Dudley Henriques wrote:
Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
Big John wrote in
:
Bertie

No film but saw him fly once, years ago. Almost as good as Bob Hoover.

Saw him fly quite a few times. I always thought he was better! The
thing was, he made it look so easy. The mark of a true craftsman.. I
don't think he ever put more than 90 hp in that airplane, either.
Bertie


I would agree with this. Duane had none of the advantages in the clipped
wing T Craft that Hoover had in the 51. His displays in the T Craft were
marvelous demonstrations of energy control.
Bob on the other hand is a master at smoothness of control. I don't
think I've ever seen anyone handle an airplane display wise any smoother
than Hoover.
Duane's routines were special. Where Hoover rode the smooth ride in
placing the 51 where it had to be at any instant in his demonstrations,
Duane Cole managed energy better than anyone I've ever seen in aerobatics.
The best way to describe Duane Cole's flying was that he got every once
of performance out of his airplane that it was possible of giving
him......and then some :-)

I never had the pleasure of seeing Duane fly in person, but I was able
to see Bob twice back in the late 70s (or maybe early 80s) at ELM and
IPT. I am continually amazed at how smooth he flew and the precision
with which he flew (dancing the 51, etc.). I've constantly tried to
increase my smoothness to better emulate Bob, knowing full well it
simply isn't possible to even get close. However, it is fun trying and
it was fun seeing what near perfection looked like.

I wish I had been able to catch one of Duane's routines, but alas...

Matt