Truely The End Of An Era

[Dan McEntee]

    Perceived by many, many people (including me) as the greatest pilot that ever lived, Mr. R.A "Bob" Hoover passed away this morning in southern California from congestive heart failure at the age of 94. There have been many great aviators through the course of history, but I feel confident in saying that the world will never see the likes of R.A. "Bob" Hoover again.
     Fair Winds and Clear Skies To You, Mr. Hoover,
     Dan McEntee

[Mike Keville]

Amen to THAT.

[wwwarbird]

 I just caught the news of Bob's passing a few minutes ago on the EAA site. I agree with Dan, definitely one of the greatest ever. I just saw him speak again during a Warbird Alley presentation at Oshkosh this year, incredible stories from an incredible person. Thank you for everything Mr. Hoover, R.I.P.  

 http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-news-and-aviation-news/news/10-25-2016-bob-hoover-legendary-pilot-dies-at-age-94





 

[gene poremba]

 Very sad to hear this. God speed Bob.

[Jim Kraft]

He was an extremely gifted pilot. I got to watch his performance in both the P51 and the Shrike several times. He definitely had a gift for flying, and always knew the limits of the plane. Rest in peace Bob.

[Robert Zambelli]

I met Bob Hoover a number of times and he was always the pleasant gentleman.

He'd be sitting and relaxing between performances but always found time to chat.

I've seen many airshow performers and in my opinion, he was the best.

Wasn't there a biography or autobiography published a while back?

Bob Z.

[Steve Thompson]

A true aviation HERO!

An extremely gifted and talented pilot.  Saw him do a Shrike performance at Arlington, WA.  Engines off, glide in, touch one main, roll, touch other main, roll other direction, land.  That and more put him into a separate category of airmen.  He called it energy management.  You could also call it amazing.

[Frank Imbriaco]

Bob was a fixture at the " Greatest Little Airshow " ( the Sussex, NJ Airshow) for many years. I marveled at his piloting skills and will always remember him as always  smiling,  beanstalk tall, bespectacled and wearing his trademark straw hat.

[Larry Renger]

I have always valued knowing about Bob, but never met him. I have modeled his Old Yeller a couple of times, and always put a replica or image of him in the plane. Truly the best "Stick and Rudder" man ever. I only had the fortune to see him perform once, but it was awe inspiring!

Fly high and do 32 point rolls, Bob, while keeping the glass full. 

[Robert Zambelli]

Bob was a fixture at the " Greatest Little Airshow " ( the Sussex, NJ Airshow) for many years. I marveled at his piloting skills and will always remember him as always  smiling,  beanstalk tall, bespectacled and wearing his trademark straw hat.

Hi, Frank - that's where I met him. Sussex.

[john e. holliday]

Only seen him perform live at the old Olathe Naval Base air show.   Was amazing to watch the Mustang when he would cut the power and prop quit turning he would do a loop, roll,  extend landing gear,  land and park the plane in his designated spot.   His ground crew showed him he was 6 inches short when it quit rolling.   Have watched many of his videos and was always baffling to watch him do rolls with his drink sitting on the dash board.   Never be another like him.

[Don Chandler]

Iwas blessed with the opportunity to attend the Reno air races many times in the 70's and 80's and saw Bob fly many times. Had an opportunitty to stand there with him one year as I was a guest of a local SF Bay Area reporter at the time. Fun to listen to and a blast to watch him fly. Aviation will miss him!

[bill bischoff]

I too got to see Bob perform in Reno. He was one of my aviation heroes. When I was building this model for scale (in 1977; I was 16) I wrote to Bob asking for some information about the airplane. I didn't expect to get any reply at all, but he sent me a letter, a three view, and an autographed picture. It really made me feel like a somebody!

(For the gearheads, the model was the Top Flite CL P-51, J-Roberts 3 line system, Enya 35, dope finish. Even made it into one of Harry Higley's books.)

[wwwarbird]

 Here's Bob telling some of his incredible stories in "Warbird Alley" at Oshkosh this year, I made a point to be at that presentation. It was great, but sadly with mixed feelings because you could just tell there wasn't much time left.

 In these photos Bob was recounting the time that he had escaped, stole an FW-190, and flew off in it...

[pat king]

I had the great fortune of seeing Mr. Hoover perform many times at Reno. I had the priveledge of talking to him several times. I have watched him shepherd a "MAYDAY" unlimited racer. I have listened to him talk a Mustang pilot through a main gear stuck on the uplock. Mr. Hoover was one of a kind, he will be missed by all of the aviation community. Mr. Hoover was definitely on of the good guys.

Pat