Vol Extra Long — 30-40 min at 800 m

Take-off happens at Les Colimaçons, 800 metres above Saint-Leu. Thirty to forty minutes aloft change the nature of the flight: the pilot links thermals, climbs the western face of the island and explores the relief instead of simply coming back down. The crops of the heights, the ravines and the coral barrier are flown over in turn. The lagoon of Saint-Leu and its turtles come near the end, before landing by the sea. This is the most requested package in the range at the school Air Lagon, and that length is the point where a flight becomes a genuine aerial hike. The pilots of the school Air Lagon have read this ground for forty years, which counts when another thermal has to be found. The route follows the west coast of Reunion Island, between the heights of Saint-Leu and the coral barrier.

The meeting point sits near Kélonia, at the north entrance of Saint-Leu, fifteen minutes before the chosen slot. Parking there is free, and lines 30, 31, 37 and 42 of the Kar'Ouest network serve the area. The shuttle of the school Air Lagon drives up to Les Colimaçons from that point. Nine slots cover the day, from seven in the morning to five in the afternoon. Accepted weight runs from 20 to 120 kilos, as on the other packages leaving from this site, and the minimum age is four years. A delay costs nothing when conditions do not allow flying that day. On a long package, leaving margin in the day helps: the flight depends on the air of the moment.

Acrobatics come included from this package upwards, on a simple request at take-off. The instructor tunes every figure to the comfort of the passenger, and nothing forces the request nor prevents dropping it once in the air. Every pilot flying at Saint-Leu holds the state Brevet. Wings meet the EN 926-1 and EN 926-2 standards, harnesses the EN 1651 standard, and gear is checked every day before the opening rotation. Third-party liability cover applies to every passenger. The call to fly belongs to the instructor, never to the client: one doubt is enough to move a flight, and conditions shift fast between the lagoon of Saint-Leu and the heights of Les Colimaçons. A moved flight lands on another of the nine daily slots when one frees up. The school Air Lagon applies the same rule to every package it runs in Reunion Island.

The Vol Extra Long is the package most often picked at Air Lagon, and the price of one hundred and fifteen euros per person explains part of that. Thirty to forty minutes aloft, from Les Colimaçons, are enough to cover what the west coast offers: the relief, the crops, the ravines, and the lagoon of Saint-Leu. It is also the entry package where acrobatics are included. Passengers who have already flown once find here the length the short format lacked. Those after height rather than duration will look at the Vol Panoramique, at 1,600 metres, or the Vol du Maïdo, at 2,200 metres, which leave from other sites and are booked ahead. All three leave from the west of Reunion Island, above Saint-Leu, and share the same instructors of the school Air Lagon.