Legendary pilot Bob Hoover passed away on October 25, 2016. This is a profile that we did on him in 2015.
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Late last year, Air Force test pilot Bob Hoover took to the skies in a Frys.com Saberliner-60 doing ‘one last roll’. Hoover is a living Aviation legend. He personally knew and interacted with folks like Yaeger, Jimmy Doolittle, Eddie Rickenbacker, and even Orville Wright himself. Born in 1922, Hoover first earned heroic status when he took to the skies during World War II. He became a POW after his Spitfire was shot down over southern France after a malfunction. After enduring 16 months of captivity, he escaped by stealing a Focke-Wulf 190. After the war, Hoover became a test pilot for the Air Force, flying chase ship for Chuck Yeager during Yeager’s famous X-1 flight that broke the sound barrier and teaching tactics over Korea.
Bob Hoover is best known for his flying prowess in the air show circuit. He flew the P-51 Mustang and later the Aero Commander. During air shows he would wow crowds by flying aerobatics in what was thought to just be a turboprop commuter aircraft. He even once poured a glass of tea while doing a perfect barrel roll (see video below).
What makes this flight special is that Hoover had not publicly flown since 2000. His medical was revoked in the mid ’90s due to health concerns. He briefly regained his medical but retired at the turn of the century. As evidenced by this video, 93 year-old Hoover still has what it takes to be a ‘pilot’s pilot’.
You can learn more about Bob Hoover by checking out the Bob Hoover Project. A preview of the film is below:
Do you get to jump out of a C-17 at your college? The Air Force Academy’s ‘Wings of Blue’ Parachuting team released a video highlighting their training leading up to their competition at the National Collegiate Skydiving Championship. This year’s championship is being held this week at Florida Skydiving Center in Lake Wales, Florida.
The primary mission of the Academy’s jump program is to train cadets how to successfully free-fall jump out of a plane. The Air Force Academy program is unique because it is the only program in the world where the student’s first jump is solo. In addition to running the training program, cadets selected to be jumpmasters form the prestigious “Wings of Blue” team. The Wings of Blue are broken up into two teams–a demonstration and a competition team. The demonstration team performs at public, sporting, and military events. The competition team competes in various competitions around the world during the year.
The A-10 Warthog has been accused by its critics of being slow, outdated, expensive, and past its prime. The Air Force even tried to retire it this past year. They failed. Congress woundn’t allow it and for good reasons. This video made by the 25th Fighter Squadron gives an insight into why.
The A-10 is an amazing machine. The structure of the aircraft is built around a 30mm cannon with a titanium armored bathtub structure that protects the pilot. The Warthog is a tank in the sky. The A-10C provides close air support for troops in close contact with the enemy. The jet is a key contributor to the current US campaign against ISIS in Iraq.
Most pilots breathe a sigh of relief when they break out of the clouds and see the runway. But a landing is never guaranteed until you turn off the active runway and the spoilers are stowed.
Check out this video below of this Boeing BBJ (737 business jet) attempting to land. In the video, you’ll clearly hear ‘minimums’ with the runway still visible. This is the decision altitude where a pilot would normally commit to landing or go around. Even after the decision altitude, the pilot must still have the runway in sight at all times. In this case, the shower obscured the runway. The BBJ crew made the right decision to go around.
In an era of aviation where critics blast pilots for being nothing more than ‘system operators’, this video demonstrates why pilots are actually skilled professionals who command complex machinery in dynamic and dangerous environments. Split second decisions like this one keep passengers safe.
In a move that was widely expected, American Airlines unveiled new crew and employee uniforms this past week. The update will be the first uniform refresh for the newly combined company. Previously, American Airlines had not updated their uniforms in over 20 years. To be frank, American Airlines current uniforms are very dated. This will be a welcome refresh to an airline that has undergone an extensive brand refresh in just the past two years to include a new logo, paint scheme and branding. It follows uniform updates by the other major US carriers-United, Delta, and, Southwest.
The war in the European theater was particularly bleak in 1943 for the US and its Allies. Bombers were brutally attacked by highly proficient German fighters as they attempted bombing runs over continental Europe. Losses were extremely high for the Allies.
In the midst of all this misery, an unusual occurrence happened just days before Christmas as a German Luftwaffe Ace gazed into the cockpit of a severely damaged B-17 and happened to make eye contact with the pilot. The German Ace took pity and spared his life by not taking a final shot at the crippled bomber. Years later, a unique friendship emerged between these two former enemies.
Testimony to the strength of flying skill, American plastics in the ‘60s, but far more significantly it is the story of one US aviator’s selfless loyalty to his wingman, for which ironically he would be reprimanded.
On the 10th of March 1967, US Air Force Captain Bob Pardo and wingman, Captain Earl Aman, were flying their two F-4 Phantoms on a mission to attack a steel mill just north of Hanoi when both were hit by North Vietnamese anti-aircraft fire.
Captain Aman’s Phantom was worst hit, with serious damage to a fuel tank and soon his F-4 did not have to power it over the Laotian border to relative safety.
The obvious choice for Aman was to eject.
Unfortunately below him was a very hostile North Vietnam, not known when dealing with prisoners for following the letter or even the spirit of the Geneva Conventions.
But Pardo was having none of that though, even though Pardo’s aircraft could have made it back on its own, despite a fire onboard. He knew that the only right thing to do was to push Aman over the border. In an interview with 1st Combat Camera Pardo said, “My dad taught me when your friend needs help, you help. I couldn’t have come home and told him I didn’t try anything because that’s exactly what he would’ve asked me. He would’ve said, ‘did you try?’ So I had to be able to answer that with a yes. And luckily, it worked.”
First he tried nuzzling his aircraft up to Aman’s dragchute compartment but the downwash and buffeting killed that idea.
Fortunately though, the Phantom was also designed to serve in the US Navy where a carrier’s 1000-foot, floating runway was far too short for the prolonged niceties of a fluffy dragchute. As a result, all F4 Phantoms, both Navy and Air Force, sported very sturdy tail hooks to snatch the aircraft to a stop in feet, not miles.
So Pardo backed off. Aman dropped his hook shutting down his engines. Then Pardo closed in to push, using his cockpit canopy to nudge Aman’s lowered tailhook.
And this worked – sort of.
Pardo had already shut down one of his engines due to the fire so he could only slow, not arrest, the rate of descent for both aircraft making it a race against time between the border or the ground. And on top of this, every 30 seconds or so, Aman’s tailhook would slide off Pardo’s polished plexiglass.
Despite all that, after 88 miles of precise pushing, both safely aircraft limped into friendly airspace, but at an altitude of only 6000 feet which meant, at their rate of descent, just 2 more minutes in the air. Pardo was running low on fuel himself, so all four airmen ejected to safety.
Incredibly, Pardo was scolded for not saving his Phantom. Over twenty years later, Pardo finally received the recognition he deserved. Pardo and Aman eventually received the Silver Star for their heroism. (See below for Maj. Pardo’s citation.)
Although unquestionably an incredible feat, Pardo’s Push was actually not a first.
In 1952, James “Robbie” Risner who had first flown for the USAF in World War II, was now flying a F-86 Sabre in the Korean
DoD Photo by Col. Cox
War. On the 15th of September while escorting fighter-bombers he attacked and then chased at near supersonic speeds an enemy MIG at ground level, down a dry riverbed and finally between the hangars of a Chinese airbase 35 miles inside China where the MIG crashed among parked Chinese fighters. Unfortunately returning from this triumph, Risner’s wingman, Joseph Logan, was hit, quickly draining his tanks.
To help him reach safety, Risner also decided to push Logan’s aircraft by inserting the nose of his F-86 into Logan’s now cooling tailpipe and, like Aman’s Phantom 15 years later, Logan’s F-86 made it to safety where Logan ejected. Sadly, Logan became entangled in his parachute and drowned.
Risner would go on to fly in a third war, was captured, tortured, freed rose to the rank of Brigadier General – but that’s another story.
Watch an interview with Lt Col Pardo (ret):
LtCol Pardo was interviewed as part of the amazing “Veterans in Blue” series by 1stCombatCamera. You can watch his interview below.
Major John R. Pardo distinguished himself by gallantry in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force over North Vietnam on 10 March 1967. On that date, Major Pardo was flying as the pilot of the lead element on the return from a 1,000 mile flight in which heavy flak damage was encountered. He noticed that his wingman’s aircraft was in trouble and was advised that the aircraft was extremely low on fuel. Realizing that the wingman’s aircraft would not make it out of North Vietnam, Major Pardo implemented maneuvers to literally push the aircraft across the border. The attempt was successful and consequently allowed the crew to avoid becoming prisoners of war. By his gallantry and devotion to duty, Major Pardo has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
If you have heard this song belted by a princess in your house, you probably a proud parent of a daughter under 10 years old. Frozen is THE kids movie of decade. It was only a matter of time before an airline capitalized on the success of the movie. Enter WestJet Airlines. They are the official Canadian airline of Walt Disney World in Florida. WestJet recently unveiled a new Frozen themed aircraft to celebrate the partnership.
Painting the Jet
The Frozen jet was originally a stock WestJet 737-800 that was repainted into the Disney motif. It took over 170 gallons of paint and 21 days working non-stop to turn their ho-hum aircraft into a fantasy bird. The paint scheme features 23 colors and even has a sparkling overcoat so that the jet uniquely shines in the sunlight. The paint scheme is designed to tell a story. According to WestJet, “on the tail of our aircraft, sisters Anna and Elsa celebrate sisterhood and the magic of snow. From the aircraft tail along the fuselage, the magic travels to warm the front of the aircraft where Olaf can be found enjoying a summer day on the beach.” WestJet put together a time lapse showing how the Frozen 737 aircraft was painstakingly painted.
On October 18, 2015, WestJet unveiled the aircraft in a spectacular fashion. The airline invited hundreds of children to the unveiling celebration held at a hangar in Toronto, Ontario. The ceremony featured none other than Elsa, Olaf, and Anna characters in full costume. To the amazement of the assembled crowd, Anna danced as the curtain fell to unveil a magical paint scheme. Inside the 737-800, the cabin was fitted with a special Frozen themed leather seating that featured darker winter-like colors in the back (very Canadian) transitioning to brighter summer themed seats and overhead bins in the front.
Shortly after the unveiling of the newly painted aircraft, WestJet also shot air-to-air footage of the aircraft near Calgary. With split-scimitar winglets and a shiny exterior, the 737-800 looks amazing. You can see the video here:
As an added bonus for avgeeks, we stumbled upon footage on YouTube (beautifully shot by dude8472productions) that captures the WolfAir Learjet 25 conducting a flyby of the Frozen WestJet 737-800 departs on runway 17L at Calgary. The video later shows the 737 executing a touch and go on the same runway as the Lear 25 flies by at a higher speed “well to the left of 17L”.
WestJet Airlines puts together some of the most exciting Christmas videos. You may remember their 2013 tear-jerking video where Santa asked passengers what they wanted for Christmas. When they arrived at their destination, their wishes were granted by the WestJet Santa. That video has now been seen over 44 million times on the web.
This year, WestJet took a different approach. Instead of granting a few hundred wishes, they granted 12,000 for people all across Canada, the United States, and even London. WestJet will commence service to London Gatwick on May 6, 2016 using 4 of their ‘new’ 767-300ER aircraft that were previously flown by Qantas Airlines.
Alaska Airlines has announced today that they will retire their fleet of 5 737-400 ‘Combi’ aircraft. The Alaska Dispatch News reports that the retirement of these aircraft is part of a broader initiative to replace all 26 737-400s in the Alaska Fleet by the end of 2016. The 5 737-400s will be replaced by 3 737-700s ‘Next Gen’ airplanes. The 3 -700 aircraft, which are already operated by Alaska, will be converted to ‘Combi’ aircraft.
The 737-400 ‘Combi’ aircraft is a unique airplane. The cabin is divided between a passenger section in the back seating 72 passengers and cargo pallet positions in the front of the jet. The airplane is used on thin Alaska routes that rely on air cargo flights to supply remote towns.
With Alaska’s retirement of the -400 “Classics” in 2016, Southwest Airlines will be the only remaining major US airline that will be operating the “Classic” fleet. Southwest flies a fleet of -300 and -500 aircraft.
Check out the video of a 737-400 ‘Combi’ landing in Anchorage.
There’s nothing better than watching giant airliners land in person. They are so big, so loud, and so beautiful. This video by YouTube user GlobalSpotter captures the excitement of watching planes land. Avgeekery.com fans also meet for planespotting. If you leave near San Francisco, check out our invite here. We’ll meet at noon on December 27th.
(L) Gash on a Qatar Airways 777-300ER caused by impacting runway end approach lighting. (R) Damaged runway approach lighting at Miami International Airport.
Calm in the face of crisis is the pinnacle of aviation – remember Captain “Sully” Sullenberger, former fighter pilot calmly advising the controllers, “We can’t do it …We’re going to be in the Hudson”? He exuded calm even with a dire aircraft emergency and saved the day with his aviation prowess.
But surely there is a limit to appropriate calm in aviation. One airline CEO recently tested that limit in his comments on a recent incident by one of his crews.
On September 15th, a mighty Boeing 777-300ER operated by Qatar Airways with 279 people onboard, incorrectly assumed that they could depart from an intersection using only 2/3rds of the available runway without rerunning the numbers to ensure they had a sufficient safety margin. The departing jet impacted the runway approach lights but was still able to get airborne, narrowly avoiding a catastrophe.
Despite having detailed maps on their EFB (iPad), they entered the runway over 4,000 down from the departure end.
“Such kind of incidents (sic) happen quite often, either it is a tail strike on the runway or it is contact with the landing lights; It is nothing out of context,” said Qatar Airways’ CEO, Akbar Al Baker, at a recent news conference in New York (according to Flight Global).
Al Baker preserved the tranquillity, observing, “… he had enough runway for getting airborne and it was only an unfortunate incident. At no time was the aircraft or the passengers put in any harms (sic) way.” A nearly foot and a half gash in a fuselage is enough to cause most people worry and definitely enough to put passengers in harm’s way. If not for the strength of a trusty Boeing, the incident could’ve been much worse.
Akbar Al Baker – CEO of Qatar Airways (photo: Wikipedia)
Al Baker would then suggest that controllers were at least partly to blame for the September 15, 2015 “incident” involving the Qatar Airlines Boeing 777-300. In the process, he made what could have been an air disaster into a Public Relations faux pas by stating, “It was an instruction given to our pilot by the air traffic control, which he (the pilot) should have refused to accept.” For a pilot to blame a controller for the error is callous at best. In this case, most professional aviators would scoff at the attempt to assign blame to anyone else besides the incident aircrew.
In fact the report issued on December 7th by the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) on the “occurrence”, attributed it to miscommunication among the flight crew and mistakes by the captain.
The real issue here (besides Mr Al Baker’s potential need for more public relations training) is that after ‘rotate’, the flight continued out over the Atlantic, not to dump fuel for a immediate landing, but to continue the 13+ hour flight to Doha (DOH), calmly, as if nothing happened – which actually seems to be what Mr. Al Baker wants everyone to believe.
The FAA labeled the damage “substantial”: a 46 cm tear in the fuselage that breached the pressure vessel, numerous dents and scratches with 18 square meters of damaged skin, 90 external individual areas of damage requiring assessment and rectification, damage to a guard on the left landing gear and of course three smashed approach lights on 27 at Miami International Airport.
Qatar Airways 777-300ER (Photo by Wikipedia)
From the perspective of the four members of the crew in the cockpit at the time, when questioned they seem to agree that, all that damage notwithstanding, they heard nothing at takeoff and noticed nothing unusual in flight despite the aircraft’s systems spending the next 13 1/2 hours dutifully making sure all 279 people on board could breath.
But then four experienced pilots had just calmly presided over a mid-field departure without ensuring they had the adequate runway to do so, leaving 4500 feet of perfectly good runway behind, forgetting the timeless aviation adage: “The three most useless things to pilots are fuel not taken on by them, altitude above them and runway behind them.”
Maintaining composure in the cockpit is vital. But was the culture at Qatar Airways a tad too “calm” in this case, perhaps?
