In France looking for information

Hi all,

I live in france now and have done for a few years now having moved from the UK; I am really wanting to start Paramotoring as it is something that has interested me for some years now, but I just did not have the money to invest.

Does anyone know of the regulations in France for the sport as I am hopefully wanting to fly from my own land (we live on a small farm).

What I have noticed is that we do have a fair amount of low flying military jets and planes on a regular basis overhead, also there are a few of girocopters that are flying when ever it is nice and sunny so I think it should be ok to fly a paramotor but need to find out.

Any information that people have would be great.

Interesting site, lookforward to hearing some replies.

I am still reading through the forum posts so if this has been coverd I apologise.

Thanks

Hi Bilbe,

Welcome to the forum, you'll find loads of useful info on here.

Your'e in luck, I live in France and have gone through the french training/registration process.

Send me an e-mail (check my profile) and we'll start the info sharing.

I am at 36370, what is your postal code?

Cheers,

Alan

It would be better if you could keep the info on the live forum for others to see.

Its an interesting one.

SW

Pas de problem Simon

I have mentioned some of the differences with actually living over here and paramotor training and flying in some previous posts.

The similarities are that flying is governed by air law (almost identical, airspace classifications differ slightly), air charts which are almost identical also (height and altitude are in feet), with English sub-text on the key to all the symbols.

The main differences are that a paramotor pilot has to be licensed. Microlights are called ULM (Ultra legere motorise) in France and a paramotor pilot has to have a ULM Paramoteur class license. This involves a written ULM exam consisting of 40 multiple choice questions, pass rate being 75%. It covers the usual stuff like air law, meteorology, principles of flight, mechanics of motors, human factors etc. I had to attend Limoges airport to sit the exam in a room in the control tower.

Fortunately there are a number of web sites that you can learn from previous exam questions and do mock exams (all in French unfortunately, thank goodness for translation software). The exam fee was 40 Euros and the license application is 75 Euros.

Your instructor applies for the license on your behalf once he is happy with your flying progress and practical skill level, and has been given your pass certificate for the written exam.

Also the kit has to be registered and an identification mark issued by the DGAC. A paramotor is a ULM class 1A, registration costs 40 Euros and is valid for 2 years. The identification mark (mine is 36QA) has to be applied to the wing and covers the motor/wing combination. Now that I have a new wing I need to apply for another mark to cover the new combination.

There is something like 75 registered paramotor instructors throughout France (some instruct on other types also) and a typical course costs 900 Euros.

The main microlight flying association in France is the FFPLUM with about 14000 members. The aircraft types are 47% 3 axis, 26% flexwing (also called Delta), 23% paramotor, 3% gyro and 1% inflatable (balloon or dirigible).

The FFPLUM offer very reasonable rates for 3rd party insurance, membership including insurance costs me 112 Euros a year.

The military can and do fly anywhere, usually between 200 and 500 feet, so flying at 1500 feet or above is recommended. There are designated restricted areas but they do stray out of them. They don't fly at weekends or bank holidays so low level is best flown at these times.

If I think of anything else I'll add it or just ask any question.

Bon vol (good flight),

Alan

Hello,

Thanks for the great reply Alan,

Suprised and not suprised at the same time as for the need of a licence in France; any excuse for paper work, they love it here

I am in 16260 so about 2 hours from you so pretty close for France as most places I need to go seem to be about 1 or 2 hours away

Will be definately in need of brushing up on my French, I rely on my partner for translations (far too easy I know), should have listened harder at school but never thought I would end up here, c'est la vie.

A couple of questions:

Where did you find the mock exams online as this would be a great starting point for me?

Where did you do your training?

Thanks again

Hi Bilbe,

I am at 36370 Prissac, what is your nearest village?

Go to http://www.flyazur.com and click on the QCM link to find the mock exams.

I used Google to translate the web pages so that I could go through the questions in English. I had some fun in trying to understand some of the translations as some appeared to have no relevance to flying .

Translation list at the bottom of the words that didn't seem to have relevance.

Once I had learnt everything in English I then made sure I learnt the French words then went back to the exams and went through them in French, it takes a while but you get there eventually. Some of the questions are specifically relevant to microlights, not paramotors, but if you can answer them it's 1/40th of your pass mark.

I asked if I could take a French/English dictionary into the exam and fortunately I could, which helped.

I trained at the Estivol ULM club which is south of Bellac on the D675.

Translations (showing the meanings relating to flying):

Brin de Laine is sprig of wool. This confused the hell out of me 'till I found that flexwing pilots attach a piece of wool to the front of the trike to show the symmetry of turns (follows the wind flow over the nose of the trike).

Trainee is drag.

Portance is lift.

Rayon de Virage is radius of turn.

Piste is runway.

Calage is pitch (of propeller or wing).

Decrochage is stalling (came up as unhooking - what the **** does that mean I thought).

Bille is ball, as in the attitude indicator, a ball in a U shaped channel.

Traction is power.

Assiette is attitude (this confused the hell out of me as it came up as plate ).

Finesse is glide angle.

Lacet is yaw.

Calage moteur is timing of spark.

Helice is propeller.

Roulis is rolling.

Decollage is take off.

D'arrondi is round off.

Atterrissage is landing.

Tangage is pitch.

Derape is skid, as in side slipping.

montee is climb.

Sillage is wake.

Derive is drift.

Manche is joystick.

Piquer is dive.

Bougie is spark plug (translates as candle ).

Cap is course.

Rendement is output, as in power output.

Gouverne de profondeur is steering of elevator.

Ralenti is idle (low revs).

Palier is level, as in flight level FLxxx.

Cisaillement is shearing, as in wind shear.

Lisible is readable , as in clear radio comms.

Le factueur de charge is load factor, as in wing loading.

Taux de chute is rate of fall.

Envergure is wingspan.

That's all for now, coo French lessons as well on the PMC

Cheers,

Alan

PS. I have all these words written down, I don't actually remember them now

Hi Bilbe,

I am at 36370 Prissac, what is your nearest village?

Go to http://www.flyazur.com and click on the QCM link to find the mock exams.

I used Google to translate the web pages so that I could go through the questions in English. I had some fun in trying to understand some of the translations as some appeared to have no relevance to flying .

Translation list at the bottom of the words that didn't seem to have relevance.

Once I had learnt everything in English I then made sure I learnt the French words then went back to the exams and went through them in French, it takes a while but you get there eventually. Some of the questions are specifically relevant to microlights, not paramotors, but if you can answer them it's 1/40th of your pass mark.

I asked if I could take a French/English dictionary into the exam and fortunately I could, which helped.

I trained at the Estivol ULM club which is south of Bellac on the D675.

Translations (showing the meanings relating to flying):

Brin de Laine is sprig of wool. This confused the hell out of me 'till I found that flexwing pilots attach a piece of wool to the front of the trike to show the symmetry of turns (follows the wind flow over the nose of the trike).

Trainee is drag.

Portance is lift.

Rayon de Virage is radius of turn.

Piste is runway.

Calage is pitch (of propeller or wing).

Decrochage is stalling (came up as unhooking - what the **** does that mean I thought).

Bille is ball, as in the attitude indicator, a ball in a U shaped channel.

Traction is power.

Assiette is attitude (this confused the hell out of me as it came up as plate ).

Finesse is glide angle.

Lacet is yaw.

Calage moteur is timing of spark.

Helice is propeller.

Roulis is rolling.

Decollage is take off.

D'arrondi is round off.

Atterrissage is landing.

Tangage is pitch.

Derape is skid, as in side slipping.

montee is climb.

Sillage is wake.

Derive is drift.

Manche is joystick.

Piquer is dive.

Bougie is spark plug (translates as candle ).

Cap is course.

Rendement is output, as in power output.

Gouverne de profondeur is steering of elevator.

Ralenti is idle (low revs).

Palier is level, as in flight level FLxxx.

Cisaillement is shearing, as in wind shear.

Lisible is readable , as in clear radio comms.

Le factueur de charge is load factor, as in wing loading.

Taux de chute is rate of fall.

Envergure is wingspan.

That's all for now, coo French lessons as well on the PMC

Cheers,

Alan

PS. I have all these words written down, I don't actually remember them now

Give that man a gold star

Pete b

well done old chap

Ohhh, thanks Pete.

It really was confusing with the wrong translations to begin with

Alan

Wow wee, that would have taken ages to type out, thanks.

All that is going to keep me busy for a while

My nearest village / small town is Chasseneuil Sur Bonnieure, 16260.

Thanks for all the advice I will let you know what my progress is.

Will be picking your bains soon I am sure.

Cheers

Hi Alan

New here and also have a foot in France. You say you've gone through the paramotor registration process in france, could you spell out that process please?

Do I understand it right that we have to give details of the paramotor engine/chassis and the wing seperately or is it now just the wing that is registered (by virtue of a paramotor being subclass 1a) and it can then be flown with any (unregistered) paramotor chassis?

I've had a look through the dgac site and the 'dossier' to complete for an ulm is pretty full-on to say the least - technical file, maintenance file, weight and balance file...

I'm hoping we just fill out the subclass 1a form and register the wing only.

Thanks in advance for any help

Martin

I hope Alan doesn't mind, I've taken the liberty of alphabetising the terms;

A

Assiette: is attitude (this confused the hell out of me as it came up as plate. probably has it's roots in 'sit').

Atterrissage: is landing.

B

Bille: is ball, as in the turn/slip indicator, a ball in a U shaped channel.

Bougie: is spark plug (translates as candle ).

Brin de Laine: is sprig of wool. This confused the hell out of me 'till I found that flexwing pilots attach a piece of wool to the front of the trike to show the symmetry of turns (follows the wind flow over the nose of the trike).

C

Calage: is pitch (of propeller or wing).

Calage moteur: is timing of spark.

Cap: is course.

Cisaillement: is shearing, as in wind shear.

D

D'arrondi: is round off.

Decollage: is take off. (to unstick, remember collages at school?)

Decrochage: is stalling (came up as unhooking - what the **** does that mean I thought).

Derape: is skid, as in side slipping.

Derive: is drift.

E

Envergure: is wingspan.

F

Finesse: is glide angle.

G

Gouverne de profondeur: is steering of elevator.

H

Helice: is propeller.

L

Lacet: is yaw.

Le factueur de charge: is load factor, as in wing loading.

Lisible: is readable , as in clear radio comms.

M

Manche: is joystick.

Montee: is climb.

P

Palier: is level, as in flight level FLxxx.

Piquer: is dive.

Piste: is runway.

Portance: is lift.

R

Ralenti: is idle (low revs).

Rayon de Virage: is radius of turn.

Rendement: is output, as in power output.

Roulis: is rolling.

S

Sillage: is wake.

T

Tangage: is pitch. (I assume as in pitch/roll/yaw?)

Taux de chute: is rate of fall.

Traction: is power.

Trainee: is drag.

Phil no problem at all, thanks.

Taux: de chute is rate of fall, should be Taux de chute:

Cheers,

Alan

Phil no problem at all, thanks.

Taux: de chute is rate of fall, should be Taux de chute:

Cheers,

Alan

Corrected, thanks.

Phil

...can then be flown with any (unregistered) paramotor chassis?

Don't be silly Martin, this is France we're taking about

Only too happy to help, here is what's involved:

Being France there is more than one 'certificate' involved.

The first form is the 'Identification ULM sub class 1A' which gives you a 12 digit reference number which covers a monoplace paramotor.

This form lists the type of ULM, this is where you fill in the make and model of paramotor.

Next comes the Constructeur, if it is a non French paramotor this is you. (Explanation below)

Then comes the 'Description de L'ULM'. The information required is the max, empty and min weights* and compehensive details of the wing: Make, model, type, material of wing, average chord, surface area, wingspan, aspect ratio, line material, line strength, riser material, riser strength, hang point type and height, inside leg measurement.

Also the reference of the motor user and maintenance manual.

The second form 'Carte D'Identification ULM' shows the type, the identification code (the 12 digit number from above) and the Marque d'identification that has to be applied to the wing, eg 36QU which is my new mark. The two numbers correspond to the department you live in. This form is valid for 2 years.

Application also involves filling in the weight file but for a paramotor this is just the all up weight of the dry motor plus wing. This is entered under 'Masse a vide' AND 'Masse a vide de reference' (different for microlights).

* The max weight is the max rating for the wing, empty weight is the 'Masse a vide' and min weight is the minimum rating for the wing.

Now for the constructor: French paramotor manufacturers have an agreement with DGAC that covers airworthiness so just the make is entered. For a foreign manufacture of motor strictly speaking you should be issed an 'experimental' mark before the kit is flown, valid for 1 year. As I had already flown the kind gentleman at Tours ommited this step. So you are the contructor in this case.

Cheers,

Alan

Hi Bilbe,

I am at 36370 Prissac, what is your nearest village?

Go to http://www.flyazur.com and click on the QCM link to find the mock exams.

Hi All

Yep, I'm a newbie, too, also in SW France (82400 Castelsagrat) so this was of some interest to me. However, I think the website may have been changed to - http://fly.azur.free.fr/ as I couldn't find it at the above address. Or am I a dunderhead and missed something obvious?

Apart from that - massive information for us all and many thanks for taking the time, etc...

Mark H

Yep that is the correct address for flyazur.

Very interesting info ! And excellent translations too !

I learned to fly in France so learned all the terminology in French - you can imagine how stupid I felt when flying north across the Channel for the first time and being completely unable to find the right words when talking to air traffic control - and in my own language ! Ha ha ha...

What a breath of fresh air!

I 'ave just been studying the excellent translations above ! Being half-English, half-French I thought I'd supply a very short story about my forthcoming paramotor course in both French and English, using some of these terms so those of you with a little knowledge of French might appreciate how they are actually used in practice..... Sorry, but it's only funny if one speaks both languages.

Je sillage tôt dans le matin, toute excitée car je vais avoir mon premier mouche dans un paramoteur ! Je suis un morceau pneu après une soirée tardive donc faudrait mettre la bille roulissante. Suite à une confiture de circulation j’arrive tard a l’aérodrôme et tous les stagiaires tangagent déjà dedans pour préparer le matériel. Quelle trainée de devoir portancer le moteur – il est lourd pour une petite nana comme moi. Mais j’ai quand-même une assiette positive car j’ai terriblement envie de moucher. Enfin tout est prêt et notre instructeur dérive au-dessus pour faire les chèques finales.

C’est mon virage en premier ! Gingembrement je me strappe dedans. « Lacet prête, Corinne ? » demande l’instructeur. « Sûre suis » je réponds. J’allume le moteur et je mets le gaz.

I wake early in ze morneeng, all excited bécoz I yam going to ‘ave my first flight in a paramoteur ! I yam a leetle tired afteur a late night so I must get ze ball rolling. Bécoz of a traffic jam I arrive late at ze aerodrome and all ze trainees are alreddy pitching in to prepare ze materiel. What a drag it eez to lift ze engine – eet eez ‘evvy for a leetle cheek such as I. But I nevveurzeless ‘ave a positive attitude bécoz I ‘ave ze terrible envy to fly. Finallee everyzing eez reddee and our instructeur dreefts oveur to mek ze final checks.

Eet eez my turn fust ! Gingerly I strap myself een. “Yaw’ll ready, Corinne ?” demands z’instructeur. “Sure am” I reply. I set fire to ze motor and put ze gas.

Ahh, Franglais as she is spoken in 'Allo, Allo'.

Perfect!

Brilliant but what happened next

Alan

Bit of a thread resurrection but ..........

I'm heading to France in a few weeks to do some free flying around the Annecy region before heading down to the St. Hilaire festival where I will hopefully be picking up my shiny new paramotor.

I know its a bit far from you Alan, but what are the regulations for visiting pilots ? I'd like to do some paramotoring around there but obviously don't want to go through foreign exams and registration process. Also don't wish to upset the "vol libre" fraternity even though I'd love to launch from the Doussard landing field for a flight round lake Annecy !!

Any info or pointers to suitable websites appreciated.

I'm sure you'll enjoy your visit to France. The french are very keen on aviation, you will be welcomed as a fellow aviator

As far as visiting pilots are concerned you can visit for 90 days without having to enter the French system. I can't find the official statement for this but that's what I've been told.

Bring your insurance documentation with you, just in case, but nobody will ask to see it.

I hope you have a great trip,

Alan

Thanks, I've flown there before but not with a motor.

The French attitude to countryside access is fantastic - carpeted take off strips, designated landing fields (often with a bar on site), information boards etc - and all free !

Compared with our fragmented and disputed land ownership & access rights, having to pay farmers and join several clubs (more money on top of national BHPA membership) the French system rules !

Same with kayaking and other outdoor sports which just seem so much more popular over there. Think I've just talked myself into moving .....

Is there a website or any links to motor flying sites in France ?

Bit of a thread resurrection but ..........

I'm heading to France in a few weeks to do some free flying around the Annecy region before heading down to the St. Hilaire festival where I will hopefully be picking up my shiny new paramotor.

I know its a bit far from you Alan, but what are the regulations for visiting pilots ? I'd like to do some paramotoring around there but obviously don't want to go through foreign exams and registration process. Also don't wish to upset the "vol libre" fraternity even though I'd love to launch from the Doussard landing field for a flight round lake Annecy !!

Any info or pointers to suitable websites appreciated.

I've heard that to fly you DO have to show insurance for St. Hilaire, France. Same at Las Candelas, Spain.

So with Onrisk no more, getting BHPA rating and their included insurance in the next few weeks looks the best (only?) option for me.

Cheers

Paul