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Wednesday, March 18, 2015

BGD BASE


BGD Base M
The Base is the new 2015 B glider from the two time world champion and owner of BGD ,Bruce Goldsmith. The Base has lots of innovations ! From the Cord Cut Billow to the mini-ribs on the leading edge, and an aggressive big white nose ! “A new name for that famous leading edge” ;-)
Bruce often comments about the perfect angle reached with his leading edge design.
Taking off is very easy and smooth on the Base.
In the air , the Base gave me an immediate feel of a compact, comfortable , easy to manage glider for the B category. It feels more coherent and more stable than some low B’s i have tested earlier. It is definitely NOT a fully dampened boring glider . All the movements are still present but reduced to a minimum, allowing the pilot to feel every bit of lift in a slow motion way.
The brake travel is medium to short and is relatively “slightly” heavier than the recent B’s i had in my tests.
The authority on the brakes are very good .It enable the pilot to put the Base exactly where he wants, and also in a moderate slow motion way. It is not the most agile B glider, but i was fully satisfied of it’s agility ! Pulling on the brakes will immediately enable the glider to turn right where it is ordered to go.
Trim speed at 90 all up on the M size is close to 39 km/h and it’s a average to good speed for the category !
The full lengths on the speed bar enhances the speed by approximately 13 km/h over trim, and it’s relatively easy to pull with a moderate pressure like the M4 or the Iota i was testing earlier.
Applying the bar, the Base became even more solid and coherent.

Inside the B category, i found out that the Base has a very efficient sink rate in weak thermals enabling low saves !
I think the ability to slow it down and to squeeze that turn radius coupled with a very good sink rate is putting the Base among the top efficient ones.
With stronger thermals, coring with the Base by lowering the inside brake is fun to do, but the brakes get a bit heavy on the lower end.
Bruce’s philosophy was to put regular lines on the Base,instead of competition lines, for many B pilots wishing for a recreational B glider .
I did some glides with the Base versus the new B’s.
The glide in calm air or racing in strong air at trim and full bar is within the B category. The glide performance puts the Base in the middle of the B category, and it offers a lot more in climb, comfort and agility.

Ears are easy to pull, they are stable with a sink rate around -3m/s. They slowly open with a small dab on the brakes. Conclusion:
At first, just by looking at those colors will surely get you in a better mood ;-)  ! especially the River color !
The Base is a well sorted glider made for big air.
If you fly from +30 hours /year to +200 h, and your wish is a very good climbing glider that has all the latest technologies, a glider that can take you safely and comfortably in the air, a smooth and balanced amount of feedback with nice brake authority, then the Base is an interesting option to look at .









29 comments:

ZELUIZ said...

OLÁ ZIAD. Acompanho sempre seus excelentes comentários, mesmo com a tradução ruim do google. Quero trocar o meu aircross ufly B, por um B com maior desempenho ou "C" low, mas tem tanta marca no mercado que fica confuso.
Assim que possível, gostaria de ver seus comentários sobre a melhor segurança passiva e desempenho comparando: BASE, IOTA, BALI e o não tão novo RISE 2
ABRAÇÃO - José Luiz - Brasil - São Paulo

Cobenstein said...

Any videos regarding glide performance, comparing with other EN-B wings? It looks as a downside...

ZELUIZ said...

EU sempre presto muita atenção nos comentários do ZIAD, que no meu ver são excelentes e bem orientam o voador. Com base nos comentários do ZIAD resolvi adquirir o RUSH 4, levando em conta o desempenho e segurança. Pego o brinquedo daqui a 30 dias.
De qualquer forma, agradeço o ZIAD.

Unknown said...

How's the passive safety on this glider? Would this be a good choice as a second glider?

Ziad Bassil said...

Yes it has a good passive safety for a second glider. Cheers

Unknown said...

I've got a question: did you make any adjustment on the brake handles? looks like a white ball? I want to know cause I will receive a Base and after testflying I think the brake handles are not as I'm used to it... BRGDS Horst

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi ,
No , I just added those balls for a more precise and swift response. Cheers,

Alina said...

Hi Ziad, in terms of safety would you say the Base is in between ION and Mentor?
Cheers Werner

Next said...

hi ziad in terms of agility/response is more agile sky apollo or bgd base..tanks for all!!!!

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi,
The Apollo has more roll response and slightly slightly close agility to the Base.

Unknown said...

I'm about to retire my Blacklight and thinking about the BGD Base. How would you compare the flight characteristics? Would I be going backwards in performance or are they comparable?

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi Keith,
The Base is much easier fly and the glide performance is slightly better.
Cheers Ziad

Unknown said...

salut, et pour un ptv de 83 kg, la s chargé a fond réagit elle bien ?

Unknown said...

Hi Ziad
How does it compare in Xc (climb, glide, glide on bar) performance against the Advance Iota?

Unknown said...

Any Base LITE tests scheduled in the future?

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi,
I asked BGD for test flying the light just after its release.
They replied that it's not available ...I didn't want to argue ;-)
Cheers

Unknown said...

It seems to be available now, Ziad 😀
http://vimeo.com/182827995

Ziad Bassil said...

They do not want to sell me one

Chris said...

Hi Ziad. How would you compare the Base against the Blacklight 2 in terms of pilot demand, 'floatability', etc. Thanks as ever. Chris

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi Chris,
I like the Base for overall manoeuvrability and speed...the performance is close for both.
Cheers
Ziad

Chris said...

Thanks👍

TROY said...

How would it stack up against up xc4?
-t

Cobe said...

Ziad, if you compare base with mentor 2 strictly glide related in active air, which one do you consider that it has a better glide ratio?
Thank you,
a

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi,
Difficult to say as I didn't tried them....Sorry...
Cheers
Ziad

Unknown said...

Hi Ziad

Did you try the BGD EPIC?. What is your opinion about this new paraglider?

best regards

Ziad Bassil said...

Hi Samuel,
No I didn't tried the Epic. A bit difficult at the moment.Thank you.
Cheers
Ziad

Unknown said...

Hi Ziad
Is a Base Lite Test planned? It is now certified :-)

Ziad Bassil said...

No unfortunately...
Cheers

Unknown said...

The wings appear to be undersized for the weight Ranges? Why? Under 22m2 projected for an ML? If it was more along the size of other manufacturers it would then be slower. Somethings is amiss and there are a lot of these gliders for sale used. Has anyone noticed?