SEAN D. TUCKER = POWER AEROBATICS!

• 1997 SCHEDULE

• 1996 SCHEDULE

• 1995 SCHEDULE

• 1994 SCHEDULE

• THE PERFORMANCE

  THE SKY DANCE

  Sean D. Tucker's "Sky Dance" daytime performance begins with anunbelievable sequence of events that sees him tumbling the 330 HPRandolph Sunglass Challenger end-over-end one second and then flying ittail-first, straight towards the earth for 500 feet at negative airspeeds of up to90 MPH while rolling his aircraft counter-clockwise! Before the first spiralof smoke begins to fade, Tucker plunges into a powerful and complexaerobatics sequence that demonstrates the talent that won him t he covetedU.S. National Advanced Aerobatics Trophy in 1988. Tucker's spectacularsequence includes original, adrenaline-pumping maneuvers like "TheCentrifuge", "The Son of Edwin", "The Spiralling Tower", "The TuckerUpper", "The Harrier Pass" and the heart- stopping finale "The TripleRibbon Cut".

  THE STAR DANCE

  Introduced during the 1992 season, Sean D. Tucker's nighttimeperformance is more of an aerial ballet, complete with wingtip andtail-mounted pyrotechnics. The act creates swirling and weaving tendnls ofcolored sparks in coordination with an original musical score designed toenhance the sensory expenence.

  Star Dance begins with Tucker streaking into the sky in the RandolphSunglass Challenger, leaving two 300 to 400 foot trails of golden spark sbehind him. He then performs a series of fast paced maneuvers overhead,trailing the magnificent comet-like tails of sparks throughout. Occasionallya brightly colored ball is ejected from the airplane that falls for a fewseconds and then erupts into a bnl liant, multi-colored starburst whosetwinkling colors get slowly dimmer as they fall from the sky. Created withalmost 100 pounds of custom-produced pyrotechnic devices, the sparklesand starbursts emitted during Tucker's 7-minute Star Dance can be seen from up to 40 miles away.

• THE TEAM

  SEAN D. TUCKER

  Sean began studying aerobatics in 1973 at the Amelia Reid School in SanJose, and by 1975 purchased his first aerobatic airplane. Shortly after thatpurchase, Sean started flying compet itively, and in 1988 was named theU.S. Nationai Advanced Aerobatic Champion . He was also 1988 Airman ofthe Year, and in 1991 was named Ambassador of the Air by the Californiastate legislature. Most recently, in 1992 Sean became the first performer toever win the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship and the Art SchollMemonal Showmanship Award in the same year. These are the two mostprestigious awards given in the airshow industry. Both awards honor "TheBest of the Best" airshow performers and are selected by a panel ofprofessional airshow pilots who also happen to be prior winners of theawards. 1992 also saw Sean winning the General Aviation News and Flyer'sReader's Choice Award as the #1 male performer in the industry.

  Sean holds a commercial license with an instrument rating for single andmulti-engine airplanes and also helicopters. He has flown over 13,000hours, including over 3,000 of aerobatic flying. Early in 1992 Sean wasdesignated by the FAA as an Airshow Certification Evaluator (ACE),responsible f or evaluating, reviewing and certificating aerobatic pilots.

  Sean strives every day to improve his flying performance with a stringentself-imposed personal fitness regimen and daily practice sessions in the air.Absolute control is necessary to successfu lly carry out his aerobaticperformances. Timing must be honed to within hundredths of a second tosafely reproduce his original repertoire of breathtaking, high-poweredmaneuvers, performed split-seconds above the ground. Prior to everyperformance, Tucker d ons headphones and flies his routine in meticulousdetail on the ground, pictunng landmarks as he paces and turns, replicatingthe exact sequence he'll be flying in his powerful aerobatic performance.

  TOM DYGERT

  Tom Dygert is co-owner of the Randol ph Sunglass Challenger and is alsothe Crew Chief. He is the Lead Engineer for the Quality AssuranceDepartment of the Lockheed Missiles & Space Corporation at Lockheed'sHigh Energy Test Center located in the hills just outside of Santa Cruz, CA.Dygert's me ticulous attention to the preparation and maintenance of the 330HP aircraft is vital to the success of Tucker's performances. His extensiveexperience enabled him to design all the mounting racks and firingelectronics for he Star Dance in such a way that t he aircraft can bereconfigured from the Sky Dance to the Star Dance in a little more than twohours . Once the Star Dance is completed, the Randolph Sunglass Challengercan be made ready for the next day's Sky Dance in 40 minutes. In addition toall of this, Tom is currently working on his private pilots certificate

  BRIAN S. NORRIS

  Brian Norris, a Certified Flight Instructor and former computer consultantfrom Las Vegas, NV acts as the Team's Operations & PR Coordinator andalso the Team's narrator Br ian conducts the 20-minute safety briefingrequired for all of the volunteer Poleholders used during the "Triple RibbonCut" . Brian will be narrating Sean's performance at a few showsites duringthe 1993 season. Bnan is also responsible for flying the Team' s supportaircraft to the shows and also durign media flights, with reporters andphotographers on-board, while flying close formation with Sean in theRandolph Sunglass Challenger.

• THE AIRCRAFT

  Sean's unique, 330+ "Top Secret" horsep ower Randolph SunglassChallenger aircraft is an extensively modified, factory-built, Pitts S-2Sbiplane. It's engine is overhauled by Ly-Con of Visalia, CA, the propeller isoverhauled by US Propeller in San Carlos, CA and the wings are completelyrebuilt at the end of each season as part of an exhaustive overhaul process.Regular, extensive inspections are made of the plane during the performanceseason and thorough pre-flight and post-flight inspections are made everytime the aircraft takes to the air The ai rcrah will burn approximately 9gallons of fuel, 6 gallons of "smoke oil", and 4 wingtip-mounted coloredsmoke canisters during the pounding 1 4-minute performance. When fueledand ready to go, the plane weighs only 1,160 pounds. It is powered by acustom-mod ified Lycoming AE10-540 engine that turns a customthree-bladed compositc propeller and breathes through an RSA-IO fuelservo that has bcen specially modificd by Airflow Performance, Inc. ofSpartanburg, SC. Special thanks must also go to Para-Phernalia Para chutes of Arlington, WA.

  When enroute to the next show, the Randolph Sunglass Challenger isfitted with two specially-designed extemal "ferry tanks". These quicklyremovable fuel tanks hang underneath the aircraft and closely resemble acouple of bombs. They add 42 gallons of fuel to the 22 gallons that can Icarried in the plane's intemal fuel tank. Sean also re-installs a modified BFGoodrich Flight Systems loran that allows him to navigate more accuratelyand efficiently. The aircraft will also be loade d with up to 100 pounds ofbaggage and support equipment. Once it lands at the show site, the RandolphSunglass Challenger can be unloaded and reconfigured for hard-chargaerobatics in less than 30 minutes.