The legendary pilot fighter, aviation expo and aircraft tester, Robert 'Bob' Hoover, had been passed away at the age of 94. The World War II fighter was reportedly died on Tuesday, October 25, 2016.
According to his close family friend, Bill Fanning, Robert died in her home at Palos Verdes Estate early Tuesday. "He was every pilot's icon," Fanning said, reminiscing his friend as chief aircraft testers of the 1950s and '60s. "Bob tested everything. He flew them all.", Fanning added.
On that time, when the National Air Space Museum presented its most noteworthy respect on Hoover in 2007, Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, pioneering pilot and leader of the famed 1942 bomber raid in Japan, called Hoover as "the greatest stick-and-rudder man that ever lived."
It was reported that Buzz Aldrin, the second man landed on the moon posted on his Twitter account. "We lost an aviation pioneer today," Apollo 11 astronaut said. He could do magical things with an airplane. He was the best.", he added.
On 1937, when the pilot's icon began his mission at Berry Filed Nashville, nearly arrived at an early end. Hoover flew more than 50 missions before being shot down while serving in the Army's 52 fighter group in Sicily, Italy amidst World War II. He survived the missions, but he spent more months in a prisoner-of-war camp before he ran away. According to the history, the legendary pilot stole a German fighter plane, Focke-Wulf FW 190 and flew safety to Netherlands the day he escaped from the prisoner's camp.
Among other things, Hoover was well-known for being a pursuit pilot for Chuck Yeager, who set an aviation record in 1947. Hoover also tested US jet-powered war planes such as P-80 and F-84. He also tested the air force fighter aircraft, XFJ-2, and F-86 which was developed for the Navy and Marine Corps.
Truly, the legendary pilot fighter will be missed!
