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

The checklist

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-flip 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 flip, 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; 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 gives log entries meaning.

Criteria in bold are safety-critical: they protect the flyer, the partner 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.

Assessment conditions

• Sky jumps from 10,000 ft or higher (recommended).
• Video of every assessment jump, coach-flown or helmet-mounted, with the flyer identifiable. The debrief and the record both depend on it.
• Equipment: a visual altimeter, a working audible, and freefly-suitable gear. An AAD is recommended.
• Conditions within the flyer’s cleared limits.
• The in-air reference is a coach or a proven head-down flyer, never a fellow novice.
• The assessor is a freefly coach current in head-down coaching, using the Head-Down 201 checklist.
• Each criterion is marked Satisfactory or Not Yet Satisfactory.
• Tunnel time can replace up to two skill-development jumps, never the assessment jumps. The record covers at least two different days or conditions, including two consecutive jumps meeting all criteria without coach assistance or prompts, within a recommended 6-month window.
• For an experienced flyer, one challenge jump flying the full sequence against the checklist, with the logbook, tunnel records and video as the rest of the record. Existing crests or grades support the record and do not replace the challenge jump. Safety-critical criteria cannot be offset by strength elsewhere.
• As a guide, it takes about 6 coached 2-way jumps over at least two days within six months.
• Tunnel sessions can replace up to two practice jumps, but the final two are sky jumps.
• If you already fly head-down 2-ways, your coach can assess you on one sky jump of the full sequence, with your logbook, International Bodyflight Association Static Level 4 records and video.

Coaching priorities

Safety first, then fun, then learning. Hold the bold criteria to the standard above. Plan sessions to be enjoyable: flyers choose this expensive hobby, and enjoying it keeps them in the sport. Set one objective per jump, and end each debrief on something that went well, with one thing to improve.

Start as the in-air reference and move to flying passively as the skills settle. Brief the in-air hand signals for the transitions and breakoff on the ground.

• APF Freefly and Angles Guide (APF006, August 2023): equipment, altitudes, exit order and breakoff, including the 90° to jump run track (§3), corking and the vertical recovery position (Part 4), head-down technique, the neutral positions, the shuttlecock principle, leg turns, arms for docks and head-down speeds (§7), and the head-down training table (§8.3, §8.6).
• APF Training Operations Manual (V01-2025), §5.7 and Appendix L Stages 3–4: the head-down dive flows this course trains toward, including the Stage 4 signal sequence (p.59).
• APF Operational Regulations (V01-2026): separation before deployment, freefly prerequisites and the audible requirement.
• USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual (2023–24), sections 6-1, 6-2 and 6-3: breakoff margins, corking speeds, head-down terminal speed and working time.
• British Skydiving Operations Manual §6.6.4: the FF2 skill list.
• CSPA Freefly Ground Briefing (2022): the cork-proof standard and the 1,000 ft slow-down.
• Ally Milne on corking (Skydive Mag): the level, slot, dock order, flying the body to the grip, the daffy both ways, and 2-way and 3-way practice before big-ways.
• Alethia Austin, “Freefly Breakoff”: the 180° turn away, back track first, then belly track.
• Mason Corby, “Learning Head Down”: stillness and the video debrief.
• Melissa Nelson-Lowe, via Skydive Arizona: bailing to back-fly at breakoff to hold relative fall rate.
• IBA Static Level 4, as the tunnel route.
• Blue Skies Fun Days, episode 117: the case of the freeflyer who pitched off a fast track.
• The Freefly Project’s head-down docking vocabulary, breakoff guides and breakoff sequence.

Regulations change, so each rule is given with its document edition, as context for where you jump.

• Australia (APF). These jumps are training descents, briefed by a Freefly Coach with DZSO approval (TOM 5.7.3, OR 9.2.2).
• The head-down stages of the Freefly Training Table (Stages 3–4) are entered after Stage 1 Head-Up Level 1 (OR 9.2.2(c)(i)). They are flown as 2-ways under the direct supervision of an FFC-HD holder, who is the trainee’s in-air reference (TOM 5.7.1, 5.7.5(e)).
• Group size is 2, or 3 with specific DZSO approval.
• No trainee may jump head-down with an unqualified freeflyer as their reference (TOM Appendix L, boxed warning).
• A functioning audible altimeter is mandatory on every freefly descent (OR 9.2.3). Relative work stops at least 1,000 ft above planned deployment (OR 9.1.4).
• The Stage 4 (Head-Down Level 2) flow after the hand-to-hand dock is: coach signals a front loop (front flip), then a half transition to head-up, then a half transition back to head-down, then a second dock (TOM V01-2025 p.59). APF006 §8.6 gives the same flow without the front loop. This course trains the full TOM flow. The TOM does not use the words “holding fall rate”.
• The assessor in Australia is an APF Freefly Coach, and the in-air reference holds an FFC-HD.
• UK. This course sits within the FF2 grade (British Skydiving Ops Manual §6.6.4). Elsewhere, a national or drop zone equivalent coach, such as a UK FF2-grade coach, can assess it.

Acronym key. APF, Australian Parachute Federation. OR, the APF Operational Regulations. TOM, the APF Training Operations Manual. APF006, the APF Freefly and Angles Guide. FFC-HD, freefly crest (head-down). DZSO, drop zone safety officer.