On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 04:05:45 GMT, George Patterson
wrote:

Pilots in WWI routinely flew patrols at altitudes up to 20,000' without oxygen.
Basically, being physically able to perform at 6,000 meters was part of the
criteria for being an airman. If you couldn't hack it, you washed out (or died).

That may be true George (and I believe it is), but there's no telling
how many pilots were lost from being stupidly hypoxic. There was an
instance in which two Allied pilots stalked a German Taube that was
flying at or about 20,000 feet. The Taube was obviously reconoitering
and taking photos, and it circled continuously over it's point of
interest. The two approaching pursuits were in plain sight, according
to the author (who was one of the two pilots), and even saw the German
pilots head turn and look at them. But he made no move to escape and
just flew on straight and level. They shot him down.

Corky Scott