From The Archives

[Jay Beckman]

Feel free to add any images you may have from your earliest days.  Film, Glass Plate, Stone Carvings or Cave Paintings...

I had the flatbed scanner out in order to digitize some paperwork so I decided to grab a very old photo album.

RA "Bob" Hoover at Reading, PA in the mid 1980s

Conclusion of his awesome Energy Management routine:


Cranking up a P-51 Mustang:

[Chris Kennedy]

This is the Mustang that Bob Hoover flew in shows from 1962 to 1971. Photo was taken at an air show at Dulles International in August, 1969. Scanned from a slide.

[Chris Kennedy]

Jay, in case you are interested, that Mustang "Bald Eagle" is still flying. It flies as part of an aerobatic demo team called The Horsemen. It's been owned by the same guy, Jim Beasley, since 1979. That isn't the one Hoover normally flew in his shows. That one was yellow and called, appropriately, Old Yeller. The one in my photo was its predecessor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horsemen_Aerobatic_Team

[jslugman]

Would either of those be this Mustang? Photographed by my Dad at D-M 1964-68.


P-51D N2251D by Frank O'Rear acd039 by James "JSlugman" O'Rear, on Flickr

[Chris Kennedy]

James,

That's the same one as in my photo. Hoover flew that one until about 1970 when it was damaged on the ground by an oxygen bottle explosion. At that point Rockwell bought another one that became "Old Yeller," which he flew until the 90s.

N2251D was repaired and is now flying in France.

[jslugman]

What a small planet this is sometimes. 

[Chris Kennedy]

There are some great pictures of "Bald Eagle" at this web page, including one where it is flying with an F-22.

http://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-51/p51survivors/pages/44-73029.php

Also a picture of it here flying with the Horsemen at Thunder Over Michigan last year.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gunfighter157/4888621630/

[bilwor]

While we are on Bob Hoover, here are 4 of his aircraft at Air/Space America 88 at Brown Field, San Diego CA May 15 & 21, 1988. They were scanned from some of my photo prints.

First is "Ole Yeller": North American/Cavalier F-51D (P-51D) "Mustang" (Bob Hoover's "Ole Yeller") (122-41279)(USAAF 44-74739)(N51RH)


Second is his Rockwell "Shrike Commander 500S" (N500RA)(Bob Hoover, Evergreen Ventures)


Third his North American Rockwell NA-265-40 "Sabreliner" (282-27)(N61RH)(Bob Hoover, Evergreen Ventures)


and last the North American T-28B "Trojan" (200-405) (USN 138334)(N394W)(Bob Hoover, Evergreen Ventures)