Video - B55 Baron inverted deadstick Oshkosh 2018

[red750]

Watch this video here.

[Marty_d]

I saw Hoover do that in an Aero Commander about 20 years ago. 

[red750]

At Avalon? I saw him there that day.

[Marty_d]

Skyrace Tasmania.

Also Chris Sperou landed his Pitts Special upside down,  but not sure whether that was the same year - I went a couple of times. 

[440032]

Hoover - Skyrace 1994 and 1995 at Valley Field. Yep, I was there too. Unbelievable it was watching him do his thing. Man, the noise when he killed both engines! Damn thing sounded like an inbound SCUD missile. I seem to recall too, some Australian announcer from USA. Gordon Bowman-Jones, that's it. Man he was annoying with his bullshit. I can still hear his voice.

"Here comes Bob on the down line - both engines totally dead!"    Ah no dude, one's actually still running on this pass.

Valley Field was a great viewing venue - just like RENO - with the mountains in the background. Been there too.

And sadly - upon arriving back at Launy airport to come home on Monday, we saw smoke rising and a few T-28's on downwind to land, maybe Judy in the lead? Some asshat showpony did a roll on takeoff and didn't make it. Airport passengers saw it happen and were shocked. Some years later, I spied the rudder of that ship hanging on the wall at the Launy model aircraft club.

 

[Marty_d]

16 minutes ago, 440032 said:

Hoover - Skyrace 1994 and 1995 at Valley Field. Yep, I was there too. Unbelievable it was watching him do his thing. Man, the noise when he killed both engines! Damn thing sounded like an inbound SCUD missile. I seem to recall too, some Australian announcer from USA. Gordon Bowman-Jones, that's it. Man he was annoying with his bullshit. I can still hear his voice.

"Here comes Bob on the down line - both engines totally dead!"    Ah no dude, one's actually still running on this pass.

Valley Field was a great viewing venue - just like RENO - with the mountains in the background. Been there too.

And sadly - upon arriving back at Launy airport to come home on Monday, we saw smoke rising and a few T-28's on downwind to land, maybe Judy in the lead? Some asshat showpony did a roll on takeoff and didn't make it. Airport passengers saw it happen and were shocked. Some years later, I spied the rudder of that ship hanging on the wall at the Launy model aircraft club.

 

Your memory is better than mine!  Now you mention it I remember that T-28 crash.

Not long after that we had one of the US carriers come into Hobart, and I remember talking to some pilots (sorry, "naval aviators") in a bar one night.  They were like "Bob HOOVER flew here?  Where's the strip?  How do we get there?" I think a bunch of them hired a car and drove up there just to do a pilgrimage to the site where Hoover flew.  I have an inkling that Hoover at that point wasn't allowed to fly in the US and Australia had given him a licence, so that may have added to the attraction.

Edited August 17, 2023 by Marty_d

[facthunter]

Yes they took his US licence and a CAA bloke, Barry Diamond issued a temp Australian one for him to do his routine at AVALON and his included rolling to a  parking spot on the tarmac with the engines not restarted. The FAA considered His reflexes were slowing. It  wasn't obvious to me at the time, or anyone else for that matter. Bob Hoover had an incredible career..  Nev

[440032]

I recall, hopefully correctly, the CAA examiner (Barry Diamond?) did Bob's Australian CPL flight test on the Thursday of Skyrace 94, (yes, after the FAA pulled his ticket) and was in the bird with him while he did his full airshow practice routine on the way back in to Valley Field. I was there, it was unbelievable! And then we saw it many times again over the weekend. Same routine, same precision, same straw hat.

[facthunter]

It's not as if the  plane he used is that strong either. (Aero Commander). IF it's the one from Essendon it shed a wing later.   Nev

[pmccarthy]

Wasn’t his a purposely strengthened job?

[Marty_d]

I don't see how.  It would be too expensive to ship it out from the US for a couple of airshows. 

[440032]

12 hours ago, pmccarthy said:

Wasn’t his a purposely strengthened job?

Nope. The only mod it had, supposedly, was a nitrogen blow down bottle for the landing gear. Why do I remember all this stuff from 30 years ago.

 

It was VH-UJM from GAM at Essendon, and it is still flying - with both wings.

Edited August 17, 2023 by 440032

[facthunter]

One from there did have a wing separation north of Melbourne, Instructor and female student killed. Hoover is easy on the plane, but they do have wing problems. Nev