Design insight: BGD Base 3

Released in November last year BGD’s new Base 3 is a 2.5-line EN B aimed at cross country pilots. Available in five sizes it’s pitched as a “sports intermediate high-B” with 57 cells and a flat aspect ratio of 5.7. So far so normal for a current wing of its class. But then you see it in the air and it looks, well, a bit different – and I don’t mean the colour scheme. 

It’s not the winglets – we see those on plenty of gliders these days – but instead it’s a mix of the arc and the swept-back, tapered wingtips that give the Base 3 its distinctly rakish look, like the tough kid in the playground. In a world of long, flat wings it really does stand out. What’s going on? Why the compact look? What have BGD designers discovered? 

To find out we sat down with one of BGD’s young designers, Lucas Bonin. Lucas, 26, started paragliding when he was a teenager and studied aerodynamics at the National Civil Aviation School in Toulouse, France. He now works for BGD in research and development.

Lucas, tell us a bit about your background?

I studied aerodynamics in the school of engineering at Toulouse and then studied abroad. First off in Milan, then in the US before coming back here to BGD in the south of France. I started paragliding when I was 15.