Bob Hoover managed to escape a POW Nazi camp in a German plane. He is one of America's greatest aviators and a legendary pilot, barnstormer, World War II fighter, pioneering test pilot, and aerobatics genius.
Bob Hoover tells his amazing story, sharing the thrills and chills, spectacular stunts, and death-defying exploits that have made him a living aviation legend.
You can say that part of tom Cruise's new Top Gun (Top Gun: Maverick) was inspired by his amazing stories, like stealing an enemy's airplane to escape, a German plane!

this documentary is presented in conjunction with our partners at Air2AirTv (Sleeping Dog Productions). A big thank you to Scott Guyette and Jon Tennyson

Bob Hoover was known as The Pilot’s Pilot, he may have been the greatest pilot of all time. Sadly not long ago Bob left this world but gave us an incredible aviation career that spanned military, experimental aircraft, and stunt pilot. In the 95 years of his life, he had some amazing stories to tell, but we haven’t heard all of them.
Sleeping Dog Productions has put together a Bob Hoover biopic called The Gift that dives into his amazing life. For the first time ever you see new interviews with Bob Hoover and his career with some of the giants of aviation.
“The Gift is the true story of Bob Hoover’s flight into history. Hoover is a true American hero. He tells his amazing story in his own words sharing all the historic moments, spectacular flights and death-defying recoveries that made him a living aviation legend. Climb into the cockpit with America’s original top gun for an astonishing inside look at a life lived on the edge – a life that began just 19 years after the Wright Brothers first powered flight and lasted well into the Space Age. Hear and see his first-person accounts of his friendships with giants from Eddie Rickenbacker to Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeager, Yuri Gagarin, Neil Armstrong and others.”
Robert Anderson "Bob" Hoover was born in January 24, 1922 and passed away on October 25, 2016. He was an American fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and record-setting air show aviator.
Hoover flew Spitfires in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and was shot down in 1944 off the coast of France. He was held for over a year in a German POW camp before eventually escaping and flying to safety in a stolen enemy aircraft. He then worked as a United States Air Force and civilian test pilot after the war, flying chase for Chuck Yeager's Bell X-1 supersonic flight in 1947, and as a flight instructor for North American Aviation during the Korean War.

He is best known as an air show display pilot, who flew for nearly 50 years until his retirement in 1999. Known as the "pilot's pilot", Hoover revolutionized modern aerobatic flying and has been described in many aviation circles as one of the greatest pilots ever. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Aerospace Walk of Honor in 1992, along with several other military and civilian awards and accolades. In 2013, Flying magazine ranked him 10th on its list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation.

Hoover was considered one of the founding fathers of modern aerobatics and was described by General Jimmy Doolittle as "the greatest stick-and-rudder man who ever lived".[35] In the 2003 Centennial of Flight edition of Air & Space/Smithsonian, he was named the third greatest aviator in history.

During his career, Hoover was awarded the following military medals: the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Soldier's Medal for non-combat valor, the Air Medal with several oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart and the French Croix de Guerre. He was also made an honorary member of the United States Navy aerobatic team the Blue Angels, the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, the American Fighter Aces Association and the original Eagle Squadron, and received an Award of Merit from the American Fighter Pilots Association.[36] He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1988 and to the Aerospace Walk of Honor in 1992.

Hoover received the Living Legends of Aviation Freedom of Flight Award in 2006, which was renamed the Bob Hoover Freedom of Flight Award the following year. In 2007, he received the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Trophy and was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

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Exclusive videos courtesy of our partners at Sleeping Dog Productions:
https://air2airtv.com/
A big thank you to both Jon Tennyson and Scott Guyette!