posted Nov 4th, 2010 - The recent stories covering the new Arizona Airspeed lineup and Mark Kirkby's competition career brought the NSL News and the audience back to the original Airspeed lineup. NSL-TV uploaded competition jumps of the original lineup with the story on 28 October 2010.

The Airspeed coverage included the 8-way event, which Airspeed gave full attention beginning in 1996. Craig Girard had left the Golden Knights after winning three World Meet 8-way gold medals and took charge of forming and guiding the new Airspeed 8-way lineup.

Three years later, Airspeed defeated the Golden Knights for the first time in 8-way. NSL-TV found the videos of the 8-way competition between Airspeed and the Golden Knights at the USPA Nationals 1998, which feature the Airspeed takeover with all the Golden Knights drama in Round 4 and especially in Round 5.

USPA Nationals 1998		Round1	Round2	Round3	Round4	Round5	Round6	Round7	Round8	Round9	Round10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	21	24	23	24	21	20	16	22	18	18	207	20.7
2	Golden Knights	24	23	23	19	13	20	15	24	17	20	198	19.8

Arizona Airspeed and Golden Knights at the USPA Nationals 1998

Those two rounds brought down the dominating 8-way team of over a decade. The Golden Knights won the other eight rounds (166 - 162) by four points, but the damage was already done in Round 4 and Round 5, and the Airspeed 8-way machine of 1998 was running too well for a change.

Two current Golden Knights members, Kurt Isenbarger and Matt Davidson, can probably still feel the pain after Round 5. They got redemption a year later when a Golden Knights lineup with two different members beat the same Airspeed lineup at the USPA Nationals 1999.

That was the last time that the Golden Knights won the 8-way competition in the USA until this September at the USPA Nationals 2010. Airspeed still competed for the USA at the World Meet 1999 in Australia, won the gold medals and took over the 8-way top spot in the USA.

This year's NSL News coverage of the USPA Nationals 2010 included the new 8-way situation and its history. The Golden Knights are back on the top now after Brian "BK" Krause took the leadership as the team captain for a new and young lineup, plus Kurt Isenbarger and Matt Davidson with their broad experiences in 4-way and 8-way.

There are a few similarities and a few differences between 1998 and 2010. Airspeed took over in a so called "on-year". The USPA Nationals 1998 was the qualifyer for the World Meet 1999. This year's 8-way takeover of the Golden Knights happened in an "off-year", the US Army team still has to win at the USPA Nationals 2011 to officially qualify for the World Meet 2012.

Both US 8-way teams of 1999 and 2010 were not the reigning national champions. The Golden Knights won in 1999, and Airspeed traveled to Australia after being defeated at home a few weeks earlier. The Golden Knights only competed at the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2010 in Menzelinsk because Airspeed handed over the tickets to Russia after winning the 8-way competition in 2009.

USPA Nationals 2010		Round1	Round2	Round3	Round4	Round5	Round6	Round7	Round8	Round9	Round10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open	P,1,J,A	K,13,4	9,O,2	D,20,17	15,B,L,3	E,10,Q,M	N,22,7	16,H,12	19,21,6	G,14,5	Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights	24	19	15	19	30	18	18	23	17	16	199	19.9
2	Arizona Airspeed	21	19	15	16	27	22	18	21	17	15	191	19.1
3	Paraclete XP8	16	16	12	17	25	16	18	18	12	13	163	16.3

It was also interesting to see that a competition jump with the same block caused trouble for the Golden Knights in 1998 and again in 2010. The current Block 10 (Donut - Donut) at the beginning of Round 5 buried the Golden Knights in 1998.

The same block was on the top of the sequence for Round 10 in Menzelinsk, and it didn't go too well for the Knights. The scores for Round 10 wrapped up the gold medals for France and silver for the US team, even though Aerodyne Cypres Maubeuge was three points ahead before Round 10.

Chances are little that Airspeed will come up with a serious 8-way effort next year. The Golden Knights will most likely walk away with the USPA 8-way gold medals in 2011 and compete as the reigning US champion at the World Meet 2012. Airspeed's 8-way lineup won at the team's first world meet in 1999, the Golden Knights placed 2nd. However, the gold medals will probably be much closer for the US Army team in 2012, and France is under pressure.