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1965
David BARISH develops the first paraglider for NASA.
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1989
1987 Bruce learns to paraglide in Australia (image: Britsh HG team 1989)
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1979
Bruce learns to hang glide in the UK.
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1990
Bruce starts the paragliding devision of Airwave.
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1991
Bruce and Barney Barnes make the instructional film “Instability" in collaboration with BHPA.
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1995
Scale model wind tunnel tests at Oxford and Bristol University on scale models and profiles.
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1997
John Pendry World Champion on XXX and this glider dominates the competition scene.
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1998
Saloman Trophy for Design Awarded to Bruce by Royal Aero Club in London.
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2007
Bruce Goldsmith becomes Paragliding World Champion flying a Magic FR.
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2010
With Cambridge and DELFT University Bruce uses stereo photography to help the design.
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2012
BGD Founded by Bruce Goldsmith (GB), Arna Reynisdottir (Is), and Christoph Scheer (A)
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2014
Ant Green brings a new look to BGD with his wild color schemes and graphic design.
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2015
Cross Country publish 50 Ways to Fly Better by Bruce Goldsmith and friends.
個性あるパラグライダー
BGDはガレージの小さな会社として始まりましたが、今ではブルースゴールドスミスデザインは高品質のパラグライダーとパラグライダー関連機材の大手メーカーです。ブルースにインスパイアされた研究開発部門は、太陽が常に輝くフランス南部に拠点を置き、物流はオーストリアにあります。そして工場はスリランカにあります。
BGDファミリーは強く、そして私たち全員はパラグライディングに対する我々の愛情によって繋がっています。私たちの使命は、私たちのスポーツを友人や家族と共有することです。私たちはエアーと繋がる感覚が大好きなので、製品はそれを念頭に置いて設計されています。安全で、楽しく、そして新しい製品を生産しています。それらはブルースのデザインを有名にした洗練されたハンドリングと革新的な品質で安全で、楽しい製品を届けます。
取締役
BGDは、商品化計画および開発チーム責任者ブルースにちなんで名付けられました。飛ぶことはブルースのDNAにあります。彼は1980年代にロンドンのインペリアルカレッジの工学部学生としてハンググライドを学び、1991年にスーパーリーグで優勝し、イギリスのハンググライダーのトップへと躍進しました。彼は1986年から10年間イギリスのハンググライダーチームに所属しており、2度のイギリスのハンググライダーチャンピオンになりました。そして1989年からはイギリスのパラグライダーチームにも所属し、イギリスのパラグライダーチャンピオンに3度輝き、2007年にはWPRSナンバー1パイロットにランクされ、ワールドチャンピオンにもなりました。
ロンドン生まれのブルースは現在、フランス南部に妻のアルナと3人の子供と共に住んでいます。 エアーウェーブとオゾンの創設メンバーで、2012年にBGDを創立する前の2年間はアドバンスで設計をしました。ライター、セミナー講演、教育者でもあるブルースは、クロスカントリー誌に定期的にコラムを持っており、APPI（パラグライダーパイロットとインストラクター協会）の会長を務めています。
"彼女はハンググライダーの父からスカイダイビングから誘われ、17歳の時にハンググライダーを飛ばした最初のアイスランドの女性でした。父は彼女にウイルスウイングハリヤーを買い、そしてそれは一目惚れでした！アルナはアイルランドとウェールズでのケルティックカップに何度か出場し、ブリティッシュリーグのスターたちとの付き合いをしましたが、1997年に南フランスの駐車場での偶然出会うまでブルースを知りませんでした。
ブルースのテストパイロットが彼女のコンペ機エアーウエーブ マジックにクラッシュして破壊したときに、彼女にパラグライダーを貸したのが、彼女のパラグライダーキャリアの始まりでした。アルナとブルースは1997年に結婚しました、そしてアルナは年間最大14のコンペにブルースに同行し、たくさん飛びました。彼女が家庭に専念していた数年間、飛ぶことは二の次になっていましたが、今では子供も成長し、彼女の居場所である空に戻り、今マジックに乗っています。
クリストフのフライト歴は2002年当時のガールフレンドの影響を受け始まりました。彼はオーストリアのヴォルフスベルクにある自宅の近くでパラグライダーを学び、すぐにこのスポーツに熱中し、エアーウェーブパラグライダーでいくつかのビッグXCフライトをし100kmの壁を大幅に更新しました。彼は続いてオーストリアAリーグに出場しました。職業はエンジニア、彼はオーストリア最大の建設会社の1つであるPORRでオーストリアとセルビアにかかる橋の建設を含むいくつかの大きな建設プロジェクトに関わる仕事をしました。
2012年には別の人生への誘惑が起こった。、彼は建築界をやめ、ブルースとアルナと共にエキサイティングな新しいプロジェクト - BGDを設立しました。 クリストフは現在も妻のミーラと息子のマキシミリアンと共にヴォルフスベルクに住んでおり、そこでオーストリアのオフィスと流通センターからBGDヨーロッパの流通を管理しています。
Tom started paragliding at the age of 14 in Saint Hilaire du Touvet. At 15 he bought a sewing machine and started designing his first kites and paragliders in his bedroom. His enthusiasm for paraglider aerodynamics and structures grew even more when he entered one of the top aerospace engineering schools in France, ISAE-Supaero in Toulouse. He started working for BGD in 2017, when he was entrusted with the development of a new simulation software that became operational in 2018.
The software is now an integral part of BGD’s R&D tools, and Tom and Bruce work closely together on the new designs. Alongside this work, Tom is pursuing academical work to better understand the physics of our flying machines. His PHD is the first to be dedicated to paragliding: “Fluid-structure interaction simulations of highly deformable sails.”
Crew
Killian Kopczynski
Product designer
killian@flybgd.com
Killian is our in-house harness designer. He has been flying since the age of 15, encouraged by his father. He also has a younger brother who started flying at the age of 13 – you could say it's a family passion! He studied Industrial Engineering in Grenoble, specialising in materials strength and worked with the R&D team in the summer of 2022. He joined the R&D team full-time in 2023.
Kyle Mooney
R&D / PPG Team Pilot Leader
kyle@flybgd.com
Kyle started flying from his back yard with his father and paramotoring quickly took over his life. He is a paramotoring instructor in Florida, and works with BGD's R&D team in the development of paramotor wings. He also heads up the BGD team pilots on the paramotor side.
Lucas Bonin
R&D
lucas.bonin@flybgd.com
Lucas started paragliding when he was 15 years old. He is studying aerodynamics at ENAC, the Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile (National Civil Aviation School) in Toulouse, to be an aerodynamic engineer or researcher. He's interested in all aircraft and how they fly, and works for BGD in research and development.
Tyr Goldsmith
Test Pilot / graphics
TYR@FLYBGD.COM
Bruce and Arna's eldest son, Tyr was born into paragliding and has flourished. He has already won numerous paragliding competitions (Us Nationals, Rio Cup, Weightless, etc.) and loves everything related to the air. He is a test pilot and works on glider graphic design for BGD.
Mila Scheer
Office Austria
Mila@flybgd.com
Mila lives in Wolfsberg, with her husband Christoph and son Maximillian, where she helps manage the Austrian office and distribution centre.
Maria Baumgartner
Accounts / Book-keeping
maria@flybgd.com
Maria works in the accounts department in the Austrian office. A mother of two, she loves to travel, and enjoys skiing, snowboarding and tennis in her spare time.
Irena Koler
Shipping Austria
Irena@flybgd.com
Irena lives in Slovenia, near the Austrian border, and looks after stock and shipping at BGD’s warehouse in Austria. Before moving to BGD she was a wood technology engineer for 25 years. She loves the great outdoors and beautiful landscapes, but she feels most connected to nature through her sports – paragliding, mountaineering, skiing, cycling and surfing.
Nikola Dukleski
Software developer
nikola@flybgd.com
Nikola has a short history of flying, but a passion for writing long lines of code. An in-house developer, he is responsible for the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, making sure every part of the process runs smoothly and error-free. He lives with his wife and his two lovely children next to the oldest lake in Europe, Ohrid. He loves playing guitar and traveling.
Kay Arianpour
IT guru
kay@flybgd.com
Kay is a paraglider pilot who is enthusiastic about hike & fly, and a kiteboarder who likes to go far in the sea. He has been a computer programmer since 1994. He lives in Fethiye close to the famous paragliding site of Ölüdeniz, and is here to boost the BGD IT infrastructure.
Media
Anthony GREEN
Graphic Design / Film
ant@flybgd.com
By age 16 Ant’s passion for adventure led him to paragliding. He has flown competitively since 2004 in acrobatics and cross country. Studying film, business and math he has been with BGD since the start bringing all the wild colors to the products. Ant is currently our graphic and in-house film guy and lives and works in Morzine, France.
Charlie King
Editor
Charlie@flybgd.com
Charlie’s first paragliding flight was back in 1994, a 21st birthday gift that has lasted 30 years and counting. She now flies an Echo 2, a far cry from the parachute used on that first tow launch in rural England. She lives with her family in southern France and is a daytime desk jockey who works on BGD’s newsletters, manuals and brochures.
Sales Agents
Blaise Brogan
Sales Team Leader
blaise@flybgd.com
Blaise learned to fly in 2009 and soon after became involved in guiding and social media for PG/PPG brands. A former tree surgeon and windsurfing instructor he has always sought adventure. He works with RISE Paragliding in SIV and ACRO, and this role was instrumental in bringing about the EPIC FreeStyle. Blaise heads up BGD's sales team and looks after our UK sales.
Alex Schweig
Sales Austria
alex@flybgd.com
Born and raised in Peru but now based in the Austrian Alps, Alex is on a lifelong quest to discover and master all types of flying, from coastal soaring, to acro, hike and fly, and most recently, the Paragliding World Cup. An avid outdoor sportsman, he now manages BGD Sales in Austria where his colourful personality is a match for the most colourful brand out there!
Anna Darchenkova
Media Creator
ANNA@FLYBGD.COM
Anna was born and raised in the Caucasus mountains. She started paragliding in 2007 and was instantly hooked. She is an interior designer by trade. . Anna is traveling all over the world with her paraglider. She is a highly skilled media creator.
Masta (Francesco Delpiano)
Sales Italy
MASTA@FLYBGD.COM
Masta, born Francesco Delpiano, was infected with the paragliding virus in 2012 during a trip to Nepal. In 2018, thanks to his friend Malcom Deodati, he started flying under the colours of BGD. He lives with his partner Alessia and his son Theo in the north west of the Alps, works as a show technician and keeps an eye on sales for BGD. If he doesn't answer the phone he is probably smiling under the clouds or on a mountain take-off somewhere!
Navid Saleki
Sales International PPG
NAVID@FLYBGD.COM
Half Swedish, Half Iranian grew up in Sweden and lived in many places. Navid Saleki has a mechanical/business engineering background and has been passionate of extreme sports since he started learning riding a bicycle. After reaching the top in freestyle BMX riding he turned to the sky. After skydiving and paragliding he is all about paramotoring. Navid is rooted in the paramotor and paratrike world.
Val Tanniger
Sales Switzerland
valentin@flybgd.com
Valentin has been flying since the age of 21, first on planes, then moving to paragliders, drawn to it by the simplicity of an aircraft in a bag you can hike with. He loves flying vol-biv with friends, or combining it with skiing or biking – he is an avid cyclist. He studied geomorphology and is cares deeply about our environment.
Raphael Laghi
Sales International PPG
raphael@flybgd.com
Coming from a family of pioneering pilots in Brazil, Flying is part of Raphael's DNA. He has been flying paragliders and paramotors since 2008 and works as an instructor and tandem pilot in Sri Lanka and Europe. He is passionate about XC across Brazil and paramotoring over the Amazon. Raphael knows our paramotor range well and is our international paramotor sales guy.
David CHAUMET
R & D
David@flybgd.com
David CHAUMET works with R&D, and runs a service center. He has been flying sailplanes, paragliders, hang gliders, and UL aircraft since 1989 and was part of the French hangliding and paragliding team from 2002 to 2008 winning several world championship podiums in class 5 hang gliders! He's specialized in composite materials and electrical engines for aeronautical applications. Check out his electric Swift and electric paraglider.
Mario Koller
Sales Germany
Mario@flybgd.com
Mario lives, breaths, and dreams paragliding. He is always smiling and strives to share his passion with everyone. Mario lives and works mostly from home in Nesselwang, Germany.
Benedikt Bös
Sales Germany PPG
bene@flybgd.com
Another medical man, orthopaedic technician and prosthetics-maker Bene was infected with the flying bug at the age of 16. Powered paragliding is the bug that has bitten the hardest, and Bene is an international competitor in classic and endurance paramotoring. He is also a PPG test pilot and has headed up BGD’s motor division since 2013.
Test Pilots
Pasquale Biondo
Paramotor test pilot
pas.biondo@gmail.com
Paramotor World Champion Pasquale Biondo has been passionate about flying since playing with his father's wing at the age of 13. He pursued a degree in aerospace engineering before starting out in paramotor competitions. He has been Italian Paramotor Champion multiple times, and in 2022 was crowned Paramotor World Champion. He is part of the R&D team, helping to develop and improve the PPG range.
Wingmen
Franck Largeault
Branding/marketing
Franck learnt to fly after a bet with his brother in 2019 and immediately fell in love with the sport. He is a trail runner, father, and general outdoor enthusiast. He has already flown several nice triangles around his home site of Aix-les-Bains and plans to break the site distance record. He is a specialist in outdoor sports marketing strategy and helps BGD with branding, social media, and marketing.