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Support the NSL News in 2025 - Preview of FAI World Cup 2025

Did You Know...

... that Bob Hallet and Tom Piras connected in many ways?

DeLand Air Bears in 1985
image by: Norman Kent
posted Jul 6th, 2025 - The NSL News published a sad update on June 12th, which reported the tragic death of Skydive DeLand owner Robert C. "Bob" Hallet in a car crash on May 13th. The brief story of his life covered primarily his position and history in the skydiving world.

Bob Hallet's part in the development of a skydiving community in DeLand was actually documented much more comprehensively by John Sox Rostoks in a video that he created in 2020 for DeLand's 60-year anniversary as a skydiving operation, together with young local videographer Dean Nordstedt.

The anniversary video was made five years before Bob Hallet died in the car crash, and his story continued the same way in the additional five years as it was resembled in the large part of the video that was related to his ownership of Skydive DeLand and his position in the local skydiving community. The operation of Skydive DeLand has continued since May 13th. He had finally organized it in a way that he would have to do only what he liked the most - flying his jump planes and chatting with his friends and visitors. The beginnings of Skydive DeLand were closely associated with his original business partner Tom Piras, who was also a member of the local 4-way world championship team, the DeLand Air Bears, who won the first FAI gold medals after the current competition format was introduced in 1985. The previous related NSL News story mentioned the Air Bears and Bob Hallet’s partner Tom Piras.

FAI World Meet 1985
12345678910TotalAvg
Rank4way Open----------TotalAvg
1DeLand Air BearsUS1214131111111111121211811.8
2CanadaCA121281110111211111411211.2
3FranceFR121191110101111111310910.9
4AustraliaAU111210111041110111410410.4
5AustriaAT1213811611116121210210.2
6New ZealandNZ101251099991012959.5
7ItalyIT10101099101051011949.4
8Great BritainUK86108889101111898.9
9DenmarkDK99699877911848.4
10FinlandFI41196999798818.1
11RussiaRU810597688910808.0
12SwitzerlandCH109759889310787.8
13SwedenSE8987856899777.7
14BelgiumBE88694867810747.4
15GermanyDE8479877787727.2
16NorwayNO6878785785696.9
17NetherlandsNL6867677776676.7
18SpainES6255565576525.2
19Czech RepublicCZ3445555556474.7
20YugoslaviaYU3524555446434.3
Colorado River guide Bob Hallet in 1993
Bob Hallet's and Tom Piras' lives were mostly dedicated to skydiving and the operation of Skydive DeLand. However, both also had other activities that connected them. They had traveled together to Arizona when they lived in Texas and explored the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

Bob Hallet enjoyed the river rafting on the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon so much that he eventually became a river guide for a company that organized the trips. He continued to spend a large portion of the summer time on the Colorado River, even after he had launched the business operation of Skydive DeLand.

Tom Piras found a favorite place for himself at the end of a long hike from the river bottom during one of his visits, which was a rock formation that looked like a very large armchair. Tom Piras died in a skydiving accident in 1992, and he had instructed his partner Bob Hallet to spread the ashes on his personal throne in the Grand Canyon, in case he ever died in an accident. Bob Hallet went back to the Colorado River the next summer of 1993, and his group of river rafters took a break at the trail head on the way to the throne rock. There he spread the ashes of his friend and partner and then continued his job as the river guide.



Bob Hallet: Colorado River Grand Canyon Guide
German 8-way team in Eloy 1993
Hans-Joachim Gally, a successful German TV producer, who had already found interest in skydiving and produced a documentary of the German 8-way team at the FAI World Championship 1993, had signed up for Bob Hallet's next trip to the Grand Canyon and brought his camera to the river rafting adventure and recorded for his own memories.

It was the same river rafting trip that Tom Piras had been on before, and Bob Hallet had brought the ashes for this special memorial. The Colorado River tour through the Grand Canyon for this purpose took place more than 30 years before Bob Hallet lost his own life in a car crash on May 13th this year.

The Air Bears with Tom Piras were not the only 4-way world champions who Bob Hallet hosted and supported at Skydive DeLand. The Air Bears won the first world championship gold medals in 1985, and it took a whole decade until Arizona Airspeed would overcome the dominance of French 4-way teams ever since the Air Bears won. Two DeLand teams (DeLand Majik, DeLand Fire) interrupted the 4-way dominance of Arizona Airspeed in the United States ever since and won two more world championship titles in 2004 and 2006, before Airspeed took it back for Skydive Arizona in 2007 and maintained it until today.

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