posted Mar 11th, 2024 - The next part of the German 8-way story came to its conclusion last weekend when Operation Adler and Airbus Oceanside Illertissen were facing each other in competition for the second time. Operation Adler was formed for the German Outdoor Nationals 2023 and upset the former national 8-way team, Airbus, after the ten rounds at the Fallschirmsportzentrum Saar in August/September last year.

Originally, Operation Adler had no long-term plans to compete for Germany at the next outdoor world championship, however, they began to consider the options after winning the outdoor qualification. Eventually, they decided to go after the potential bronze medal opportunity at the 26th FAI World Formation Skydiving Championships 2024.

Airbus had already begun with making plans and compete for Germany in North Carolina this year. The original plans fell apart when Operation Adler registered for the German outdoor championship and won the competition.

However, Operation Adler offered Airbus and the German skydiving federation a new qualification event with the goal of sending the strongest German 8-way team to the world championship and defend the bronze medals successfully that Airbus won at the 25th FAI World Formation Skydiving Championships 2022 in Eloy. Both teams and the German skydiving federation finally agreed with the new selection of the national 8-way team after the outdoor championship in September this year, a month before Round 1 at the outdoor world championship.

Germany Indoor Nationals 2024			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		K,P,18,E		B,2,3		J,G,22,13		15,6,C		N,D,M,19		4,O,8		17,1,21		L,5,H,16		A,12,9		7,14,F		Total	Avg
1	Veloce QRF	INT	24		23	-1	19		27		19		22		23		25		21		21		224	22.4
2	Operation Adler	DE	24		22		20		24		19		19		21		23		20		18		210	21.0
3	Airbus 8-way Oceanside Illertissen	DE	16	-4	20	-1	21		24		16	-3	20		23		23	-1	20	-1	18		201	20.1
4	Crazy Weasel	DE	18		18		17		20		16		12	-3	17		20		16		11	-1	165	16.5
5	Berlin 8 Way	DE	13		12	-1	11		14		11	-1	11		12		14		11		12		121	12.1
6	Coriolis	DE	12		13		11		16		10	-1	9	-1	12		14		11		9	-1	117	11.7
7	Trick 9	DE	11		14		11	-1	13		14		10	-1	11		7	-4	11		12		114	11.4

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Operation Adler - Airbus 8-way at the German Indoor Nationals 2024

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The national indoor championship last weekend was hosted by the Hurricane Factory Berlin, which can accommodate 8-way teams with its 17-foot flying chamber, even a tall lineup as the one of Operation Adler. The next showdown between the same teams with the same lineups was set and not an unexpected surprise any longer.

The indoor situation was similar to the one before the outdoor competition last year. Operation Adler did not train much at all and depended on the experiences of the team members, while the new and young Airbus lineup had completed their training plan for the year before competing at the national outdoor championship.

Airbus started their training for the 2024 season early with the goal to win the national championship title in September next year convincingly. The team was planning for 12 hours of indoor training and 200 - 250 jumps. The Airbus indoor training had already begun when the NSL News reported the beginning of the new 8-way negotiations on 6 December 2023. Operation Adler completed two hours of indoor training before the national championship last weekend. The 8-way competition was not a qualification for any other event, as FAI/ISC has not sanctioned 8-way indoor competition yet for world cups or world championships. However, the indoor duel still had a serious meaning for both teams.

German Outdoor Nationals 2023			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		7,9,21		2,8,J		11,K,6		5,H,C,22		B,Q,O,1		14,15,3		A,4,10		16,13,D		F,20,19		N,E,17,G		Total	Avg
1	Qatar Falcons	QA	15		13	-1	19		18		21		19		20		21		16		12	-4	174	17.4
2	Operation Adler	DE	12		11		12	-2	13		14		13		16		14		13		14	-1	132	13.2
3	Airbus Illertissen Oceanside	DE	11		10		12	-1	13		15		13		15		9	-1	12		11	-1	121	12.1
4	Saar 8 SWDN	DE	7		4		9		7	-1	6		9		7	-1	7	-1	7	-1	8		71	7.1
5	LQ macht KO's	DE	4		2		2		4	-1	4		2	-1	5		4		3		2	-1	32	3.2
6	M8-Nix	DE	1	-2	2		2		3		2		3		4		4		3		3		27	2.7

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Operation Adler - Airbus Illertissen Oceanside at the German Outdoor Nationals 2023

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The situation on the 8-way leaderboard at the indoor championship last weekend was also similar to the outdoor event in September last year. The NSL News had reported on 4 September 2023 that Operation Adler won the battle in Round 8, after a weak Airbus performance and a point deduction. There had been only 1-point differences between the two teams in all previous rounds.

This time, Airbus had a devastating start into the competition and were eight points behind Operation Adler after Round 1. The remainder of the competition was more or less a test for Airbus how to recover from serious injury. There was no doubt that the Operation Adler experiences would carry such an advantage through the finish line.

Airbus recovered well enough to confirm the team's potential for becoming a serious challenger at the 8-way world championship qualification that is embedded into the national outdoor event this year. Airbus won three of the remaining eight rounds and tied four more highscores for a 9-point deficit after Round 10. It was the first 8-way indoor competition for the German 8-way teams, and the 8-way indoor experts of the Veloce QRF visitors outscored Operation Adler and Airbus both in Berlin.