Springtime in Salinas? Count on Tucker being in the air - The Salinas Californian
But longtime Salinans are reminded that their city has an airport every spring when one man and his small but powerful biplane takes to the air above the city. That man is aerobatics pilot Sean D. Tucker and the familiar bright red aircraft is his modified Team Oracle Challenger III. Twisting and turning and tumbling through a 12-minute routine, Tucker's plane will loudly shriek, growl and whine as he puts the aircraft through its paces. From late March through the end of May, Tucker, 63, will fly no fewer than 100 practice flights — often three a day — to get himself and his specialized biplane ready for the start of an arduous 17-city air show tour that he flies on behalf of the... If I didn't train the way I do, there would be no way I could fly the show I fly," Tucker said while taking a break in his hangar one recent weekend. Typically, Tucker's routine involves him performing a 16-maneuver act that is considered one of the most kinetic, high-energy performances in the aerobatics business. And, really, just saying that he flies 16 maneuvers is not fairly describing what he actually does in the air. From there he learned aerobatics and three decades and more than 24,000 hours in the air later, he is now one of the leading authorities and personalities in the aviation business. Source: www.thecalifornian.com
