Wave-off, handle, pull, count: how deployment works in AFF, why altitude beats stability, and how you automate the routine on the ground before you jump.
The honest answer up front: in skydiving there is a clear priority list you can remember even with a pounding heart: First, pull. Second, pull at the assigned altitude. Third, preferably pull in a stable position. [2] When altitude and stability collide, altitude wins [2].
What that looks like in practice depends on your school. In the DFV handbook for AFF Level I you wave off on your own at 1500 m above ground level and deploy with "push through, reach, pull" at 1200 m at the latest [1]. USPA names 5,500 feet for the wave-off in its system, which is roughly 1,680 m [2]. Same idea, different numbers. What matters are always your school's altitudes.
Why so much weight is put on routine and altitude: before a jump, both storage and processing capacity of your working memory are measurably reduced, in novices and experienced jumpers alike [3]. That is why the routine is trained until it is a reflex. This guide explains the routine. It does not replace an instructor.
You read the altimeter deliberately and say the altitude out loud, ideally without changing body position [1]. The DFV handbook sets the rhythm: above 2000 m above ground roughly every 4 to 6 seconds (about every 300 m), below that every 2 to 4 seconds (about every 200 m) [1]. Also before and after every exercise and whenever something goes wrong [1]. USPA keeps it simpler: check every 3 seconds [2].
At a set altitude, but before the wave-off, freefall exercises end. You signal "no-more" by shaking your head and concentrate on the wave-off only [1]. Behind this is one of the handbook's three golden rules: forgotten elements are not made up [1].
You wave both arms smoothly overhead so everyone can see you are about to pull [2]. In the DFV system this happens at 1500 m above ground [1], in USPA at 5,500 feet [2].
Your body goes into the arch, then you grab the handle and pull or throw it, depending on the system [1]. USPA describes it as one hand reaching, the other going overhead for balance, with a straight back [2]. The DFV handbook requires the handle at the assigned altitude at the latest, in Level I at 1200 m at the latest [1].
Then you count "1000, 2000, 3000" and do the canopy check [1][2]. USPA boils it down to three questions: Is it there? Is it square? Is it steerable? [2] If any of that fails, the emergency procedure takes over, which you only train with your instructor (see the guide on cutaway and reserve).
Milestone: you complete the whole routine from altitude check to canopy check flawlessly with altimeter and dummy handle before you jump [1].
This guide does not replace supervised training. You practise deployment on the ground and in the aircraft under the supervision of your instructors.
Call out the altitude out loud, not just in your head. The DFV handbook asks for exactly that: deliberate reading and verbalising of the current altitude [1]. Saying it makes you actually read it instead of just looking. It is the simplest protection against tunnel vision when excitement shrinks your working memory [3].
Your school sets it. In the DFV handbook you wave off at 1500 m above ground in AFF Level I and deploy at 1200 m at the latest [1]. In USPA the wave-off is at 5,500 feet [2]. The altitudes are a fixed part of your briefing, not a gut decision.
Altitude. USPA gives the order: first pull, then at the assigned altitude, then preferably stable [2]. If you find yourself on your back and reach pull altitude, you pull anyway [2]. You rehearse this in the briefing as a real-time scenario [1].
There is a safety net. In Level I the handbook knows the "pull" hand signal, after which the instructor pulls [1], and AFF equipment has an activation device on the reserve [1]. That is a safety net for emergencies, not your plan. Your plan remains pulling yourself.
That depends on system and altitude. The DFV calculates about 250 metres for 5 seconds of freefall [1]. Until the canopy is open you count to 3000 and check it [1][2]. That is why there is a buffer between the wave-off and the latest pull altitude, in Level I about 300 m [1].
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