The AFF exit: set-up, launch, fly-away. What you rehearse on the ground, how instructors hold you, and why the exit causes fewer injuries than the landing.
The honest answer up front: a good exit is not a brave leap into nothing, it is a short sequence in three parts: set-up, launch, fly-away [2]. You rehearse exactly this order on the ground until you can run it in your sleep [1]. You do not have to invent anything in the aircraft, you only have to replay a practised routine.
One number that reassures many people: in Swedish injury data (257 reported events across roughly 540,000 jumps), only 5 injuries happened at the exit, just under 2% [3]. The landing accounted for 226 cases, almost 88% [3]. So the exit matters less for whether you stay unhurt than for how cleanly your whole jump starts.
In AFF (Accelerated Freefall, training with two instructors beside you) both instructors stay close and hold you at the exit [1]. This guide shows what you learn there. It does not replace instruction from your school, and you never practise the exit on your own.
Your instructor demonstrates the sequence, explains it and has you copy and practise it [1]. The handbook recommends short, concise instructions without long dialogues. Milestone: you show the sequence flawlessly with altimeter and dummy handle before going to the aircraft [1].
At the door, instructors and you move into position, and at least one instructor secures you at all times [1]. Depending on the aircraft type, a "hotel check" (check in, check out) takes place between you [1]. USPA describes the goal like this: you place hips, head, feet and hands in the easiest position so the launch comes naturally [2].
On the command you leave together. Once you are out, you push your hips into the relative wind and keep head and eyes up [2].
You hold a relaxed arch while the wind changes: first the aircraft's relative wind, then the freefall wind [2]. After the exit you bring your pelvis forward and lie symmetrically on the wind [1]. Then comes your first large observation circle (horizon, altitude, eye contact with the instructors) [1].
The exit grows with your levels. In Level I the instructors deliberately do not let go of you [1]. From Level III you fall solo without being held [1], Level IV runs with just one instructor [1], and in the DFV handbook you learn the solo exit in Level VI [1]. Numbering can differ between schools. Ask your school where you stand.
This guide explains and motivates, it does not replace training. The exit is only trained with an instructor.
Run the exit through out loud on the ground, as the DFV intends in debriefing: you present your version first, physically as a "walk and talk", then the instructor's version follows [1]. Once you have spoken and walked the sequence, your body stores it. That helps when excitement empties your head.
At the exit you move from one wind direction into another: from the aircraft's relative wind into the freefall wind [2]. If you hold your arch and breathe evenly, the phase is short and clearly guided. Your instructor holds you throughout. How intense it feels is individual.
In the Swedish analysis from 1999 to 2003, 5 of 257 injuries happened at the exit, about 2%. 226 occurred at landing [3]. It is a snapshot from one country, but it shows where technique counts most.
An exit funnel is a temporary loss of controlled body position in the exit phase, for example tumbling together with your instructors [1]. In the briefing you learn to take up the best neutral position. Instructors and student then stabilise together.
In AFF you practise the solo exit only after several levels, in Level VI in the DFV handbook [1]. Before that, the instructors first release you in freefall at Level III [1]. Your instructor decides when it is your turn based on your skills.
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