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Better late than never

Posted: 18 Nov 2016, 07:33
by Airspeed
OK, he wasn't Classic British, but I was saddened to hear this over lunch today with a Canadian who was a personal friend of Bob.
I'm sure that like me, many of you have seen him perform.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/us/bo ... .html?_r=0

Re: Better late than never

Posted: 18 Nov 2016, 12:53
by Nigel H-J
How sad to hear that but for 94 years he certainly lived his life to the full in aviation. Spent some time watching the videos of his aerobatic displays and with the on-board shots with his running commentary you could be forgiven for thinking that he was just on a leisurely routine flight.

Rest in Peace Bob.

Nigel.

Re: Better late than never

Posted: 18 Nov 2016, 12:53
by Archer
I heard this sad news a few weeks ago, it reminded me of my visit to Sun 'n Fun many years ago. There he was, in a booth signing copies of his (then) new book. It is always strange to see someone who's name you are very familiar with in real life. As I was already stretching the limits of the baggage allowance on my return flight from Florida I did not buy a copy of his book, something I have regretted a few times since. Having read some reviews of his biography since then I'm not sure that I should get myself a copy, sometimes it is better to stick to the stories you know. It would have been nice to have had a signed copy for the novelty value though.

And of course we have the many videos on Youtube showing his displays to remember him by. His iced-tea display is still the ultimate display of precise flying to me.

Re: Better late than never

Posted: 18 Nov 2016, 18:13
by cstorey
A very interesting obituary of a very interesting man. However, I doubt that he came to England in 1939 ( at the age of 17 !! ) to be an instructor with the RAF. Later perhaps.....