Sean Tucker question

[mzaharis]

Something that surprised me about Tucker - after his bailout this year, he was back in his highly modified Pitts pretty quickly. I would have thought it would take longer, even if he had hired someone to modify a Pitts. Did he have a spare modified Pitts, or was he able to modify one in a "crash" (pardon the pun) effort?

 

[stearmann4]

Yes, Sean Tucker has a duplicate airplane. A performance spare for the season, which in this case became his only ride for the rest of the season until Oracle has another built up during the winter.

 

[LR25]

Duplicate paint job, not a duplicate airplane. That was a one of airplane that he jumped out of.

 

[mzaharis]

Thanks. I used to work for Oracle in a non-flying capacity, and although Larry Ellison is sometimes an, ahem, "interesting" character, at least he has picked a good hobby to support. Also, I imagine, the sponsorship of Sean Tucker has been beneficial to the company, as airshows provides a good event for customers and potential customers (especially when you have a private viewing area).

A lot of the money for the movie "Flyboys" was from Ellison, and his son David (who used to fly a CAP232 in IAC competition in the Advanced category) is in the movie.

 

[bertengineer]

You should see Sean's hanger in Salinas Airport Ca. Awesome equipment and maintenance/training crew...Plus he throws a heck of a ahing ding during the Salinas Air Show ( WHat I remember) He also has a school for Aerobatics that is conducted by members of his support crew...plus an awesome Pitts S2B used in the school. I think there was a 5 hour and 10 hour program. Camera equiped! Plus they will show you where to put the PUKE bag!

 

[LeadSolo]

Hangar Party - Good
Next Morning - Bad
Sean's Demo - The BEST!!

 

[jetpig32]

I think he moved down to King City. I recall he took over the FBO there too. (if you could call it an FBO)

You should see Sean's hanger in Salinas Airport Ca. Awesome equipment and maintenance/training crew...Plus he throws a heck of a ahing ding during the Salinas Air Show ( WHat I remember) He also has a school for Aerobatics that is conducted by members of his support crew...plus an awesome Pitts S2B used in the school. I think there was a 5 hour and 10 hour program. Camera equiped! Plus they will show you where to put the PUKE bag!

 

[Mike Eggen]

Sean Tucker

They are indeed in King City
http://www.tutimaacademy.com/

 

[RJP]

Sean Tucker. Best aerobatic display pilot in the biz. And a helluva good guy. Makes paddy waggingstaff look bad.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Sean Tucker. Best aerobatic display pilot in the biz. And a helluva good guy. Makes paddy waggingstaff look bad.

Patty and Sean are good friends....whats your point?

Patty was a Hell of a COMPETITION pilot and really not into the Airshow gig as hard as others, but I am sure she could FLY circles around your C-152!

 

[RJP]

Patty and Sean are good friends....whats your point?

Patty was a Hell of a COMPETITION pilot and really not into the Airshow gig as hard as others, but I am sure she could FLY circles around your C-152!

My c-152? Uh....yeah.

She has the personality of a lawn chair. That's the point. :beer:

 

[Ill Mitch]

My c-152? Uh....yeah.

She has the personality of a lawn chair. That's the point. :beer:

She also likes to ground loop Super Cubs (the absolute easiest tailwheel airplane in the freakin world to land).

Her airshow routine is actually very good from a technical perspective, but boring from an airshow perspective.

 

[mzaharis]

Her airshow routine is actually very good from a technical perspective, but boring from an airshow perspective.

That's something I always wondered. How does the technical ability of a top Unlimited aerobatic competitor compare to someone like Sean Tucker? Tucker gave up IAC competition after he won the Advanced championship, IIRC, so I don't know if he ever did any Unlimited competition. Since the goals of an airshow performer (spectacular visuals) are different from a competitive aerobatics pilot (precise execution of complex maneuvers), I've always how the two compared in terms of technique.

 

[Ill Mitch]

That's something I always wondered. How does the technical ability of a top Unlimited aerobatic competitor compare to someone like Sean Tucker? Tucker gave up IAC competition after he won the Advanced championship, IIRC, so I don't know if he ever did any Unlimited competition. Since the goals of an airshow performer (spectacular visuals) are different from a competitive aerobatics pilot (precise execution of complex maneuvers), I've always how the two compared in terms of technique.

Technique is about the same. In both airshows and competition, you are flying in a box, doing some of the same maneuvers, can be flying low to the ground, etc... I must point out, aerobatic boxes at airshows can vary. I have seen some huge ones and I've seen some as narrow as 700' by 3000'.

The airshow circuit is all about showmanship. An example is Julie Clark. When she is flying the T-34, you have mediocre aerobatics in a mediocre airplane, but the general crowds love her.

A good announcer can do wonders for an act. And maybe sometimes not. I cringed when Sean first had his son announcing for him. The kid was like 10 or something. "And watch now as my super-amazing, bestes dad in the whole wide world performs the super amazing Lom...uh..Lllaa...*muffle muffle...how do you say this?...muffle muffle...watch as he tumbles the airplane end over end!!".

 

[Huggyu2]

Good point: announcing is key. The case in point was at Oshkosh about 2 years ago when Patty Wagstaff performed, and John and Martha King did the commentary. It was embarrassingly bad, thanks to the commentary.