Learn to paraglide in the Alpes-Maritimes with Ailéments

The pedagogical tandem is a tool that is rarely used in paragliding schools. Many instructors are unable to use it in their courses because the logistics for all the students are complicated. With this pedagogical learning method, we can tackle and, above all, correct a number of concepts that are essential in paragliding. paragliding. First of all, we analyse the conditions with you before the flight and compare them with those encountered in the air. We can also highlight direct aerological clues and, depending on the morphology of the site, interpret the possible flow of the breeze as well as the possible drift of the thermal at any given moment. And so following this analysis we can act and adapt our trajectories along the mountain and then either follow the relief or roll up a thermal identifying the dangerous points to which we must pay attention, in particular the phase facing the relief when rolling up an updraft. But let's get into the details!

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Customer testimonials

Thanks to Pierrot for this canyoning session at top👍🏻Une. Great atmosphere, great professionalism, easy communication via WhatsApp for the booking.

Porpe tanya

Incredible experience.
You can't go wrong with the Ailéments / Gréolières combo.
Pierre Yves is passionate and professional.
I recommend to 100%. ✅

Marine

We came as a couple for a first paragliding experience with Pierrot. And we loved it!
Excellent communication upstream, top explanations during preparation and the flight, I can only recommend Pierrot d'Ailement! What a pleasure!

Soledad

FAQ about educational flying in the 06

Do you need to already be a pilot to take part in an educational flight?

It all depends on what you are looking for in this flight, we adapt our theoretical input and in-flight exercises to suit your level. If you've never flown a paraglider before and you're interested in understanding how a pilot analyses and flies, then it's possible. It's true that to get the most out of this formula it's interesting to have already done a introductory and advanced courses. Having flown in thermals is of course an advantage and if you want to perfect your piloting and understand how to optimise it, then you're on the right flight.

How are the theory lessons going?

It all depends on the conditions forecast. We generally like to take off early if possible, so that we can get you into a pleasant air mass and do the theoretical groundwork for take-off. This allows us to be reactive on the flight slot and according to your level to choose the best conditions. The principle is to assess your knowledge and what you think you do in terms of analysis and action in the air when you're alone, and to improve or even change these actions to appropriate and calculated gestures.

What does educational flying really do for pilots?

There's no substitute for being in the air with your instructor and feeling the air mass with him. We like to observe your movements and your analysis, impossible with a ground radio to see all these details and to be as relevant on the timing. You can observe the aerological cues live, and it's a lot easier to work out how to fly over the terrain.

Piloting a paraglider with all your senses at the ready

We're used to saying that we act because we feel, not because we act mechanically. Paragliding is pure feeling. Your wing is just an extension of your hands, the search for a gentle balance between pressure, control and harness. Of course, all this is nothing if the whole body is not tuned in, and any loss of pressure under the harness or in the controls is instantly picked up, as is the feeling that the wing is pulling you forward or struggling to get back over your head, which again requires appropriate and proportionate piloting. It's all about finesse, the air mass has characteristics that change from one valley to another, from one slope to another and depending on the nature of the ground this will give us ascents that are more or less wide, sharp and inclined depending on the valley or slope breeze. All these parameters influence your decisions and your piloting (the way you move and fly through the air).

It's very important to know when you're entering lift, symmetrically or asymmetrically, when you can exploit it: in a figure eight facing the valley or in a 360 away from the terrain, or when you're coming out of lift and above all to decide when you want to come out of it and in which axis! We can pilot our paraglider in several ways, using only the inside hand on the turn and in this case your wing will be more sensitive and reactive in roll, or using the outside hand as we recommend in order to control the inclination of a thermal turn depending on whether you have a narrow or wide thermal, or a powerful or weak one.

Thermals in theory: their origins and evolution

First of all, it's important to remember the 3 main ways in which energy is transferred: the sun is our driving force, heating the ground by radiation; the ground, which is then heated, will itself heat a layer of air in contact with it, a phenomenon known as conduction; and finally, this mass of air, which is warmer than the surrounding air, will expand and rise by gravity through convection. Next, we'll try to work out together what the ingredients are for a good "thermal receptacle": a place where everything is brought together for good heating. Namely, an area sheltered from wind or breeze, good exposure to the sun, a large enough surface area so that the thermal can be exploited and a suitable type of ground (dry fields, villages, clearings, cliffs, boulder chaos, etc.) Once we have identified the receptacle, we will need to associate it with a trigger, because apart from overheating, if nothing disturbs this mass of heated air, it will not be able to rise out of the terrain so that it can be experienced by paragliders. So we come to the triggers: what will disturb this air mass? First of all, slope breaks and summits are areas where, if the angle is large, the air bubble will not continue to stick to the ground as it rises but will take off and rise. A quick reminder: why does a hot mass of air, as it rises, follow the relief until it finds a break that causes it to come unstuck? Viscosity... Let's continue, what else? Exposure to a slight slope breeze will lift this bubble and detach it. The temperature will be so high that it will eventually leave the ground. One last thing we can refer to during the spring is the contrast zones, rock snow or rock water, you need a big temperature gradient for the bubble to come off. After determining the potential thermal zones, there are also direct clues in the sky or on the ground that will help you at decisive moments. Our friends the birds are very good clues, but beware, they are stronger than we are and sometimes roll up lift that can't always be exploited. Vegetation: trees on the slopes or fields in the valley indicate that there is air movement in the area, so let's hope it's rising! The smoke also gives us an indication not of where the thermal is at its base, but of how it will evolve as it tilts in the breeze. And finally, paragliding buddies, and yes, it's always easier to fly in a group, but you still need to be aware of what's going on around you. This is a brief introduction to a method of analysing and understanding thermals. Apprenticeships is, of course, recommended if you want to develop your skills safely and understand all the parameters better.

Ailéments, based in the heart of the Préalpes d'Azur, offers you the chance to discover the Alpes-Maritimes with a first paragliding or canyoning experience.