le Puet

Le Puet is a soaring and XC site above Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey, reached by a short ten-minute walk from the Route Napoléon. It's privately run by a local school and club, so anyone flying here is expected to already know the local rules before showing up — this isn't a casual drop-in site. Thermals tend to stay manageable rather than punchy, which makes it a solid spot for pilots building cross-country experience, including flat-country XC lines. The landing, though, is the site's sharp edge: it sits right next to a small village church, is only about 200m long, and demands real technique — beginners and pilots still in initial training should not attempt it. Wind there shifts direction often enough that every pilot needs to check current conditions before committing to an approach. Because the site sits so close to the village, it's also fragile in the sense that pilots are expected to fly considerately and keep the peace with residents.

Launch & conditions

Launch is about a ten-minute walk from the Route Napoléon in Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey. It's privately managed by a local school and club, so know the local rules before flying here. Thermals stay relatively gentle, which makes it a good site for building XC and flat-XC experience.

Getting there & local rules

The site is a short walk from the Route Napoléon at Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey. Landing is near the village's small church, about 200m long — it's technical and off-limits to beginners and pilots in initial training. The breeze there comes from the south roughly 60% of the time, straight across the field about 30% of the time, and from the west the rest, so check conditions carefully before committing to your approach.

Local rules & hazards

A strong northerly or northeasterly wind is the one to avoid here — it makes conditions unsafe.

Check conditions before you fly

A forecast for the valley is not a forecast for the launch. Before heading to le Puet, read the wind and thermals for the site itself, confirm the day's rules with the local club, and remember the standing rule — when in doubt, don't launch. In the free OutDare app you can open le Puet with a 7-day forecast built from high-resolution weather models, see who else has been flying, and get there with offline maps.