Photo by Ian Chick

Head Down Flight Do you look at head down videos, think it looks fun but aren't sure where to start?  This article by international freestyle coach Tamara Koyn will teach you the basic head-down stance. Practice these tips and techniques on a bunch of solo dives and you will have cracked it!

First, it is necessary to learn a good basic flying stance. The function of any basic flying position is to fall straight down; to allow immediate easy adjustments to heading, horizontal movement and fall rate; and to cleanly present or take grips. Because everyone's body is different and there are individual flying styles, the exact positions and techniques in this article will vary from person to person.

Getting started
If you have never experienced head-down flight before, you may want to try a streamlined, completely vertical dive, commonly referred to as a 'no-lift dive.' The purpose of this drill is to get you familiar with being upside-down. While in a 'no lift' dive, the skydiver is positioned with the head and entire body straight into the airflow. The fall rate is rapid - up to 200+ mph. It's much safer to practice no-lift dives on solo jumps.

Once in freefall in a prone position (and facing a heading 90ƒ to jump run as you may slide horizontally), start by bringing your arms to a position alongside your hips. Leaving them spread slightly will help maintain your lateral stability as you proceed with this technique. Straighten the legs and begin to press them downward against the resistance of the air. Just as with the arms, leaving the legs spread slightly will help your lateral stability. Lower your head and begin bending forward at your hips (waist). Don't rush it! You will incline in the direction of your head, first going into a track and then giving yourself the feeling that you are sliding forward, head-first off a giant slippery ball. For those jumpers who have not done this before, you will probably find this sensation strong and exhilarating! You might want to take 5-8 seconds on this; by going slowly, you can find the head-down position more easily without flipping onto your back.

When you come out of this dive, the wind pressure against your body will be very strong. Keep your hands closer to your shoulders with your elbows bent as you flare out of the dive. This flaring technique, means the wind will not so easily jerk your arms backwards. NB Be sure that you slow your airspeed sufficiently before deployment to avoid a hard opening.

To expand upon your experience in the head-down orientation, you can practice entering the no-lift dive with a slow and quick diving entry. In the no-lift dive, move your head about and notice how your head position effects the position of your body. Practice both the arched variation and the straight body variation of the no-lift dive and notice the difference in sensation.

	Basic head-down position Once you have experienced your first sensations of being head-down in freefall, you are ready to learn the basic head-down flying stance. (figures 1 and 2 here) The Legs While holding the Basic Head-down Position, the legs are spread sideways into a straddle-like position with a slight pike in the hips. The knees point toward the sides and are slightly bent. At all times, you should feel air pressure against both the ankles and knees while spreading your legs against the resistance of the wind.  The knees should be pointing outwards, not forward. You must physically force your legs to spread against the relative wind to give you air to fly on. Even wearing baggy pants and a tight top will not help you if you do not physically use your legs! Your leg usage is what gives you control of proximity, adjusting level and making pirouettes.  On video, you can spot experienced freeflyers by the way they use their legs and ankles. Your ankles should always be further out than your knees, which will be always downstream from your hips. Failing to control the legs can cause them to flop around causing sliding and loss of balance. Holding the ankles stiffly inside the burble of the knees and thighs will cause you to buffet making the position difficult to control.
Figure 1 - Basic head down stance from the front		Figure 2 - basic head down stance from the side

The Torso
Your spine should be straight (neither arched nor de-arched) with your head straight on your spine. and the horizon straight ahead in view (assuming that you are at terminal velocity). Maintaining a neutral torso position to work from will give you a more accurate feeling for the position and control of the body. The torso is the centre-point from which the arms and legs manipulate the airflow. From this neutral position, you will also learn to manipulate the mid-section of your body more easily. We are so used to arching that this skill in using the torso can be difficult at first. Imagining that your shoulders are the leading edge of a high performance wing, you can use arching and de-arching to change your angle of attack. If you are not vertical, then you will need to reposition your torso straight into the airflow. Use an arching position to recover from leaning onto your back and/or the backs of your legs; use a de-arching position to recover from leaning into your front.

Pendulum swing drill
The 'pendulum swing' solo freefall drill can help you acquire a feeling for this and help you reduce any stiffness in your body. Stiffness prevents you from feeling and flying on the relative wind. Starting from a position facing the relative wind (or with your back to it), practice the pendulum action. Starting from face down, bring your arms to your sides and dive the head toward the ground bending at the waist/hips in a manner similar to starting a front-loop. When you get to your back, bring the arms next to the sides of your body and arch, looking backwards for the ground with your head. Make sure your knees are straight when you arch from the position on your back. Note that your palms will always face and feel the airflow throughout your motion. Continue this 'swinging' type action. Play with reducing the amount of swing so that you stay more head-down.

The Arms The hands are even with the top of the head; forearms straight into the wind; elbows even with the shoulders (neither forward nor backward). You should feel the airflow on your palms. Imagine holding two large dinner plates, one in each hand. This arm position allows you to present or take grips when making contact with your partner. However, be aware that everyone is unique and you will find a position which works best for you. Many freeflyers prefer to fly with the arms swept back. (See fig 3 to left) Summary While flying head-down, aim for a relaxed but firm position with deliberate actions. Feel the relative wind and interact with the airflow to adjust your balance, your level and proximity. Overall, you want to be sure that your body position is symmetrical. Common problems to avoid If you keep the same habits that you do while flying face-to-earth, arching your body, you will have continuous problems with your position - either backsliding or always falling back onto your face. Another problem is dropping the lower legs backwards with the knees pointed forward (instead of having the knees point to the sides). This causes a constant forward sliding action.

Figure 3 - Arms swept back

Exit drills
While initially learning the basic head-down position, you can use these exit drills to assist your learning. Try the following exits in sequence, trying the next one only after successfully completing the previous. On the first exit, hold a basic face-to-wind position on aircraft heading and feel the transition as you move into the face-to-earth position. 

On the second exit, gently exaggerate the feeling of riding the hill by tilting forward into a no-lift dive. Immediately after you exit, look at the ground beyond your feet, with the arms positioned at your sides. Straighten your knees and bend forward at the waist. As you gradually tip forward, allow yourself to view the horizon line upside-down. Do not rush this transition. Relax and enjoy the flow along with any exhilaration you may feel.

On your third exit, exaggerate the feeling of riding the hill just as you did on the second exit. However, this time keep your arms spread wide, with the palms presented to the airflow, as you tip over to the head-down position. You will probably use more bending at the waist and hips to proceed into a head-low attitude. Keep your legs spread wide and pushing against the airflow.

Entering the head-down position
At terminal velocity, you can get into the head-down position by using any convenient method. However, your method should get you into the position as rapidly as possible to avoid any unwanted horizontal sliding. You can enter the position by performing a half cartwheel, half front-loop, or half back-loop from an upright position such as the 'chair' or straddle stand-up. Because the airflow will be very strong and cause you additional strain, do not initially go into the head-down position by spreading your limbs from the no-lift dive explained earlier.

From a half front-loop
When entering the position by performing a half front-loop, this should be brisk, yet you should be able to stop in time for the head-down position. Put the arms into the overhead position during the last quarter of the loop to prevent overshooting the position. If you don't make it to the head down position, your front-loop was not quick enough and/or your arms were too far over your head. However, if you overshot the position, you didn't raise your arms over your head soon enough. Finding the desired timing will require some experimentation!

From a half backloop
You can use this same technique for performing a half backloop to the basic head-down position. Keep your hips rigid. If you allow your waist to fold you will come out on your back instead of flipping backwards into the basic head-down position.

From a half cartwheel
To enter the position by performing a half cartwheel, shift the legs to the left (for a right cartwheel). As your legs catch the air, flipping you onto your side, position the left leg and left arm into the basic head-down position. As you feel yourself stop, position the right side of your body into the position. Make sure that the axis around which you cartwheel does not tilt forward or backward. Keep your focus on the horizon in front of you. If you are leaning forward when you start from your upright position, you will find that your chest will catch air and cause you to backslide and possibly lose balance.

Practice makes perfect
On solo dives, practice assuming the basic head-down position using a all the techniques from an upright position. Then, while holding the basic head-down position, practice your balance, this may take you several dives. As you start to get the feel for holding the position, pay attention to the feeling of the air on your body. If you feel air on your chest, you know you are backsliding. If you feel air on the back of your legs, you're leaning too much onto your back. Use the motion that you learned in the pendulum swing to correct your orientation, ie, if you have air on your chest, bend forward at the hips; if you have air on the back of your legs, arch your hips to get your legs over you.

When you think you have found your balance point, practice pirouetting while staying perfectly vertical and without spiralling. By pointing the fingers of one hand backward and pressing them into the airflow (without distorting your body position), you can make a pirouette in the direction of that hand. Your pirouettes will take on a spiralling action if your torso is not straight into the airflow. This action is your clue that your torso is not directed straight into the airflow and you're horizontally sliding. In other words, you need more practice in controlling the pitch of your body to find your correct balance point.

Forward movement
Once you can balance in the basic body position, you are ready to begin learning to control your proximity and level relative to a partner. You may want to find a more experienced freeflyer to chase you out on a dive (preferably with video) and check your body position. If your position is good, you most likely will be falling nearly straight down with little horizontal movement. To move forward or backward, use slight adjustments in the lean of your body. To move forward, angle your body with your legs back and torso forward. (See fig 4 below). To move backward, angle your body with your legs forward and the torso backward. (See fig 5 below) 

Figure 4  - Forward movement with legs and torso	Figure 5 - Backward movement with legs and torso

You may wish to use the position of your legs alone (as illustrated in figures 6 and 7 below). Be precise and only angle your body slightly.

Figure 6  - Forward movement with legs only	Figure 7  - Backward movement with legs only

Fall rate
To fall faster, decrease the leg spread. To fall slower, increase it. You may feel more control with your knees straight, adjusting your fall rate by how much you spread your legs. (See figure 8 below) For someone who just can't seem to learn a head-down straddle, the head-down 'daffy' position may be better. (See figure 9 below).

Figure 8 - Spread legs for slower fall rate	Figure 9 - Head down daffy

The head-down daffy position:

Figure 9 - Head down daffy

While in the head-down position, you can position one leg forward with the other backward in a head-down daffy, see figure 9 to left. For greater ease in maintaining heading, one leg should be directly forward with the other directly backward and neither leg should be rotated outward from the hip socket. If the legs are slightly off to the sides or rotated in the hip sockets, this can cause you to pirouette. The forward and backward leg spread increases your stability. In order to fall straight down, it is critical that the legs are evenly separated. It may feel that the back leg is more backwards than the front leg is forwards when your legs are actually evenly spread. 

Applying pressure with the forward leg causes a backslide (fig 10 below) and applying pressure with the back leg causes a front slide (fig 11 below). 

Figure 10 - Backslide through pressure with forward leg	Figure 11 - Frontslide through pressure with the backward leg
Decreasing the leg spread increases the fall rate and increasing the leg spread slows the fall rate. On some solo dives, practice the head-down position with one leg positioned forward and the other leg backward. Explore and experiment with your balance on the pitch axis by pushing more or less with each leg. Be sure that you always return to the neutral position with the torso and head pointed straight into the airflow. Again, performing a clean pirouette without a spiralling action will help you confirm that your torso is oriented straight into the airflow. Practice the head-down daffy with both the right and left leg to avoid having a preference on which leg you like to have forward. It may take possibly up to 50 dives or so to learn the material covered in this article. It is important that you are patient and don't try to rush through the exercises too quickly.  Most importantly, have fun and stay safe.   Photo by Dean O'Flaherty

Article by Tamara Koyn
Tamara@Koyn.com

Illustrations by John Schuman

About the author:
Tamara has a BA in teaching dance with movement science and has been a freestyle pioneer since 1985. She has 1,700+ freestyle jumps; 400+ freefly jumps and has published the first books and video on this area and has coached since 1988. She is a four-time medallist in world competition.

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