Bruce Bohannon and his Flyin’ Tiger launched from Lakeland Linder at noon on Saturday and returned to Earth about a half-hour later. “We were aiming at 10 minutes, but we didn’t quite hit that,” he said. “We got 9 minutes and 51 seconds.” That’s time-to-climb to 9,000 meters, or almost 30,000 feet, a new record for piston-powered aircraft, the 25th record set by Flyin’ Tiger. Over the winter, the team added about 30 hp to the Tiger’s Mattituck engine, for a total of 380 hp. The airplane is now ready for its Oshkosh flight, Bohannon said, when he hopes to reach 50,000 feet — breaking the absolute altitude record for piston aircraft, now held by the B-29. The airplane, a highly customized RV-4 homebuilt, now five years old, is approaching a 1-to-1 thrust-to-weight ratio, Bohannon said. Once he’s reached the 50K level, he plans to start stripping it down to reduce weight, and go for sustained vertical climb.
Bruce And Flyin’ Tiger Break Record No. 25
Key Takeaways:
- Bruce Bohannon's customized RV-4, the Flyin' Tiger, set a new piston-powered aircraft record by climbing to 9,000 meters (nearly 30,000 feet) in 9 minutes and 51 seconds.
- This is the 25th record for the Flyin' Tiger, which has been upgraded to 380 horsepower and is approaching a 1-to-1 thrust-to-weight ratio.
- Bohannon plans to attempt to break the absolute altitude record for piston aircraft at Oshkosh by reaching 50,000 feet.
- Following the 50,000-foot attempt, he intends to strip the aircraft down to reduce weight and pursue a sustained vertical climb.
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