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HD304 Coach
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Head Down · Group · The brief

Head-Down 304

Fly base on a head-down big-way

Flying base: being the reference everyone else is flying to.

What the course is about

You'll learn to fly a base slot on a head-down big-way: launch the base, steer it onto heading, and hold heading and fall rate while the floats and divers dock on you. Head-Down 301 comes first, because it teaches the exit slots and docking in small groups.
In Australia, head-down jumps of more than 3 people need a Freefly Crest (Head-Down), and jumps of more than 10 also need a Star Crest.

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.

3.3
Hold heading and levels with the leader, arresting base rotation with anti-rotation toward the correct shoulder.

Can you hold heading and level with the leader, and stop base rotation with anti-rotation input toward the correct shoulder?

3.4
Hold fall rate steady as the reference for every approaching flyer, absorbing docks without being driven down.

Can you hold your fall rate steady as the reference everyone is flying to, absorbing docks without being driven down?

3.5 Safety critical
Take a knock without corking, tuck the chin, close the legs and go faster; do not spread the legs.

Can you take a knock without corking: chin tucked, legs closed, going faster rather than spreading?

Screen 3 · What blocks a sign-off

What blocks a sign-off

A safety-critical item marked not yet stops the sign-off, however good the rest of the flying was. The rest of the jump cannot make up for it.

Safety-critical items on the short list

3.5
Take a knock without corking, tuck the chin, close the legs and go faster; do not spread the legs.

Can you take a knock without corking: chin tucked, legs closed, going faster rather than spreading?

Everything this course says about breakoff and deployment

1.3
State the briefed breakoff, own wave, altitude, radial and deployment altitude, confirming own wave banks at least 1,000 ft between breakoff and deployment.
2.1
Complete a freefly-specific gear check (handles, hand-deploy pouch, riser covers, closing loop, helmet, audible set to the base wave and functioning).
2.3
Dirt-dive the launch, heading hold, dock absorption and breakoff sequence at least twice.
4.1
Initiate breakoff at the briefed base-wave altitude (within −0/+300 ft), regardless of formation completeness.
4.2
Break grips, turn 180° from the formation, clear airspace, peel onto the back clearing above, rotate to belly and keep clearing, decelerate, then deploy, turning 180° before tracking, or risk being cut across by another jumper's line.
4.4
Deploy at the base wave's briefed altitude after checking airspace, ready on the rear risers in a crowded column; barrel roll only if smooth.
5.1
Debrief the base's heading, fall rate and breakoff against video.
5.2
Contribute observations of exit, traffic and breakoff to the organiser's debrief.
5.3
Write the jump up naming the unit and slot (e.g. "HD304, Outside Centre, wave-2 breakoff"), the results and the next objective.

Recording a sign-off says what you saw on one jump. Permission to jump, and anything the drop zone requires, stay with the drop zone.

Screen 4 · Conditions

Conditions

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

Assessment conditions

- Sky only, on organised head-down big-ways, 6-way minimum (recommended), with some jumps at 10-way or larger.
A real group is needed. The launch, stack-up and staged breakoff cannot be shown in the tunnel.
Exit altitude 10,000 ft minimum (recommended), higher for big-ways, to give the base build time plus the staged breakoff.
Outside video is the most useful base debrief. Where none is practical, the organiser's observation and other jumpers' footage can carry the debrief, with the flyer identifiable.
Equipment: a visual altimeter, a working audible (two recommended, set to the base wave), an AAD (highly recommended) and freefly-suitable gear.
The assessor is an experienced head-down big-way organiser, or a freefly coach current in the discipline, using this checklist.
Each criterion is marked Satisfactory or Not Yet Satisfactory. Finishing the course is recorded as a milestone.
As a guide, it takes about 8 organised head-down big-ways in a base slot, some at 10-way or larger and a couple to a staged breakoff, across at least two events or days, all in the sky.
If you already fly base, your coach can assess you on one jump plus your logbook and video.

Performance evidence

Debrief the base's heading, fall rate and breakoff on video with the organiser, and log your slot, wave and one fix. You've finished Head-Down 304 when you fly two jumps in a row that meet everything on the coach's checklist below.

Screen 5 · Debrief

Debrief

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

Coaching priorities

Safety first, then fun, then learning. Hold the bold criteria to the standard above: the base breaks off at its wave altitude whether or not the formation is complete, and a base that holds its slot is doing its job.
Run debriefs without blame, and end each one on something that went well, with one focus for the next jump.

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. One of each is easier to carry onto the next load than six points.

A jump marked not yet is a jump to fly again. Tell them that as part of the debrief.

Record this jump

Your notes for this course

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

This card is a summary. The full Head-Down 304 course page carries the reasoning, the sources and everything left off here. All briefing cards.