posted Sep 3rd, 2026 - Airbus 4-way Illertissen finished with an 18.6 average at the German Outdoor Nationals, almost one full average point higher than the 17.8 they scored at the Paranodon Cup 2026 in June with their previous lineup. It was a technically challenging competition draw in Gera, with 21 of the 22 blocks and only twelve of the 16 random formations. Even higher scores can probably be expected from Airbus at the FAI Outdoor World Championship next month in Eloy.

The 8-way competition is next in Germany, while NMP PCH HayaBusa are back in 4-way action at their national outdoor championship, which is once again combined with the Dutch championship for the BENELUX Indoor Championship 2026. The Dutch national 4-way teams Out Of The Blue (4-way Open) and Funky Falcon (4-way Women) are both competing on the same BENELUX leaderboard. They are also registered for the upcoming outdoor world championship.

The 8-way competition in Germany features an interesting situation that goes beyond the presence of the guest team, the Qatar Tigers, who will also travel to Arizona next month. The Falcons made a strong start in the 8-way competition in Gera and are currently sitting at their first 20+ average after the opening four rounds. The NSL Power Rankings for the 8-way competition in Eloy have consistently placed the Falcons in second, out of reach of the reigning U.S. world champions and well ahead of the teams behind them.

German Outdoor Nationals 2026			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		G,O,N,C,P		1,J,F,A		18,7,20		10,17,4		6,B,16		L,11,22		8,Q,9		12,E,19		5,2,3		13,15,14		K,D,21,M		Total	Avg
1	Qatar Falcons	QA	22		25		16		18		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		81	20.3
2	Operation Grounded Eagle	DE	10		12	-1	9		12		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		43	10.8
3	Standard Saulgau 8-way	DE	6		9		8		8		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		31	7.8
4	Coriolis	DE	8		8	-1	5	-2	7		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		28	7.0
Rank	8-way Intermediate		P,6		B,N,13		16,C		18,K		M,J,19		3,1		5,F		Q,7		G,L,4		16,5		N,M,19		Total	Avg
1	Paranodon	DE	5		2		2		3		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		12	3.0

The Qatar Falcons could make the 8-way competition in Eloy more interesting than it has seemed so far. The current lineup of U.S. world champions Paraclete XP8 has not posted any outdoor scores yet. The previous lineup, before two changes were made (Matt Davidson and Doug Barron replacing Ian Pedowitz and Jill Stephenson), finished with a 17.4 average at the USPA Nationals 2025. The new and current lineup has posted very impressive indoor scores, while the Qatar Falcons have focused exclusively on outdoor training and competition since the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2025.

There are six more rounds to come in Germany. However, the Qatar Falcons may have more in mind than simply winning another set of FAI Outdoor World Championship silver medals, as they did at Eloy 2022 (16.4) and with their 19.0 average at Crystal Coast 2024.

A similar two-year progression by the Qatar Falcons could put serious pressure on the U.S. 8-way world champions at the same events, where the U.S. has held the title since 2012. The Qatar Falcons may get their final test, and a direct confrontation with the current XP8 lineup, at the USPA Nationals 2026, which they were also considering entering as a guest team. They cannot win either the German or U.S. outdoor championships, but they could gain highly valuable competition experience.

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FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open Power Ranking		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	Paraclete XP8	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	Qatar Falcons	QA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	Operation Adler	DE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Netunos	BR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Canada8	CA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

The German national 8-way team is missing its last opportunity for competition practice at Germany’s outdoor championship. Operation Adler are the defending champions and won FAI 8-way bronze medals for the German delegation at Crystal Coast 2024, after Airbus 8-way did the same at Eloy 2022. In fact, Operation Adler are once again considered the strongest contenders for the same set of FAI bronze medals in Eloy next month.

However, the reigning FAI bronze medalists from Germany are not competing at their national outdoor championship this week, even though they remain registered to represent Germany at the world meet in Eloy. They had originally planned to compete in Gera as part of their run-up to the world championship, but those plans recently changed.

Instead, a high-level pickup team, Operation Grounded Eagle, is far ahead of all other German 8-way teams, while still trailing the Qatar Falcons by a considerable margin. The complete Airbus 4-way team, including the Mack family 3-way (Thomas and Tim, with Moritz on 4-way and 8-way camera), has continued with 8-way competition following the completion of the ten 4-way rounds. Operation Adler members Göran Meyer and Steffen Schiedek have joined the Operation Grounded Eagles. Karin Bauch and Holger Sass, who both competed with the 4-way pickup team Kommt Noch, complete the 8-way lineup. There is currently no indication whether or not Operation Adler will compete for Germany in Eloy.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2024			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		14,G,13		J,C,17,12		D,A,21,P		18,B,H,F		E,L,O,8		22,2,K		6,7,16		9,20,15		3,M,N,4		5,1,10		Total	Avg
1	GKXP8	US	19	-1	21	-1	22		26		21	-1	21	-1	25		24		37		23		239	23.9
2	Qatar Falcons	QA	16		18		19		21		17		16	-1	20		19		25	-2	19		190	19.0
3	Operation Adler	DE	14		14		11	-2	13	-1	13		14		15		14		20	-2	15		143	14.3
4	Netunos	BR	10		8		9		8		5	-3	9		12		9	-1	12	-1	10	-1	92	9.2
5	Ap8thy	UK	11		6	-1	8		11		6	-1	6	-1	10	-1	8	-1	14		11		91	9.1

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Qatar Falcons - Operation Adler at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2024

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