Years ago, having tired of dealing with experts, an inquiry made to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale produced the following from Thierry Montigneaux, Assistant Secretary General of the at FAI:
“The 'time to climb' record category was proposed to FAI by the National Aeronautic Association of the USA at the June 1950 FAI General Conference. It was then added to the Sporting Code.
“The first mention of a 'time to climb' world record in our books was for a flight made by a British pilot onboard a Gloster Meteor on 31th August 1951.
“No performance set in 1946 could therefore have qualified as an official ‘world’ record, as this category of record did not exist then. However, it may well be that the NAA had accepted a category of ‘national records’ for time-to-climb prior to their June 1950 proposal to FAI.”
So, in 1946 there was no “World Record” class for climb to time. No wonder no one can find one.
An inquiry to the National Aeronautic Association produced this response from Art Greenfield, Director, Contest and Records:
“It's difficult to determine from the file, but the U.S. national record in 1946 was either ‘Fastest Climb to 10,000 Feet,’ or ‘Time to Climb 3,000 Meters.’ The switch from feet to meters occurred around that time, presumably to gain acceptance from the international community at FAI.
“In any event, both performances were calculated and the time to 10,000 feet was 97.8 seconds; the time to 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) was 96.1 seconds.
“The record I quoted was set by LCDR M.W. Davenport in a Bearcat on November 22, 1946, in Cleveland."
And lastly, one evening before his passing, whilst pondering the remains of dinner, I took the opportunity to raise this subject of this long ago event with Bill Leonard, the same Cdr. Leonard who made the attempt prior to Davenport’s record. He confirmed that the only performance modification to the F8F’s was to bypass the safety lock on the emergency war power setting to allow water injection with the landing gear in the down position. These were standard F8F’s. His plane was armed, with ammo, armor in place, and loaded with 50% fuel. Butch Davenport’s F8F was configured the same only without the ammunition.
But I'm guessing you didn't even take the time to read that. Am I right? Clearly I am, since if you had then your first little comment would be null and void. And in fact I am not trolling. Only curious why you continue to try to get a rise out of people. But I guess you didn't read my first post either. I wouldn't guess so.
Lastly, I won't answer his question because unlike you I do not claim to know everything. In fact I have no clue about any air records. I have an above average knowledge of WW1 and WW2 aircraft because I have always been fascinated with them since I was a child. Even so I still don't know everything about them, and learn something new everyday. If you would have actually taken the time to read my first post instead of continuing to try to get a rise out of people you would have seen what my "contribution" to this post were. It is that it irritates me when people come on here and post stuff only to try to get attention, or to rile people up.
Do you even play Aces High or plan on playing it??? If so what is your in game name?
