posted Mar 26th, 2012 - It's about time to make the latest Arizona Airspeed competition videos of the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2012 available for the audience. The jumps were already uploaded during the live coverage shortly after the completion of a round, together with the videos of NMP-PCH Hayabusa and Aerodyne Aerokart.

It is still a special feast to watch all ten rounds that added up to the 26.6 average which stands for the highest meet average without a Super Sequence in the history of Formation Skydiving competition. Only the scores at the World Meet 2010 in Menzelinsk were higher, and that was due to the fact that two very fast sequences in Round 3 (J,M,Q,P,L) and Round 9 (O,E,9,G) supported the meet averages. The 56-pointers by Aerodyne Aerokart and Sky Panthers are still standing as the current world record for a single round.

Eliana Rodriguez, Craig Girard and Mark Kirkby won the silver medals in Menzelinsk with a 27.4 average, the highest one that Arizona Airspeed has ever posted at an outdoor competition. Mark Kirkby is still on the 2012 lineup and now posted the second highest Airspeed average. Niklas Hemlin, Center Inside of the current lineup, joined the conversation with the NSL News on the Sunday after the meet.

NSL Talk with Airspeed members - Rounds 1 to 10 at the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2012

Airspeed came to the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2012 with a new outfit. Each team member now wears a helmet with a different color: Blue (Thomas Hughes - Center Outside), Orange (Niklas Hemlin - Center Inside), Green (Point - Josh Hall), Grey (Tail - Mark Kirkby).

It makes it easier for the observer to identify the team members, even though this is not the purpose of the new team design in freefall. It is simply easier for orientation and identification of positions, which could clear up space for even more focus and concentration on other important tasks during the 35 seconds of working time.

This is nothing new for the Russian members of Sky Panthers Barkli who have been training and competing for many years with different helmet colors. They have been the only top team so far that had chosen this concept over the complete team uniform from head to toe. It is very likely that many other teams will now follow the Airspeed example.

Paraclete XP Outdoor 2012		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Open Class	Q,8,H,22	16,19,13	10,14,2	E,C,20,K	5,M,9	A,6,F,17	D,21,N,B	P,O,G,J,1	18,4,7	12,15,3	Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	25	20(-1)	18(-1)	35	36(-1)	25(-4)	33	31	23(-1)	20	266	26.6
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	23	21	20	33	34(-2)	29	30(-2)	30	20(-3)	21	261	26.1
3	Aerodyne Aerokart	23(-1)	21	19(-1)	33	29(-4)	28(-2)	28	29(-1)	23	21	254	25.4

The conversation with the four Airspeed members from two different Airspeed generations included the current situation on the top level in the world as a topic. NMP-PCH Hayabusa has moved dangerously close to Airspeed, closer than ever in an outdoor competition, pushed up by the ongoing European race between Belgium and France.

The Shamrock Showdown 2011 was the last time when both teams competed directly with each other, and Airspeed won by 21 points. Both 2010 lineups were 24 points away from each other at the World Meet 2010 where Hayabusa went home without a medal.

Niklas Hemlin had downplayed Hayabusa's 7-point indoor victory at the World Challenge 2011 in a funny way: "You don't win a World Meet in the wind tunnel." He is still not nervous and welcomes the tough outdoor competition that Hayabusa gave Airspeed in DeLand. The Belgian challenger ended up only five points behind this time, and there is still a lot of time until the World Meet 2012 in Dubai. Niklas Hemlin said that he is only worried about the lack of competition for his team from here on forward. Airspeed is looking for opportunities to feel the same pressure as in DeLand. For now, it will be indoor pressure again at the upcoming World Challenge 2012.