Monts Jura Paragliding School
Tel / Whatsapp: +33 6 37 86 94 17
Learn paragliding in the Jura
The Sur Un Nuage school is located in Pays de Gex, between Geneva and Col de la Faucille. Our philosophy revolves around the following principles:
-
Prioritize flying in the Jura and Ain areas, in order to lear about local specificities.
-
Teach safety issues by considering human factors.
-
Offer a positive pedagogy focused on kindness within the group.
-
Respect individual progression pace, adapting to each pilot through small groups.
-
Practice with maximum consideration for the environment.
To book online: check available dates and spots in the schedule below, click on the desired course, and then follow the instructions on the booking page! If you prefer to book by phone, feel free to give us a call. If the course is full, if you need to change a date, or if you are a formed group, nothing is set in stone. Contact us by phone, and we'll find a solution!
Jura paragliding courses
Lasting 4 to 6 days, in small skill-level groups, we teach the fundamentals of ground and flight piloting, progressing together in a friendly atmosphere. Ideal for beginners to meet and connect with fellow enthusiasts! Accommodations are available on our partners' page.
"A la carte" days
Prerequisites: Pilot's License (APPI-4). Designed for licensed pilots who cannot free up an entire week, these days allow for progression at one's own pace and availability. A booklet of 5 or 10 training days, to be used as needed for a customized progression, valid for 2 years
Steps to become a paraglider pilot
The French Free Flying Federation, to which we are affiliated, offers a color-coded level system that allows you to track your progression.
At Sur Un Nuage, we rely on this tool to form homogeneous groups. Of course, everyone progresses at their own pace, so it's challenging to describe a 'typical path,' but here's a small diagram to help you determine which course you can enroll in.
30 hours
(4 to 6 days)
Min. 1 flight
30 hours
(4 to 6 days)
30 hours
(4 to 6 days)
Min. 8 flights
Min. 50 flights
18 hours
(3 days)
Min. 80 vols
Brevet Initial
For a detailed description, click on the course icon.
Beginners course
It's a 30-hour training program, spread over 4 to 6 days depending on weather conditions, typically starting on Monday mornings. The goal is, guided by the instructor via radio, to complete your first solo flight and even multiple flights if weather conditions permit! You'll start by getting to know the group, exploring the equipment, and quickly making your first attempts on the training slope: inflation, the foundation of the practice! The focus is on learning to handle the paraglider on the ground, like a large kite, first on flat ground and then on a slight slope, laying the necessary groundwork for a safe takeoff. The week is also about other equally important moments: video debriefings of your exploits, indoor piloting lessons in a harness attached to a rig, safety instructions, potentially tandem flights with the instructor if pedagogically beneficial, a virtual reality flight simulation using a headset, sky and cloud observation, and other enjoyable activities... The meeting point is at the school every day, and the schedule can vary significantly as we adapt to the weather forecast for the next day, always communicated the day before. The school opens 30 minutes before the meeting time, for those who want to gather around the legendary madeleine - breakfast provided by the school.
Progression course
It is a 30-hour training program, spread over 4 to 6 days depending on weather conditions, typically starting on Monday mornings. Prerequisites include completing a beginners course and at least 1 solo flight. The goal is to have fun during several flights, always guided by the instructor via walkie-talkie, to gain confidence, establish references, and prepare for next flights with a gradual reduction in walkie-talkie interventions. The program includes small exercises to begin playing with the paraglider's axes, learning to do nice and accurate turns, as well as the first safety maneuvers. Ground slope flights are also planned to refine your technique, especially in varied wind conditions. Indoor, you will continue with the analysis part, practicing tasks such as weather forecasting or studying the consequences of your piloting actions. The tandem instructional flight can be integrated at any stage of progression if it proves beneficial for improvement. If you've become hooked on the activity (beware, we won't hide the slight risk of addiction!), this is generally when pilots purchase their equipment for the future.
Autonomy course
It's a 30-hour training program, spread over 4 to 6 days depending on weather conditions. Prerequisites include completing two courses, at least 8 flights, and ideally obtaining the Initial License. The goal is to become independent on a familiar site in calm conditions. As for the flight program, it's all about radio silence! The instructor provides information rather than instructions and intervenes only when needed for safety. You'll experience takeoffs in slightly different wind conditions, vary landings, and refine your safety maneuvers. There's also a lot of fun involved, with the opportunity to take your first extended flights in conditions that allow for longer airtime! During this course, we spend a significant amount of time observing the sky, identifying clouds and what they indicate about the current situation. There's still some ground slope training to keep your skills sharp, along with discussions on topics such as risk management, recognizing emotional states, analyzing aerology, decision-making, coexistence with birds of prey, and more. In short, it's a course to learn how to keep your head in the clouds, but not too much! Towards the end of this course, you may have the opportunity to obtain your Initial License – the first level in the FFVL training curriculum, akin to leaving the nest! It will be time to fly independently on the sites you now know well, meet other pilots, continue your progression, and return to us occasionally for advice or to pursue your Pilot's License!
You love short flights, but you'd like to spend a bit more time in the air? The 'Stay in the Air' course is designed for autonomis pilots in calm takeoff and landing conditions (Brevet Initial obtained) who wish to continue their progress by flying in slightly more established conditions. You will work on inflation techniques in various conditions (moderate to strong wind, crosswind, etc.), and we will seek flight conditions where it is possible to stay in the air longer : soaring, calm thermals without turbulence, restitution, etc. The theoretical sessions will mainly cover piloting to learn how to optimize the daily air mass: flight regimes, choice of takeoff cycle, how to know if it's going up, when and how to turn, etc. We will also address topics such as visualizing aerology for performance and associated placements. A course where we seek flight volume, not in terms of quantity, but rather in hours !
Pilot's licenses evaluation
The Pilot's License certifies the ability to fly in various locations and under varied conditions. It also allows legal flying in countries that require an 'IPPI-IV' level, such as Switzerland. The license consists of a theoretical part (multiple-choice questions) and a practical part (ground, flight, and analysis). In order to evaluate pilots under the best conditions, we organize Pilot's License assessment sessions (also for Advanced Pilot's License, upon request) over 3 days: the time needed to verify all the skills of pilots that we may not be familiar with. For pilots enrolled in our various 5-day courses who wish to obtain their licenses, we systematically confirm the practical level, and there is an option, upon request, to take the theoretical part during the same course (no need to enroll in the separate License assessment course). In both cases, we consider these 'License sessions' as full-fledged training days: an opportunity for pilots to assess their practice and an ideal moment to work on their weaknesses and enhance their safety. There is a qualification at stake, but no pressure: we do not create an exam atmosphere! Obtaining the Pilot's License is not mandatory for enrolling in subsequent courses, but we strongly recommend it so that you can fully enjoy the experience in groups with a homogeneous level.
Thermal course
The paraglider's dream: understanding everything about the invisible world of thermals! Well, we haven't fully grasped it all yet, but we certainly have some advice to offer... methods for prospecting, strategies for finding them, techniques for staying in them, and tricks for optimizing them. The prerequisite for this course is to have obtained the Pilot's License (BP), or to demonstrate sufficient experience (contact us). The goal of this course is to enhance your analysis and piloting skills to stay in the air as long as possible, perhaps even one day being the last to land! The program includes choosing the site with the best potential for the day (in-depth weather analysis, understanding instability, and reading skew-T diagrams), taking off at the best moment, learning to optimize your flight regimes to climb in dynamic or thermal lift. Soaring in thermals also involves identifying associated risks and anticipating them, so there are important safety points covered in this course. Additionally, there will be debriefings on piloting, positioning in the air mass, and analysis of GPS traces. It's also an opportunity to discuss equipment aspects such as instrumentation, harnesses, etc
Travels
The principle is simple: you are a formed group (minimum 3 people) and you want to explore the sites of a new region? You can contact us to hire us as flight guides for the duration of your choice. We are very familiar with several regions with stunning sites, examples include Jura, Northern Alps (Bauges, Chartreuse...), "middle" Alps :-D (Vercors, Trièves, Drôme), Southern Alps, French Pyrenees, Spanish Pyrenees, Andalusia, Italy, Morocco... Our role is to help you choose the site of the day by presenting the nearby options, testing the air mass to inform you of its characteristics based on everyone's desires, proposing technical exercises related to the specificity of each site, participating in vehicle logistics, and guiding you on the W-T if needed... Transportation and accommodation arrangements are your responsibility and based on your preferences (choice of vehicle, accommodations, and restaurants...). If a group starts forming, we can share the information with our students to gather and thus divide the educational costs, limited to 6 people. Vamos !
2024 courses schedule
To book online: check available dates and spots in the schedule below, click on the desired course, and then follow the instructions on the booking page! If you prefer to book by phone, feel free to give us a call. If the course is full, if you need to change a date, or if you are a formed group, nothing is set in stone. Contact us by phone, and we'll find a solution!
Problem redirecting to the booking site? Try with this link
Summary: useful information
-
The initiation, progression and improvement courses are 30-hour courses, spread over 4 to 6 days depending on the weather.
-
Variable hours to optimize your progress according to the time slots offered by nature... flexibility!
-
€740 / course, including: instructors, flight equipment, educational materials, vehicles
-
Other courses: see rates page and online booking site
-
Personal equipment: -10%, subject to validation of the equipment by the teaching team
-
Not included: FFVL license / insurance / meals / accommodation (fridge available at school, and lunch-picking organized!)
-
Formed groups: contact us
-
Groups on a human scale, 2 instructors for a maximum of 8 students
-
Leave the course with videos of your sessions
-
Specific courses on flight regulations in the Jura Reserve
-
From 14 years (minors: parental authorization required) , no age limit!
-
Physical condition: being in good shape
-
Medical certificate of no contraindication required when taking out a license
-
School slopes in the Pays de Gex, within a 15-minute drive
-
Flying sites: primarily paragliding sites in the Jura: Vesancy, Mijoux, Crozet, Menthières, Port.
-
Come in sneakers or mountain shoes, take a pair of thin gloves
-
Sportswear or jeans in which you are comfortable moving
-
We provide the rest: flight equipment, helmets, walkie-talkies...
-
Our priority is safety
-
If the weather is really unfavorable, we may go to the sites of Haute-Savoie for the day
Another question ? Feel free to ask us via the form on the home page.