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AN101 Coach
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Angles · Stability · The brief

Angles 101

Track and navigate

Tracking with a group, and knowing where you are while you do it.

What this unit covers

Covers the tracking and navigation fundamentals every movement jump depends on, learned in small coached jumps behind a trained leader flying belly-to-earth, the setting where the published sources and contemporary practice agree they are best learned.
Content: flat belly tracking (progressive acceleration, heading, speed and pitch control), on-level slot discipline at docking distance, back tracking in slot behind a belly-flying leader, active navigation while following (jump run, winds, drift, ground references, the flight plan), heading discipline, in-slot recovery, the left-behind protocol, and the movement-jump breakoff fan.
The rest of it
"Tracking" and "angle flying" are one discipline: movement jumps. They differ only in steepness and speed.
This unit works the flat, learning end of that spectrum, because flat-and-fast is both the safest and the most instructive place to build the skills (Leading Workshop: "for safety reasons and for performance reasons, if you want to learn, go on the flat angles").
Delivery context: 2-way jumps with a movement-trained coach, or slots in small groups (guide: 3-way maximum including the leader) led by a leader trained and approved for movement jumps. The leader of any angle or movement group flies belly-to-earth, angles are never led from the back. The leader navigates off ground references that only a belly-to-earth flyer can reliably see.
Back-flying in an angle group is a follower skill flown in slot, not a leading position (APF006 §5.12 "The lead flyer must always fly belly to earth"; Leading Workshop –). The FFP does not recommend solo movement jumps.
Movement skill is uniquely hard to self-assess ("you don't know what you don't know", Leading Workshop), and a structured, led jump is safer and faster to learn from than an unstructured one (Leading Workshop). Environment: sky.
The tunnel cannot evidence this unit: there is no jump run, no wind layer and no navigation in a tunnel. Tunnel belly/back time is still valuable body-position preparation, and tunnel footage is welcome evidence for the coach. Supervision: coach-led.
The coach leads the first jumps directly; as the criteria become consistent, the coach steps back to fly as a reference in the group.

What comes before it

Screen 2 · What to watch

What to watch

The same short list the flyer sees on their card, in the same words.

3.2
Fly on level with the leader, a straight line through the heads, taking the level first, then closing distance.

Do you take the level first, a straight line through the group’s heads, and only then close the distance?

3.3
Close to the briefed slot at docking distance without overshoot: aim ahead of the group (never at it), cut the distance in half and re-set, and only fly as fast as you can think.

Do you close by aiming ahead of the group rather than at it, halving the distance and re-setting, flying no faster than you can think?

3.9 Safety critical
Recover from any instability by re-adding speed on the group's heading, never ball up, never track away; stay with the group until breakoff (a flyer who leaves the group becomes untracked traffic for the whole load).

If you get unstable, do you add speed again on the group’s heading rather than balling up or tracking away?

Screen 3 · What blocks a sign-off

What blocks a sign-off

A safety-critical criterion marked not yet stops the sign-off, however good the rest of the flying was. There is no averaging across this line, and no trading a good jump against it.

Safety-critical criteria on the short list

3.9
Recover from any instability by re-adding speed on the group's heading, never ball up, never track away; stay with the group until breakoff (a flyer who leaves the group becomes untracked traffic for the whole load).

If you get unstable, do you add speed again on the group’s heading rather than balling up or tracking away?

Everything this unit says about breakoff and deployment

1.4
State the breakoff and deployment altitudes (guide: 5,000 ft for groups up to a 4-way; 5,500 ft for 5 or more; most groups now brief 5,500 ft regardless of size), the fan needs time to settle, separate and decelerate before anyone deploys.
2.1
Complete a movement-specific gear check on self and partner: hand-deploy BOC or pull-out, bridle fully covered, tight riser covers, closing loop, handles, helmet, visual altimeter, audible set and functioning.
2.2
Brief and dirt-dive with the leader: exit and slot, levels and burble offsets, heading discipline, the left-behind plan, and the breakoff fan, walking the breakoff with eye contact on the people beside you.
4.2
Accelerate on the diverging line, then flatten progressively, converting speed into separation before deployment.
4.3
Check airspace in all directions before deploying, assume somebody is there; from a back track, roll belly-to-earth only when on a clear trajectory with no one above.
4.4
Deploy at the planned altitude within the planned opening area.

Recording a sign-off says what you saw on one jump. It is not a rating, it is not a permission to jump, and it does not replace anything the drop zone requires.

Screen 4 · Conditions

Conditions

Where the evidence is allowed to come from, and how much of it there needs to be.

Assessment conditions

Sky jumps from a recommended 10,000 ft minimum, manifested and declared as movement jumps. Every assessment jump is led belly-to-earth by the assessing coach or a trained/approved leader. Conditions within the candidate's cleared limits, with upper winds known before boarding.
Video evidence is deliberately light for this tier. Helmet-mounted footage showing the candidate's heading and stability is sufficient, with the candidate talking the coach through their decision-making on it: heading awareness, turns, altitude checks.
Leader- or outside-flown video is used where available, and tunnel footage is welcome supporting evidence of body position. A GPS trace supports the plan-versus-flown debrief where the candidate has access to one; it is not required. Required equipment:
Visual altimeter.
Functioning audible set to the briefed altitudes (second audible recommended).
AAD recommended.
Movement-suitable gear per the FFP-F100 audit. Assessor: a coach current in movement-jump coaching, using the published FFP-AN101 checklist, each criterion marked Satisfactory / Not Yet Satisfactory; unit result Competent / Not Yet Competent.

Performance evidence

Ability evidenced across at least 6 coached movement jumps (guide): 2-ways with a movement-trained coach, or slots in leader-led small groups. Belly-track jumps come first; the coach adds back-track jumps once the belly criteria are consistently met (guide: at least 2 back-track jumps).
The evidence should also include:
at least two different days and upper-wind conditions.
at least 2 consecutive jumps meeting all criteria without coach assistance.
All within a recommended 6-month currency window. Tunnel time does not substitute for jumps in this unit: there is no jump run, wind or navigation in a tunnel. Tunnel belly/back records and footage are welcome evidence of body-position readiness and will shorten the series in practice.

Screen 5 · Debrief

Debrief

Safety first, then fun, then learning. In that order, every time.

Coaching priorities

Deliver in the project's priority order: Safety → Fun → Learning (curriculum Part A0). Safety criteria are non-compensable. The coach designs the session to be enjoyable, participants choose this expensive hobby, and enjoyment sustains both the student and the sport.
On movement jumps enjoyment also does safety work: many flyers learn angles informally with friends, coaching is chosen, and unled beginner groups are where the documented incidents happen.
The coach runs the debrief safety points first, then what worked (a held slot or a matched plan-versus-flown map is a visible win), then one improvement focus. One declared objective per jump keeps the cognitive load light. End on a win.

One fault, one correction

Ask for their read before you give yours. Then leave them with one fault and one correction, in their words if you can get them. Six points is six points forgotten by the next load.

A jump marked not yet is a jump to re-fly, not a failure, and saying so out loud is part of the debrief.

Record this jump

Your notes for this unit

Saved on this device only. Nothing is sent anywhere, there is nowhere for it to go, and no account is involved. They will be here next time you open this card.

This card is a summary. The full Angles 101 unit carries the reasoning, the sources and everything left off here. All briefing cards.