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

The checklist

Jump A is the Head-Down 1 dive flow and Jump B is the Head-Down 2 dive flow, from the APF Freefly and Angles Guide (§8.6) and Stages 3–4 of the APF Training Operations Manual.

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 flip 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).

Criteria in bold are safety-critical: they protect the flyer, the coach 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. Outside a course they are strongly recommended practice. Regulation stays with your federation and your drop zone.

Assessment conditions

• Sky jumps from 10,000 ft or higher (recommended). Both assessment jumps are sky jumps. Tunnel drills are preparation only.
• The flyer flies each assessment jump as one complete, uninterrupted dive flow.
• The coach flies the dive flow as reference and assessor, and makes no corrections in the air on an assessment jump. Group size stays at 2, or 3 with specific approval.
• Video of both assessment jumps end to end, coach-flown or helmet-mounted, with the flyer identifiable. Without video the assessment is not valid.
• Equipment: a visual altimeter, a working audible (a second audible recommended, and one audible is required by regulation on every freefly jump in Australia), an AAD highly recommended, and freefly-suitable gear to the Freefly Project checklist.
• Conditions within the flyer’s cleared limits.
• The assessor is a freefly coach current in head-down coaching, using this checklist.
• Each criterion is marked Satisfactory or Not Yet Satisfactory, and the course result is Competent or Not Yet Competent.
• A flyer who already flies head-down flies both flows as challenge jumps in the sky against the full checklist, with logbook, any national crest or grade, and a video portfolio as the rest of the evidence. Tunnel records are supporting evidence only.
• As a guide, coming in current from Head-Down 201, it takes about 4 coached 2-way jumps, with the two assessment jumps on different days and in different conditions, within 6 months.
• Tunnel time can replace preparation jumps, but both assessment jumps are sky jumps, filmed end to end.
• If you already fly head-down, bring your logbook, any national crest or grade and video of both flows’ skills, and fly both flows in the sky with a coach.

Coaching priorities

Safety first, then fun, then learning. Hold the bold criteria to the standard above and never trade them for a promising flow. Assessment jumps carry pressure, so protect the enjoyment: a Not Yet Satisfactory criterion is a normal re-fly. End each debrief on something that went well, with one thing to improve.

• APF Freefly and Angles Guide (APF006, August 2023): equipment, altitudes and breakoff (§3.1–3.3), the vertical recovery position (§4.2), head-down positions and the shuttlecock principle (§7.1–7.9), the head-down skills list (§8.3), and the Head-Down 1 and 2 dive flows with the small-groups recommendation (§8.6).
• Mason Corby, author of the Freefly and Angles Guide, on judging skill over jump numbers.
• APF Training Operations Manual (V01-2025) §5.7 and Appendix L: Freefly Training Table Stages 3–4 with the front loop (front flip), the sign-off chain and Form C3.
• APF Operational Regulations (V01-2026) 9.1.4 and 9.2.1–9.2.3: breakoff separation, audibles and freefly group limits.
• APF Regulatory Schedules, schedule 52: the requirements for the Freefly Crest Head-Down.
• British Skydiving Operations Manual §6.6.4: the FF2 grade.
• USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual 5-1.C, 5-2 and 5-3 (6-1.C, 6-2 and 6-3 in the 2023–24 edition): corking speeds, breakoff margins and head-down working time.
• CSPA Freefly Ground Briefing (2022): the cork-proof standard and the 1,000 ft slow-down guide.
• Australian Skydiver Magazine, issues 55, 64, 70, 76 and 81–83: how the single Freefly Crest became separate head-up and head-down crests.

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

• Australia (APF). These jumps are Freefly Training Table Stages 3–4: training descents that need DZSO approval and a Freefly Coach briefing (TOM 5.7.1, 5.7.3; OR 9.2.2). To fly Stages 3 and 4 as 2- or 3-ways, and to apply for the FFC HD, the flyer holds or is eligible to hold the FFC HU (TOM 5.7.1; RS 52, 6.2(b)(i)).
• The reference flyer holds an FFC HD, with DZSO approval for those on the jump (TOM 5.7.1, Appendix L note).
• The TOM Stage 4 flow includes the coach-signalled front loop (front flip). APF006 §8.6 reproduces the flow without it, and the TOM prevails as the authorised manual. Outside Australia, follow your national standard.
• An audible altimeter is required on every freefly descent (OR 9.2.3). The breakoff-to-deployment gap of at least 1,000 ft is a regulation (OR 9.1.4).
• Each stage is signed off in the logbook by a current Freefly Coach and the DZSO (TOM 5.7.5(b)). The Freefly Coach witnesses and verifies the qualifying descents.
• After Stage 4 the CI may endorse the trainee “competent and safe” (TOM 5.7.6) and verify eligibility for the FFC HD on Form C3 (TOM 5.7.7; RS 52, 6.2(b)), with the CI’s written approval. The FFC HD then permits head-down jumps of more than three parachutists (OR 9.2.2(c)(iii)). The Star Crest is the step to jumps of more than 10 (TOM 5.7.5–5.7.7; OR 9.2.2(c)).
• The APF accepts foreign equivalent crests under the Operational Regulations.
• Background: from 2010–13 Australia had a single Freefly Crest, the approval point for freefly jumps of more than three. Separate head-up and head-down streams were agreed in principle at the May 2015 APF Annual Conference and appeared in the ratings lists by mid-2016.
• United Kingdom (British Skydiving). The same evidence supports the FF2 grade, assessed by an FF2-grade skydiver nominated by a CI or Advanced Instructor. FF1 comes before FF2 (BS Ops Manual §6.6.4).
• United States. The USPA publishes recommendations only, and there is no head-down crest or grade (SIM 5-2; 6-2 in the 2023–24 edition).
• Elsewhere, follow your national or drop zone equivalent.

Acronym key. APF, Australian Parachute Federation. OR, the APF Operational Regulations. TOM, the APF Training Operations Manual. RS, the APF Regulatory Schedules. FFC HU and FFC HD, Freefly Crest Head-Up and Head-Down. CI, chief instructor. DZSO, drop zone safety officer. BS, British Skydiving. USPA SIM, the United States Parachute Association Skydiver’s Information Manual.