|
Sean
D. Tucker
No one who has seen a performance by Sean D. Tucker will ever
forget it.
Tucker's work in the
Oracle Challenger-II provides his audiences with feats that are
truly death-defying.
What Sean does in his
average "day at the office" would be impossible for
most of us to achieve. His practices alone impose one of the
most grueling and physically demanding workouts imaginable. His
performances impose more G-forces on his body than jet fighter
pilots experience--a hammering +10 and -7.5 G's!
Strangely enough, Sean
was once afraid of flying. Early on, he took up skydiving, but
an accident claimed the life of a close friend and curtailed his
growing joy of flight. He took flying lessons in 1969, but even
after receiving his pilot certificate, the fear still remained.
Determined to conquer
his fears, in a way that is trademark 'Tucker', he enrolled in
an aerobatic training course in 1973 at the Amelia Reid Flying
School in San Jose. There, Tucker overcame what seemed like
impossible obstacles and completed the training that led him to
become one of the premiere air show performers in the world.
A fiercely competitive
nature coupled with ever-improving aerobatic skills led Sean to
a string of successes in local and regional, California
contests. Then, in 1988, having so completely conquered his
fears, Sean earned the title of U.S. National Advanced Aerobatic
Champion. Just the first of many awards, Sean went on to do
something no other air show performer has ever done before...or
since. In 1992, Sean earned the two most prestigious air show
industry awards possible; The Art Scholl Memorial Showmanship
Award and The Bill Barber Award for Air Show Showmanship -- in
the same year! In 1997, he received his second General Aviation
News and Flyer Reader’s Choice Award for Best Male Performer
and in 1998, Sean won the first ever "CASPA Challenge"
organized by the Championship Air Show Pilot’s Association.
Since beginning his air
shows career in the mid-70's, Sean has flown more than 700
performances at more than 300 air shows, in front of more than
60-million fans. "I like to think that I bring the fans'
dreams of flying into the plane with me; and there's nowhere I'd
rather be than in the cockpit. That's why I train so hard to
keep the edge!"
Having accumulated more
than 16,000 flight hours (3,000 aerobatic), Sean has learned
what it takes to become and stay world class. His success and
safety depend on a rigorous fitness regimen of aerobic exercise,
weight lifting and flying every day to keep his G-tolerance
levels high and his razor sharp reflexes taut. And, the FAA and
air show industries recognize his commitment. Serving as an FAA
designated ACE (Air Show Certification Evaluator), Sean has
spent countless hours counseling young air show performers on
their routines. He has also served on air show industry
oversight committees to review training, regulatory procedures
and vital safety issues.
Sean's ever-energetic
personality is contagious. And whether he's talking to
experienced pilots, enthusiastic fans, or people who have never
been in a plane before, it is impossible for them not to be
inspired.
POWER
FACTS
- More than half of
Sean's maneuvers are original and have never been duplicated
by another aerobatic pilot.
- Twice, during every
air show, Sean will fly the Oracle Challenger-II backwards
at a speed of more than 100 mph.
- The G-forces exerted
on Sean when he is flying are greater than those on the
pilots in modern fighters like the Air Force Thunderbirds
and Navy Blue Angels.
- From his normal
weight of 175 pounds, Sean will weigh nearly 1,700 pounds
while pulling 10 positive G's...and will resist the force
1,200 pounds pulling on his head as 7.5 negative G's tries
to pull him out of the cockpit!
|
Pitts S-2 - Challenger III
