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HU301 Flyer
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Head Up · Group · The jump

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 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.

3.4
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 · 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

3.8
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.

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 own slot against the declared objective using video.
5.2
Identify one exit, base, presentation or approach fault and its correction for the next jump.
5.3
Log the jump with criteria results and a reflection naming the unit and skills assessed (e.g. "HU301 skills assessment, base heading, lane approach"), so the logbook records the progression.

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