head-up phase.

3.4

Commit the over/under call early on every approach; on a missed or late call, an ambiguous height read or conflicting movement, both flyers abort the pass and break to their pre-assigned offset sides, never force a crossing, and never resolve height ambiguity inside the closure.

3.5

Fly the follower role, initiating the signalled high-speed front or back layout and passing over or under the leader, with vertical displacement and relativity held through the pass.

3.6

Fly the head-up phase to the same standard, closing on the leader's "come to me", taking the second over or under call, and passing with the signalled front or back layout.

3.7

Fly a briefed no-signal pass by reading the leader's relative height on approach and the leader's body movement, opposing that movement and transitioning vertically around the leader, eye contact and vertical displacement held throughout.

3.8

Clear the target airspace visually before every layout and pass, no blind moves.

3.9

Fly the over-pass clear of the partner's burble column with the briefed vertical displacement; never decelerate beneath the partner, a blown layout aborts outward with lateral offset.

3.10

Fly every approach inside the leader's briefed approach-speed budget, arresting closure by flaring off the drive, aborts resolve to lateral offset, never to a 180° turn on the jump's heading.

3.11

Begin no pass below the last-pass floor, breakoff altitude plus 1,000 ft.

3.12

Execute the briefed recovery on any instability: orient, regain speed and re-approach with lateral offset, never track away. If visual is lost, a flyer who has decelerated or reads high looks below from belly or head-down before any re-approach; only a flyer who is low transitions to back to regain sight.

4. Complete

4.1

Initiate breakoff at the briefed altitude (within −0/+300 ft), rotating from head-up to a head-first orientation first if the jump ends head-up, then turning onto a clear radial while flattening pitch to a track; never back-track away while still head-up.

4.2

If on the back at breakoff, roll to belly only once on a clear trajectory with no one above.

4.3

Deploy at the planned altitude, inside the group's planned opening airspace, after checking own airspace.

4.4

Fly the briefed canopy plan, holding off the jump-run line until other groups' airspace is confirmed clear.

5. Review

5.1

Debrief every pass against the plan on video, in the shared vocabulary, over or under, through belly or back, front or back layout, eagle or reverse eagle.

5.2

Analyse own execution against competition-derived quality criteria: closeness of passes, synchronisation, uniformity of body position, no loss of balance.

5.3

Evaluate the follower's reading of each pass, how much was flown on the signal and how much read from the leader's relative height and body movement, setting the next jump's signal reliance toward passes flown intuitively, without a signal, with eye contact, vertical displacement and relativity maintained.

5.4

Log the jump in the logbook naming the unit and skills flown (e.g. "DY403, over through belly, back layout under"), with criteria results and a short reflection, the curriculum is what makes the log entry meaningful.

Criteria in bold are safety-critical: they protect both flyers and everyone else on the load. A coach should not record the course as complete while a bold criterion is Not Yet Satisfactory, however good the rest of the flying. Outside a course they are strongly recommended practice. Regulation stays with your federation and your drop zone.

Assessment conditions

• Sky jumps from 13,000 ft or higher (recommended). An eagle jump is nearly vertical, uses altitude quickly, and its head-up passes raise the breakoff floor.
• A real 2-way in the sky for every criterion. Tunnel work is preparation only.
• Video of every assessment jump is required, from a dedicated camera flyer or leader-flown, with the flyer identifiable.
• Equipment: a visual altimeter, a working audible (two recommended), an AAD, and freefly-suitable gear with a tight pilot chute pouch.
• Conditions within the pair’s briefed limits, with winds aloft assessed in planning.
• The assessor is an experienced dynamic or movement organiser, or a freefly coach current in mixed-orientation coaching, using this checklist.
• Each criterion is marked Satisfactory or Not Yet Satisfactory.
• For a flyer who already flies eagles: logbook and video of 2-way eagle sky jumps with passes over and under, verified by a freefly coach, plus tunnel records of static eagles through belly and back and high-speed front and back layouts. School records or IBA Dynamic ladder equivalents can serve; the ladder is known from third-party summaries only, so check it against IBA material.
• Competition results in 2-way MFS, VFS or indoor Dynamic 2-way and 4-way support the sky evidence and do not replace it. A challenge assessment runs across a suggested 3 jumps against the full checklist.
• For the Dynamic 402 prerequisite: logbook and video of mirroring sky jumps at that standard, verified by a freefly coach, with the tunnel records above.
• Indoor Dynamic 2-way and 4-way, 2-way MFS and VFS are routes for continued development. The VFS dive pool’s inter-orientation transitions are the closest competition vocabulary to the eagle.
• Completion is recorded as a Mastery milestone only. It confers no privilege and gives no permission to plan, lead or join any jump.
• Across your eagle jumps, fly passes over and under, through belly and back, with both layouts, in both the head-down and head-up phases. Fly at least one jump with every pass read without a signal, and fly the leader role with an experienced partner opposite.
• As a guide, it takes about 10 jumps within 12 months. Calibrate pass timing in the tunnel, which replaces none of the sky jumps.
• If you already fly eagles, your coach can use your logbook, sky video and tunnel records, or assess you across 3 jumps.

Coaching priorities

Safety first, then fun, then learning. Hold the bold criteria to the standard above. At Mastery the pair still designs the plan to the less experienced flyer, and standing down when readiness isn’t there is the right call. Plan sessions to be enjoyable: flyers choose this expensive hobby, and enjoying it keeps them in the sport. End each debrief on something that went well, with one thing to improve.

• FAI/ISC Competition Rules, Indoor Skydiving Dynamic 2-Way and 4-Way (2025): the Annex B taxonomy of vertical orbits, eagles, reverse eagles and half-eagle equivalences, the shared vocabulary and difficulty factors in Annexes A and C, and the free-routine execution criteria.
• USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual 5-10 (§6-12 in the 2023-24 edition): the movement-jump skill matrix, the back-fly-at-breakoff rule, movement groups per load, and designing the jump to the least experienced flyer. Section 6-2 of the same edition: the corking speed differential and freefly equipment.
• APF Freefly and Angles Guide (APF006, August 2023): the recovery position and not tracking away, angle speeds, and in-line transitions over the body.
• USPA MFS and FAI VFS dive pools: inter-orientation transitions, the closest dive-pool vocabulary to the eagle.
• Skydive Mag on the full front layout: chin up, rotating from the back and head, and no hip-bend transitions.
• Christy West (Spaceland) on movement-jump safety, and Body Piloting Championships judging on the no-blind-moves rule.
• Newcastle Sport Parachute Club, Hunter Valley angle and movement jump guidelines: movement groups per load, the navigation plan with the load organiser, and cloud.
• Carlton’s GPS data on head-up breakoffs.
• The Freefly Project’s coaching guides: the eagle reference flow, the 2-way format, the entry standard, the signal set, the follower’s no-signal aim, the abort plan, the approach-speed budget, the last-pass floor, the over-pass burble clearance, the lost-sight search and the head-up movement breakoff floor.
• 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.

• No national body defines or regulates sky dynamic. The word appears once in APF guidance, as a trajectory label (APF006 p.5). No federation examines sky dynamic, so assessors calibrate against this checklist.
• Australia (APF). A 2-way eagle jump sits under OR 9.2 (V01-2026). A functioning audible is mandatory on any freefly descent (OR 9.2.3). The FFC-HU and FFC-HD crest requirements attach to head-up and head-down groups larger than 3, so a 2-way sits below that threshold.
• The freefly prerequisites and DZSO approval for a 2-way freefly descent still apply (OR 9.2.1–9.2.2). Any movement component is at DZSO discretion under OR 9.9. The assessor is an APF Freefly Coach.
• United States (USPA). These jumps grade as advanced movement jumps (SIM 5-10, formerly 6-12), with the leader at least C-licence qualified. Follow your federation’s rules and your drop zone’s movement-jump policy.

Acronym key. APF, Australian Parachute Federation. OR, the APF Operational Regulations. FFC, freefly crest. DZSO, drop zone safety officer. USPA, United States Parachute Association. SIM, the USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual. MFS, mixed formation skydiving. VFS, vertical formation skydiving. IBA, International Bodyflight Association.