The Ailéments team

Paragliding and canyoning instructors in the Alpes-Maritimes

State-qualified instructors with a passion for the mountains. Pierrot (DEJEPS in free flight and canyoning, over 20 years' experience) takes you paragliding and canyoning. Pierre-Yves (BEES in free flight, a pilot since the age of 10) takes you paragliding. Based in Gréolières and Nice.

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  • State-qualified (DEJEPS and BEES)
  • 1,291+ 5-star reviews
  • Based in Gréolières
  • Paragliding school
Ailéments paragliding and canyoning instructors on a tandem flight over the Alpes-Maritimes Gréolières · Nice (06)
  • The team2 founding instructors
  • QualificationsDEJEPS · BEES · FFVL Paracheck®
  • BaseGréolières & Nice
  • ExperienceFree flight and canyoning
  • Trust1,291+ reviews ★★★★★
Your instructors

Pierrot and Pierre-Yves: you're in good hands

More than just a school, Ailéments is, above all, a story of shared passion. Pierrot and Pierre-Yves, long-time friends and flying partners, have built this venture on a foundation of simple values: technical excellence, respect for nature and a warm welcome.

Pierrot, a DEJEPS-qualified paragliding and canyoning instructor, and founder of Ailéments

Pierrot

DEJEPS Free Flight and Canyoning

Partner at Aerotech · Founder of Ailéments

  • DEJEPS Free Flight
  • DEJEPS Canyoning
  • Over 20 years of experience
  • Canyoning guide since 2014
  • Professional circus artist
  • Over 15 years of teaching

Specialities: tandem flights, Beginner courses, sporty canyons, cross-country, sports teaching.

In a nutshell: I have always been passionate about the mountains and sharing my knowledge. My background as a circus artist and sports instructor has taught me pedagogical rigour, precision of movement and body control in space. These skills lie at the heart of my teaching method for paragliding and canyoning: technical progression, stress management and listening to your body. An expert in Mediterranean conditions (thermals, breezes, terrain). Based in Gréolières, I share my passion with a blend of rigour and kindness. An experienced instructor and pilot, with several thousand flights and descents under my belt. The aim: to have fun safely; learning is all about play.

Pierre-Yves, a BEES-qualified free-flight instructor and paragliding workshop technician, founder of Aerotech

Pierre-Yves

BEES Free Flight

Partner at Ailéments · Founder of Aerotech

  • BEES Free Flight
  • FFVL Paracheck®
  • 31 years of free flying
  • 3000+ tandem flights
  • Founder of Aerotech
  • Aircraft maintenance

Specialities: tandem flights, paraglider technical servicing, aerodynamics, equipment safety.

In a nutshell: A dual expertise: paragliding instructor and workshop technician. As the founder of Aerotech, I combine hands-on flying with in-depth knowledge of the equipment (aerodynamics, maintenance, safety). This dual skill set lets me teach with a complete technical perspective: I understand how a wing behaves in flight as well as its internal structure. An expert on the local sites (Gréolières, Gourdon) and on Mediterranean conditions. My philosophy: maximum safety with all the enjoyment intact, from adjusting your harness to your discovery flight.

Our spirit

The Ailéments team: passion, expertise and a friendly atmosphere

Based in Gréolières, we live in tune with the Mediterranean mountains. Every flight, every canyon descent is a privilege for us. Sharing this passion in a friendly and safe environment is what drives us every day. As professionals with high standards when it comes to safety and teaching, we are, above all, nature lovers who enjoy sharing a friendly moment after a flight or over a picnic in the canyon. At Ailéments, you’re not just another customer: you’re joining a community of enthusiasts.

Safety

High technical standards

State-qualified and continually trained, we never compromise on safety. Our mastery of the equipment, through our own Aerotech workshop, guarantees wings that are checked from the inside.

Terrain

Site knowledge

Gréolières, Gourdon, Col de Bleine, Gorges du Loup, Clue d'Aiglun: we fly and run canyons on our sites 200 days a year. We know every thermal and every water current.

FAQ

Questions about your instructors

Qualifications, safety, group sizes, locations, supervision: everything you need to know before flying with us.

Why fly with an instructor who is also a paragliding technician?

Double the safety. As the founder of Aerotech, Pierre-Yves has a thorough understanding of a wing's internal condition: porosity, lines and seams. It makes all the difference in teaching: he immediately spots any abnormal behaviour in flight and knows exactly what to check.

You fly with someone who knows your equipment inside out. See our paraglider servicing workshop.

Does Pierrot's past as a circus performer bring anything to teaching?

Enormously. 10 years of teaching circus arts means teaching precise movement, balance and stress management. Paragliding is exactly that: posture, fluidity, anticipation.

Pierrot breaks movements down like a sports coach, not just like a pilot. The result: faster, safer progress, ideal on a paragliding course.

How many people are there per instructor?

Tandem flight: 1 person at a time (safety first). Paragliding course: 7 students max per instructor. Canyoning: 8 people max per guide.

We refuse to overcrowd groups, even during peak season. Quality over quantity.

Do you really know the flying and canyoning sites well?

We have lived here for 20 years and more, and we fly or run canyons 200 days a year or more. Gréolières, Gourdon, Col de Bleine, Gorges du Loup, Clue d'Aiglun: we know every thermal, every water current, every rock.

We never take you to a site we haven't mastered 100%. It's our everyday playground, not a catalogue.

Who is really supervising my flight or outing?

Almost always, it's Pierrot or Pierre-Yves in person. At the height of the season (July-August), we may call on partner instructors (also state-qualified), but we always supervise.

We will never hand you over to someone we don't know personally.

We look forward to seeing you

Meet Pierrot and Pierre-Yves in the mountains

We take the time to chat with you to understand your expectations and help you choose the perfect option. Paragliding or canyoning? We look forward to seeing you at Gréolières!

Give the adventure

A gift voucher to get your loved ones flying

Give your loved ones a paragliding flight! Our gift vouchers are available online, valid for 1 year, with no extension, and can be personalised.

Cancellation: full refund if you let us know at least 20 days before the flight, 50% at least 10 days before, nothing at 8 days or less (conditions of sale, article 10). Free rescheduling if the weather is unsuitable. Any questions? Contact us.

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Paragliding flight with an Ailéments instructor at Gréolières
In summary

Why fly with the Ailéments team

4 reasons to trust us for your first experience.

  1. 1

    Two state-qualified instructors

    Pierrot (DEJEPS free flight and canyoning) and Pierre-Yves (BEES free flight). You are taught by the founders themselves, not by seasonal staff.

  2. 2

    A dual equipment expertise

    Pierre-Yves is the founder of Aerotech, a specialist servicing workshop. You fly on equipment that is checked in-house.

  3. 3

    Deliberately small groups

    1 person per tandem flight, 8 max per instructor on a course or in the canyon. Quality over quantity, even in high season.

  4. 4

    1,291+ 5-star reviews

    A community of enthusiasts who spend 200 days a year in the Mediterranean mountains, in Gréolières and the Nice hinterland.

OUR TESTIMONIALS

Real experiences, real memories, real adventures

EXCELLENT
Based on 1291 reviews
Alessandra Bugini
Google
Vol en parapente en cadeau d'anniversaire de mon fils de 9ans. Super expérience, super accueil, vraiment adapté aux enfants!
Une très belle expérience a renouveler !
hannah khel yasa
Google
It was a great experience for us especially for our first time in paragliding. Very friendly and accomodating staff. Would definitely go there again next time
Christel VINCENT
Google
Accueil top, super vol en parapente avec une vue magique sur les montagnes à couper le souffle. Merci Pierrot pour cette expérience et à toute l'équipe pour l'encadrement ! Toujours trop court, on aimerait que ça dure encore un peu.
Anne Marie Bottoni
Google
Cadeau très apprécié par mon petit fils
Pierrot l’a accompagné en toute confiance, un vrai professionnel et de plus très sympathique
Remy Salmieri profile picture
Remy Salmieri
Google
Magnifique super équipe vraiment rien à redire
Pascale Pflieger profile picture
Pascale Pflieger
Google
Très pro!!!
Vanessa Leskinen profile picture
Vanessa Leskinen
Google
Un superbe baptême de parapente en tandem avec ma sœur, chacune accompagnée d’un pilote. Sympas et détendus, Pierrot et Pierre-Yves nous ont tout de suite mises en confiance : aucune appréhension. Nous avons été agréablement surprises par la douceur du décollage et de l’atterrissage. Et entre les deux, des paysages magnifiques ! J’ai même pu prendre les commandes et diriger le parapente pendant quelques minutes… un vrai régal. Deux pilotes très professionnels, que nous recommandons sans hésiter pour un premier vol.
Jack White profile picture
Jack White
Google
Best day out, we did paragliding and then the canyoning. Great value for money and our instruction was excellent we always felt very safe. I have done canyoning in a few countries and this was the best I have done by far. It was a beautiful gorge and had the clearest water. We would book again if we ever came back to the area for sure!
Katell Briand profile picture
Katell Briand
Google
L'activité était vraiment incroyable, merci aux pilotes de nous avoir mis à l'aise et fait vivre ce moment !!
Warda Tahir profile picture
Warda Tahir
Google
Peirrot and his team were amazing! I had a lot of fun. The experience was far more comfortable than I had expected

Over 1291 5-star reviews