Yeah. Its the way the cape works.
Basically, when Mario catches air after diving, the game checks to see whether Mario is moving left or right and then compares it to his direction (which is why spinning lets you catch air even when flying backwards). If it the comparison matches up, the game will check Mario's Y speed and decide how high it should raise him up. If the comparison doesn't match up, then Mario will not catch air and simply fall.
The game checks this for a total of 1-3 frames (varies). If Mario is facing correctly on the first frame it checks, it will give Mario air. If Mario then faces the other direction, the game will try to stop Mario's ascent at whatever flying height he's at. However, the game will still register Mario as diving and will continue to do so until Mario's Y speed goes into the negatives. Should Mario then face the correct direction in this time, the game will register it as another air catch. It will check that Mario is diving, and give him another boost of air.
It's the same reason for bahamete's "infinite air catch" trick.
Also, SJ, you shouldn't write the tricks out like one big paragraph. Its a list, so there shouldn't be any "another trick is..." or stuff like that. Seriously, how many people write a grocery list with "Another thing I should get is milk. Also, I need some butter. Oh, and some apples."?
Professional frame-by-frame time wizard.
YouTube -
Twitter -
SMW Glitch List -
SMW Randomizer