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Pilot Extraordinaire: Bob Hoover
- Thread starter Homer J
- Start date
ryan1234
Well-Known Member
not just airshow stuff....
Bob Hoover is arguably the best pilot to have ever flown. He has all of the stories... including being shot down, captured ....escaped, and stole a FW-190 and flew it back to the good guys. He's flown everything from Spitfires to F-16s. Even Yeager thought highly of Hoover..... but Hoover is/was a great guy, friendly... he is truly an American aviation legend and a gentleman... it was terrible what the FAA did to him.
Couldn't have said it better. Meet the man in person, share dinner with him, THEN say "it's just airshow stuff." The man is a legend and a great pilot.
phrogpilot73
Well-Known Member
^^ I agree with what they said.
Here's some highlights:
Here's some highlights:
I was able to watch Mr. Hoover do his routine in the Shrike Commander years ago when I was a kid at Oshkosh, awesome. Perhaps the best that has ever flown. In his autobiography he talks about doing maintenance flights while stationed overseas during WWII and looping whatever aircraft he was checking out after maintenance on the gunnery range and he would hit the target four times in a row coming out of four consecutive loops. Definitely Sierra Hotel.
Here's some video of him in a F-86. I can't get over how smooth he is, pretty incredible stuff.
I knew about his wartime experiences but honorary member of the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, and American Fighter Aces? Hot Damn!!
His autobiography (may have been just a straight biography) is a pretty amazing read. If I remember right, as a civilian he went over and flew a combat mission in Korea to prove the effectiveness of the bomb sight his company had developed. Does your tech rep fly combat missions?
believe he was flying chase for Yeager the first time that he went supersonic. Made the transmission "you just won a steak dinner at Pancho's, pard." Referring to Pancho Barnes Happy Bottom Riding Club.
I do mean this in a negative way -- that's one of the most ignorant statements I've ever read on AirWarriors. Do you have any idea who Hoover is and what he has done in his lifetime, both in terms of combat achievements, as a test pilot, AND as an airshow display pilot?
But, hey, feel free to tell us about the guys here on this forum who have flown some of those 'amazing hops' that, apparently, are better than what Hoover has done. I know I can't wait to hear it.
Would like to know who these "right people" are. Below on headwork.
Back in the early '70's when I was in college, I worked part-time for Rudy Frasca, of Frasca Aviation and at the time an owner of an FM-2 Wildcat and a member of the Warbirds of America. He always flew the Wildcat to Osh Kosh each year and he also had a red Dodge Travco Motorhome, with a large Frasca logo painted on the side, configured to carry a small FTD (simulator). Looked kind of like this:
He liked to have it up at Osh Kosh, parked next to the warbird line for free advertisement. He would pull everything out of the back so it was empty, I would drive it up from Champaign, IL, and park it in his reserved space by the warbird line. At the end of the airshow each day, all of the warbird guys would pile into the back of the Travco, and I would drive them down to the Holiday Inn in Fond du Lac where they all stayed, drop them off, park the Travco, and go drink free booze at their hospitality suite. I just slept in the Travco, got up up in the morning, made sure it was gassed up and serviced, have breakfast, and drive a bunch of them back to Osh Kosh. One morning I awoke extra early to go get it gassed up, and as I was walking past the courtyard of the motel to get some breakfast, one of the doors of the rooms facing the courtyard cracked open, out pops the bespectacled head of a man looking both ways like he was making sure nobody was watching, and then he tip-toed out wearing a pair of shorts, carrying his shoes, shirt, and straw hat................BOB HOOVER!
And as you probably figured out, that wasn't his room.
He liked to have it up at Osh Kosh, parked next to the warbird line for free advertisement. He would pull everything out of the back so it was empty, I would drive it up from Champaign, IL, and park it in his reserved space by the warbird line. At the end of the airshow each day, all of the warbird guys would pile into the back of the Travco, and I would drive them down to the Holiday Inn in Fond du Lac where they all stayed, drop them off, park the Travco, and go drink free booze at their hospitality suite. I just slept in the Travco, got up up in the morning, made sure it was gassed up and serviced, have breakfast, and drive a bunch of them back to Osh Kosh. One morning I awoke extra early to go get it gassed up, and as I was walking past the courtyard of the motel to get some breakfast, one of the doors of the rooms facing the courtyard cracked open, out pops the bespectacled head of a man looking both ways like he was making sure nobody was watching, and then he tip-toed out wearing a pair of shorts, carrying his shoes, shirt, and straw hat................BOB HOOVER!
And as you probably figured out, that wasn't his room.
