posted Dec 8th, 2016 - The last Arizona Airspeed update was posted on October 21st, right before the USPA Nationals 2016, and the story on October 26th followed up after the completion of the event.

The story on June 6th had broken the news early that Ari Perelman would be the new Airspeed member and replace Thomas Hughes at the end of the 2016 season. Ari Perelman's time has come now, as the U.S. champion just started training with the new lineup.

The 2017 lineup was committed early, while the slot assignment was still relatively open. Ari Perelman has most of his 4-way experiences in the front piece, while Niklas Hemlin, Mikhail Markine and Thiago Gomes have been rear piece experts in the past. However, Thiago Gomes (2011 – 2012) and Mikhail Markine (2016) have both been in the point slot for Airspeed in the past years.

The first slot commitment came from Niklas Hemlin, who decided to take Thomas Hughes' challenging outside center slot. It's a new A-slot for him, even though he has his own front piece experiences in the point slot that he collected when Team Fastrax was one of the best 4-way teams in the world in 2007.

Niklas Hemlin is still a 4-way world champion in the inside center position (Dubai 2012) and added silver this year in Ottawa. His move to the outside center slot left the driver’s seat open for a new current Airspeed member.

The new Airspeed lineup started with indoor and outdoor training this week, and the slot assignments were according to the first plans. Ari Perelman would replace Niklas Hemlin as the new inside center, while Mikhail Markine would go back to the point slot that he had at the beginning of the 2016 season. Thiago Gomes continued in his tail slot.

Airspeed completed four training days with the new slot assignments and then decided to try something else and compare. Ari Perelman moved to the point slot and joined outside center Niklas Hemlin in the front piece. Mikhail Markine made room for him and moved back to the tail slot that he had with SDC Rhythm XP.

Thiago Gomes replaced Ari Perelman as the inside center, and Airspeed completed yesterday's training with the new slot assignments. Plan was to spend another four days in this new constellation and then compare with the previous four days.

However, yesterday's training jumps with the new slots were so convincing that Airspeed decided earlier to commit to the new setup. Former Airspeed member Thomas Hughes was not surprised to see the new assignments, as he had recommended and expected them.

It is still a courageous Airspeed move, as all three returning team members have new slots. However, new member Ari Perelman goes back to the front piece that he is most familiar with, while Niklas Hemlin, Mikhail Markine and Thiago Gomes are not completely new to their slots.

Niklas Hemlin and Thiago Gomes know their new positions as previous B-slots in the same piece, and Mikhail Markine was in the tail slot for three years (2013 - 2015) with SDC Rhythm XP. Niklas Hemlin and Thiago Gomes were rear piece partners in the past two years and know how to communicate their secrets. This time, they will share their center work details. Niklas Hemlin, the most experienced 4-way competitor in the team, will also be able to communicate the front piece secrets with the newest Airspeed member.

Mikhail Markine and Thiago Gomes have never been piece partners before, while they know the rear piece details in and out. It will not be too difficult for them to work together efficiently. There is also a new level of energy that is coming with the new slots. Niklas Hemlin said that Airspeed is highly motivated and excited to get to work...