Blue Skies Mr. Hoover

[planeflyer21]

There are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are now truly no old, bold pilots:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/10/26/top-pilot-who-stole-plane-to-escape-wwii-prison-camp-dies.html

As the article mentions, shot down and captured over Germany in WWII, he stole one of their planes to escape.  He flew the chase plane for Chuck Yeager's X-1 flights up to and breaking the sound barrier for the first time.  After Yeager would burn out all the rocket fuel in the X-1, he and Hoover would "dog fight" on the way down to the lake bed, seeing who could get in a firing position on the other.

I got to see Hoover perform a couple of times, doing this "engine out" routine in a Rockwell Shrike Commander:

Once I asked my Dad what the most impressive air show display he had seen was.  Completely unprompted, he stated he'd seen Bob Hoover conducting a F-100 demo.  Hoover had the Super Sabre off the ground, landing gear retracted, and flipped over onto its back flying upside down by the halfway point on the runway.

As entertaining as the Shrike Commander engine's out display was, he used to also do air shows in his ugly yellow P-51 Mustang with Rockwell painted down the side.

Thanks Bob.  Vaya con Dios!

[EngrBob]

I watched him perform several times, in the Shrike and the 51.  He is flying higher now.

[mineralman55]

I met Bob Hoover at an air show many years ago after watching him do his "energy saving" routine (aerobatics and landing his twin engine with one engine out). Great guy. Smooth skies to you now.

[MikedaddyH]

I got to meet him at the Paine Field Rotory Airshow in Everett Was as a kid. My dad knew him, they talked for a little while.

[shepp]

Pretty sure I saw him do a very similar routine to that video at EAA in Oshkosh in the early 90's, it had to have been him I can't Imagine anyone else duplicating that

 

rest easy

[washguy]

One heck of a pilot!  and a nice man too!      Fly high Bob        Wash

[bubbas4570]

That is some awesome work!

 

[Sisco]

They broke the mold with him.

[unforgiven]

That God welcomes brother Bob into heaven with open arms.