Jeff Lange, Air Cup racer. Photo by Phil Weston

Jeff Lange estimates he spent about $10,000 building his Sonerai I, including the engine. What that bought him is what he describes as an incredibly fun-to-fly, incredibly fast airplane. The problem was that no one believed that the Volkswagen engine in the front of the little plane really could pull it along at indicated airspeeds of 160 knots or more.

Now there’s proof. Lange raced for the first time in the 2007 EAA AirVenture Cup Race, held this past Sunday. He finished the 435 statute mile (sm) course from Wright Brothers Airport in Dayton, Ohio, to the finish line near Fond du Lac in 2 hours, 23 minutes, with an average speed of 176.4 mph, all while consuming a mere 15.3 gallons of gas.

Lange was the only plane flying in the Sprint-Sportsman class. The class, a new option for AirVenture Cup racers this year, is for any airplane powered by a Volkswagen or Corvair engine.

Lange, part of a group who advocated for the new class, said, "It’s an effort to bring back inexpensive airplanes. When Formula V was racing, there were a lot of airplanes like this being built and [they] were fast. We’re trying to restore inexpensive racing."

Formula V is an airplane racing class limited to Volkswagen-powered airplanes.

Based on membership in the www.Sonerai.net builder’s website, Lange estimates there are about 400 Sonerais either flying or under construction.

Scott Jones, Air Cup racer. Photo by Phil Weston

Homebuilt designs that would qualify for the class include traditional designs like Lange’s Sonerai, the KR designs, the Cassutt, and more contemporary models like the Sonex and canard Dragonfly.

According to Lange, a couple of new Corvair-powered designs are on the drawing board as well.

Another race entry continuing the theme of alternative power is Race No. 44, a Velocity piloted by Scott Jones and Joseph Schiferi and powered by a Mazda rotary engine. The Velocity, a relatively large airplane, is more than adequately powered even though the engine displaces only 1.3 liters. Lange’s Volkswagen engine displaces 1.8 liters.

"We wanted a challenge," Jones said when asked about the decision to power the plane with the conversion. "And it helped that this engine can be completely overhauled for about $100.

Jones added that there are about 100 hours on the engine now, and they have not experienced any mechanical issues, only some challenges with the control computer.

The 2007 AirVenture Cup is the second time the rotary-powered Velocity has flown the race. It finished with a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, and an average speed of 205.1 mph.

Forty-eight aircraft participated in this year’s race. The fastest overall time was posted by Kevin and Karen Eldredge, flying a Nemesis NXT. Their time of 1 hour, 15 minutes made their speed 337.5 mph. The racers are permitted to exceed the 250-knot speed limit under a waiver from the FAA.

According to Bob Whitehouse, race co-chairman, the weather was absolutely perfect and the race logistics were the smoothest they’ve ever been.

The race planes are parked just north and east of AeroShell Square.