Tracking — flying your body horizontally through the air rather than straight down — is one of the most fundamental and practical skills in freefall. Every skydiver tracks during every jump: it is how you move from the exit point to the landing area, how you build formations, and how you maintain separation from other jumpers. But tracking as a dedicated discipline — deliberately flying horizontally for significant distances and durations — has its own techniques, physics, and safety considerations that every skydiver should understand.
The Aerodynamics of Horizontal Flight
Tracking works by tilting your body's lift vector horizontally. In standard belly-to-earth flight, your body generates lift primarily in the vertical direction — upward relative to your fall path — which counters gravity and allows you to fall at terminal velocity rather than accelerating indefinitely. When you tilt your body forward, some of that lift vector redirects to the horizontal direction, and you begin moving forward horizontally while simultaneously falling.
The full tracking position is the most efficient horizontal flight orientation in freefall. In this position, the skydiver's body is nearly horizontal, with the chest facing forward and the head up, looking in the direction of travel. The arms are swept back alongside the body or extended forward, and the legs are extended backward. This position minimizes drag in the forward direction while creating the lift vector that generates horizontal motion.
Horizontal speed in tracking depends on the angle of the body relative to vertical — the more horizontal the body, the faster the horizontal speed. A shallow track — body at perhaps 30 degrees from vertical — might generate 20 to 30 miles per hour of horizontal speed while maintaining a reasonable descent rate. A full aggressive track — body nearly horizontal — can generate 60 to 80 miles per hour of horizontal speed with a corresponding increase in descent rate.
The Standard Tracking Position
The standard tracking position begins from stable belly-to-earth orientation. To initiate a track, the skydiver shifts their weight to one hip — typically the right — and simultaneously pushes their chest forward and lifts their head. This body movement tilts the torso from the vertical toward the horizontal, initiating forward motion. The arms sweep back alongside the body to reduce drag, and the legs extend backward to complete the horizontal alignment.
The key to a good track is maintaining the arch and the body shape throughout the movement. Many beginners collapse their arch as they attempt to get horizontal, which causes instability — their body begins to tumble rather than maintaining the tracking orientation. The arch must be maintained even at very shallow angles of attack.
Stopping a track and returning to vertical freefall requires a deliberate reversal of the tracking input. The skydiver shifts their weight back toward center, lowers their head, and brings their legs back underneath them while maintaining their arch. This transition should be smooth and controlled, not abrupt, to avoid creating instability at the end of the track.
Tracking for Separation and Safety
One of the most critical uses of tracking is maintaining separation between skydivers during freefall. When multiple skydivers are falling in the same area — whether in formation flying, group jumps, or simply multiple jumpers in the same airspace — the risk of collision is significant. Tracking skills allow skydivers to move away from each other safely and efficiently.
The concept of "tracking out" — deliberately flying away from the formation or group after the objective is achieved — is a fundamental safety procedure in all group freefall activities. At the break-off altitude, all skydivers in a formation simultaneously release their grips and track away from each other before deploying their canopies. This creates safe vertical and horizontal separation that prevents canopy collisions during the critical deployment phase.
Camera flyers use tracking techniques to capture footage of other skydivers. A camera flyer will position themselves in front of or above a subject, using their tracking ability to maintain relative position while the subject performs their freefall program. This requires highly developed tracking skills because the camera flyer must match the subject's altitude changes while also maintaining a precise horizontal position.
Tracking Drills for Beginners
Tracking drills should be introduced early in a skydiver's career, after stable belly-to-earth position is well established. The first tracking drill is simply attempting short tracking runs of 5 to 10 seconds during freefall, focusing on maintaining stability in the tracking position. The skydiver tracks forward, then transitions back to vertical before deployment altitude.
As skill develops, tracking runs can be extended and the complexity of the tracking path can increase. Figure-eight tracking — tracking in one direction, then smoothly turning and tracking in the opposite direction — develops directional control and transition skills. Tracking around a point — maintaining a circular path around an imaginary center point — develops the fine control needed for formation approach flying.
Wind reading during tracking is an advanced skill that develops with experience. The tracking path in actual freefall is affected by ambient wind at different altitudes, thermal activity, and other factors. Experienced trackers can assess these conditions and adjust their tracking angle and direction to achieve their intended ground track despite atmospheric variations.
Tracking Altitude Budget and Safety
Tracking consumes altitude more rapidly than vertical freefall because the angled body position reduces drag area and increases overall fall rate. A skydiver who tracks aggressively might descend at 200 feet per second or more, compared to approximately 175 feet per second in stable belly position. This accelerated descent means tracking jumps require careful altitude budgeting to ensure sufficient altitude remains for safe deployment.
The standard safety rule for tracking is that no tracking maneuver should be initiated below 7,000 feet above ground level, and all skydivers should be in stable vertical position no lower than 5,500 feet. These numbers may be adjusted based on the specific jump profile, group size, and drop zone policy, but the principle is consistent: reserve sufficient altitude for safe separation and deployment.
When tracking with a group, the break-off procedure — where all skydivers simultaneously track away from each other — must be completed with enough altitude remaining for all participants to achieve safe separation before anyone deploys. The break-off altitude is planned based on the number of skydivers, their tracking ability, and the expected tracking distance needed to achieve adequate separation.