Sun 'n Fun wouldn't be the same without Bruce Bohannon and while the rare-air reaching record breaker sat this show out on the ground, he yet again impressed upon us his ability to achieve the seemingly impossible by setting four more aviation records without taking to the air ... sort of. Try to follow along. This much we knew: recognized as world records by the National Aeronautic Association in Arlington, Va., and the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in Switzerland, Bruce's October 22, 2002 flight at Palm Springs, Calif., claimed three world records. Then, somebody started looking at the fine print. Bruce's Flyin' Tiger took the time to climb to 12,000 meters (31 minutes 3 seconds), 9,000 meters (16 minutes, 3 seconds), and sustained altitude in level flight (40,604 feet). Each was a new record for class C-1 -- all piston engine aircraft of any weight. What we didn't know ... what no one knew ... was that analysis would later prove that Bruce also won Class C-1.b records for those same listings applied to aircraft weighing between 1102 and 2205 lbs, bringing the total winnings to six. Next it was found he could add to the list an absolute altitude record of 41,611 for C-1.b category aircraft. That last one precipitated Bohannon's acceptance of the Bleriot Medal. In the end, months after the flight, Bruce Bohannon and the Exxon Flyin' Tiger garnered a total of seven world records in one day, in one flight ... likely a record in itself.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/air-shows-events/sun-n-fun-2003-day-two