BGD at the Icarus Cup 2023: Bruce Goldsmith on the Lynx 2, Two-Liner Trade-offs, and the Diva 2
パラワールド【超多面的パラグライダー情報チャンネル】PARAWORLD
At the Coupe Icare in Saint-Hilaire, France, Bruce Goldsmith of BGD greeted Japanese pilots and gave a short rundown of the company's year. He talked about the new gliders, why BGD chose a two-and-a-half-line design for its EN-C wing, the conditions under which a new competition glider will be released, and a new harness. He also asked the interviewer something at the end.
An unusually busy year of releases
Goldsmith said 2023 had been very busy for BGD and that the company had never released so many products in one year. The year began with the Echo 2. Next came a lightweight glider (its name is transcribed as "Ander"), which he described as the lightest glider BGD has ever made. Most recently the company released the Lynx 2.
He had just returned from a competition in Spain where he flew the Lynx 2. The transcript is unclear at this point, but he appears to refer to a result in the EN-C class and mentions pilots up to 95 kg flying the Lynx 2. He said the team was "really happy with that."
Two-and-a-half lines versus two lines in EN-C
Goldsmith found the result surprising because most of the EN-C gliders at the event were two-liners, while the Lynx 2 is a two-and-a-half-liner. In his view this gives the Lynx 2 a much easier launch and better safety than those gliders, and its performance is "really really close" to the two-liners.
He then explained the main drawback of two-liners. They are a little more difficult to fly, especially in the stall. With lines only at the front and back, the sail between them deforms upward into a big arch. That can make the glider difficult to launch and difficult to recover from a stall. He called this the main drawback of a two-line design.
What's in development: the Diva 2, but only if it's the best
Asked what BGD is working on (the question itself isn't audible), Goldsmith said they are thinking about it for next year and will work on it in 2024. For now, the team is developing the Diva 2, a two-liner EN-D glider. BGD hopes to release it before the end of the year.
He added a firm condition. BGD will not release the Diva 2 unless it is truly the top-performing EN-D glider. A glider in the middle of the range is not good enough, because this wing will be used in competition. If it isn't right at the top, he said, "there's no point in bringing it out." For that reason the video description refers to it as a "phantom" competition glider.
A new harness: the Snug 2
BGD has a new harness designer, Killian, and plans to release the Snug 2 before the end of the year. Goldsmith agreed that the colour is very nice, but his main point was that it is a very good all-round harness. It is easy for beginners to use in school and also good for cross-country flying.
What makes a good beginner harness
Goldsmith said a good harness has to balance two opposing qualities. It needs good weight shift. It also needs to be stable enough that a pilot can learn on it without being thrown from side to side. He called this "a fine balance" and said getting the right balance between weight shift and stability is the most important thing in harness design.
Bruce's question back to the interviewer
At the end, Goldsmith asked about the future of his articles in Japan. BGD's technical columns appear regularly in Para World, and he asked whether they could keep being published. He offered to send new technical articles, and the interviewer replied that they could be published on the new Para World website.
Hi, I'm Bruce Goldsmith from BGD. Welcome to all the Japanese pilots to Saint-Hilaire. We have a great show this year and lots going on, and we've got lots of new products as well, so great to see you.
Yeah, this year has been very busy for BGD. We never brought out so many products in one year. Beginning of the year we had the Echo 2, then after that the Ander, which is a lightweight; it's the lightest glider we've ever made. And then more recently we made the Lynx 2, and I've just come back from a competition in Spain where I was flying the Lynx 2 and, yeah, tier one the EN C Reynolds class, so up to 95 kilo pilots flying the Lynx 2, so we're really happy with that.
Yes, and it's surprising because most of the EN C gliders were two-liners and we're a two-and-a-half-liner, so we have a much easier launch and better safety than these other gliders, and the performance is really, really close to the two-liners, so it's a really nice glider.
Yeah, it's a little bit more difficult to fly, but like any two-liner, especially in the stall, you know, when you have the stall, between the front lines and the back lines the sail deforms up like this in a big arch, and sometimes then it can be difficult to either launch or to recover from the stall. So this is the main drawback of having a two-liner, I would say.
Yes, we're thinking about it for next year. Yeah, for 2024 we will work on it, but right now...
So right now we're working on the Diva 2, which is a two-liner EN D glider, and so we're hoping to bring it out before the end of the year.
Because we don't want to bring it out unless it's really the top performing EN D glider. We don't want it just to be in the middle of the range, because it's going to be used for competition, and so it really needs to be right at the top. If it's not right at the top, there's no point in bringing it out.
Yes, we have a new harness designer, Killian, who's working with us now, and so we're planning to bring out a Snug 2 before the end of the year.
Good point of the Snug? Of course, nice color. It's a very nice color, but it's a very good all-round harness, so it's very easy for beginners to use in school and great for flying cross country. It has good weight shift, and yet it's stable enough to be good for beginner pilots as well.
I think it's the weight shift. You need to have good weight shift, but it needs to be stable enough so that the pilot can learn on it without being thrown from side to side in the harness. So the stability is really a fine balance, which is really the best and most important thing, just the right balance between weight shift and stability of the harness.
So, wonder about the eristics, what's going to be the future in Japan? You think we can publish some of these articles? So if you want, I could still send you some new technical articles. Thank you so much. Yeah, and we can publish them on the new Para World website. Thank you so much. I'm...
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