Head-Down 301 — Fly head-down in groups

The checklist

1. Plan the jump

1.1

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

1.2

Allocate exit slots against each flyer's weight, build and experience (heaviest flyer on Front Float; a light, reasonably tall flyer on Tail; leader generally Inside Centre).

1.3

Confirm every participant's currency and the group size against conditions and experience.

1.4

State breakoff and deployment altitudes (guide: 5,000 ft up to a 4-way; 5,500 ft for 5-way and larger), the fan-out breakoff plan, and the lost-group/instability plan.

2. Prepare

2.1

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

2.2

Brief own slot's climb-out order, grips and key timing, and walk the full exit in the dirt dive (Tail climbs out before Inside Centre; Inside Centre keys).

2.3

Dirt-dive each planned point including dock and break-in sequences.

2.4

Confirm exit order and separation with the load and any other movement groups.

3. Perform

3.1

Climb out in the briefed sequence and set grips without disturbing other flyers' setups.

3.2

Protect operating handles throughout climb-out, checking clearance from door-frame snag points.

3.3

Leave on the key, flying the assigned slot's exit role: Front Float anchoring the formation down without over-rotation; Tail rotating out with the group, head stacked low, legs relaxed; Outside Centre holding level with the leader and keeping the base stable; Camera Step exiting near "go" on the base's first movement and approaching from below.

3.4

Stabilise the base after exit, holding level with the leader and arresting any base rotation with anti-rotation input toward the correct shoulder.

3.5

Hold level with the formation (head-height tolerance) for 3 seconds, then hold the slot for 3 seconds, before initiating any dock (Level → Slot → Dock).

3.6

Fly the body, not the reaching arm, to the grip, keeping arms static on approach.

3.7

Sting with a thumb-down overgrip on the same arm of a linked flyer, using light grip pressure.

3.8

Present an arm for an incoming dock: wide of the leg burble, hand in a fist, eyes back into the group.

3.9

Dock with a thumbs-up undergrip onto a presented fist without destabilising the formation.

3.10

Complete a break-in: sting one arm, dock the other, adjust the sting to an undergrip, pull the dock apart and join the round, finishing with the stabilising twist.

3.11

Back out to level at the first sign of instability in the slot or on the grip, re-approaching only when stable.

3.12

Respond to any loss of control by controlling fall rate without corking up into the group (ball up, recover clear of traffic), rejoining only when stable and on level.

4. Complete

4.1

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

4.2

Turn 180° from group centre and track on the briefed fan line, tracking on the back first before transitioning to a belly track, checking airspace.

4.3

Deploy at the planned altitude after clearing airspace.

4.4

Fly the agreed canopy separation plan.

5. Review

5.1

Debrief against the declared objective using video.

5.2

Diagnose own slot's faults against the per-slot failure-mode table (Appendix A) and state the correction for the next jump.

5.3

Write the jump up in the logbook with a reflection naming the unit and skills assessed (e.g., "HD301, Tail slot, break-in") alongside the criteria results, unit-tagged entries turn the logbook into a training record, not just a jump count.

Criteria in bold are safety-critical: they protect the flyer and everyone else in the group. 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. The per-slot failure-mode table that criterion 5.2 calls Appendix A is the “Common mistakes” table above.

Assessment conditions

• Sky jumps from 12,000 ft or higher (recommended), because group work needs the working time.
• Assessment jumps are flown in a real group of at least 4, including the linked exit.
• Video of every assessment jump. An outside camera flyer is recommended for the exit, and helmet-mounted video is fine where the flyer is identifiable.
• Equipment: a visual altimeter, a working audible, freefly-suitable gear, and an AAD (recommended).
• Conditions within every participant’s cleared limits.
• Coached jumps have the coach in the group, flying passively. Tunnel time can cover docking practice only: exits, breakoff and the assessment jumps are sky jumps.
• The assessor is a freefly coach current in head-down group coaching, marking each criterion on this checklist Satisfactory or Not Yet Satisfactory.
• As a guide, it takes at least 10 coached group jumps of 3-way to 6-way within 6 months, with at least 4 four-way linked exits from two or more slots, including Camera Step at least once where the aircraft has a step, over at least two different days or conditions.
• Tunnel time can replace some grip practice. Exits, breakoffs and the final jumps are sky jumps.
• If you already fly head-down in groups, your coach can assess you on two group jumps. A head-down crest or grade (the Australian head-down crest, or British Skydiving FF2) plus one challenge jump against the Head-Down 202 checklist covers the prerequisite.

Coaching priorities

• Safety first, then fun, then learning. Hold the bold criteria to the standard above.
• 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 on the next jump.
• For advanced skills such as the ninja break-in: teach the theory, have the flyer try it on a jump, film it, then debrief by asking what they noticed. What did the feet do? The hands? What happened to stability?

• APF Freefly and Angles Guide (APF006): the group breakoff and deployment guides.
• Ally Milne, “Dive Dr, I Keep Corking” (Skydive Mag): level, slot and dock, grip drills, and flying your body to the grip.
• Jake Carlton, “Head Up Angles and the Breakoff Problem” (Skydive Mag): GPS data comparing head-down and head-up breakoffs.
• Alethia Austin on freefly breakoff mechanics (Skydive Mag).
• Melissa Nelson-Lowe on going to a relaxed back-fly at a head-down breakoff.
• Skydive Arizona, “Learning to Freefly”: corking speeds, the freefly gear check, and Louis Harwood’s guide to group size by experience.
• Australian Skydiver Magazine issue 68, “Vertical Big-Way Fundamentals”: taking a knock without corking, and approaching and docking from below.
• The Freefly Project’s coaching doctrine: the head-down 4-way exit slots, docking vocabulary and grip mechanics, and the per-slot fault table.
• APF Operational Regulations (V01-2026) and APF Training Operations Manual (V01-2025), as jurisdictional context.

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

• Australia (APF). Head-down jumps of 4-way or more require the Freefly Crest, Head Down (FFC HD), and the head-up equivalent is the FFC HU (OR 9.2.2, more than 3-way).
• Formations larger than a 10-way also require the Star Crest plus the applicable FFC (OR 9.1.3, TOM 5.7.1). That is beyond this course.
• In Australia this course is coached by an APF Freefly Coach. Elsewhere, the national or drop zone equivalent.
• UK. The FF2 grade applies as context.

Acronym key. APF, Australian Parachute Federation. OR, the APF Operational Regulations. TOM, the APF Training Operations Manual. FFC, freefly crest.