Detecting the column of hot air, winding it up, centering the core and safely ascending: the guide to paragliding thermal flight, from the first level turn to the thermal flight that takes you high. With our DEJEPS instructors, Gréolières since 2013.
High-altitude and thermal activities in the mountainsFlying in thermal conditions is about turning a ray of sunlight into altitude. Where level flight simply means descending, the pilot who knows how to read and control the ascents can stay in the air for hours and gain hundreds of meters — without an engine, just with the air.
This thermal paragliding guide takes the subject by the Flying technique : how to identify a thermal, wind it, center its core and climb while remaining safe. This is the «control» aspect of the thermal; for the «understanding and forecasting the air» aspect, see our guide'Aeronautical engineering in paragliding, complementary to it.
It has been written by the team of Ailéments the Paragliding School in Gréolières (06) since 2013, affiliated to the FFVL. Our state-certified instructors (DEJEPS) fly and teach thermal flight on a daily basis, in a region of the Alpes-Maritimes renowned for its aviation heritage: here, in plain language, is how to learn to fly.
A thermocline is a bubble or column of warm air that rises. Understanding how it forms already means knowing where to look for it.
The soil heated by the sun warms the air upon contact. This air becomes lighter than the surrounding air, separates from it and rises: this is the convection. The wind speed can rise from 1 to more than 4 m/s — enough to lift a paraglider.
You need sunshine (clear sky or little cloudiness), a unstable atmosphere (the air temperature continues to rise in altitude) and a weak to moderate wind. Too much wind whips the thermals; a stable layer of air suffocates them. Knowing how to read these flight conditions is the first reflex.
The warm air accumulates and then triggers an elevation, a slope break, or an obstacle. As it rises, its water vapor can condense and form a cumulus The cloud reaches the peak of thermal activity. No cumulus clouds? Thermal activity is «blue», invisible, but it is there.
A good thermal pilot is first and foremost a good observer. You combine what you see, what you feel in the wing, and what the instrument says.
The cumulus well drawn, the birds (reptiles, snakes) that climb in a spiral without flapping their wings, facing slopes towards the sun, In places where the ground heats up quickly (clear rock, cut fields, the roofs of a village). Even another wing that rises up is a marker: we'll see.
The entrance to a thermal feels like: the wing tangue, When one side rises, the other side rises too, the atmosphere changes. This feeling, in the hands and the hips, is faster than the eye. It is the very essence of steering : translate these signals into action.
Le variometer It sounds when you climb and stops when you descend: it confirms with the sound what the body has already sensed, and helps to compare the strength of ascent from turn to turn. A valuable tool, but it never replaces the feeling.
Finding the thermal isn't enough: you have to stay in it and position yourself where it's rising the strongest. That's where the thermal flight plays out — a constant adjustment that guides often make.
1. Entry: As soon as you feel the ancestry, you are in the thermal — don't wait. 2. Start: engage a turn (often 30 to 45° of inclination) so as not to immediately veer off. Start at the handlebar, follow the instructions, as for everything coordinated turn. A thermal turns around in circles, not by braking.
3. Feeling: in the turn, spot where it’s pushing the most — the wing accelerates, the rudder gets loaded, the vario sings. 4. Center: the nucleus mount higher than the periphery; scale your spiral towards it by slightly opening the strong side and tightening the weak side. You are looking for the heart of the column, turn after turn.
A thermal is not homogeneous: its heart offers the maximum ancestry, its edges they rise less and are more turbulent (the ascending air rubs against the descending air that surrounds it). When centered well, it rises faster and more comfortably. Misaligned, we suffer from the edges and we descend again.
A narrow and strong thermal is worked in an inclined position, in a small radius; a wide and gentle thermal is worked in a flat position. The weight transfer in the harness fine-tunes the placement without braking the wing. Adjust continuously the radius and tilt; that's what centering is.
Thermal energy is active air: it raises the temperature, but it also moves. Safety depends on two things — solid active control and the conditions chosen for the level of activity.
Keeping the wing pressurized and above your head, cushioning the pitch, counteracting the roll, anticipating: the active steering It warns of closures where the air is the liveliest, at the entry and exit points of thermal air. This is the non-negotiable basis of ascending flight.
The edges of the thermal and the air under the wind The reliefs are turbulent. The blue thermal (without cumulus) are surprising because they are invisible. We keep a margin of safety, speed, and avoid flying too close to the terrain or other wings in the same lineage.
We learn about thermals in calm air, early in the morning or late in the afternoon, before moving on to the more muscular conditions of mid-day flight. Flying in calm air conditions suited to their level is the first safety measure.
Flying in thermal mode isn’t something that comes naturally; it’s never learned alone: it’s built up in stages, supervised, with the right equipment and a lot of practice.
We work on the thermal aspect once the basics are acquired and the Pilot's licence in the pocket, at the end of a training Progressive. Active piloting and air reading must be solid before attempting to climb into live air.
Our advanced training courses work specifically on thermal flight, adapted to your level Detection, centering, active management of the wing in turbulent air, video debriefing. Progress is rapid when each flight is guided and then analyzed.
Connecting the thermal points from one point to another is already doing something cross. The thermal is the basic building block of long-distance flight: mastering it well, along with a a wing suited to his level, It opens up the horizons.
Since 2013 at Gréolières, the team Accessories Transmits the flight in thermal to pilots in progress as well as to the most experienced. State-certified instructors (DEJEPS), a field rich in lineage and progressive pedagogy: every gesture is explained, repeated, and debriefed — over 1070 5/5 reviews confirm it.
Want to feel the ancestry at work for the first time? Baptism is the gateway.
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Definition, detection, centering, security, learning: practical solutions.
A column of hot air rising. The sun heats the ground, the air in contact warms up, becomes lighter and rises by convection, sometimes at several meters per second. In paragliding, we turn in this ascent to gain altitude without a motor. This is the engine of the flight in duration and, subsequently, of the Distance flight.
By the visual indicators (well-formed cumulus clouds, birds that fly in spiral formation, slopes bathed in sunlight, soils that heat up) and through felt The tangue wing, one side up, the rudder takes over. The variometer confirms the climb with a sound. This is the heart of the'aerology applied to flight.
As soon as one senses the ancestry, one initiates a turn (30 to 45° often) to stay in it, then we center the nucleus We identify where it rises the most and shift our spiral towards that area. It is a constant adjustment to the handlebar and the controls, which is learned by practice. internship, framed.
It's more active air, therefore more demanding, but safe with the right method. The key is the active steering — keep the wing pressurized, cushion, anticipate — and fly in conditions suited to their level. We start with gentle, controlled heat, before moving on to more sustained air.
Yes, to some extent. In first two-seater flight, If the conditions allow it, the pilot can deploy a thermal to prolong the flight and make you feel the climb. You are not flying: the thermal system does everything. To operate the thermal system yourself, you need to be trained first.
Step by step, never alone. After the patent, We work on thermal energy in advanced training course Air reading, detection, centering, active piloting. Monitor, video debriefing and adapted wing are the best accelerators — always in safety.
Four guidelines for transforming hot air at altitude.
The sun warms the ground, the air rises through convection. The cumulus often marks the summit; without cloud, it is «blue» but very present.
Cumulus clouds, birds, sunlit slopes… and the feeling of the wing swinging. The variometer Confirms, it does not replace.
Starting the turn, feeling where the lift is greatest, shifting the spiral towards the heart of the thermal. A constant adjustment to the handlebar and the control.
Keeping the wing above oneself, choosing one's own conditions, learning under guidance internship. Controlled heat opens the door to cross-country skiing.
During baptism, the instructor winds up the thermal for you and prolongs the flight; during training, he teaches you how to find it and centring it yourself. To fly in the Côte d'Azur, just book a lesson.
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