Head-Down 202 — Demonstrate crest-standard head-down flying

Application

Covers consolidating 2-way head-down skills into consistent, crest-standard performance: flying the two Freefly and Angles Guide Head-Down dive flows (Head-Down 1 and Head-Down 2, APF006 §8.6; the APF Training Operations Manual Stages 3–4) as video-recorded assessment jumps, and compiling the evidence pack that an approving authority can sign from.

This course ends with the crest: a candidate who completes FFP-HD202 holds the full evidence pack for a head-down crest application (in Australia, the chief instructor-verified Form C3 application for the Freefly Crest Head-Down, the APF Training Operations Manual).

Applies to flyers competent in HD 201 (2-way head-down).

Environment: sky. Assessment jumps must be sky jumps; tunnel drills serve preparation only.

Supervision: the coach flies the dive flow as reference and assessor. The candidate’s performance must be unsupported: no in-air corrections on assessment jumps. Group size remains 2 (3 with specific approval) throughout this unit.

Pre-requisite units

FFP-F100, FFP-HD101, FFP-HD102, FFP-HD201. Completion of FFP-HU202 (or equivalent head-up crest-standard evidence) is recommended before assessment. RPL route: see the RPL evidence set below.

Elements and performance criteria

Assessment Jump A = the Freefly and Angles Guide Head-Down 1 dive flow; Assessment Jump B = the Freefly and Angles Guide Head-Down 2 dive flow (APF006 §8.6; the APF Training Operations Manual Stages 3–4).

1. Plan the jump

1.1

Recite the assessment dive flow and its coach signals from memory.

1.2

Confirm both flyers' currency and qualifications against the plan and conditions.

1.3

State breakoff and deployment altitudes, and the lost-partner plan (breakoff guide: 5,000 ft for freefly groups up to a 4-way, 5,500 ft for a 5-way or larger; most modern jumpers plan 5,500 ft for any freefly group and will generally not accept 4,500).

2. Prepare

2.1

Complete a freefly-specific gear check on self and partner (handles, BOC pocket condition, bridle fully covered, riser covers, closing loop, helmet, harness and chest strap tight, audible(s) set and functioning, an audible is mandatory by regulation on any freefly descent in Australia, the APF Operational Regulations).

2.2

Brief and dirt-dive the full dive flow, including the coach's loop and half-transition signals.

2.3

Confirm exit order and separation with the load (freeflyers after flatflyers on an into-wind jump run, a guide).

3. Perform

Jump A (Head-Down 1):

3.1

Launch the linked head-down exit, presenting head and shoulders to the relative wind and settling into a stable head-down position within 5 seconds.

3.2

Break from grips to a face-off, holding level (head-height tolerance) and heading ±45° (finish pointing in the same quadrant).

3.3

Perform a 360° turn in place from leg pressure, stopping on heading ±45° without losing level.

3.4

Close the gap when the coach backs off, re-establishing the face-off without overshoot or level change.

3.5

Follow the coach up and down through level changes, re-establishing level within 3 seconds each time.

Jump B (Head-Down 2):

3.6

Fly from an unlinked exit to a face-off within 5 m of the coach-held base.

3.7

Take a hand-to-hand dock using Level → Slot → Dock discipline (level 3 s → slot 3 s → dock) without destabilising either flyer.

3.8

Perform a front loop on the coach's signal, re-establishing the head-down face-off on heading within 3 seconds (per the mandatory the APF Training Operations Manual Stage 4 flow; APF006 §8.6's reproduction omits it, the APF Training Operations Manual prevails as the authorised manual, so the loop is briefed, trained and assessed here. Outside Australia, treat per your national standard).

3.9

Perform a half transition to head-up on the coach's signal, maintaining fall rate and level while head-up.

3.10

Perform a half transition back to head-down on the coach's signal, re-establishing the face-off.

3.11

Take a second hand-to-hand dock without destabilising either flyer.

Both jumps:

3.12

Maintain a freefly-speed fall rate throughout, staying clear of the airspace directly above the coach.

3.13

Execute the vertical recovery position immediately on any loss of position, re-approaching only when stable and clear.

4. Complete

4.1

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

4.2

Transition smoothly through a 180° turn into a back track 90° from jump run, the FFP-HD201 breakoff sequence (a progressive back track before rolling to belly, per the APF Training Operations Manual flow), decelerating gradually while checking airspace.

4.3

Deploy at the planned altitude after clearing airspace (breakoff-to-deployment ≥1,000 ft guide; a regulation in Australia, the APF Operational Regulations).

4.4

Fly the agreed canopy separation plan (90° off jump run after opening).

5. Review

5.1

Debrief each assessment jump against the published FFP-HD202 checklist using video.

5.2

Compile the evidence pack: logbook entries written up with reflections naming the unit and skills assessed (e.g. "HD202 assessment jump A, HD1 flow"), dated video of both complete flows with the candidate identifiable, and the completed criteria checklists, the record a coach, drop zone safety officer or chief instructor signs from.

5.3

Plan post-unit consolidation: a block of jumps in small groups (3–5-ways) before attempting anything larger than a 5-way (APF006 §8.6 recommendation).

Bold criteria are safety-critical: FFP’s strongly recommended best-practice standards. Within an FFP assessment a coach should not sign the unit off while a bold criterion sits at Not Yet Satisfactory, however good the rest of the flying. Regulation remains your federation’s and your drop zone’s.

Foundation skills

• Briefing/debriefing communication, including in-air signal recognition.
• Altitude and separation numeracy at head-down speeds (270–400+ km/h; roughly 40–46 s of working time from 13,000 ft).
• Planning, organising and record keeping (the evidence pack).
• Self-management under stress (recovery discipline at speed).

Performance evidence (a guide to how long it might take, adjust locally)

Competency over numbers (Mason Corby, author of the APF Freefly and Angles Guide). The standard is the two assessment jumps, one complete Freefly and Angles Guide Head-Down 1 flow and one complete Freefly and Angles Guide Head-Down 2 flow, each flown with every criterion Satisfactory on a single jump without coach assistance or prompts, not a jump count.

As a guide to how long it might take: a candidate arriving current from FFP-HD201 typically needs around 4 coached 2-way head-down jumps in this unit. Tunnel time can substitute for preparation jumps, never the assessment jumps. The candidate should fly the assessment jumps across two different days/conditions, within a 6-month currency window, because that evidences consistency rather than a lucky day.

Both assessment jumps are video-recorded end to end.

Suggested follow-through (not a requirement of this unit): fly a consolidation block of small-group head-down jumps (3–5-ways) before joining groups larger than a 5-way, “It is highly recommended that newly passed freefly candidates fly a number of jumps in smaller groups before attempting groups larger than five” (APF006 §8.6).

Knowledge evidence

• Explain corking at head-down speeds (a deceleration of roughly 175→120 mph; head-down terminal 270–400+ km/h), why the recovery position must be second nature before group flying, and why a freeflyer remains fast-flying and clear of the airspace directly above other flyers, a corking flyer decelerates rapidly into the airspace above them.
• Explain the shuttlecock principle, more pressure on the legs than the arms, and its link to head-down stability.
• Describe the three neutral head-down positions (daffy, straddle, shelf) and when each is used.
• Describe the freefly-specific gear check and why each item matters at head-down speeds, including audible function (audible mandatory on any freefly descent in Australia, the APF Operational Regulations).
• State the breakoff and deployment guides for freefly groups and the lost-partner plan, and explain why head-down breakoffs are planned higher than belly breakoffs.
  • 5,000 ft up to a 4-way, 5,500 ft for a 5-way or larger, and why most modern jumpers plan 5,500 ft for any freefly group and will generally not accept 4,500.
• Explain the group-size ladder the crest evidence opens and the supervision chain that signs it.
• Describe the contents of a complete evidence pack.
• Analyse own assessment video against the checklist and identify any criterion Not Yet Satisfactory with its correction.

Assessment conditions

Sky jumps from a recommended 10,000 ft minimum. The candidate flies both assessment jumps as complete, uninterrupted dive flows. Video is required for a valid assessment (coach-flown or helmet-mounted, candidate identifiable).

Required equipment: visual altimeter, functioning audible (second audible recommended; mandatory by regulation on any freefly descent in Australia, the APF Operational Regulations), AAD highly recommended, freefly-suitable gear per the FFP checklist. Conditions within the candidate’s cleared limits.

Assessor: a freefly coach current in head-down coaching, using the published FFP-HD202 checklist (Satisfactory / Not Yet Satisfactory per criterion; unit result Competent / Not Yet Competent).

Coaching priorities

Deliver in the project’s priority order: Safety → Fun → Learning (Part A0). Treat safety criteria as must-meet and never trade them for a promising flow. Assessment jumps carry pressure, so the coach actively protects enjoyment: a Not Yet Satisfactory criterion is a normal re-fly, not a failure event. End debriefs on a win with one improvement focus.

RPL evidence set

For experienced entrants (overseas grade holders, tunnel-trained flyers, uncrested but experienced head-down flyers), the evidence set is:

• Logbook evidence of 2-way-or-larger head-down jumps with dates and partners.
• Any national crest or grade held (e.g. UK FF2; the APF accepts “foreign equivalent” crests at the APF Operational Regulations).
• A video portfolio demonstrating the Freefly and Angles Guide Head-Down 1 & 2 skill set (stable vertical position, 360s in place, level changes, hand docks, half transitions, breakoff).
• Tunnel records (head-down static flying) as supporting evidence only.
• Plus two challenge jumps, the Freefly and Angles Guide Head-Down 1 and Head-Down 2 flows flown against the full FFP-HD202 checklist.

Challenge jumps must be sky jumps: tunnel evidence cannot cover exits, breakoff, tracking or deployment.

Sources