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[i]We mourn the passing of our friend Robert A. "Bob" Hoover, "The Greatest Stick and Rudder Man Who Ever Lived."[/i]
[i]No less an expert than Jimmy Doolittle said "Bob is the greatest stick-and-rudder man that ever lived." Bob Hoover began flying at Nashville's Berry Field in 1937, where he taught himself aerobatics. He joined the Tennessee Air National Guard and became a U.S. Army Air Corps test pilot charged with flying aircraft to the edge of their performance capabilities. Hoover was shot down on his 58th mission in World War II and spent almost 16 months as a German POW before escaping in a Focke-Wulf FW-190. After the war, he was a front line test pilot for such aircraft as the F-84 and P-80. He served as back-up pilot on the Bell X-1. Later, for North American Aviation, Hoover flew the first flight of the XFJ-2 Fury. He also tested the F-86 Sabre, including during bombing missions in Korea, and the F-100. In the 1950s, Hoover moved into corporate positions and began flying a precision aerobatic routine with a North American P-51 Mustang, then the T-39/Sabreliner and the Aero Commander fleet, culminating in the Shrike Commander 500S, now in the Museum's collection. He set altitude and speed records and was routinely sent abroad to demonstrate aircraft. As a safety pilot in the Reno Air Races, his advice saved the lives of several pilots in emergency situations. He was captain of the 1966 U.S. Aerobatic Team and his skill as an aerobatic performer is unmatched. In his most famous maneuver, Hoover poured iced tea from a pitcher into a glass on his T-39 instrument panel while performing a perfect barrel roll. He didn't spill a drop. Hoover has flown more than 300 types of aircraft and performed at more than 2,500 civilian and military air shows. Hoover is the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Smithsonian's Lindbergh Medal. He is an inductee of the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the International Aerobatic Hall of Fame. He is the only man to serve two terms as president of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.[/i]
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