Head-Down 402 — Organise multiple-aircraft loads
version 2026-09-27
Prerequisites
What you’re learning
You’ll learn to organise a head-down load that fills more than one aircraft, so every plane flies one plan. This follows Head-Down 401 and Head-Down 403, because the slotting, brief and staged breakoff of a single-aircraft big-way all still apply, spread across planes, and you design the formation each plane-load builds.
In Australia, every jumper on a head-down jump of more than 3 needs a Freefly Crest (Head-Down), and above 10 a Star Crest as well.
The extra planes
Little is written down about organising these loads. What is known comes from record loads, so learn this beside an experienced record organiser.
More than one aircraft adds four jobs.
- The aircraft formation. The planes fly a briefed formation, usually a lead plane with the others stepped down and back, so the exits stack in the right place. Agree it with the pilots: your exit plan only works if they fly it.
- The exit cue. Each plane-load exits on a cue keyed to the lead plane, so the sub-formations reach the build in the right order and place.
- Sectors. Give each plane-load its own sector of the build and the slots in it. Usually the lead plane carries the base and the near slots, and the trailing planes build the outer sectors.
- Comms. The pilots talk by radio, and one organiser speaks for the load on the ground, so the brief and the go/no-go reach every plane the same way.
Set the group size and its split across the aircraft from the flyers, the aircraft and the conditions, and plan exit separation and ground track with all the pilots.
Breakoff:
- With others: start the breakoff at the briefed altitude, whether the formation has built or not. Each wave tracks its own radial into clear air and deploys at its planned altitude.
The breakoff at scale
Spread the Head-Down 401 staged breakoff across the whole formation, with at least 1,000 ft between each wave’s breakoff and deployment.
Plan every wave’s radials across the whole formation, so sub-formations from different planes track into clear air. Radials planned one plane at a time can point two sub-formations at the same piece of sky. Improving the breakoff covers the turn, the track and the slow-down.
The brief
Brief the whole load until every jumper can tell you their plane, sector, slot and breakoff wave. Brief the exit cue and confirm the comms plan: pilot radios, the ground organiser, and the keys inside each plane.
Useful drills
- The whole load: run full dirt dives, plane by plane and all together.
Common mistakes
| What happens | Usual causes | Check |
|---|---|---|
| A plane-load arrives out of position | An early or late exit against the lead plane’s cue, or the aircraft formation not flown as briefed | Find the timing error on video, fix the cue with the pilots |
| The aircraft formation isn’t made | The planes can’t join up or hold it | Each plane-load flies its briefed abort |
| A sector doesn’t build | A slotting or sector error | Change the sector or slot plan |
| Sub-formations converge at breakoff | Radials planned plane by plane | Plan waves and radials across the whole formation |
Staying safe
Before the jump:
- Gear and audibles are in Freefly 100.
- Agree the aircraft formation and the exit cue with the pilots in command, in writing where the operation asks for it.
- Brief each plane-load’s abort in case the aircraft formation isn’t made.
- Check every jumper’s crests and currency against the entry criteria and your drop zone’s approvals. On a load this size, one jumper out of their depth puts every plane-load at risk.
In the air:
- Each plane-load exits on the lead plane’s cue. An early or late exit puts a whole plane-load out of position, in sky other groups are flying through.
When you’ve got it
Debrief across all the planes with video, give each timing or sector error a cause and a fix, and log the plan for the next attempt.
You’ve finished Head-Down 402 when you’ve organised, or held a key organising role on, multiple-aircraft head-down loads and meet everything on the coach’s checklist below.
Next
Head-Down 403: Engineer big-way formations, the formation each plane-load builds. For the organiser’s side of any load, see Load organising for freefly.
For coaches: the checklist, assessment conditions and coaching priorities
The checklist
1. Plan the load
- 1.1
- Set the total group size and the split across aircraft against the flyers, the aircraft and the conditions.
- 1.2
- Assign each plane-load a sector of the build and the slots within it.
- 1.3
- Agree the aircraft formation and the exit cue with the pilots-in-command, in writing where the operation requires it.
- 1.4
- Confirm every participant's credentials and currency against the entry criteria and the local approval points.
2. Design the breakoff at scale
- 2.1
- Extend the breakoff architecture of FFP-HD401 across the whole formation, verifying at least 1,000 ft banked per wave.
- 2.2
- Assign waves and radials so sub-formations from different planes break into clear, non-converging airspace.
- 2.3
- Coordinate exit separation and the aircraft's ground track with all pilots.
3. Brief across planes
- 3.1
- Brief the whole load together so every flyer can state their plane, sector, slot and breakoff wave.
- 3.2
- Brief the exit cue and the abort, including what each plane-load does if the aircraft formation is not made.
- 3.3
- Confirm the comms plan (pilot radios, ground organiser, in-plane keys) and run full dirt-dives per plane and combined.
4. Run and debrief
- 4.1
- Run the load to the plan, holding the breakoff regardless of build completeness.
- 4.2
- Debrief across planes with video, attributing timing or sector errors to a cause and a fix, and record the plan for the next attempt.
Criteria in bold are safety-critical. An exit-timing, aircraft-formation or breakoff error puts more than one plane-load at risk, so a coach should not record the course while a bold criterion is Not Yet Satisfactory, however good the rest of the organising. Outside a course they are strongly recommended practice. Regulation stays with your federation and your drop zone.
Assessment conditions
- Real multiple-aircraft head-down loads, or record-style loads under an experienced organiser.
- The aircraft formation and exit plan are assessed with the pilots on the ground, and the breakoff in the air.
- Video across the planes is the main debrief tool.
- The assessor is an experienced head-down big-way or record organiser, current in the discipline, using this checklist. In Australia that is an APF Freefly Coach or a recognised record organiser. Elsewhere it is the national or drop zone equivalent.
- Each criterion is marked Satisfactory or Not Yet Satisfactory. The course is recorded as a milestone, Competent or Not Yet Competent.
- The evidence is a record of organising, or holding a key organising role on, multiple-aircraft head-down loads, learned under an experienced record-attempt organiser. Apprenticeship on real record or record-style loads is the usual route, and there is no jump count.
- There’s no jump count. These loads are rare outside record attempts, so the usual route is an apprenticeship on record or record-style loads.
- Tunnel time doesn’t count: the work happens in the sky and on the ground with the pilots.
- If you already organise these loads, your coach can use your record of loads organised or key-slotted, your plans, and a word from a recognised record organiser.
- Who jumps, and how the aircraft fly, stays with the pilots, your drop zone and your federation.
Coaching priorities
Safety first, then fun, then learning. The organiser and the pilots own the load’s safety. The aircraft formation plan, the exit cue and the breakoff are held to standard whatever the build achieves. Debrief without blame, and end each debrief on a win with one focus for the next attempt.
Where this comes from
- Australian Skydiver Magazine archive: reports of Australian head-down records flown from formation loads, including the 33-way at Picton in 2011 (issue 59) and Australian jumpers on the 108, 138 and 164-way head-down world records (issues 53, 67 and 77). These reports record that the loads were flown, and say little about how they were organised.
- The Freefly Project’s research on big-way breakoff sequencing, with the inner flyers breaking last, applied here across planes.
- APF Operational Regulations and APF Training Operations Manual, as jurisdictional context.
Regulations where you jump
Regulations change, so each rule is given with its document reference, as context for where you jump.
- Australia (APF). Head-down jumps of more than 3 parachutists need a Freefly Crest, Head-Down. More than 10 need every participant to hold a Star Crest plus the applicable crest (OR 9.2.2, 9.1.3; TOM 5.7.1).
- Groups separate at least 1,000 ft above deployment (OR 9.1.4). A functioning audible altimeter is mandatory on every freefly descent (OR 9.2.3).
- Aircraft formation flying is regulated in its own right. Follow your federation, your drop zone and the pilots in command.
Acronym key. APF, Australian Parachute Federation. OR, the APF Operational Regulations. TOM, the APF Training Operations Manual.
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The coaching priority order
Safety → Fun → Learning
Every course, briefing card and debrief on this site is built in this order. When two of them pull against each other on the day, keep safety ahead of fun, and fun ahead of getting through the course.
- 01 Safety
Safety comes first on every jump. Nothing further down this list is worth a safety risk.
- 02 Fun
Skydiving costs a lot. A jump you enjoy brings you back for the next coached one, and coached jumps are where the safety habits are practised.
- 03 Learning
The skills each course teaches. They stick best after a jump that was safe and fun, because you keep practising what you enjoy.