By Randy Rauck
On the verge of our 50th Lumby Air Force (LAF) anniversary and reunion Saturday July 11 2026, I was asked to write about the history of Hang Gliding and flying around Lumby and how and why the LAF and the Saddle Mountain Soaring School (now known as The Freedom Flying School) got started here in 1976.
Lumby was one of the first communities in BC and Canada to embrace the sport of Hang Gliding which has a very colourful history and eventually changed the direction of many people’s lives…especially mine.
The sport of foot-launched Hang Gliding, begun in California started around our valley when Lumby resident Chris Bennett saw a hang glider flying on television in 1975. He immediately ordered one and proceeded to fly it from slopes in Cherryville and Lumby without any formal instruction, which was common back then because there was no local schools.
Chris even experimented towing it behind snowmobiles and pickup trucks. He also had numerous successful flights off Saddle Mountain above the graveyard but unfortunately on his first attempt to land downtown Lumby in the community park, he ended up short and swerved to miss some power lines. He crashed in front of where the museum is now located, breaking his back. The glider was repaired and Leo Salvas decided he would try to fly the wing off Saddle Mountain late one afternoon. The attempt was a learning experience as he was unaware that gliders cannot not launch very well with a tailwind, so he crashed on launch, knocking his front teeth out.
Leo was not one to give up easily and after some minor repairs to the glider he successfully launched and flew it safely to the field below the next morning. He was hooked on Hang Gliding!! Leo ordered a new wing immediately and after many successful flights, he convinced many other local people, including myself at age 20, Garth Kuraoka, Johnny Ruesch, and a few others to try and free fly in the spring of 1976. Some did well, some not so well so caution set in. Chris had healed up now and was back in the air too.
I purchased my first wing brand-new from a manufacturer in Invermere BC in 1976 and Chris, Leo and myself were flying every day that we could. Then one day in May, a day I will never forget… It was my 7th flight of the day, when I saw a Vernon glider pilot take off with his new high performance wing from Saddle Mountain in a strong South wind and climb up above launch to soar with the ravens and hawks.
I was getting ready to launch but I just had to unhook from my wing to witness this amazing phenomena! I had an immediate epiphany… Instead of simply gliding down, we could actually soar up to fly with the birds!!! This was an instant game changer realization moment for me!
I immediately picked up my wing and ran as fast as I could off the Rock Cliff Launch (infamously, now known among flyers now as Randy’s Rock ) …Unfortunately, in my excitement, I was no longer connected to the wing! Hanging onto the control bar, my weight shifted the centre of gravity forward and the glider plunged into a nose dive straight into the rock face of the cliff and tumbled to the bottom. I am sure the helmet saved my life. I woke up in the hospital unable to move for a week, yet miraculously I had no broken bones.
At this point, I knew I had to make a life changing decision: get in to the sport deep now, or stop. At the end of the week I chose to go deep and sold my trucking company to Russ Headington and started the Saddle Mountain Soaring School to help new Hang Glider pilots learn the safest way to fly.
I was teaching free flight in the summers full time and heading south to California most winters with all the other birds and buddies to keep flying and prepare for hang gliding competitions.
Leo, Chris and I started the Lumby Air Force Flying Club in 1976 as well. We quickly had more than 20 local area members while the Vernon Flying club had about the same or perhaps a bit fewer. We started running annual Hang Gliding competitions in Lumby, in conjunction with Lumby Days. From 1976-81 we had big sponsors like Molsen and Labatt brewing companies that took a big interest in this new exciting sport.
In those years we also started experimenting with attached motors on the gliders creating some of Canada’s first foot launched ultralight aircraft.
I was honoured to represent Canada at the World Team Hang Gliding Championships in the USA in 1978, 79 and 80. I was also very happy to finish fourth in 1978 and 79 at The World Invitational Hang Gliding Championships at Grouse Mountain BC.
Cooper’s Launch has also been used regularly since the early 80’s with the Lumby Air Force holding a lease for the past 23 years with the Provincial government for the site which was recently extended for 30 years helping to secure the sight of gliders high in the air over Lumby for decades to come. As a non-profit society, the Lumby Air Force oversees the launch site area and the last part of the road that we helped build with long time LAF member and the late Peter Warnes.
In 1979 we started manufacturing the ASG 23 Hang Glider in Lumby at the Flight Park and produced 3 aircraft that we flew at the world team championships in Chattanooga Tennessee in 1980. It was designed and engineered by well-known American aviation engineer Tom Price of California. The glider design was way ahead of its time using composite materials and was very expensive, so production was discontinued.
Since 1976, The Lumby Air Force has hosted numerous National and Provincial Hang Gliding Championships as well as the annual local Lumby Air Races events. The valley’s unique geography with low winds and its nearness to Silver Star, makes for generally good flying conditions. Now each year, many flyers from around the world make Lumby a stop on their flying vacations, while others travel to BC`s only full service hang gliding school to take lessons.
Paragliding lessons are also now taught at the Freedom Flight Park and it has been Canada’s most prolific paragliding school of new rated pilots for many years. The new and returning flyers are very committed to promoting and enjoying their sport in a safe and welcoming way and appreciate and support the local community. Recently, about a dozen flyers have moved to Lumby or nearby because of the flying community, friendly local people and the excellent flying conditions.
Thanks to the new owner of Saddle Mountain, Jerry Thompson, we are also still able to fly from there as the wind favours that launch most afternoons. Now with the landmark flags installed on Saddle in 2025, valley wind direction is easy to see from high above and reminds us and all of our visitors of our national and provincial pride.
I’m thankful for being able to continue hosting many flyers from around the world on the family farm, which is still the official landing zone for hang gliders, paragliders and many other types of Aircraft in this valley today. I am also very grateful to my grandparents Joe and Louise Gallon for discovering and settling in Lumby at our current location in 1908. As a boy, my grandfather inspired me with his recurring dream about flying around this beautiful valley with the soaring birds, just by flapping his arms in the hot summer winds. My parents John and Denise Rouck who were supportive in letting me grow with my flying passion from our property, as scary and crazy as it seemed and was at the time. My sisters Cindy Gatzke and Roxanna Schunter for allowing me the time to purchase their shares in the farm. For the future plans, my wife, Lorelei Fiset and myself and the growing Lumby Air Force flying club also hope to keep the flying dream alive in Lumby for many years to come.
