The routine was impossible. Bob Hoover would take off in his Rockwell Shrike Commander \u2014 a twin-engine business aircraft, not an aerobatic plane \u2014 climb to altitude, and shut both engines off. Then, on nothing but momentum and gravity, he would loop, roll, fly inverted, and pour iced tea from a thermos into a glass, all without spilling a drop. He would then land the dead aircraft, engines still off. The crowd, which had been watching in paralysed silence, would erupt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\n\n\n