Head-Up 301 — Fly head-up in groups

The checklist

1. Plan the jump

1.1

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

1.2

Allocate exit slots using the briefed weight logic, heaviest flyer on Outside Front (burble creation), lightest on Tail (Outside Rear), matched to each flyer's demonstrated skill.

1.3

Assign each flyer a radial approach lane and a docking order into the formation.

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.**

1.5

Confirm every participant's currency and clearances, the group size, and the plan against the day's conditions.

2. Prepare

2.1

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

2.2

Rehearse the climbout on the ground or mock-up in the briefed order, Tail first, then Outside Front, then Outside Centre, including the grip sequence and the Outside Front–Inside Centre monkey grip.

2.3

Brief the aircraft-specific exit hazards and their mitigations (e.g. Super Caravan main-wing ailerons close to the door: interference with the Outside Front setup and rubbing on the rig; reserve-flap contact with the wing).

2.4

Dirt-dive the formation: docking order, presentation responsibilities, level discipline, and the fan-out breakoff directions.

2.5

Confirm exit order and separation with the load.

3. Perform

3.1

Climb out in the briefed order and position, Tail first, facing the front of the aircraft with the wrist-grip chain; Outside Front next, low with back to the prop blast; Outside Centre last, the monkey grip taken last, protecting handles throughout.

3.2

Execute the assigned exit slot on a quick key so the formation launches as a head-up circle, almost on its side, feet presented to the relative wind (Inside Centre keys quickly, "remember Outside Front"; Outside Front pauses momentarily, guiding Outside Centre, and departs as the right arm stretches out).

3.3

Stabilise the formation after exit using the briefed inputs, legs driven toward the centre in a sit; if floated high, knees to chest for sink with strong arms generating torque back to centre, settling within 5 seconds.

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.

3.5

Present a dock wide of the leg burble, arm out wide, hand offered for the hand-to-hand grip, eyes back into the group, whenever a flyer approaches own slot.

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.

3.7

Dock hand-to-hand on the presented grip, thumb-up hand gripping the wrist, or the monkey grip, without destabilising the formation or changing its fall rate, looking toward the centre of the formation at the cross partner.

3.8

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

3.9

Execute the recovery position immediately on any loss of control, clearing the formation and re-approaching only when stable and only via the assigned lane.

4. Complete

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.

4.5

Fly the agreed canopy separation plan.

5. 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.

Criteria in bold are safety-critical: they protect the flyer and everyone else in the group. 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).
• Assessment jumps flown in a real group of at least four, including at least one 4-way linked head-up exit.
• Video of every assessment jump, from an outside camera or a coach-flown camera, with the flyer identifiable.
• Equipment: a visual altimeter, a working audible (a second is recommended), and freefly-suitable gear.
• Conditions within the flyer’s cleared limits.
• The assessor is a freefly coach current in head-up group coaching, using this checklist. In Australia that is an APF Freefly Coach. Elsewhere it is the national or drop zone equivalent.
• Each criterion is marked Satisfactory or Not Yet Satisfactory.
• As a guide, it takes at least 8 coached head-up group jumps of 4-way or larger, mostly 4–6-ways, in at least two exit slots (one float and one centre), over at least two days or conditions within 6 months.
• Up to two skill-building jumps can be tunnel sessions for presentation, level and approach.
• If you already fly head-up in groups, your coach can assess you on one 4-way against the full checklist, with your logbook (about 20 or more head-up jumps in groups of four or more), video, crest and a reference from an organiser or coach. For the earlier courses, a head-up crest or an equivalent such as British Skydiving FF1, with a 2-way logbook and one Head-Up 202 checklist jump, can stand in.

Coaching priorities

Safety first, then fun, then learning. Hold the bold criteria to the standard above. Rotate slot responsibilities from jump to jump, so every flyer stays engaged. End each debrief on something that went well, with one thing for each flyer to improve.

Teach the head-up weight logic against the head-down 4-way, which also puts the heaviest flyer in front (Front Float), there as a downward anchor that stops the formation over-rotating, with the light flyer at Tail.

• APF Freefly and Angles Guide (APF006): planning and breakoff guides (§3), base heading and fall-rate discipline and the orbiting caution (§6.8), and the training table’s hand-to-hand docking grips.
• Jake Carlton, “Head Up Angles and the Breakoff Problem” (Skydive Mag): GPS data on head-up and head-first breakoff separation in a modelled 6-way, and the lag before a track builds after going head-first.
• Lesley Gale, “Sit Flying” (Skydive Mag): sit mechanics and moving in a sit.
• AXIS Flight School columns in Parachutist on head-up breakoffs and dock approaches.
• Skydive Arizona’s group-size ladder, as a community benchmark.
• Alethia Austin on drift awareness (Skydive Mag).
• USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual 5-2: corking, clearing the air above, below and behind, and exit order.
• The Freefly Project’s coaching doctrine: the 4-way linked head-up exit, slot weights and the climbout order, the Super Caravan caution, dock presentation, and fan-out breakoff design.
• APF Operational Regulations (V01-2026), APF Training Operations Manual (5.7 and Appendix L) and British Skydiving Operations Manual 6.6.3, as jurisdictional context.

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

• Australia (APF). Head-up jumps of more than three parachutists require an FFC-HU (OR 9.2.2(c)(ii)). More than 10 participants also require an Australian Star Crest (OR 9.1.3, OR 9.2.2(c)(iv)).
• RW must cease and flyers separate at least 1,000 ft above planned deployment height (OR 9.1.4). A functioning audible altimeter is mandatory on every freefly descent (OR 9.2.3).
• UK. FF1 holders are limited to groups of three unless an FF Coach takes part or an Advanced Instructor approves a larger group (British Skydiving Ops Manual 6.6.3).
• USA. USPA publishes recommendations only (SIM 5-2). Group size is set by licence and drop zone policy.

Acronym key. APF, Australian Parachute Federation. OR, the APF Operational Regulations. FFC-HU, Freefly Crest Head-Up. RW, relative work. USPA, United States Parachute Association. SIM, the USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual.