R. A. "Bob" Hoover (1922- ) was a legendary air show pilot and USAF test pilot.
Bob Hoover learned to fly at Nashville's Berry Field while working at a local grocery store to pay for the flight training. He enlisted in the Tennessee National Guard and was sent for pilot training with the Army. His first major assignment of the war was test flying the assembled aircraft ready for service. He was later assigned to the Spitfire-equipped 52nd Fighter group in Sicily. On his 59th mission he was shot down over Southern France and was taken prisoner. He spent 16 months at the German prison camp Stalag Luft 1 .
He managed to escape from the prison camp, stole a FW-190 (or so the legend goes), and flew to safety in Holland. After the war, he was assigned to flight test duty at Wright Field. There he impressed and befriended Chuck Yeager. Later when Yeager was asked who he wanted for flight crew for the supersonic X-1 flight, he named Bob Hoover. Thus Bob Hoover flew chase for Yeager in a P-80 during the Mach 1 flight, and flew chase for the 50th anniversary in a F-16.
He left the Air Force for civilian jobs in 1948. This included test/demonstration pilot with North American Aviation where he went on bombing missions with the F-86 over Korea.
Bob Hoover is most well known for his air show career and record attempts. His most famous air show act was his "Energy Management" routine in the Shrike Commander, a twin-engined piston business aircraft; he put the aircraft through its paces (rolls, loops, et al), then, for the grand finale, he shut down both engines and executed a loop and an eight-point hesitation slow roll as he headed back to the runway. He touched down on one tire, then the other, before landing.
His air show career was ended over medical concerns when he was unable to get the insurance required by most air shows.
Bob Hoover is considered one of the founding fathers of modern aerobatics, he was described by Jimmy Doolittle as, "...the greatest stick-and-rudder man who ever lived." In the Centennial of flight edition of the Air & Space Smithsonian, he was named the third greatest aviator in history.
