Hanging out over Lumby

Photo: Contributed - lumbyairforce.com

Hang gliding pilots from around the world are soaring through the skies above Lumby this week.

The Canadian National Hang Gliding Championships run through July 4 and include some of the best pilots in the game.

Randy Rauck, who helps organize the event and is a hang glider himself, said there are 25 competitors from Canada, Austria, New Zealand, Brazil and the United States.

“These guys are all trying to get points for the world championships in Brazil in 2017,” Rauck said, adding Lumby is world-renowned for hang gliding due to its thermals and wind conditions.

“Lumby has a very unique micro-climate,” he said. “This little valley is protected from the winds of the main valley.”

Lumby has hosted the nationals several times over the past 40 years.

The pilots have several mountains to launch from – one as far away as Sicamous – and the launch site is selected based on the weather that day.

“I was getting up over 10,000 feet yesterday,” said Rauk Monday. “The whole North Okanagan is a good area for hang gliders and paragliders.”

The pilots race around closed-circuit triangles of 25 to 100 kilometres.