Montgolfière et Découvertes

Montgolfière et Découvertes is an association under the 1901 law which has been organizing hot air balloon flights from Puy-en-Velay, in Haute-Loire, since 2015. We fly all year round and always at sunrise over the Velay landscapes. The route depends on the wind of the day and no circuit is fixed in advance. The balloon can thus pass over Puy and the Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe rock or the Polignac fortress, but also the castles of Lavoûte-Polignac, Saint-Vidal and Arlempdes, the Loire valley or Lake Bouchet.

Our pilot François Villesèche was born in Puy-en-Velay. He had his first balloon flight in 2007 and obtained his pilot's license in 2011, before taking his first passengers in 2015. He works on the ground with team members connected by radio and trained in first aid, who also have the trailer license to transport the balloon. During the flight, they follow the hot air balloon to pick up the passengers where it lands.

The association is declared to the General Directorate of Civil Aviation under the commercial operation number FR.DEC.371 and is subject to regular audits by it. All our flights are VFR, that is to say visually. Our equipment is checked every year by the Chaize workshop, an approved workshop located in Annonay, the birthplace of the Montgolfier brothers. Each passenger is covered by third-party and passenger liability insurance taken out with La Réunion Aérien, in accordance with the 2004 European regulation on the insurance of aircraft operators.

The flight lasts on average one hour and is accompanied by a snack with a glass of champagne and the presentation of an ascent certificate. It is accessible without a minimum age to anyone capable of standing for more than an hour, and children under 12 must fly with an adult.