It Was The Slogan That United The Aero-Verse 'Once Upon A Time' -- But Can It Do So Again?

By J.R. “Zoom” Campbell, CEO/Editor-In-Chief/Friend of Bob

“The Undertaking Of A New Action Brings New Strength.” – Evenius

Several months ago, I was pleased to have the chance to spend some time with one of my dearest friends, Bob Hoover, on the floor of the 2014 NBAA Convention.

Bob was surrounded by a number of people looking for autographs and the chance to meet ‘The Man’ but when he saw me, he politely took a break and motioned me over, telling me he needed to chat… and that’s when things got really interesting.

Bob and I have known each other for decades, but truly bonded in the midst of a few of the worst years of his life… the period from, mid-1992 to late 1995 when he battled the FAA for his right to fly and ply his trade as one of the most skilled airshow pilots in the world.

Two FAA inspectors decided to craft a complaint about Hoover, during the 1992 Oklahoma City Airshow… claiming that he wasn’t himself, that his flying lacked precision, and that other performers at the show noticed issues with Bob that led them to allege that Bob should be grounded.

Despite all manner of evidence to the contrary… including another Fed, one of the co-workers to the complainants, who negated the issues raised in the complaint, the other performers who refuted the contention that anything was ‘off’ about Bob, and the glaring fact that Hoover flew 33 flawless performances between the time of the alleged complaint and his eventual grounding and a number of other equally glaring counter-points, this matter set off a three year struggle that kept Bob grounded in the USA (but not overseas, where he qualified in a number of nations to keep flying… especially Australia) and cost him dearly… financially, spiritually and publicly. 

 It also set off a firestorm of FAA criticism as the aviation public learned more and more about the shaky case against Bob, the games that were being played in Washington, DC, and elsewhere, and the fact that Bob still flew flawless performances in other locales around the world. As fragmented and individual as the aviation world has always been, where few aviators were ever able to work for a common goal, this was the PIVOTAL moment in which aviation came together and worked as one.

At events like Lakeland, ICAS, Oshkosh and the AOPA Conventions; people gathered, protested, made themselves heard and made it abundantly clear that the FAA had gone too far -- and that support for Hoover was pretty much an industry mandate. Never before had we seen aviation behave so united over a single purpose… and never since have we been able to recapture that unanimity of purpose, thought, and spirit.
I wrote a massive 400 page book about it all nearly 20 years ago, ‘Air Of Injustice,” and while tens of thousands of copies got into flyer’s hands, the upshot of it all is that Bob eventually won back his right to fly – while the potential for real change in the way that the FAA dealt with the people it was supposed to represent, was lost in all the hoopla…

It should have been the turning point for the aviation community… but we lost focus. 

In our joy over having won the battle, we forgot that there was still a war going on… and based on the performance of our most recent FAA Administrator at Oshkosh 2015, and the near contempt he had for the concerns, needs and interests of aviation, I’d say the war is going badly… and we’re not winning.

Not by any stretch of the imagination.

So… Why is Bob’s Hoover’s experience -- this history -- relevant to us? In short, if it could happen to Bob it could happen to any one of us.

Still.

Bob’s ordeal, as well as others, eventually lead to the Pilot’s Bill of Rights — years after the fact. And so, as we find ourselves today fighting for the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2, we are fighting for the very rights promised to us in our Constitution.

For example… PBoR2 Section 6:

• ...Explicitly states that pilots facing an investigation by FAA can appeal the issue directly to a federal district court for a de novo trial. Bob did NOT get this privilege, and (surprise, surprise…) none of us has it yet, either
• ...Expands the protections of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights to other certificate holders in the aviation community, such as charter operators or repair stations. Make no mistake, PBoR2 is not just for pilots (not should it be)!
• ...Requires the FAA to provide notification to an individual once they become subject to an FAA investigation; if the FAA does not provide notification, they cannot press charges. Bob wasn’t notified for MONTHS following the accusations, but after an extensive delay, he was suddenly notified by fax that his medical had been rescinded with no chance to dispute it before it was put in to effect. None of us currently has that right, either, now over 20 years later
• ...Limits the scope of FAA’s document requests of certificate holders to the pertinent issues being investigated. Bob had to submit to tests, beyond the regulatory ones, at his own expense – he was guilty until proven innocent. Further, he was forced to agree to FAA’s fishing expedition, well outside the scope of the original complaint that could have given the FAA even more reason to victimize him.
• ...Reinstates the FAA’s expungement policy, preventing the agency from retaining records of enforcement against an airmen certificate holder after retaining it for 5 years. It also prohibits the retention of records beyond 90 days if the agency does not take enforcement action. Further; it prevents the FAA from publicizing pending enforcement actions against a covered certificate holder. Bob’s story was put on the world stage for all to see, your's could be out there too, if you have an enforcement issue…

And so here we are… preparing to dive head-first into a massive endeavor, i.e., Bob’s request that we (ANN and Aero-TV) use all the resources of new media and the skills we had learned with Aero-TV and our other projects to craft a factual, complete, modern and personal account of what happened to Bob when the FAA attacked him.

Bob was quick to caution that he didn’t want to see this as something that would bash America without reason, but noted that the ultimate duty of any patriot was to Question Authority and right the wrongs that were revealed in such processes.

Bob was gratified that he was allowed to fly again… until HE decided it was time to quit… but the fact that little to nothing came out of it, that could change the fortunes of pilots and airmen everywhere, has weighed heavily upon him for decades.

And so, Bob made an emphatic request of me… to go back to the 1992-1995 FAA v Hoover war, research it all carefully, provide some perspective from the last two decades, and tell the story using all the exciting new tools that this new-media generation has allowed us, to make sure that THIS TIME, the lessons of the ‘Let Bob Fly’ movement could be rekindled and utilized, persuasively and permanently, as the rallying point and blueprint for a new future for flyers and aviators everywhere.

In the weeks that followed, including a touching, emotional chat at Oshkosh 2015, it was obvious that such a project was going to be an intrusion on Bob’s life, that he is (after all) now 93 years old, and that tackling his side of this project was not an easy chore for him to take on… but his desire is so apparently heartfelt… and when he made it clear that we were the only ones he would entrust to such a project having literally written the book on the episode, that he wanted nothing out of it but the chance to make sure that our Patriotism would be properly and fully engaged by the modern re-telling of this story… well, there was no way to answer him but to do our duty to this amazing American and tell him that we would take it on… and so we are… and we’ve already made a heckuva start on this immense challenge.

What we currently envision is a long-form documentary, along with other efforts. We will address what happened, as a historical narrative, what went wrong via expert analysis, and what needs to be done to start the aviation world onto a road to better times and conditions in which this industry might set itself right once again.

We started principal videography a few weeks ago with a few days of initial interviews with Bob… now we’re assembling a team of videographers, editors, researchers (a task helped by the fact that ALL my research from ‘Air Of Injustice’ still lies within a few feet of my office), and other professionals as we speak -- and we’re going to assemble a community support group, currently called (again) the “Friends of Bob,” to help us get the word out amongst the ENTIRE Aero-Verse and build the kind of networking and support that can take this project to a successful conclusion.

And so… in the next few days and weeks, we’ll be filling you in on how we’re going to do this and the FACT that we can’t do this alone…

We will need a lot of new resources, a significant number of volunteers, support for a few funding mechanisms (corporate and crowd-funding) and a new community awareness effort that will be needed to not only help us make all things happen, but to use them to affect the kind of change that will mean that the kids who gather at the airport fences of tomorrow, will actually have airport to go to and the opportunity to be a part of aviation.

And so it begins -- we’re still building this project from the inside out… so you can expect updates and invitations to get involved VERY shortly.

We’re on a mission… at Bob’s direct request… and though we’ve never let him down before, in honor of the sacrifices and heroism Bob Hoover has demonstrated time and time again… on behalf of an aviation world that is grateful to count him as one of our own… one of the best and one of our most beloved – and because, through this personal request and challenge, he wants to leave us with an aviation world that can enrich us all, equally, fairly and for the rest of our lives.

Who wouldn’t want that?

More info to come…

FMI: I WANT TO HELP ‘Let Bob Fly’ Change Aviation!!! , jim@aero-news.net, www.aero-news.net, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, www.airbornetv.net, www.twitter.com/aeronews, www.facebook.com/letbobfly, www.letbobfly.net