posted May 12th, 2026 - The latest NSL Live Talk conversation with Gary Smith was published by the NSL News on March 20th. He and NMP PCH HayaBusa captain Dennis Praet followed up with a preview of the FAI Indoor World Cup 2026 on March 24th.

Since then, his evaluation of the indoor competition at Weembi Lille has still been missing, even though such post-event analysis is usually a significant part of the aftermath following major competitions. He also missed the Shamrock Showdown 2026 - 1st Bob Hallett Memorial in his former hometown of DeLand, Florida, which means there has not yet been an opportunity to discuss the duel between Aethers and Golden Knights.

Gary Smith remains one of the sport’s most respected and in-demand coaches, and his schedule reflects that status. NMP PCH HayaBusa and their long-term mission to reclaim the 4-way world championship title remain especially close to his heart. He has already guided Dennis Praet (4), Jeroen Nollet (3), and David Grauwels (4) to multiple FAI gold medals between 2014 and 2021. Gary Smith and the current lineup strongly believe they can add another set of gold medals to their collection in 2028 — which would mark the first world championship titles for Neal Willems and Ray Lodens.

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NSL Live Talk with Gary Smith on 12 May 2026

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Gary Smith rarely gets to spend much time with his family on the island of Texel in the Netherlands. The teams do not travel there for outdoor or tunnel training, which means he usually has to go where the teams are based or gather for training camps. He was already preparing for his next trip to Germany, where he will work with the Airbus 4-way team. Airbus train with Silvanus (Solly) Williams during their winter training camps in Florida and also receive remote coaching support, while they can now additionally rely on Gary Smith following the end of his work commitments in Qatar.

However, NMP PCH HayaBusa remain the priority whenever it is possible for him to work with them within the constraints of the military environment and schedule. Gary Smith is traveling to Germany this week despite weather conditions that are currently not very promising. Airbus train at the Paranodon Skydiving Center in Illertissen, which will once again host the annual Paranodon Cup at the beginning of July.

Gary Smith also commented on the HayaBusa performance at Weembi Lille, where they went head-to-head with the Golden Knights and ultimately lost due to a higher number of point deductions. The Golden Knights had already won the same rivalry at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2025 by nine points (246–237). HayaBusa responded by winning the indoor duel at the Wind Games 2026 by 15 points (304–289). At the FAI Indoor World Cup 2026, however, the U.S. Army team once again had the upper hand (310–307).

FAI Indoor World Cup 2026			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total		Avg
Rank	4-way Open Top 10		J,20,C,4		10,O,L,M		B,21,N,H		14,F,3		18,16,9		E,6,8		19,1,Q		G,5,12		P,D,17,22		15,11,2		Total		Avg
1	Aethers	FR	33	-1	37		42		30	-1	31		32		33		35		36		27		336	-2	33.6
2	Golden Knights	US	32		34	-1	38	-2	29		29		29		30	-1	30	-1	33		26		310	-5	31.0
3	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	31	-1	32	-3	42		29		30	-1	29		31		29		32	-1	22	-2	307	-8	30.7
4	Skywalkers Most	CZ	28	-3	34	-1	33	-4	28	-1	27		27	-3	28	-2	28	-1	30	-4	24		287	-19	28.7
5	Amnesya Fly X	IT	28	-1	31		34	-3	26		27		25	-3	27	-1	24	-3	28	-1	22		272	-12	27.2
6	Les Krocmous Lille	FR	26		27		36		24		24		24		23		21	-3	29		21		255	-3	25.5
7	Indonesia	ID	25	-3	28	-2	32	-3	24		23	-3	26	-1	24	-2	23	-3	27		16	-6	248	-23	24.8
8	Gen XYZ	BR	26	-1	29	-1	25	-5	23	-1	21	-2	24		25		23	-2	26		19		241	-12	24.1
9	AYRO	BE	25		28		32		22	-1	24		22	-2	23		23	-1	19	-4	21		239	-8	23.9
9	Aerokart Ak'demie	FR	26		25	-1	30	-2	21	-1	20	-2	24		21	-4	23		28		21		239	-10	23.9

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Aethers - Golden Knights - NMP PCH HayaBusa at the FAI Indoor World Cup 2026

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Gary Smith is just as impressed by the French Aethers as the rest of the formation skydiving community. His team, NMP PCH HayaBusa, is in the fortunate position of having its main target set for 2028, when they aim to win the next outdoor world championship gold medals for Belgium. For this year in Eloy, their objective remains a 2nd-place finish, which would require them to outscore the Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights, however, are working within a much more demanding time frame, as team captain Jesse Stahler does not plan to continue after the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026. Jesse Stahler is already a multiple and reigning 8-way world champion, yet he still does not have a 4-way world championship title in his collection. In fact, Eloy will mark his first appearance representing the U.S. delegation in 4-way Open competition.

It must at least be encouraging for the Golden Knights that they moved into 2nd place in the 4-way world rankings after the FAI Indoor World Cup. Additional confidence may also have come from taking a round off the Aethers during the outdoor competition in DeLand. They also matched the French team’s score in another round. A similar pattern had already appeared in Rounds 2 and 4 of the Shamrock Showdown 2025. The gap after Round 10 last year was 34 points (261–227). That margin was reduced to 26 points last month in DeLand (271–245). While the difference is clearly smaller, there is still considerable ground to make up. The Golden Knights have six more months to continue closing the gap, and they will meet NMP PCH HayaBusa again at the Paraclete XP Summer Classic.

1st Bob Hallett Memorial 2026			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		P,12,7		N,L,2,H		13,4,3		E,J,6,Q		K,O,B,8		D,5,21		19,22,A		F,9,14		15,18,1		16,G,17		Total	Avg
1	Aethers	FR	26		33		23		37		28	-1	27		25	-1	29		18	-1	25	-1	271	27.1
2	Golden Knights	US	26	-1	29	-2	20	-1	31	-3	27		25	-1	22	-1	25	-1	19		21	-1	245	24.5

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InTime competition videos of Aethers - Golden Knights at the Shamrock Showdown 2026 - 1st Bob Hallett Memorial

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