The name really says it all. The
FuntanaS™ 3D .40 is one FUN model. What really separates this model
from all the rest is the fact that, in a nutshell, it's a .40-size 3D model
that thinks it's a 40% scale Aerobat.
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| Sebastiano Silvestri with his FuntanaS. |
For those of you who have followed the Tournament of Champions the past
few years, the name Sebastiano Silvestri (Seba) is not new. This Italian
superstar quickly carved out his spot as one of the world's leading innovators
in 3D flying and airplane design. He popularized the Italian scale aerobatic
design known as the Katana, and his TOC version, the KatanaS, has been
seen on magazine covers worldwide.
One thing I've personally enjoyed about being a competitor in the TOC
is the friendships I've made over the years. Even better, this friendship
with Seba turned into a partnership that produced the amazing new FuntanaS
.40. We started working together to develop his new 3D sensation about
a year ago.
Seba's goal was to create a smaller version of his FuntanaS 1.20, which
he used for 3D practice, and still get similar stability and the overall
3D capability of his large TOC KatanaS. About a year and a few revisions
later, I believe he's accomplished just that. One unique feature of the
FuntanaS .40 is the tapered constant-thickness airfoil. By using an airfoil
section at the center section of the wing that is 11.5% and a thick 20%
airfoil at the tip, Seba has been able to create a model that has stable
low-speed characteristics much like a large giant-scale aerobatic plane,
yet still flies faster precision as well as a pattern model. I have to
admit, I had my doubts about it when he said he wanted to do this. But
I was wrong. It works!
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| The FuntanaS .40's unique tapered constant-thickness airfoil provides excellent slow-speed handling. |
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