Formula V Air Racing is an American motorsport

Motorsport

Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...

 that involves small aircraft

Fixed-wing aircraft

A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...

 using engines up to 100 cubic inches in displacement.

History

The proposal for Formula V has its roots in the 1964 Reno Air Races

Reno Air Races

The Reno Air Races, also known as the National Championship Air Races, take place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada, USA...

.
In 1969, Air racer, Steve Wittman

Steve Wittman

Sylvester Joseph "Steve" Wittman was an air-racer and aircraft designer and builder.Wittman gained his pilot's license in 1924 in a Standard J-1 and built his first aircraft, the Harley powered "Hardly Abelson" later that same year.From 1925 to 1927 he had his own flying service, giving joyrides...

 presented at the Rockford air convention of the Experimental Aircraft Association

Experimental Aircraft Association

The Experimental Aircraft Association is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception it has grown internationally with over 160,000 members and about 1,000 chapters worldwide....

 specifications for a racing event based around aircraft powered with a Volkswagen air cooled engine

Volkswagen air cooled engine

The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast iron cylinders, cast aluminium alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods....

.

Racers compete in a 1 mile x 1/2 mile wide oval course that subject the racers up to 2.2 G's

Several aircraft were capable of meeting the specifications for Formula V at its creation. Specific designs were introduced shortly after that maximized speed for the configuration.

Aircraft include:

• Monnett Sonerai
  Monnett Sonerai
  The Sonerai is a small, VW powered homebuilt aircraft designed by John Monnett. The Sonerai began to compete as a single seat mid-wing Formula-V racer class formed in 1972. The Sonerai soon evolved into a two-seat model called the Sonerai II...
  
  
• Wittman V-Witt

Champions

Winners of the Formula V National Championship are determined by points from the years events. Since 1995 the winner also holds The Wittman Trophy for a year.

• Steve Wittman 1977-81
• Charles Terry 1985
• Rick Leonard 1987-88
• Brian Dempsey 1989-95 Sonerai "Miss Annapolis"
• Dave Patterson 1996-97