Yves Guicherd has been piloting hot air ballons since 1984 and in 1999 he set up Ardèche Montgolfières based, as is right and proper, in Annonay. He owns two balloons, one for six passengers and the other for 12, and is increasingly sought after to provide hot air balloon flights for seminars. He has even managed to organise flights for 400 people in one day by getting other balloon pilots involved! An hour’s flight works out at 190 € ex VAT per passenger. Looking forward to 2011/2012, he is planning to buy an hot air airship which will be capable of bringing passengers back to the starting point – unlike a hot air balloon.
A passionate balloonist since 1984, Yves Guicherd wanted to pay homage to the Montgolfier brothers by setting up Ardèche Montgolfières in 1999 in Annonay, birthplace of two of its most famous sons. “I noticed that there was demand from tourists, and of course we work with the tourist office and Ardèche ADT as we’re the only specialist company in the area,” he explains. Â
“There are four of us in the company, including another two pilots and my wife who looks after our Côté Ciel shop, the only dedicated ballooning shop in France. We own two balloons, one with space for six passengers and the other for 12. We take off from Déomas, Annonay’s municipal park, and we can operate anywhere in the Rhône-Alpes region. In fact, the Golf de Saint-Clair at Annonay, the Château de Fontager at Serves-sur-Rhône and the Château de Bagnols sometimes contact us for flights”.
Ardèche Montgolfières is licensed by the Civil Aviation authority and is booked for about six seminars a year plus another six promotional flights. On average it is possible to fly the balloons 180 days a year, with flights starting very early in the morning before the thermals start up. “That’s when nature is really at its best”, confirms Yves Guicherd. “Flights last approximately an hour. We cover between 15 and 20 km during that time and reach an altitude of between 600 and 1500 m. The views over the Alps, the Rhône valley, Vienne and the southern slopes of the Pilat mountain range are just amazing – in fact I don’t think there’s any better place in the world for a magical first balloon flight”.
Depending on the size of the seminar, he can also call on his ballooning colleagues based in the Rhône-Alpes, Loire Valley or Massif Central. “Once we even managed to get 30 large balloons to take up 400 people in one day”, he recalls.
If the idea of a balloon flight appeals, note that it will cost 190 € ex VAT per person for an hour’s flight, preceeded by an hour’s preparation and another hour to get back to the start point. Each passenger is given a pilot’s certificate. It is also possible to arrange for a glass of champagne or a snack to be served…
Keen to be one step ahead of his competitors, Yves Guicherd has a plan up his sleeve for 2011/2012: “I hope to be the first person in France to operate a hot air airship. Unlike a balloon, which starts from point A and lands at point B without being able to return to the start, an airship would be able to do that. It would be equipped with a motor and filled with hot air to make it float. It can take between three and five people and is 41 m long, with a diameter of 17 m. It costs about 220,000 €. It can fly non-stop for about two hours, at an altitude of between 300 and 500 m, making it perfect for tourism and also for advertising…”
Ardèche Montgolfières, in Annonay (Ardèche)
contact@ardeche-montgolfieres.fr
Tel.: 00 33 (0)4 75 69 39 39
