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Robert A. "Bob" Hoover (born January 24, 1922) is a former air show pilot and United States Air Force test pilot and fighter pilot. Known as the "pilot's pilot", Hoover revolutionized modern aerobatic flying and has been referred to by many aviation circles as one of the greatest pilots ever to have lived.〔("51 Heroes of Aviation." ) ''Flying''. Retrieved: May 3, 2015.〕〔(''The Bob Hoover Project: Flying the Feathered Edge''. ) Documentary video. Retrieved: May 3, 2015.〕〔("Robert A. “Bob” Hoover, The Greatest Stick and Rudder Man, is Honored in Hollywood". ) AirSpace Blog. Retrieved: July 27, 2015.〕 ==Aviation career== Hoover learned to fly at Nashville's Berry Field while working at a local grocery store to pay for the flight training.〔Hoover 1997, pp. 15–16.〕 He enlisted in the Tennessee National Guard and was sent for pilot training with the Army.〔Hoover 1997, p. 17.〕 During World War II, Hoover was sent to Casablanca where his first major assignment was test flying the assembled aircraft ready for service. He was later assigned to the Spitfire-equipped 52d Fighter Group in Sicily.〔Hoover 1997, p. 50.〕 In 1944, on his 59th mission, his malfunctioning Mark V Spitfire was shot down by a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 off the coast of Southern France and he was taken prisoner.〔Hoover 1997, pp. 65–67.〕 He spent 16 months at the German prison camp Stalag Luft 1 in Barth, Germany.〔Hoover 1997, p. 90.〕 Hoover managed to escape from the prison camp by stealing a Fw 190, and flew to safety in the Netherlands.〔Hoover 1997, pp. 88–90.〕 He was assigned to flight test duty at Wright Field after the war. There he impressed and befriended Chuck Yeager.〔Hoover 1997, p. 93.〕 When Yeager was later asked who he wanted for flight crew for the supersonic Bell X-1 flight, he named Hoover. Hoover became Yeager's backup pilot in the Bell X-1 program and flew chase for Yeager in a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star during the Mach 1 flight.〔Hoover 1997, p. 110.〕 He also flew chase for the 50th anniversary of the Mach 1 flight in a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.〔("Hoover Flys Chase for Yeager." ) ''Ohio University Post'', October 15, 1997. Retrieved: November 29, 2008. 〕 Hoover left the Air Force for civilian jobs in 1948.〔Hoover 1997, p. 137.〕 This included a brief time with Allison Engine Company and finally test/demonstration pilot with North American Aviation where he went on to Korea teaching the pilots in Korean war how to dive-bomb with the F-86 Sabre. During his six weeks in Korea, Hoover flew many combat bombing missions over enemy territory, but was denied permission to engage in air-to-air combat flights.〔Hoover 1997, pp. 187–189.〕 During the 1950s, Hoover visited many active-duty, reserve and air national guard units to demonstrate the plane's capabilities to their pilots. Hoover flew flight tests on the FJ-1 "Fury", F-86 "Sabre", and the F-100 "Super Sabre". In the early 1960s, Hoover began flying the North American P-51 Mustang at airshows around the country. The Hoover Mustang (N2251D) was purchased by North American Aviation from Dave Lindsay's Cavalier Aircraft Corp. in 1962. A second Mustang (N51RH), later named "Ole Yeller," was purchased by North American Rockwell from Cavalier in 1971 to replace the earlier aircraft that was destroyed in a ground accident when an oxygen bottle exploded after being overfilled. Hoover demonstrated the Mustang and later the Aero Commander at hundreds of airshows until his retirement in the 1990s. In 1997 Hoover sold "Ole Yeller" to his good friend John Bagley of Rexburg, Idaho. "Ole Yeller" still flies frequently and is based at the Legacy Flight Museum 〔("Library of Planes: Old Yeller." ) ''Legacyflightmuseum.com''. Retrieved: June 24, 2013.〕 in Rexburg, Idaho. Hoover has set records for transcontinental and "time to climb" speed,〔Hoover 1997, pp. 251–253.〕 and has personally known such great aviators as Orville Wright, Eddie Rickenbacker, Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeager, Jacqueline Cochran, Neil Armstrong, and Yuri Gagarin.〔Hoover 1997, p. 247.〕 Hoover is best known for his civil air show career, which started when he was hired to demonstrate the capabilities of Aero Commander's Shrike Commander, a twin piston-engined business aircraft that had developed a rather staid reputation due to its bulky shape. Hoover showed the strength of the plane as he put the aircraft through rolls, loops, and other maneuvers, which most people would not associate with executive aircraft. As a 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. After pulling off the runway, he would start engines to taxi back to the parking area. On airfields with large enough parking ramps (such as the Reno Stead Airport where the Reno Air Races take place), Hoover would sometimes land directly on the ramp and coast all the way back to his parking spot in front of the grandstand without restarting the engines. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bob Hoover」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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