Head-Down 102

Control and transition head-down

Control head down: turns, drive, slides and flips.

What the course is about

You'll learn to turn, drive forward, backward and sideways, change fall rate, and front flip and back flip in head-down, finishing each move on heading. This follows Head-Down 101, because you need to hold vertical before you move it.

In Australia, head-down training jumps need Freefly Training Table Stage 1 (head-up level 1) completed first.

What comes before it

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.

3.3

Perform a 360° turn in each direction using pressure on the leg opposite the turn, arms remaining in their stability role, stopping within ±45° of the start heading.

Can you turn 360 degrees each way using pressure on the leg opposite the turn, with your arms just keeping you stable, and stop within a quadrant of where you started?

3.4

Initiate and stop forward drive using chin and hip input, holding heading within ±45°.

Can you start and stop forward drive from chin and hip input, holding your heading?

3.8

Perform a head-down-to-head-down front-flip transition (head tilt initiates, legs tucked for momentum, legs catch air to stop rotation), re-establishing vertical within ±45° of the entry heading.

Can you do a head-down to head-down front flip, catching the rotation with your legs and coming out vertical near the heading you went in on?

3.10 Safety critical

Execute the vertical recovery position immediately on any loss of control, ball up, never flatten to belly, resuming work only when stable and the airspace is confirmed clear.

At head-down speed, if you become unstable, do you recover to back-fly, in the recovery position, instead of flattening to your belly, and only start work again once you are stable and the air around you is clear?

Screen 3 · Safety and altitudes

Safety and altitudes

Everything here is a recommendation with a reason behind it. The drop zone you are jumping at, and your own limits on the day, decide what happens.

Safety-critical items on the short list

3.10

Execute the vertical recovery position immediately on any loss of control, ball up, never flatten to belly, resuming work only when stable and the airspace is confirmed clear.

Everything this course says about breakoff and deployment

1.4

State breakoff and deployment altitudes (guide: 5,000 ft for groups up to a 4-way, 5,500 ft for 5-way or larger, most modern freeflyers use 5,500 ft for any freefly group and will generally not accept 4,500 ft), and the audible verification plan for the jump. Audibles fail silently (see Knowledge evidence), so the profile is confirmed against the briefed breakoff. On an audible that annunciates climbing altitude, the climb beeps double as a function check (the 2,000 ft beep) and a profile check (the breakoff-altitude beeps heard on the climb). On an audible that arms only on freefall detection and gives no climb beeps, this in-plane check does not apply; function is verified per the manufacturer's method instead.

2.4

Verify audible function and profile on the climb, climb-annunciating devices only (see the device caveat in Knowledge evidence). Listen for the 2,000 ft beep when the seatbelts come off as a function check. Read the breakoff-altitude profile beeps heard higher on the climb as a separate profile check. Use a 12,000 ft beep as the final functionality check and the reminder to begin gear checks. On a device that gives no climb beeps, silence on the climb is normal, verify function per the manufacturer's method rather than treating the silence as a failed or passed check.

4.1

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

4.3

Deploy at the planned altitude after decelerating to belly-to-earth speeds (≥1,000 ft slow-down guide) and clearing airspace.

The altitudes here are the guides this site recommends, with the reasons on the full course page. Where the drop zone briefs something different, fly what the drop zone briefs.

Screen 4 · After the jump

After the jump

From the course's closing section, review.

5.1

Debrief against the declared objective using video.

5.2

Identify one control fault (e.g. arm-led turn, unintended drive during "neutral", over/under-rotated transition) and its correction for the next jump or session.

5.3

Write the jump or session up in the logbook with a reflection naming the unit and skills assessed (e.g. "FFP-HD102, 360s stopped in the quadrant; forward drive still arm-led"); the curriculum gives log entries meaning.

One fault, one correction

Before the video, and before anyone else speaks, name the one fault from the jump and the one thing you will change on the next jump. Keep it to one of each, so you have one clear thing to 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

You can record the jump yourself, because your own read of your flying is worth keeping. A record counts as verified once a coach signs it.

Your notes for this course

Saved on this device only, with no account. They will be here next time you open this card.

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This card is a summary. The full Head-Down 102 course page carries the reasoning, the sources and everything left off here. All briefing cards.