Bob Hoover Robert A . " Bob " Hoover ( born January 24 , 1922 ) is a former air show pilot and United States Air Force test pilot , known for his wide - brimmed straw hat and wide smile . In aviation circles , he is often referred to as " The pilots ' pilot . " Aviation career . Bob Hoover learned to fly at Nashville ' s Berry Field while working at a local grocery store to pay for the flight training . He enlisted in the Tennessee National Guard and was sent for pilot training with the Army . During World War II , he 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 52nd Fighter Group in Sicily . 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 . He spent 16 months at the German prison camp Stalag Luft 1 in Barth , Germany . Hoover managed to escape from the prison camp , stole an Fw 190 , and flew to safety in the Netherlands . He was assigned to flight - test duty at Wright Field after the war . There he impressed and befriended Chuck Yeager . When Yeager was later asked who he wanted for flight crew for the supersonic Bell X - 1 flight he named Bob Hoover . Hoover was 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 . He also flew chase for the 50th anniversary in an F - 16 Fighting Falcon . He left the Air Force for civilian jobs in 1948 . 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 , and 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 " Fury , " F - 86 " Sabre , " and the F - 100 " Supersabre . " In the early 1960s , Hoover proposed the idea of promoting the North American name by demonstrating one of North American ' s most famous products , the P - 51 Mustang fighter , 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 out of the Legacy Flight Museum in Rexburg , Idaho . Bob Hoover has set records for transcontinental and " time to climb " speed , and has personally known such great aviators as Orville Wright , Eddie Rickenbacker , Charles Lindbergh , James H Doolittle , Jacqueline Cochran , Neil Armstrong , and Yuri Gagarin . Bob 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 which 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 . A few years after starting the show he began carrying passengers during the show . ( The Shrike Commander carries six passengers . ) These passengers became known as " Hoover ' s Heavers " due to the number who became airsick during the maneuvers . With the advent of camcorders Hoover added a flourish to the act by pouring a glass of iced tea from a pitcher , while performing a barrel roll , a 1G maneuver . Hoover also served for many years as the official starter of the Unlimited - class races at the Reno Air Races . The race planes ( mostly modified World War II fighter aircraft ) joined up in line - abreast formation on Hoover ' s yellow P - 51 Mustang , and when in satisfactory order the spectators would hear over the PA his famous radio call , " Gentlemen , you have a race . " Hoover ' s plane would pull up sharply into a vertical climb as the racers dove toward the first turn . Hoover would circle overhead during the race , ready to assist any race pilots with problems . In several cases Hoover helped pilots with crippled race planes to a safe recovery by talking them down while flying in formation with them . Medical controversy . His air show aerobatics career ended over medical concerns , when his medical certificate was revoked by the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) in the early 1990s . Shortly before his revocation , Hoover experienced serious engine problems in a T - 28 off the coast of California . During his return to Torrance , he was able to keep the engine running intermittently by constantly manipulating the throttle , mixture , and propeller lever . Just as he landed the engine froze . Hoover believed his successful management of this difficult emergency should have convinced the FAA that his capabilities were as good as ever . Meanwhile , Hoover was granted a pilot ' s licence , and medical certificate , by Australia ' s aviation authorities . Hoover ' s medical certificate was restored shortly afterwards , and he returned to the American airshow circuit for several years before retiring . Following Hoover ' s retirement , his Shrike Commander is on display at the National Air and Space Museum , Udvar - Hazy Center , in Dulles , Virginia . Honors and recognition . Bob Hoover is considered one of the founding fathers of modern aerobatics , and was described by Jimmy Doolittle as , " . . . the greatest stick - and - rudder man who ever lived . " In the Centennial of Flight edition of the Air & Space Smithsonian , he was named the third greatest aviator in history . During his illustrious career , he was awarded the following military medals : Distinguished Flying Cross , Soldier ' s Medal for Valor , Air Medal with Clusters , Purple Heart and the French Croix de Guerre . He was also made an honorary member of the Blue Angels , Thunderbirds , RCAF Snowbirds , American Fighter Aces Association , Original Eagle squadron and received an Award of Merit from the American Fighter Pilots Association . In 1992 , he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor . In 2007 , he received the Smithsonian ' s National Air and Space Museum Trophy . On 18 May 2010 , R . A . " Bob " Hoover delivered the 2010 Charles A . Lindbergh Memorial Lecture at the Smithsonian Institute ' s National Air and Space Museum in Washington , D . C . The U . S . Air Force Test Pilot School conferred an honorary doctorate on Hoover at the school ' s December 2010 graduation ceremony . Hoover Nozzle and Hoover Ring . A perhaps - undesired recognition is the " Hoover Nozzle " used on jet - fuel pumps . The Hoover Nozzle is designed with a flattened bell shape . The Hoover Nozzle cannot be inserted in the filler neck of a plane with the " Hoover Ring " installed , thus preventing the tank from accidentally being filled with jet fuel . This system was given this name following an accident in which Hoover was seriously injured , when both engines on his Shrike Commander failed during takeoff . Investigators found that the plane had just been fueled by line personnel who mistook the piston - engine Shrike for a similar turboprop model , filling the tanks with jet fuel instead of avgas ( aviation gasoline ) . There was enough avgas in the fuel system to taxi to the runway and take off , but then the jet fuel was drawn into the engines , causing them to stop . Once Hoover recovered , he widely promoted the use of the new type of nozzle with the support and funding of the National Air Transportation Association , General Aviation Manufacturers Association and various other aviation groups ( the nozzle is now required by Federal regulation on jet fuel pumps ) .