Dynamic 202 — Fly a near-vertical belly angle and transition to back

The checklist

1. Plan the jump

1.1

State the jump's single declared objective and success criteria.

1.2

Verify every participant's standard status against the jump's content (both-orientation standard; FFP-DY201 for the back side of the tier).

1.3

Present the flight-path plan, line direction off jump run, the dive-and-pull-out profile, the transition point in the second half as the line flattens, and the opening point, relative to other groups on the load. Pitch is the coach-leader's call: steep enough that the flyer feels the speed and pitch a through-vertical pass will demand, while the group always pulls out the way it came in and never passes through vertical.

1.4

State breakoff (guide: 5,000 ft for groups up to a 4-way, 5,500 ft for a 5-way or larger; set at least 1,000 ft above the highest planned deployment) and deployment altitudes, and the lost-leader protocol (transition to back, turn onto a back angle, and follow the group from below).

2. Prepare

2.1

Complete a freefly-specific gear check on self and group (handles, BOC, riser covers, closing loop, helmet, audible set and functioning).

2.2

Demonstrate the belly→back bail-out transition to the coach before the group's first jump in this format, the track's bail-out standard, relied on by every later Dynamic unit.

2.3

Dirt-dive the line with slot allocations, the safe fly zones and no-fly (burble) zones for belly and back flyers on the line (and how they differ from vertical flying's cork-up burble), the transition key and the abort criteria: belly flyers out of slot on the dive = the coach withholds the transition key and the jump completes as a straight near-vertical angle with its pull-out; a scattered group = the leader pulls the group out early onto a shallower line. Brief the uncommanded pass-through: a flyer who fails to match the pull-out and pitches through vertical completes the rotation to a stable orientation, holds the line's heading low and follows the group from below; the group holds the shallow line, and nobody chases.

2.4

Confirm exit order and separation with the load, including any other movement groups (guide: two movement groups per load; a possible exception is a very experienced dynamic group flying a mostly-vertical plan).

3. Perform, the evaluation jump

3.1

Exit and establish the assigned belly slot before the leader sets the angle.

3.2

Hold the belly slot with continuous visual on the leader as the group steepens toward vertical and pulls back out, staying on level and in slot throughout. The coach judges slot competence as a whole, approaching from within your quadrant and holding position, rather than against a measured distance.

3.3

Clear own airspace visually before every transition, no blind transitions.

3.4

Transition belly→back in slot on the briefed key as the line flattens, driving the formation-side shoulder up and over the body, never dropping a shoulder under, re-establishing level and slot promptly.

3.5

Hold the back slot with continuous visual on the leader for the rest of the line, matching the leader's speed and pitch changes.

3.6

Regulate closing speed on every approach so as never to pass the leader; if overtaking, slow and hold position.

3.7

Recover in slot from any instability, never track away from the group.

3.8

Execute the lost-leader protocol immediately on losing visual contact: transition to back, turn onto a back angle, and follow the group from below.

4. Complete

4.1

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

4.2

Roll from back to belly only when on a clear trajectory with no one above.

4.3

Fan out on the briefed peel-off arc, flattening pitch to a track while checking airspace, never turning in place.

4.4

Deploy at the planned altitude after clearing airspace.

4.5

Fly the briefed canopy plan, not crossing back toward the jump-run line until the airspace is confirmed clear.

5. Review

5.1

Debrief against the declared objective using video.

5.2

Analyse own transition on video for slot displacement, level error and shoulder path at the steeper pitch, identifying one correction for the next jump.

5.3

Write the jump up in the logbook with reflections naming the unit and skills assessed (e.g. "DY202 evaluation jump, near-vertical belly angle, transition to back"), criteria results and current standing against the entry standards, the curriculum gives log entries meaning.

Criteria in bold are safety-critical: they protect the flyer and everyone else on the load. A coach should not sign off the course while a bold criterion is Not Yet Satisfactory, however good the rest of the flying. Outside a course they are strongly recommended practice. Regulation stays with your federation and your drop zone.

The entry standards (both orientations, the bail-out roll, and head-down to crest standard for any jump through vertical from Dynamic 303) are course safety standards for taking part in these jumps. They carry no jump permission, licence, crest or endorsement, and a drop zone may adopt them as local policy. Say so in every briefing.

Assessment conditions

• Sky jumps from 10,000 ft or higher (recommended), with a real group of 2–3 plus the coach-leader.
• Video of every assessment jump, with the flyer identifiable: leader-flown, outside or helmet-mounted.
• Equipment: a visual altimeter, a working audible (two recommended for mixed-orientation work), an AAD (recommended) and freefly-suitable gear.
• Conditions within the flyer’s cleared limits, with calm to mild upper winds recommended for evaluation jumps.
• The assessor is a freefly coach current in both angle and vertical coaching and approved to lead movement jumps at the host drop zone.
• Each criterion is marked Satisfactory or Not Yet Satisfactory. The result completes the Dynamic 200 tier within this curriculum and confers no licence, crest, endorsement or jump permission.
• The bail-out roll (2.2) is always shown live. Prior evidence covers the rest only with one challenge evaluation jump against elements 3 and 4, with a coach leading.
• Tunnel time can replace up to one skill-development jump (flips, layouts, carving), never an evaluation jump.
• As a guide, it takes at least 4 coached group jumps, over at least two days or sets of conditions, within six months.
• Tunnel time on belly-to-back flips, layouts and carving can stand in for one practice jump.
• If you already fly steep angles on belly and back, your coach can assess you on one evaluation jump with a coach leading, backed by your logbook, tunnel records and video. You still show the bail-out live first. Finishing gives no licence, crest, endorsement or jump permission.

Coaching priorities

Safety first, then fun, then learning. Hold the bold criteria to the standard above, and have the entry-standard conversation openly before anyone spends money. Explain the belly-flyer-low scenario before the first jump, so the flyer knows why they are showing the bail-out roll.

Evaluate the flyer in both orientations and put the development into the weaker one, usually belly. Explain up front that this is a safety decision. The same evaluation sets which side the flyer starts on for the first pass-through in Dynamic 303.

Offer a flyer below the entry standards the belly and back angle development path. End each debrief on something that went well, with one thing to improve.

• APF Freefly and Angles Guide (APF006, August 2023): exit and breakoff guides (§3.2–3.3), recovering in the slot (§4.3), the peel-off breakoff, transitions over the body, and fly and no-fly zones on the line (§5.10–5.13).
• APF Angle Flying Rule Book: groups per pass and slot competence.
• USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual 5-10: movement-jump difficulty by transition count, planning around the least experienced flyer, and staying on your back at breakoff until the air above is clear.
• Mason Corby on transitions in angle jumps and at breakoff.
• Vertical Suits, “Indoors Outdoors”: back-fly as the foundation for carving and angles.
• Christy West on movement-jump safety at Skydive Spaceland: the leader briefs the transitions and where they happen.
• Skydive Arizona’s canopy policy for staying off jump run.
• Newcastle Sport Parachute Club, Hunter Valley angle and movement jump guidelines: movement groups per load, cloud, the approved belly leader and the navigation brief with the load master.
• The Freefly Project’s coaching guides: the near-vertical format, the evaluation jump, the bail-out roll, the lost-leader and abort responses, and the freefly breakoff guides.
• APF Operational Regulations (V01-2026) and APF Training Operations Manual (V01-2025), as jurisdictional context.

Regulations change, so each rule is given with its document edition, as context for where you jump. No national body defines prerequisites or safety guidance for dynamic flying in the sky.

• Australia (APF). These jumps sit under OR 9.9 (tracking and angles): a Certificate Class C, the DZSO’s written endorsement for groups larger than a 3-way, and an approved leader (OR V01-2026).
• The leader is an APF Freefly Coach leading under OR 9.9.3 with DZSO approval. Elsewhere, a national or drop zone equivalent.
• A functioning audible altimeter is mandatory on every freefly descent (OR 9.2.3), and at least 1,000 ft between breakoff and the highest planned deployment is mandatory (OR 9.1.4).
• Mixed-orientation movement jumps sit between the OR 9.2 crest standards and the OR 9.9 endorsements, and come down to DZSO discretion. The Dynamic track’s through-vertical standard is stricter than that floor.
• United States (USPA). Movement jumps are guided by SIM 5-10, which grades difficulty by transition count (0, 1–3, 4+). This course’s single in-line roll sits in the middle band. SIM 5-10.E asks for an expert leader and suggests two movement groups per load.

Acronym key. APF, Australian Parachute Federation. OR, the APF Operational Regulations. DZSO, drop zone safety officer. USPA, United States Parachute Association. SIM, the USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual.