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Foundations · Stability · The jump

Freefly 100

Establish freefly foundations

Back-fly and the recovery position, the base every freefly track is built on.

What this unit covers

Freefly 100 is the entry unit for the whole curriculum. Every track (Head-Up, Head-Down, Angles and Dynamic) builds on it. It applies to skydivers entering freefly from belly flying, and to tunnel-trained flyers converting to the sky.
The unit covers the ground knowledge and air skills a flyer needs before any freefly progression: the freefly gear audit.
The rest of it
Corking and speed differentials.
Exit order and separation.
Breakoff.
The solo protocols (position rules, the static-turn plan, the solo end-of-jump protocol, dual audibles and progressive altitude assurance).
Tunnel-to-sky discipline.
The freefly incident case studies.
Back-fly control.
And the vertical recovery position, practised until it is automatic. The static turn is knowledge here and is flown and assessed in HU101 and HD101. Environment: sky. Tunnel drills prepare the back-fly and recovery skills, and tunnel evidence can substitute for some skill-development jumps (see Performance evidence). Supervision: coach-briefed and coach-observed. The flying itself is solo, or with a coach as a passive reference. This unit comes before all relative freefly work.

What comes before it

Nothing in this catalog comes before it. This is where the freefly path starts.

Screen 2 · What you are watched on

What you are watched on

The same short list a coach ticks, in the same words. Nothing is hidden from you.

3.2
Maintain heading ±45° and level with the coach for 10 seconds in the neutral back-fly.

Can you hold a neutral back-fly on heading, finishing in the same quadrant, and stay on level with someone else for ten seconds?

3.5
Follow the coach through the fall-rate range, from belly through fast-knees to sit-fly speeds, staying on level on the back throughout. Back-fly is the recovery position for both head-up and head-down, so its usable speed range needs to be large; staying on level through the coach's whole range is how that range is proven.

Can you stay on level on your back while someone else moves through the whole speed range, from belly speed up to sit speed?

3.6 Safety critical
Adopt the vertical recovery position immediately on the briefed coach signal or on any loss of control, resuming work only when stable.

When you lose control, do you go straight to the vertical recovery position and wait until you are stable before starting work again?

Screen 3 · Safety and altitudes

Safety and altitudes

Everything here is a recommendation with a reason behind it, not a rule. The drop zone you are jumping at, and your own limits on the day, decide what actually happens.

Safety-critical criteria on the short list

3.6
Adopt the vertical recovery position immediately on the briefed coach signal or on any loss of control, resuming work only when stable.

When you lose control, do you go straight to the vertical recovery position and wait until you are stable before starting work again?

Everything this unit says about breakoff and deployment

1.4
State the breakoff/end-of-work altitude (guides: ≥5,000 ft up to a 4-way; ≥5,500 ft for 5 or more, most modern jumpers plan 5,500 ft for any freefly group and will generally not accept 4,500 ft), the deployment altitude, and the hard deck.
2.1
Complete the freefly gear audit on own equipment against the published checklist: hand-deploy BOC or pull-out with a genuinely tight pouch, bridle fully covered, riser covers and pin flaps tight, closing loop in good condition, cutaway and reserve handles secure, leg-strap bungee fitted, harness and chest strap snug, suit secured clear of the handles, hard helmet, goggles, visual altimeter, AAD recommended.
4.1
Initiate breakoff at the briefed altitude (within −0/+300 ft), ceasing all working manoeuvres.
4.2
End the jump per the briefed protocol. With a coach or on any group jump: transition to a track 90° from jump run, washing off vertical speed before reaching deployment altitude. On a solo jump: end the work without tracking, turn 90°, pause, recover to back-fly, slow down, then transition to a belly orientation, dissipating speed over at least 1,000 ft before deployment. A soloist's movement risks are already the dominant hazard; movement at breakoff belongs in formation jumps, where it is practised and needed.
4.3
Deploy at the planned altitude after checking airspace above, below and behind.

Altitudes here are the guides this curriculum recommends and argues for. Where the drop zone briefs something different, the drop zone is what you fly.

Screen 4 · After the jump

After the jump

From this unit's own closing element, review.

5.1
Debrief against the declared objective using video.
5.2
Identify one fault and its correction for the next jump.
5.3
Log the jump with a reflection on what was learned, naming the unit and skills assessed (e.g. "FFP-F100 skills assessment"), plus criteria results and equipment serviceability notes, including both audibles.

One fault, one correction

Before the video, before anyone else speaks: name the single thing that went wrong, and the single thing you will do differently next jump. One of each. A list of six is a list you will not fly.

Write them into your notes at the bottom of this card, and they will be here next time you open it.

Record this jump

Most records are the flyer's own, and that is the point: your own read of your own flying is worth keeping. A record only counts as verified once a coach signs it.

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 Freefly 100 unit carries the reasoning, the sources and everything left off here. All briefing cards.