Two P-51's and a P-38

GregP said:

Yes, the Bearcat dud close any gap that remained between the performance of land-based and Naval fighters. It held the time-to-climb record well into the jet age ... some 12 - 15 years after jets were adopted were required to better its climb rate.

Before we hear all about the light weight used to set the record, the jets are ALL flown for record attempts at the lightest weight possible, too. I was up at Grand Forks when the Streak Eagle set the F-15 record and it had just enough fuel to make the flight, only ONE radio, the plane was polished natural metal finish ... all the little things you can do to a plane were done to it. It was even held back and released by explosive bolts once the engines had spooled up to full thrust.

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Meteor F.8 WA820 was adapted during 1948 to take two Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojets, and from Moreton Valence, on August 31, 1951, established a time-to-height climb record. The pilot was Flt Lt Tom Prickett, of Armstrong Siddeley. A height of 9,843 ft was reached in 1 min 16 sec, 19,685 ft in 1 min 50 sec, 29,500 ft in 2 min 29 sec, and 39,370 ft in 3 min 7 sec. Air Service Training Ltd were responsible for the conversion.

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