Oswego Skydiver Wins National Championships

Photo credit: Brian Festi

Submitted by the United States Parachute Association

Oswego resident Pawel Piotrowski won gold in the canopy piloting competition at the U.S. Parachute Association National Parachuting Championships that completed Sunday at Skydive Paraclete XP in Raeford, North Carolina. Piotrowski won gold in the speed event, as well as silver in the distance event.

In canopy piloting, often called “swooping,” skydivers fly high-performance parachutes that can generate high vertical and horizontal speeds. By performing speed-inducing maneuvers, these very experienced skydivers can glide inches above the ground for hundreds of yards at speeds approaching 90 mph. The canopy piloting championships include competitions in speed, in which pilots try to fly as quickly as possible through a course; distance, which involves flying as far as possible across the ground; and zone accuracy, in which canopy pilots must stop on an exact spot for maximum points.

Piotrowski, 41, has completed more than 4,100 skydives. He trains at Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle.