Aircraft Donated in Memory of 'Wonderful Friend'

Contacts: For questions on this release or media arrangements for Aviation Day on May 5, or to interview Andy Ross, contact Todd Anderson, (740) 593-1885. For questions on the Department of Aviation, contact Elaine McCoy, (740) 597-2626.

Photo: A photo of David Hoover with his Coors Light jet may be downloaded from the World Wide Web at www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/HOOVER_DAVID.JPG

ATHENS, Ohio (April 19, 2000) -- Ohio University alumnus David Hoover got as much of a charge out of a good practical joke as he did out of piloting a 747 or flying his Coors Light Silver Bullet Jet. That becomes apparent just a few minutes into Andy Ross' retelling of some favorite stories about his childhood friend.

Like the one about the minor explosion in high school chemistry class that earned Hoover the title of "No. 1 Blacksmith," their teacher's label for chemical klutzes. Or the one about Hoover's penchant for casting his plane's shadow over cars traveling below, especially convertibles, and swinging out to "pass" slower vehicles before lining back up with the road and flying on. Or the one about a prematurely bald Hoover convincing a license bureau clerk to list his hair color as "clear."

These stories, and Ross' contagious laughter as he shares them, are helping to keep Hoover's memory alive. So, too, is Ross' donation of a new Cessna 172 four-seater to Ohio University's Department of Aviation. The plane, to be used primarily by student flight team members for regional and national competitions, will be presented to the university May 5 during the David Hoover Airplane Dedication and Aviation Day Celebration.

Ross and Hoover grew up blocks from one another in Bexley, Ohio. They shared a love for planes, cars, motorcycles, "mad scientist" experiments and general mischief. The two kept in touch during Hoover's time at Ohio University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1964, and through the years leading up to the pilot's death in a plane crash at a California air show in 1992.

Despite his antics on the ground, Hoover was "very careful in the air, a natural pilot," Ross says. He loved flying -- as a 747 captain for American Airlines, where he worked for 28 years, and as a Coors Light Silver Bullet Jet Team member who entertained crowds with humorous narratives from the cockpit. And so the Cessna, a popular training plane, is perhaps the most fitting donation Ross could make in his friend's memory. More than 100 Athens campus students are pursuing bachelor of science degrees in aviation.

"Everybody who knew Dave for any length of time has a bunch of Dave Hoover stories," Ross says. "Dave thought of all kinds of ways to have fun in life."

Ross will present the plane at 11 a.m. May 5 during the university's annual Aviation Day festivities at Ohio University Gordon K. Bush Airport. Another friend of Hoover's, Tom Wheeler, a 1971 university graduate and Department of Aviation Advisory Board member, will announce the 2000-01 recipient of the David Hoover Memorial Scholarship. The annual scholarship goes to a student who shows the most enthusiasm for flying. Established in 1993, the scholarship fund already stands at $121,800. Several members of Hoover's family and fellow alumni are expected to attend the celebration along with students, university officials, faculty and staff.

From 1 to 3 p.m. that day, aviation students will participate in flight demonstrations and competitions, hear educational speakers and have an opportunity to meet with alumni and other guests.

"This wonderful gift in loving memory of David Hoover has been a timely one," says Department of Aviation Chair Elaine McCoy. "Our enrollment is growing, and the aircraft will be used to teach many young people who share the love Dave had for freedom in the sky."

The plane has been detailed in the university's colors of green and white and, like the department's other aircraft, displays the school's Attack Cat logo. Its tail number is a spinoff of Hoover's own, 45DH. But because "pilots are a pretty superstitious bunch," Ross chose an apt alternative: 445DH.

"He was a wonderful friend," Ross says, "and my memories of him will bring happiness to my heart for the rest of my life."