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Post by pdh54 on Oct 28, 2016 9:57:51 GMT 8
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Post by pdh54 on Oct 28, 2016 10:01:44 GMT 8
Here are some links to some cool videos of Mr. Hoover over the years.--Patty
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Post by fortman on Oct 28, 2016 16:13:42 GMT 8
Bob Hoover was the back-up pilot for the first supersonic flight in the X-1 in 1947. Imagine if this modest Southern gentleman had been the first to go supersonic.
Fortman
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Post by xray on Nov 1, 2016 8:12:45 GMT 8
Wow, RIP.
Saw him a lot at airshows as a kid flying a variety of aircraft including P-51's, F-86 and his famous Shrike.
He used to actually shut down both engines at low altitude and high speed, did a loop, slow roll then touch down on one wheel, yaw to the other wheel then finally touch down, start the engines back up and taxi to his parking spot, some really amazing stuff that will never, ever be performed again by anyone.
He was held captive by Germany for almost a year and a half, then managed to not only escape but he stole a FW-190 and flew it to the Netherlands, really fascinating career and incomparable pilot.
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When I got to see him do that routine at Harlingen one year (back in the 1980's), he did it almost exactly as you described, the difference being he managed to roll all the way back to in front of the crowd without restarting the engines to taxi. I was shaking my head in disbelief. Amazing is hardly descriptive enough to describe his talent. It seemed that he just had to will it, and that Shrike would do things no other pilot could conceive of.
exo
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Post by okla on Nov 2, 2016 3:37:13 GMT 8
Hey All....I had the honor/pleasure to witness Bob Hoover put on a demonstration of just what the F-86 Saberjet was capable of doing with an experienced pilot at the stick. This was in early 1953 at Suwon (K-13) AB, Korea. I was laboring, as a lowly Buck Sergeant, in the Ops/Intell Section of the 51st Fighter Wing at the time. All personnel that could be spared fell out on the Flight Line to take in this extraordinary event. Of course, the Pilots were instructed not to attempt to duplicate many of the stunts that Bob Hoover performed. It was quite a show. He was a Hell of a Pilot and the F-86 a Hell of an A/C. The 51st had some great Pilots during this period, including Joe McConnell, Harold Fisher, and Gabby Gabreski. What a long time ago that was.
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