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Garys RV-7 Builders Log
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Date: 7-29-2011
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Number of Hours: 0.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Gathering of Eagles after party 2
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Bob Hoover is not an actor, he is a real hero. Mr. Hoover was a fighter pilot in WWII and served in the Air Force for several years as a test pilot after the war. From what I have read, he is most proud of increasing the safety rate of P-38 Lightning pilots by demonstrating and teaching them how to fly with only one engine running. Many pilots were lost after an engine failure and the P-38 had a bad reputation for a while until Bob Hoover showed them how great of an airplane it was and that it was safe, if flown properly. I am writing this from memory, but think I have the story pretty much correct.
He was shot down over German occupied Belgium I believe, in a P-51 and evaded capture with help from the French Underground for several days. One evening he came across a German airfield and basicly highjacked a Fock Wolfe FW-190 fighter from the Germans and flew it back to England to escape.
R.A. "Bob" Hoover as he was known later, is one of the most revered stunt and aerobatic pilots ever. He flew a bright yellow P-51 named 'Ole Yeller in airshows and used it as the pace/starter plane at the Reno Air Races for many years. I remember seeing Bob fly a twin engine Shrike Commander at Oshkosh for many years and it was amazing. His last maneuver was to kill both engines and feather the props and then do a loop, an eight point roll, a 180 degree turn back to the runway, land and taxi to show center. Remember, he did all of this without an engine running. All you could hear was the wind rushing past the airplane.
I talked with Bob and his wife for several minutes and they were very gracious. It was a real highlight to spend the time with him.
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Kristin, Bob Hoover, and I
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