Club les Gratte-Ciel

Site Management (Takeoffs and Landings)

Site management is the main objective of our association which has received delegation from the FFVL. Indeed, without takeoff or landing, there is no free flight. 

It is :

• Meet the owners of takeoffs and landings in order to obtain or maintain their authorization to use the land for free flight. It is indeed thanks to their generosity that we can practice our passion. An agreement is generally signed between the club and therefore the FFVL and the owners.

• Inform users of these sites through information panels and a website. The Gratte-ciel club has also published an information brochure: Flying in the Pays du Mont-Blanc, available in French and English, bringing together all the information necessary for the responsible practice of Free Flight in the Pays du Mont-Blanc .

• Maintain landings and takeoffs in order to provide maximum safety for pilots while respecting the environment. This may involve major work such as that which was carried out at Plan de l'Aiguille in order to remove dangerous blocks and obtain a more "healthy" aerological profile, but also "routine" maintenance such as sowing a a little grass on the trampling areas, remove small stones which are dangerous for our lines, remove waste etc...

Most of the time, this work is carried out by volunteers without whom nothing would be possible. Motivated but often too few in number, it is unfortunately almost always the same people who give their time and energy to keep the club alive.

Animation-Training

Every year we organize different types of events whose aim can be to:

For pilots, the introductory course is the key to our sport.

But Training is a permanent process and the club's motivation was once again this year to increase our effort on driving courses. Several pilots were able to learn other areas of flight with these courses organized in collaboration with specialized schools on the shores of Lake Annecy.

Improve the theoretical or practical knowledge of club members, such as organizing a “piloting” course or a “pilot’s license” session

Make our flight sites known and recognized by organizing competitions or “friendly meetings”. The club has organized more than ten competitions including the French Paragliding Championships in 2004, Flying and Skiing and Speed-Riding competitions.

Have fun in addition to the flight by organizing barbecues, club outings and other festivities. Pilots are looking for improvement, the club must offer them effective and fun possibilities. Especially since these outings make it possible to create links between the pilots themselves and contribute to the development of each one.

The most experienced have the opportunity to transmit...The most novices can thus benefit from the experience of others.

It's a bit like our third half, where we do flights again and sometimes paragliding!

Security

We set up a reserve parachute packing session every year, which allows all club pilots to have properly maintained equipment!

Communication

We publicize our activity via the specialized or general press such as the Dauphiné Libéré which has followed us for many years or through this website, our Facebook page or by Newsletter (e.mail).

The competition

The club has always had many talented pilots.

Financial resources

• Contributions: each member pays a contribution of 20 euros each year, 10 euros for young people under 25 years old.

• Subsidies: they are generally granted to finance specific projects such as major works, competitions, etc.

• Donations: rather rare...

Material Means

The club has mainly hands and feet, a few neurons and a lot of motivation!

But we also have a small mazeau, located on the Bois du Bouchet landing site and which is used to store equipment (signage banners, rakes, shovels, plates, our BBQs, drinks etc...) We also have two two-seaters, one brand new and one in light canvas for the mountains. We use them to make people fly who want to discover the joys of flying. They are exclusively piloted by pilots with a “two-seater” qualification.

Paragliding

Paragliding was born in the 1980s, and has continued to develop since then. Its success is due to its lightness and ease of implementation. The magic of paragliding is there: go up for takeoff with your equipment that you can carry on your back, get ready (10 min maximum), take off! Once in OK, we fold the wing in the bag and go have a beer...

Some numbers :

• Weight between 3kg and 6 kilos for the wing. Between 4kg and 15kg for a complete bag: sail and harness

• Surface area between 20 and 30 m2 depending on the wings

• World distance record: 460 km

• Record altitude: more than 7000 m

• Climb speeds: regularly between 2m/s and 5m/s sometimes more than 10m/s.

Speed ​​Riding

Speed ​​riding consists of flying or skiing under a small wing allowing you to follow the slopes. It is practiced exclusively on off-piste areas. Sensations guaranteed!