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HD305 Flyer
Coach card Full unit

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Head Down · Group · The jump

Head-Down 305

Fly intermediate vertical formation skydiving (VFS)

Intermediate vertical formation skydiving: blocks, inters and close-range fall rate.

What this unit covers

Covers flying an assigned slot in intermediate Vertical Formation Skydiving (VFS): building randoms and entry-level blocks in small formations at head-down and head-up fall rates, with the grip discipline and fall-rate matching the vertical version demands.
VFS is the vertical analogue of belly Formation Skydiving, the same randoms, blocks and rounds, flown in vertical orientations. This card is the intermediate step for a flyer moving from group work into competition-style formations; open-class VFS (the full pool, hardest blocks) is FFP-HD404.
The rest of it
Assumes FFP-HD301 and comfortable head-down docking. Tunnel for repetition of formations and grips; sky for exits, altitude and breakoff.

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
Fly the inter move relative to the partner, arresting closure before taking the next grip.

Can you fly an inter move relative to your partner and arrest the closure before taking the next grip?

3.5
Match fall rate at close range, riding the burble interaction between bodies with small inputs rather than overcorrecting.

Can you match fall rate at close range, riding the burble between bodies with small inputs rather than overcorrecting?

3.7 Safety critical
Recover to a stable solo position on any cork or lost formation, separating laterally rather than holding a failing grip.

On a cork or a lost formation, do you separate sideways to a stable solo position rather than holding a failing grip?

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

3.7
Recover to a stable solo position on any cork or lost formation, separating laterally rather than holding a failing grip.

On a cork or a lost formation, do you separate sideways to a stable solo position rather than holding a failing grip?

Everything this unit says about breakoff and deployment

1.3
State breakoff and deployment altitudes and the lost-formation plan; VFS breakoff runs higher than belly because the head-down fall rate spends altitude faster.
2.1
Complete a freefly-specific gear check (handles, hand-deploy pouch, riser covers, closing loop, helmet, audible set and functioning).
4.1
Initiate breakoff at the briefed altitude (within −0/+300 ft).
4.3
Deploy at the planned altitude after checking airspace.

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 the draw against video, locating dropped points and their cause (grip quality, inter timing, heading error, fall-rate mismatch).
5.2
Identify one correction to train next.
5.3
Log the jump naming the unit and slot, the points built and the next focus.

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 Head-Down 305 unit carries the reasoning, the sources and everything left off here. All briefing cards.