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By Everard
#393081
In a flying documentary shown on UK television very late one evening in about 1990, I recall seeing him pouring a drink into a glass with one hand while barrel-rolling his Aero Commander.

Bob Hoover Barrel Roll on YouTube
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By red
#393086
Campers,

Raise a glass, to the memory of a great aviator.

I saw a Bob Hoover airshow when I was in the U.S. Air Force. He did an amazing show in the Rockwell Mustang, and I will never forget when he got out of the plane, he was wearing a business suit and tie! I guess we were expecting him to be wearing a bomber jacket and white silk scarf. 8)

Then he did it all again, this time in a Shrike Commander. Amazing! At the end of the show, he cut both engines at high speed, at 3000' (~1000m), and did a series of loops, rolls, and other stunts that you do not expect from a big twin, and power-off besides. The show announcer put his baseball cap on the taxiway in front of the stand, and told us he had bet US$5 that Bob would not be able to stop the Shrike on his hat. With no engines and several maneuvers later, Bob landed and rolled up to the announcer's stand, stopping with the front wheel on the announcer's hat. "I lose more hats and $5 bills that way," the announcer said sadly, shaking his head. :lol: Bob Hoover was an Air Force hero.

Fly high, brother.
Last edited by red on Fri Oct 28, 2016 10:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By kukailimoku
#393093
He was something else, that one. Not to be duplicated. There was a pack of the Marina HG gang at the Reno Air Races one year, hanging out not far from the last pylon, with a radio on tower frequency. When things went seriously south for one of the pilots we listened to Bob talk him down (apparently his windshield was covered with oil) and then walk him through ground-looping the plane to avoid smashing into something that would have been very bad (I don't recall what it was).

Hoover's voice was so calm, it was like he was giving driving directions in a parking lot from the passenger seat of a car. Amazing stuff.
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By TjW
#393101
red wrote:Campers,

Raise a glass, to the memory of a great aviator.

I saw a Bob Hoover airshow when I was in the U.S. Air Force. He did an amazing show in the Rockwell Mustang, and I will never forget when he got out of the plane, he was wearing a business suit and tie! I guess we were expecting him to be wearing a bomber jacket and white silk scarf. 8)

Then he did it all again, this time in a Shrike Commander. Amazing! At the end of the show, he cut both engines at high speed, at 3000' (~1000m), and did a series of loops, rolls, and other stunts that you do not expect from a big twin, and power-off besides. The show announcer put his baseball cap on the taxiway in front of the stand, and told us he had bet US$5 that Bob would not be able to stop the Shrike on his hat. With no engines and several maneuvers later, Bob landed and rolled up to the announcer's stand, stopping with the front wheel on the announcer's hat. "I lose more hats and $5 bills that way," the announcer said sadly, shaking his head. :lol: Bob Hoover was an Air Force hero.

Fly high, brother.
I was always more impressed by the Aero Commander routine. The P51 was, after all, designed for aerobatic flight.
I'd seen Hoover perform several times, but my friend Ed, hadn't.
"Oh my gosh, he's lost an engine!"
"Oh my gosh, he's lost BOTH engines!"

When I first saw him at Oshkosh, he had a line boy come out and plant a flag at the nose of the Shrike. Then he backed out of the parking spot, which sort of emphasized that this was a business twin.
He finished up power off, of course, and rolled down the taxiway, getting slower and slower. Made the turn into the tiedown barely moving, rolled up and just kissed the flag with the nose. Energy management.
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By Helix3
#393151
kukailimoku wrote:. . . walk him through ground-looping the plane to avoid smashing into something that would have been very bad (I don't recall what it was).

Hoover's voice was so calm, it was like he was giving driving directions in a parking lot from the passenger seat of a car. Amazing stuff.
Ground-looping hg = no bueno. What is ground-looping a plane?
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By Helix3
#393152
red wrote:...The show announcer put his baseball cap on the taxiway in front of the stand, and told us he had bet US$5 that Bob would not be able to stop the Shrike on his hat. With no engines and several maneuvers later, Bob landed and rolled up to the announcer's stand, stopping with the front wheel on the announcer's hat. "I lose more hats and $5 bills that way," the announcer said sadly, shaking his head...
Shrike : baseball cap = HG : butt hair of an ant
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By TjW
#393154
Helix3 wrote:
kukailimoku wrote:. . . walk him through ground-looping the plane to avoid smashing into something that would have been very bad (I don't recall what it was).

Hoover's voice was so calm, it was like he was giving driving directions in a parking lot from the passenger seat of a car. Amazing stuff.
Ground-looping hg = no bueno. What is ground-looping a plane?
On a taildragger, the CG is behind the two front wheels, which, as you might imagine, have most of the rolling resistance and all of the braking power.
Beyond a certain point, the airplane wants to suddenly swap ends.
That's a ground loop.
This can put a wing on the ground and bend a lot of expensive aluminum.
Fuel is carried in the wings, so that can be an issue, too.
Done intentionally, a ground loop can scrub an enormous amount of energy out of the plane with a minimum of damage.
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By Helix3
#393155
Like a parking-break-180°-maneuver in a car, sounds like.

Thank you, T. I learned something today.
By darkcloud
#393162
Helix3 wrote:
kukailimoku wrote:. . . walk him through ground-looping the plane to avoid smashing into something that would have been very bad (I don't recall what it was).

Hoover's voice was so calm, it was like he was giving driving directions in a parking lot from the passenger seat of a car. Amazing stuff.
Ground-looping hg = no bueno. What is ground-looping a plane?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HkDQBXH02fE
By darkcloud
#393163
Helix3 wrote:
kukailimoku wrote:. . . walk him through ground-looping the plane to avoid smashing into something that would have been very bad (I don't recall what it was).

Hoover's voice was so calm, it was like he was giving driving directions in a parking lot from the passenger seat of a car. Amazing stuff.
Ground-looping hg = no bueno. What is ground-looping a plane?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HkDQBXH02fE
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gGOwcnGts4s