Bob's first aerobatic airplane was a clipped-wing Cub purchased in 1968. There was no one around to teach him, so he got a book written by Duane Cole, studied the maneuvers and took to the skies to teach himself how to fly aerobatics. In 1970 he bought a Pitts S-1S, the first symmetrical wing Pitts built by Curtis Pitts and began flying in IAC competitions. Pictured to the left, Bob places first in the Unlimited category at the second annual 1972 Morris Corn Festival held in Morris, Illinois.
When he entered his first IAC contest in the advanced category he won. He competed in many IAC contests during the 70's and 80's, winning the Illinois Aerobatic Championship one year. He went on to represent the United States on the U.S. Aerobatic team in 1976 when the World Aerobatic Championships was held in Kiev, USSR. Pictured to the right; Bob is first on the left top row.
Bob completed construction of a Laser in 1983 working closely with Leo Loudenslager on the technical nuances of building the airplane to the standards necessary for flying aerobatics at the competition level. The Laser (Laser Super Akro) was sold in 1992 to a competition pilot in South Africa, who won the South African Championship in it. The Laser is pictured on the left on inverted on the November 1983 issue of Sport Aerobatics.
Throughout the years he has served on the Board of Directors of ICAS, Chairman of the Safety Committee for ICAS, served on the Board of Directors of ICAS, Chairman of the Safety Committee for ICAS, served on the Board of Directors of IAC for over 20 years, Safety and Technical Consultant for IAC, the U.S.A. alternate delegate to C.I.V.A. He was honored with the Special Achievement Award by ICAS in 1996. Bob has been an Aerobatic Competency Evaluator (ACE) since the program inception.
2018 Bob Davis Awarded Director Emeritus
In 2012 Bob was inducted into the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame : http://www.ilavhalloffame.org/members_12.htm
In the same year (2012) Bob was inducted into the International Council of Air Shows Hall of Fame. See the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/vvqjaaPx9G4