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 the Bell X-1 supersonic flight, 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.[1] 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 of all time.
