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HU301 Coach
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Head Up · Group · The brief

Head-Up 301

Fly head-up in groups

Head up in a group: lanes, presenting grips, and other people’s columns.

What this unit covers

Covers flying head-up in groups of four or more (typically 4–6-way; up to about 10 as a guide): planning slots and lanes, launching a 4-way linked head-up exit, flying and protecting the base (heading and fall rate, no orbiting), presenting docks, approaching along assigned lanes, and executing a group fan-out breakoff.
Applies to flyers at crest-standard head-up competence (HU 202). Big-way method (two-stage breakoffs, wacker lines, per-jumper report cards) is deferred to FFP-HU401. Environment: sky.
The rest of it
Tunnel drills prepare presentation, level and approach mechanics, but exits and breakoffs are sky-only evidence. Supervision: coach passive at first, then flying with peers, rotating through slot responsibilities. At this stage the flyer combines established skills while managing other flyers.

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.

3.4
Fly the base on heading ±45° (staying in the same quadrant) at a steady fall rate for the working time, without orbiting, while monitoring each approaching flyer.

Can you fly a base on heading at a steady fall rate, without orbiting, while watching everyone approaching?

3.6
Fly the assigned approach lane on level with the formation, closing the final ~5 m without overshoot and holding slot 3 seconds before docking.

Can you fly an assigned approach lane on level and hold the slot for three seconds before docking?

3.8 Safety critical
Maintain separation from other flyers' vertical columns and burbles throughout, never crossing directly above or below another flyer on approach.

Do you stay clear of other flyers’ columns and burbles, never crossing directly above or below someone on approach?

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

3.8
Maintain separation from other flyers' vertical columns and burbles throughout, never crossing directly above or below another flyer on approach.

Do you stay clear of other flyers’ columns and burbles, never crossing directly above or below someone on approach?

Everything this unit says about breakoff and deployment

1.4
State the group breakoff plan: breakoff altitude, pre-assigned fan-out directions, deployment altitudes, and the lost-formation plan. Altitude guide: 5,500 ft minimum for a static head-up group, 6,000 ft for 6-way and larger. For a head-up angle group the recommended FFP floor is higher still, minimum 6,000 ft, 6,500 ft for a larger group, because a head-up breakoff buys almost no separation and rotating to head-first costs altitude.
2.4
Dirt-dive the formation: docking order, presentation responsibilities, level discipline, and the fan-out breakoff directions.
4.1
Initiate breakoff at the briefed altitude (within −0/+300 ft), or immediately on the group's first breakoff movement, whichever comes first.
4.2
Rotate from head-up to a head-first (head-down or belly) orientation first, then track the pre-assigned fan-out radial away from the formation, transitioning progressively without cutting across another flyer's lane. Never back-track away from the group while still head-up: a head-up breakoff buys almost no separation, and a formation back-tracking from face-in slots converges rather than separates.
4.3
Check airspace above, below and behind before deployment (barrel roll only if smooth and reliable).
4.4
Deploy at the planned altitude, at least 1,000 ft below breakoff, after clearing airspace.

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. The candidate flies assessment jumps in a real group of at least four flyers, including at least one 4-way linked head-up exit. Video is required for a valid assessment (outside camera or coach-flown, candidate identifiable).
Required equipment: visual altimeter, functioning audible (second audible recommended), freefly-suitable gear. Conditions within the candidate's cleared limits. Assessor: a freefly coach current in head-up group coaching, using the published FFP-HU301 checklist (Satisfactory / Not Yet Satisfactory per criterion).

Performance evidence

Ability evidenced across at least 8 coached head-up group jumps of 4-way or larger, across at least two different exit slots (including at least one float slot and one centre slot) and at least two different days/conditions, including two consecutive jumps meeting all criteria without coach assistance or prompts, within a recommended 6-month currency window.
Tunnel time may substitute for up to two of the skill-development jumps (presentation, level and approach drills), but not for exit or breakoff evidence. These counts are a guide to how long this stage typically takes; competence, not numbers, closes the unit.

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). Hold bold safety criteria to the standard above. Design group jumps to stay enjoyable: rotating slot responsibilities keeps every flyer engaged. End debriefs on a win with one improvement focus per flyer.

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 Head-Up 301 unit carries the reasoning, the sources and everything left off here. All briefing cards.