CAFE Foundation

The CAFE Foundation is a U.S. non-profit aviation development and flight test organization based in Windsor, California. CAFE was an acronym for"Competition in Aircraft Flight Efficiency" and became later "Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency." The organization promotes experimental aviation activities which promote the development of highly efficient aircraft. It is sponsored by many organizations including Boeing Phantom Works, NASA, EAA, AOPA, Glasair Aviation, among others; and funding is also obtained through an FAA grant.

The CAFE Foundation is an outgrowth from activities sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 124. In the late 1970s, races were held at the annual EAA AirVenture Airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in which the goal was to fly the most fuel-efficient general aviation aircraft. From the early races, as the Lowers-Backer-Falk competition (or Oshkosh 500 races), the CAFE Formula evolved to better evaluate the aircraft efficiency. The start Formula was V x MPG x W, later V^1.25 x MPG x W^0.75, where V=average velocity over the course of the race, MPG=miles per gallon of fuel and W=cabin payload in pounds. The first regular race to use this formula was the CAFE 250 then CAFE 400, which was held each summer from 1981 to 1990 and carried a purse of $2,000.

In 1986, the Foundation utilized a newly developed, ultra-sensitive airspeed sensor, called the CAFE Barograph and inaugurated the CAFE Triaviathon race. This race evaluated an aircraft based on top speed, stall speed and rate of climb. Because of the barograph's sensitivity, the FAA later designated it as the standard for use during aircraft certification flight tests. The CAFE 400 and Triaviathon races were discontinued after the 1990 season

After the 1990 season, the focus of the Foundation shifted to performing detailed flight test analyses of experimental aircraft, again focusing on the aircraft's efficiency. Each aircraft evaluated resulted in an Aircraft Performance Report that was then published by the EAA. These activities took place at a new facility, the CAFE Flight Test Center, at the Sonoma County Airport, funded by the EAA and completed in 1993.

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