Bob Hoover Set to Retire at Rockwell

Bob Hoover, a renowned aviator and in recent years corporate director of special projects at Rockwell International in El Segundo, will retire at the end of the month.

Hoover, an engineering test pilot and air-show aviator during his 36-year career at Rockwell, was described in Chuck Yeager’s book “Yeager” as being one of “the two best pilots I’ve known.” (The other was Bud Anderson, a World War II fighter.) Hoover was backup pilot to Yeager on the X-1 research plane in the late 1940s.

In his own right, Hoover is a record-setting pilot, establishing marks for climb-to-altitude performance.

“Bob is a living legend among pilots around the world,” said Rockwell Chairman Robert Anderson. “His place in aviation history ranks him along with the industry’s all-time greats. His accomplishments in aviation are also a memorable part of this company’s history.”