Head-Down 201 — Fly head-down in a 2-way

Application

Covers flying head-down relative to one other flyer: linked and unlinked exits, break to face-off, 360s in place, level following, approaches under the Level → Slot → Dock discipline, hand-to-hand docks, the crest signal sequence (coach-signalled front loop and HD↔HU half transitions), and breakoff in a 2-way.

Applies to flyers competent in HD 102 (solo head-down control and transitions).

Environment: sky, with tunnel drills as preparation, head-down neutral off the net, up/down control, turns and fore/aft drives are the recommended tunnel accelerator.

Supervision: with a coach (scaffold stage: coach as reference → coach passive). This unit sits mid-progression toward the head-down crest: the crest assessment content follows the APF Training Operations Manual dive flows.

The mandatory the APF Training Operations Manual Stage 4 (Head-Down Level 2) signal sequence is, after the hand-to-hand dock, coach signals for a front loop, then coach signals for a half transition to head-up, then coach signals for a half transition back to head-down, then a second dock (the APF Training Operations Manual V01-2025 p.59). The educational APF006 §8.6 reproduces the same flow but omits the front loop.

This unit therefore briefs and trains the full mandatory flow, including the coach-signalled front loop, and introduces the half transitions here so the crest sequence is already familiar. (the APF Training Operations Manual does not use the words “holding fall rate”; that is the FFP’s coaching emphasis on maintaining a freefly-speed fall rate through the transitions, not the APF Training Operations Manual’s own text.)

Pre-requisite units

FFP-F100, FFP-HD101, FFP-HD102 (the head-down track is entered after FFP-HU102, see FFP-HD101’s pre-requisites). RPL route into this unit: tunnel records (IBA Static Level 4 or equivalent, head-down neutral off the net, up/down, left/right turns, fore/aft, sit↔HD flip transitions) plus one challenge jump against HD 102 criteria.

Elements and performance criteria

1. Plan the jump

1.1

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

1.2

Confirm both flyers' currency and the plan against conditions.

1.3

State breakoff and deployment altitudes, and the lost-partner plan (guide: 5,000 ft for freefly groups up to 4-way, noting most modern jumpers set 5,500 ft for any freefly group and will generally not accept 4,500).

1.4

Confirm the reference flyer is a coach or proven head-down flyer, never a fellow novice.

2. Prepare

2.1

Complete a freefly-specific gear check on self and partner (handles, BOC condition, bridle fully covered, riser covers, closing loop, chest strap tight, helmet, audible set and functioning).

2.2

Brief and dirt-dive the exit and each planned point, including the coach's front-loop and half-transition signals.

2.3

Confirm exit order and separation with the load.

3. Perform

3.1

Launch linked and unlinked head-down exits, presenting head and shoulders to the relative wind, and establish the vertical position within 5 seconds of release or separation.

3.2

Break to a face-off and hold heading ±45° for 10 seconds in the neutral position (straddle or daffy), horizon level in the line of sight.

3.3

Fly the daffy with either leg leading, switching the lead leg in place without losing heading or level.

3.4

Perform a 360° turn in place from leg pressure, stopping on the original heading ±45° (finish pointing in the same quadrant).

3.5

Follow the partner through one level change up and one down, re-establishing level (head-height tolerance) within 3 seconds of each.

3.6

Approach from ~5 m to the face-off, arresting all drive without overshoot.

3.7

Hold level (head-height tolerance) for 3 seconds, then hold the slot for 3 seconds, before initiating the dock (Level → Slot → Dock).

3.8

Take a hand-to-hand dock by flying the body to the grip, arms take the grip only, no reaching, without destabilising the partner.

3.9

On the coach's signals, perform the crest signal sequence in the APF Training Operations Manual Stage 4 order: a front loop, then a half transition through the back to head-up, then a half transition back through to head-down, maintaining a freefly-speed fall rate and re-establishing level within 3 seconds of each element.

3.10

Back out to level immediately on any instability during approach or dock, re-approaching only when stable.

3.11

Execute the vertical recovery position immediately on any loss of the head-down position, resuming flying only when stable and clear.

4. Complete

4.1

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

4.2

Turn 180° away from the partner on the spot, pause, and clear the airspace behind before moving off, anticipate someone being there; one day someone will be.

4.3

Progressively peel out into a back track 90° from jump run, still clearing the airspace above, a head-down jump stores huge kinetic energy that converts into horizontal movement very fast, and peeling off instantly could be a fatal collision with someone behind the group.

4.4

Transition to belly and scan back down the flight path, between your feet to the other flyer, then clear left and right.

4.5

Decelerate before deployment: pitch the track back up, get big and wide, and listen for the wind noise decreasing, flare like a wingsuiter, star-fish.

4.6

Deploy at the planned altitude after clearing airspace, noting how hard the opening is and learning the timings, a fast, steep, efficient track gains great separation but can leave you outside the container and canopy speed envelopes, risking a hard opening: shredded end cells, broken lines, torn fabric.

4.7

Fly the agreed canopy separation plan.

5. Review

5.1

Debrief against the declared objective using video.

5.2

Identify one fault and its correction for the next jump.

5.3

Write the jump up in the logbook with reflections naming the unit and skills assessed (e.g. "HD201 skills assessment") and the criteria results, the curriculum is what makes log entries meaningful.

Bold criteria are safety-critical: strongly recommended best-practice standards, not regulations, within FFP courses they are non-compensable (any Not Yet Satisfactory = unit Not Yet Competent).

• Breakoff deserves respect: in roughly 7–8.5 seconds (the ~1,700 ft from a 5,500 ft breakoff to a 3,800 ft deploy at head-down-track average speeds, not the belly-speed ~10 s a slower fall rate would give) the flyer turns 180° on the spot in head-down (challenging in itself), flies a back angle and a belly angle, transitions, navigates, scans the sky and decelerates.
• With the deceleration overlapping the pitch-up phase rather than starting only once the track is fully arrested.

This curriculum teaches those skills progressively, this unit’s standard is a safe 2-way breakoff, the crest standard is to be safe in a 4-way, and there is more breakoff progression after the crest for bigger and more advanced formations.

Foundation skills

• Briefing/debriefing communication (including in-air hand signals for transitions and breakoff).
• Altitude and separation numeracy (head-down working time is ~40–46 s from 13,000 ft versus ~60 s on the belly, plan points accordingly).
• Planning and organising.
• Self-management under stress (the back-out and cork-proof disciplines).

Performance evidence (suggested sufficiency — adjust locally)

Ability evidenced across coached 2-way jumps, typically around 6, a guide to how long it might take rather than a quota (the same guide as HU 201: it is difficult and futile to rank head-up against head-down, and many find head-down easier with experience; competency, not jump counts, is the standard).

Tunnel time may substitute for up to two of the skill-development jumps, not the assessment jumps, tunnel evidence covering the equivalent head-down control skills (neutral off the net, up/down, turns, fore/aft). Evidence gathered across 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.

Knowledge evidence

• State the freefly breakoff guides and walk through an example altitude sequence, this leaves ~1,000 ft to bleed off speed before deployment, composing with the ≥1,000 ft slow-down standard taught in HD 102 (criterion 4.3).
  • Note the deceleration overlaps the pitch-up phase of the track, so slow-down effectively begins as the track is arrested.
  • 5,000 ft for groups up to 4-way; 5,500 ft for 5-way and larger, noting most modern jumpers set 5,500 ft for any freefly group and will generally not accept 4,500.
  • 5,500 ft breakoff alarm → stop tracking and begin decelerating by ~4,800–5,000 ft → 3,800–4,000 ft deploy → 2,800–3,200 ft under canopy.
• State the lost-partner plan and the separation requirement: discontinue relative work at least 1,000 ft above planned deployment, mandatory in Australia (the APF Operational Regulations).
• Explain why the reference flyer on a head-down 2-way should be a coach or proven head-down flyer, never a fellow novice.
• Explain corking and its speed differential and the vertical recovery position’s mechanics.
  • Head-down speeds cited variously as ~160 mph per USPA sources and 270–400+ km/h per APF006, these figures are from different sources and are not simple unit-equivalents; belly speed ~120 mph / ~195 km/h.
• Explain the Level → Slot → Dock discipline, including the back-out-to-level rule on any instability, and why reaching for a grip generates lift and drive away from the formation (fly the body to the grip).
• Explain why the head-down breakoff begins with a 180° turn on the spot and a pause to clear the airspace behind (anticipate someone being there, one day someone will be), why the back track is peeled out progressively, and why a fast, steep track must be decelerated before deployment.
  • The kinetic energy stored in a head-down jump converts to horizontal movement very fast; an instant peel-off risks a fatal collision.
  • Container and canopy speed envelopes, hard openings, shredded end cells, broken lines, torn fabric.
• Describe the shuttlecock principle (more pressure on the legs than the arms; arms are for docks and stability).
• Explain freefly exit-order and separation logic and the shorter head-down working time.
• Describe the freefly gear checklist and why each item matters.
• Analyse own video to diagnose a drift, level or approach fault.

Assessment conditions

• Sky jumps from a recommended 10,000 ft minimum.
• Video of assessment jumps (coach-flown or helmet-mounted, candidate identifiable), the debrief loop and the evidence both depend on it.
• Required equipment, visual altimeter, functioning audible altimeter, freefly-suitable gear, AAD recommended.
• Conditions within the candidate’s cleared limits.
• Assessor: a freefly coach current in head-down coaching, using the published FFP-HD201 checklist (Satisfactory / Not Yet Satisfactory per criterion).

Coaching priorities

Deliver in the project’s priority order:

• Safety → Fun → Learning (curriculum Part A0). Safety criteria are non-compensable.
• The session is designed to be enjoyable, participants choose this expensive hobby, and enjoyment sustains both the student and the sport.
• Debriefs end on a win with one improvement focus.

RPL evidence set

For experienced entrants, the following alternative evidence set is suggested in place of the coached-jump sequence:

• Logbook: coach-signed head-down 2-way jumps evidencing exits, docks and breakoffs.
• Tunnel records: IBA Static Level 4 sign-offs (head-down neutral off the net, up/down, left/right turns, fore/aft, sit↔HD flip transitions) or equivalent instructor records.
• Video portfolio: head-down 2-way flying showing a Level → Slot → Dock approach to a hand dock and a 180°-to-track breakoff, candidate identifiable, within the currency window.
• Challenge jump: one jump flying the full assessment sequence judged against the published FFP-HD201 checklist, safety-critical criteria remain non-compensable.
  • Exit, face-off, 360, level following, approach, dock, front loop, half transitions, breakoff.
• Existing credentials accepted as supporting (not sole) evidence: the head-down crest (Australia), FF2 (UK), or documented equivalents.

Sources