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from one of the best pilots you'll ever see- Bob Hoover

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kJzaZJr4EA

Check this out Piney
www.com-central.net/in...ic&t=13122

Thanks Bullet, When I visited The EAA flyin at Rockford, Ill, (before it moved to Oshkosh) It was my good fortune to see Mr. Hoover fly twice a day for five straight days. What a pleasure it was to see his amazing flying skills with both the yellow P-51 and the Aero Commander. On 2 different days after his routines there were grass stains on the Commander's wing tips.

good example of that fine between genius and fool!

I am currently reading Bob Hoover's autobiography "Forever Flying". Great book.

An amazing Bob Hoover fact -
He's shot down in a Spitfire by an FW190 and parachutes into the Mediterranean Sea. Ends up getting picked up by a German Corvette and spends 16 months as a prisoner of war. Check this out....he escapes, steals an FW190....and flies home!

Sounds just like the stunts I'd play against Stoopy and Ascout back in CFS3! lol

More on Mr. Hoover.

1966 - Moscow - International aerobatics competition finals - US vs. Russia

US loses to the Russians. The Russians of course think it is because of their superior pilots and not their superior aircraft. As a gesture to the US the Russians let the non-flying captain of the US team take a spin in the Yak-18 which just kicked the USA's ass in the competitions. The captain is Bob Hoover.


Hoover takes off in the thing at full throttle (he never flew it before)...raises the gear 5 feet off the ground then rolls it and disappears out of sight inverted just skimming the terrain. As the Russians wait for the fireball from the crash...he comes back around the other side of the airfield and buzzes the crowd... again inverted. Brings her through a few cubans and some 8 and 16 pt turns... touches down on one wheeel... comes back around and touches down on another... then brings it in for a landing. The crowd goes insane and the Russians arrest him! lol

Meanwhile...the entire time he is in Moscow he is working for the CIA. While he is in the air he's doing some surveillance of Russian aircraft parked in surrounding airfields. On teh ground he's trying to get one of the Russian test pilots to defect with a brain full of info on the MIG-21 .

His first experience flying was in a Model-T Ford. When he was 13yrs old he'd discovered he could get the thing "airborne" jumping hills and bumps on the local golf course. This guy is becoming my hero and I am only on chapter one!

He sounds British.