Davinci Funky 2
The Funky 2 is Davinci high performance EN-B. It is constructed with a 3-line concept and unsheathed lines everywhere. The Funky 2 has lots of features with a special leading-edge look, including the smart Nose Plus. I’ll let you see all the Funky 2 specs here: https://flydavinci.com/products/paragliders/funky-2/
Launching the Funky2 even without wind is straightforward without any hard points. A smooth take-off with no wind. In strong windy takeoff, the Funky 2 with the right input felt very smooth and gentle.
Turning the Funky 2 is a real pleasure! The turning radius can be made very tight coring the tiniest of thermals.
For a high-B, the Funky 2 brake travel can be described as short to moderate in length and pressure, with a nice linear feel through the turn.
A kind of hydraulic smooth turn I can say! Very satisfying and pleasurable to fly.
On one day, at the soaring site, the wind blew around 30…32 km/h, and after flying the Mullet 18 a bit, I tried to play with the Funky 2 at mid-weight with a seated harness, launching from the beach exactly at 0 sea level, just to see how it will cope with such winds.
To my surprise I could easily lift off from the beach getting higher, with efficient forward flying for a B glider, touch the sand, and go high again, playing for more than an hour was satisfying and rewarding with that nice authority on the brakes. I had a blast under the Funky 2 playful character.
Now in XC mode.
I flew the Funky 2 in different aerology and took my time test flying it. I can confirm the easy and forgiving behavior of that Funky 2. It felt much easier to fly than the Kangri-X I am also currently test-flying
It is more comfortable to fly than the Rush 6 /also. Maybe it is slightly more alive than the Mentor 7 with a ‘gentleman’ feedback :-)!
The Funky 2 is a smooth glider to fly and lets you concentrate on your flying instead of looking at the glider.
Climb rate:
Inside the High B category, I found the Funky 2 to have quite a very good and competitive climb rate in all conditions. In weak air, the Funky 2 is quite competitive as it can be slowed inside any weak lift and could easily stay in that lift with a positive vario. The Funky 2 can easily grab thermals without losing the climb and can compete efficiently with good High B climbers.
In punchy and stronger cores, the Funky 2 like most B-class gliders slows slightly before entry, then it goes in, quite nicely and efficiently inside the core. Flying The S at 95 would make it even better in those strong conditions, without losing its float ability in weak air.
The overall movements in roll are quite in the middle of the B class. The pitch is nearly absent, for the high B category as the Funky 2 can be described as a comfortable glider to fly.
The R&D added a light touch of smooth spices giving the pilot a nice turn and pleasurable handling.
Gliding:
Gliding with the Funky 2 in moderate boiling air seems to give the pilot a nice glide through that moving airmass. We flew against a brand new Rush 6 size MS loaded at 92 all up. I think, despite having a 3 line concept, the glide is amazingly good for the Funky 2. We tried four glides, in a headwind, backwind, and tricky air, and the result was very good placing it among the 5 best gliding high B machines. I also added a new B chart (spider type) for the picky pilots :-).
The C riser system has a moderate and smooth feel and lets you control the pitch or the glider movements while on bar. Similar to other good 2.5 or 3-line high B gliders. The speed over trim is +13 km/h over trim taken at 800 ASL.
Ears with outside A’s are stable, very easy to induce, and efficient for descent.
Conclusion:
The DaVinci Funky 2 surprised me with its complete and highly usable package of performance and pleasurable handling. A must to try near the max weight, to give you that taste of surfing the air.
