Она начиналась как небольшая компания, работающая в гараже, но Bruce Goldsmith Design в настоящее время является ведущим производителем качественных парапланов и оборудования, связанного с парапланеризмом. Отдел исследований и разработок, вдохновленный Брюсом, базируется на юге Франции, где всегда светит солнце; офис распределения в Австрии, а завод в Шри-Ланке.
Семья BGD сильна, и мы все связаны нашей любовью к парапланеризму. Наша миссия - делиться своим спортом с друзьями и семьей. Нам нравится чувство связи с воздухом, и наши продукты разработаны с учетом этого. Мы производим безопасные, веселые и новые продукты, которые всегда поставляются в изысканной упаковке и инновационным качеством, которым славятся BGD.
BGD назван в честь Брюса, управляющий директор и руководитель группы разработчиков. Полет в ДНК Брюса. Он научился летать на дельтаплане в качестве студента-инженера в London’s Imperial College в 1980-х годах и быстро достиг вершины британского дельтапланеризма, выиграв Суперлигу в 1991 году. Он был в британской команде дельтапланеризма в течение десятилетия с 1986 года, и стал дважды чемпионом Великобритании по дельтапланеризму. С 1989 года он также входил в британскую команду по парапланеризму, трижды становясь чемпионом Великобритании по парапланеризму, и получил звание пилота WPRS # 1 и Чемпиона Мира в 2007 году.
Родившийся в Лондоне Брюс сейчас живет на юге Франции со своей женой Арной и тремя детьми. Основатель Airwave Paragliders and Ozone, он разработал для Advance два года, прежде чем основал BGD в 2012 году. Писатель, докладчик и преподаватель, Брюс регулярно ведет колонку в журнале Cross Country и является президентом APPI (Ассоциация пилотов-парапланов и Инструкторы).
Арна была первой исландской женщиной, которая начала летать на дельтаплане в возрасте 17 лет, ее отец дельтапланерист переманил ее из парашютного спорта. Он купил ей дельплан Wills Wing Harrier, и это была любовь с первого взгляда! Арна участвовала в нескольких кельтских кубках в Ирландии и Уэльсе, встречаясь со звездами Британской лиги, но она не знала Брюса до случайной встречи на автостоянке на юге Франции в 1997 году.
Когда тестпилот Брюса потерпел крушение и уничтожил ее новые дельтаплан от Airwave Magic, он одолжил ей параплан, который положил начало ее карьеры на параплане. Арна и Брюс поженились в 1997 году, и Арна много летала, сопровождая Брюса до 14 соревнований в год. Затем, в течение нескольких лет полеты отошли в сторону, потому что Арна сосредоточилась на семье но теперь дети выросли, и она вернулась в небо, где ей и положено, на BGD Magic.
Полетная карьера Кристофа отчасти началась благодаря его девушке в то времемя, в далеком 2002 году. Он научился летать на параплане возле своего дома в Вольфсберге, Австрия, и сразу же влюбился в спорт, полетав на своем параплане Airwave несколько больших маршрутных полетов и побив рекорд в 100 км с большим отрывом. Он продолжал соревноваться в высшей лиге Австрии. Инженер по профессии, его трудовая жизнь вовлекла его в ряд крупных строительных проектов, включая строительство мостов через Австрию и Сербию для PORR, одной из крупнейших строительных компаний Австрии.
В 2012 году Кристоф соблазнился другой жизнью, и покинул строительный мир и объединил усилия с Брюсом и Арной в новом захватывающем проекте - создании BGD. Кристоф все еще живет в Вольфсберге со своей женой Милой и сыном Максимилианом, где он управляет европейским отделением BGD из офиса и распределения в Австрии.
By age 16 Ant’s passion for adventure led him to paragliding. He has flown competatively 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.
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.
Charlie’s first paragliding flight was back in 1994, a 21’st birthday gift that has lasted 25 years and counting. She now flies an Echo, 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.
Flying at age 11, David has paragliding in his blood. A former world cup competitor he now teaches in Saint Hilaire du Touvet. He has always been a dreamer and is most comfortable at cloud base. Working as a test pilot for BGD he draws on his year of acrobatics and XC flying to do his part to make the sport safer and fun for everyone.
Jo is our guru and a true encyclopedia. Previously working in the yachting industry, she now works in our BGD office in France looking after everything from administration and sales through to company accounts
Léonard has been hooked in the paragliding since 2014. Always interested about the gear, always happy to chat about anything relating to paragliding, always working on a new video, he has been our Community Manager since the summer 2018.
Martin has always dreamed of flying and loves the mountains. He spent many years flying RC sailplanes, kite surfing, and is a Ironman triathlete which led him to hike and fly. Martin is a professional photographer and marketing specialist acting as a consultant, photographer and coves sales in Austria. Martin lives near Vienna, AU.
Although Martin is not a qualified Paragliding Pilot yet, he is passionate and enjoys participating in many sports like Scuba Diving, Skiing, Squash & Fitness Training. Previously a Professional DJ / Producer, Martin now heads up our Sales Team based at the BGD office in France.
Paragliding came as a natural evolution to his passion for sailing and gliding. With a hunger for XC flights, he actively took part in the development of the EN- C Cure and brought it to the top of the EN-C class. His background as naval architect and designer led him to develop harnesses, rucksack, and other products in the company.
Tom loves to fly almost as much as he loves to research how paragliders fly. He works closely with Bruce developing new software to design the latest and greatest.
Mila lives in Wolfsberg, with her husband Christoph and son Maximillian, where she helps manage the Austrian office and distribution centre.
Irena lives in Slovenia, near the Austrian border, and looks after stock and shipping at BGD’s warehouse in Austria. Before moving to BGD Irena has worked as wood technology engineer for 25 years. She loves the great outdoors and nothing beats a beautiful landscape, but she feels most connected to nature through her sports – paragliding, mountaineering, skiing, cycling and surfing.
David CHAUMET is BGD sales manager for France ! He also give an hand to the BGD development team. David has been flying since 1989, sailplane , paraglider, hanglider, UL aircraft and was part of the French hangliding and paragliding team from 2002 to 2008. He has numerous titles including several world championship podiums in class 5 hangliders! He's specialized in composite materials and electrical engines for aeronautical applications and have a service centre for paraglider. Check out his electric Swift and electric paraglider.
Born in Turkey but living in Germany Alev first started paragliding in 2009. A anesthesiologist by profession she is now also working in a flight school in Germany to become an instructor and tandem pilot in order to share the joy of flight. Since June 2018 she became responsible for the BGD Sales Turkey.
Claudia started paragliding in 1994, and since the beginning of the millennium has worked as a professional journalist and translator specialized in paragliding and paramotor. With a deep knowledge of the sport and the Spanish-spoken scene, she oversees our sales in Spain and Latin America.
An avid cross country pilot, Daniel was raised and lives in Brasov, Romania with his wife Carmen and daughter. His slogan is to live life to the fullest since we only have one.
Lucas is a medical doctor, and took up hang gliding in the early ‘80s. He flew Airwave hang gliders and paragliders – his first paraglider in 1993 was a Bruce design. He and Bruce have been friends since then, and Lucas has been with BGD from the start. He’s since thrown in the stethoscope to be BGD’s Brazilian importer. “Still working while others play”, he sighs!
BGD’s Italian importer, Malcom is as much at home under the sea as in the sky. He travelled the world as a scuba-diving instructor for 12 years before discovering paragliding. He now lives in the Italian Alps, where he works as a tandem pilot and looks after BGD’s sales. His enthusiasm for flying is infectious, and he’s a font of knowledge about BGD wings.
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.
Ramón graduated in Management and Public Administration from the UCLM. He started flying in 1992 training in the Spanish School of Paragliding he has been an instructor since 1993 and PPG instructor since 1995 and since directed his school in Toledo (Spain) where he has trained more than 400 pilots. He has been Paramotor Champion of Castilla-La Mancha 2015 and in 2016 took the PPG tandem distance world record RPF2, (568.5 km) with Rubén Vicente.
Yan discovered paragliding while in Nepal in 2012, a life-changing experience that led her to her quitting her management consultancy job to pursue her love of free-flight. She is now a paragliding freelance writer and Chinese interpreter / translator, and she has travelled and flown all over the world. Yan currently lives in Spain, and looks after BGD’s Chinese sales.