Who cares about ground score or bombing? This is Aces High, not Buffs Low or GV's Below. The only score that matters is fighter score. 
The longer you are here the more you will realize that score..any score any category doesn't matter much because much of it is dependent and can be effected by how you play the game.
To use as an example Ill take Shane.The old infamous one. Not the current one. (No slight on the current intended)
He had to be one of if not the best La drivers I've ever seen. (made even more amazing to me as Im told he was deaf) But while I didnt regularly check it. I dont think I ever saw his rank break 100 because of the way he flew constantly intentionally putting himself in disadvantageous situations. 1 V 1 he was a nightmare. 6 V 1 he was still pretty damn dangerous even if the 6 had all the advantages of alt, E, and plane type and he flew into situations like that regularly and intentionally. Course this also meant he died a lot too. Which as we all know effects rank.
1 V 1 or 1V10 didnt matter to Shane. He was in regardless.
Just like you though. The moment he got his first kill. The word spread pretty quickly he was in the area