posted Oct 21st, 2026 - The Formation Skydiving competition teams were on a weather hold in all three events on Wednesday morning. The 8-way teams were scheduled to jump Round 8 before the 4-way teams were due to be called into action at noon. However, all teams have now been released until later this morning.

The 8-way teams had wrapped up their competition day on Tuesday, putting them one round ahead of the 4-way teams. The German Mack family (Outside Center Thomas, Point Tim, and team videographer Moritz) is competing only in 4-way, while their teammates Felix Pfeiffer and Alexander Prendinger are also members of Germany's 8-way team, Operation Adler. This situation gave the NSL News an opportunity to arrange another conversation with them in Eloy.

Coach Gary Smith works with both German teams and joined the new NSL Live Talk with the Mack family while Operation Adler was performing Round 7. The German 8-way team is firmly in the bronze medal position and, as expected, needs only to maintain its substantial lead over Brazil's Netunos through the finish. The situation on the 4-way Open Class leaderboard is quite different. As expected, the competition is fierce among the three best 4-way teams in the world. There is also a close battle behind them for the unofficial title of amateur world champions.

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NSL Live Talk with Airbus 4-way Illertissen members Thomas, Tim, Moritz Mack and Gary Smith on 21 October 2026

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FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		11,16,10		9,17,4		J,D,E,19		1,14,H		K,M,2,O		B,18,6		A,N,7,8		P,L,C,12		F,3,13		20,G,22		Q,15,5		Total	Avg
1	Aethers Lille	FR	18	-1	27		38	-1	23		33		25		-		-		-		-		-		164	27.3
2	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	21		26		32	-3	21	-2	31	-2	23	-1	-		-		-		-		-		154	25.7
2	Golden Knights	US	18	-1	25		33	-3	21		33		24		-		-		-		-		-		154	25.7
4	Airbus 4-way Illertissen	DE	17		19	-1	25	-2	18		22	-2	18	-1	-		-		-		-		-		119	19.8
5	Echochamber	SE	13	-2	19		25	-1	18		24	-1	18		-		-		-		-		-		117	19.5
6	Qatar Vortex	QA	13	-3	17	-2	27		16		23		16	-1	-		-		-		-		-		112	18.7
7	S.O.A.R.	UK	15	-1	16	-3	22	-3	18		22	-1	18		-		-		-		-		-		111	18.5
8	Out Of The Blue	NL	14		17		23	-1	13		25		18		-		-		-		-		-		110	18.3
9	Skywalkers Most	CZ	13	-4	15	-3	26	-2	14	-3	22		19		-		-		-		-		-		109	18.2
10	Amnesya Fly X	IT	12	-1	16		22	-2	15	-1	20		13	-1	-		-		-		-		-		98	16.3
11	Random Fixation	AU	8	-3	14		14	-2	8	-3	15		14		-		-		-		-		-		73	12.2
11	Flyspot Sky4Four	PL	9	-2	11	-2	12	-4	13		16		12		-		-		-		-		-		73	12.2
13	MeXtreme	MX	7		9		9		8		11		5	-1	-		-		-		-		-		49	8.2

Airbus Illertissen is not just part of this battle; the team currently holds the coveted 4th place that several teams were expected to be fighting for. Only Italy's Amnesya Fly X has fallen significantly behind, following the unfortunate injury of long-time team member Chiara Brunetti on the final training day. Alternate Mario Fatturoso has taken her place for the competition rounds while also competing in Canopy Piloting. Amnesya Fly X missed a few rounds due to this double-duty situation but has now caught up with the rest of the field.

However, Airbus Illertissen still has a long way to go to secure the same 4th place at the end of Round 10, as the current leaderboard after Round 6 shows. Six teams are tightly grouped, and each has already recorded at least one high score in a round. Airbus Illertissen and Echochamber have each won or tied three rounds and are separated by just two points (119–117). With four rounds remaining, the standings between Airbus and Echochamber could easily change. The other four contenders for these finishing positions will have to deliver their best performances and may also need Airbus and Echochamber to have a few weaker rounds.

A 4th-place finish would be the highest-ever ranking for a German 4-way team at an outdoor world championship since 1985. Germany has finished 5th in 4-way Open twice, at the outdoor world championships in Lucenec 1991 and Rijeka 2004. Thomas Spielvogel, who is now competing in Eloy with Operation Adler, was part of both German 4-way lineups: Kirsten Ernst, Norbert Trost, and Dieter Kirsch in 1991, with a 13.2 average, and Olaf Biedermann, Jens Goennemann, and Göran Meyer in 2004, with an 18.3 average. The three members of the 2004 lineup are now competing together for Operation Adler, and they will be watching Airbus Illertissen's performance very carefully. Their coach, Gary Smith, won his first FAI 4-way gold medal with DeLand Majik at that same event in 2004.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2004			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Top 10		B,P,C,18	9,15,16	K,11,19	E,F,7,5	A,J,21,12	6,4,10	17,Q,L,1	H,14,3	13,22,O	N,M,D,2	Total	Avg
1	DeLand Majik	US	29	23	17	30	18	19	27	21	19	24	227	22.7
2	Maubeuge	FR	28	22	18	30	17	19	23	20	18	24	219	21.9
3	Sky Panthers	RU	24	21	19	25	22	15	28	19	16	22	211	21.1
4	Sinapsi PD	IT	22	21	20	28	21	18	23	19	16	22	210	21.0
5	EADS	DE	20	18	17	24	17	16	19	17	16	19	183	18.3
6	HayaBusa	BE	21	17	17	21	11	16	20	17	17	21	178	17.8
7	Endeavour	CH	16	17	14	19	16	13	19	14	14	-	142	15.8
7	Arcteryx	NO	19	14	15	21	15	13	17	15	13	-	142	15.8
9	Danez	DK	17	16	13	21	11	15	19	15	14	-	141	15.7
10	Spain	ES	19	16	15	21	15	11	16	12	14	-	139	15.4

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