TOM POBEREZNY
COMMENTARY / POSITION REPORT
Vol. 60 No.6 | June 2011
Pilot Extraordinaire
Honoring Bob Hoover
REMEMBER THE LINE IN the movie Top Gun
when Kelly McGillis told that class of
aviators they were “the best of the best”?
Well that describes Bob Hoover.
Anyone, especially pilots, who has
watched him perform at an air show will
say that he represents the highest level
of skill and professionalism. My first ride
in a P- 51 Mustang was with Bob at the
Milwaukee Air Show in the 1960s. It was
a demonstration air race and, of course,
Bob won! Little did I know that decades
later I would be performing with Bob at
numerous air shows around the country—
an honor I will never forget.
During that flight, I did not yet have
the experience to fully appreciate Bob’s
unlimited talent. But I do remember that
Bob and the airplane were one—no wasted
motion. Everything he did was second
nature. Bob defined the words “pilot in
command.” It was like watching an artist
paint a picture while traveling 300 mph
and 25 feet off the ground.
Bob’s air show performances, with the
late Jimmy Driskell at the microphone,
included such phrases as the “Tennessee
Waltz” in his yellow P- 51 or his famous
“energy management series” in the Aero
Commander Shrike. At the end of every
Shrike performance, Bob would climb
to a higher altitude, shut down both
engines, and perform a series of aerobatic
maneuvers. He would land “dead stick”
and roll up to show center (see page 24-
25 for an illustration of this maneuver).
I watched Bob perform this hundreds of
times at different airports, under a variety
of weather conditions, and he never missed
his mark. Truly amazing.
Bob always promoted consistency
when flying—do everything to the same
high standards every time you fly. He
demonstrated those standards during
each performance.
PUBLICATIONS STAFF
Publisher: Rod Hightower
Vice President-Membership: Adam Smith
Director of Publications & Editor: Mary Jones
Senior Editor: Steve Schapiro
Associate Editor: Kelly Nelson
Senior Art Director: Phil Norton
Art Directors: Michael Annino, Olivia Trabbold
News Editor: Ric Reynolds
Copy Editor: Colleen Walsh
Editorial Assistant/Layout: Dana Heimos
Editorial Assistant: Meghan Plummer
Multimedia Journalist: Brady Lane
Manager, Electronic Publications: Fareed Guyot
Webmaster: Sue Delrow
Photography Staff: Jim Koepnick, Steve Cukierski
Production/Special Projects: Kathleen Witman
Editor-at-Large: J. Mac McClellan
Contributing Writers: Mike Berry, Mike Busch, Greg Laslo,
Peter Lert, Dave Matheny, Bob O’Quinn, Lauran Paine Jr., Mark
Phelps, Robert Rossier, Jeff Skiles, Max Trescott, Lane Wallace
ADVERTISING
Manager/Domestic: Sue Anderson
Phone: 920-426-6127 Fax: 920-426-4828
Senior Business Relations: Trevor Janz
Interim Classifieds Coordinator: Alicia Canziani
REPRESENTATIVE:
Manager/European-Asian: Willi Tacke
Phone: +498841/487515
FAX: +498841/496012
E-mail: willi@flying-pages.com
Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086
Phone: 920-426-4800
Fax: 920-426-4828
E-mail: Editorial@EAA.org
Website: www.EAA.org
Need to change your address or have other membership
questions, call 800-564-6322 (800-JOIN EAA).
EAA® and SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and AERONAUTICA™ are regis-
tered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft
Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and service marks without the
permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.
EAA Founder: Paul H. Poberezny
Chairman of the Board: Tom Poberezny
