THE BOB HOOVER PROJECT

[ALOHADAVE]

An early teaser for an upcoming feature documentary film, currently in production, on the life of flying legend R.A. “Bob” Hoover – THE BOB HOOVER PROJECT.

WWII veteran, prisoner of war, accomplished test pilot, pace plane for the Unlimited Reno races, air show pilot – Bob Hoover is considered one of the founders of modern aerobatics and is considered by Jimmy Doolittle to be “…the greatest stick and rudder man who ever lived.”

Check this out: http://thebobhooverproject.com/

[WallyB]

Also see his interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B09nWQHdRiU

[Zachary]

Here is one I did with Bob for Timeless Voices: http://tinyurl.com/7zjfya6

[Dudley Henriques]

Here is one I did with Bob for Timeless Voices: http://tinyurl.com/7zjfya6

Great job on this piece.

I've always said the best way to "interview" Bob was to just sit him down, turn on the equipment and leave him alone to reminisce without interruption.
This is a textbook example of doing things right!
Dudley Henriques

[Anthony Svihlik]

An early teaser for an upcoming feature documentary film, currently in production, on the life of flying legend R.A. “Bob” Hoover – THE BOB HOOVER PROJECT.

WWII veteran, prisoner of war, accomplished test pilot, pace plane for the Unlimited Reno races, air show pilot – Bob Hoover is considered one of the founders of modern aerobatics and is considered by Jimmy Doolittle to be “…the greatest stick and rudder man who ever lived.”

Check this out: http://thebobhooverproject.com/

Those of us in attendance at the 2011 ICAS Convention had the great opportunity to see and hear air show legend Bob Hoover during the opening general session and see the teaser trailer for the upcoming feature documentary film. Good stuff!

Here is one I did with Bob for Timeless Voices: http://tinyurl.com/7zjfya6

Very well done, Zachary - thanks for sharing!

For those who are interested, I have video of Bob Hoover's performance in the Shrike Commander from the 1986 Cleveland National Air Show (complete with Jim Driskell's narration) here:

1986 Cleveland National Air Show Bob Hoover demonstration

I have been attending air shows for over 34 years and Bob is the best I ever saw. Great times!

Anthony

[maxum96]

I'm privileged to say I got to see Bob's routines in the Shrike Commander and the P-51 in the early 70's. Absolutely awesome!

[Tanker 336]

[WallyB]

I read that he did a demonstration routine for Air Force pilots in the early 50s in an F-86 as a confidence builder, apparently a jaw dropper and astounding, and maybe the genesis of his later Shrike routine.

He was already doing things with airplanes nobody else could before the F-86.

Two months after the Allies' November 1942 invasion of North Africa, Hoover's outfit was transferred there. He thought he was finally going to combat, and wasn't happy when he found they were headed to a supply depot in Mediouna, assigned to a replacement pilots' pool.

A few days after their arrival, the commanding officer, Col. John Stevenson, announced that a French major would be delivering and demonstrating a brand-new Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Although he had never flown the single-seater, twin-engine, twin-boom fighter before, Hoover had more twin-engine time than anyone else, and was told to put the plane through maneuvers after the initial display. Determined to outperform the major, Hoover put the Lightning through a series of low-altitude aerobatics.

"I was shutting down one engine and rolling into it, which is a no-no," he said. "Then I started up again, and shut the other one down and rolled in that direction. Then I started to do things with just one engine. When I landed, the colonel reprimanded me in front of everybody. He said, 'Young man, I want to see you in my office, immediately.' I thought, 'He's going to ground me.' When I knocked on the door, he yelled, 'Come in,' and by the time I got through the door, he was out of his seat and had his hand stuck out. He said, 'Young man, I've never seen anything like that in my life! I have 300 hours in that airplane; I'd kill myself if I tried to do that!"

Greatest natural pilot of our time ?

[bipe215]

One of the best Hoover stories is the F-86 with the stick frozen with full up elevator on take off and the subsequent wing-overs all the way out to Edwards from LAX.

Steve

[Dudley Henriques]

One of the best Hoover stories is the F-86 with the stick frozen with full up elevator on take off and the subsequent wing-overs all the way out to Edwards from LAX.

Steve

Knowing Bob's reputation I'm sure there is something in this story that's near factual but respectfully, I'd check this one out a bit.
Full back elevator on an 86 takeoff will deny rotation with the airplane in deep drag rise. Early application of too much pitch in an 86 on takeoff is a REAL newbie mistake that BOB would never have made.
Sounds to me like something went amiss with the stab well after rotation.

Dudley Henriques

Last edited by Dudley Henriques on Thu Feb 09, 2012 5:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Warbirdnerd]

A thread on Bob Hoover that does not contain a link to video of him "pouring tea" seems very incomplete.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMWxuKcD6vE

[PbyCat-Guy]

A thread on Bob Hoover that does not contain a link to video of him "pouring tea" seems very incomplete.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMWxuKcD6vE

A few guys did that in a 1900. i've heard from my chief pilot at my airline the beech is very docile, but I'm not going to risk my job trying to prove it.

[Dudley Henriques]

A thread on Bob Hoover that does not contain a link to video of him "pouring tea" seems very incomplete.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMWxuKcD6vE

A few guys did that in a 1900. i've heard from my chief pilot at my airline the beech is very docile, but I'm not going to risk my job trying to prove it.

Hoover would be the first to say that doing a nice barrel roll holding steady positive g throughout the roll wasn't the difficult part of the tea trick. What was REAL hard for Bob was that he was flying from the left seat in the Shrike and poured the stuff cross handed and backwards. ))
Dudley Henriques

[mlenoch]

Dudley wrote:
"Full back elevator on an 86 takeoff will deny rotation with the airplane in deep drag rise. Early application of too much pitch in an 86 on takeoff is a REAL newbie mistake that BOB would never have made."

Very true. This was a factor in the tragic Sabre-Ice Cream parlor incident many years ago.
VL

[Tanker 336]