Vernon native earns spot on parachute team

VERNON — Vernon native Matt Shull earned a coveted slot on the prestigious U.S. Parachute Team at last week’s 2016 U.S. Parachute Association National Skydiving Championships of Canopy Piloting at Skydive City Zephyrhills in Florida.
The eight-person team will compete against the best canopy pilots from around the world at the World Championships this August in Farnham, Canada.
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 accuracy, in which canopy pilots must stop on an exact spot for maximum points.
Shull, 35, has completed more than 4,000 skydives. He works in space operations for the U.S. Air Force Reserve in Colorado Springs.