Sean Tucker Oracle Airshow

I went out to the Wings Over Pittsburgh airshow yesterday, and I have
to say that the most impressive performance was the Sean Tucker Oracle
biplane act.

(The Thunderbirds were impressive too, but super-annoying
tackily-patriotic musical soundtrack really detracts from their act.
The Thunderbird show seems to emphasize "look at how cool our planes
are", and not "look at how skilled our pilots are".)

One stunt Sean Tucker did was intriguing --- he did a slow pass where
the plane was almost vertical and maintaining altitude. The announcer
said his groundspeed was 20mph.

Does the Oracle plane have enough power to hover in place? I got the
impression that a number of the more unusual stunts were only possible
because the plane is practically a helicopter with its power... (This
does not make the stunts any less impressive, I'm just wondering if
one reason this show has so many original stunts is because the plane
has very unusual capabilities...)

Chris
--
Chris Colohan Email: PGP: finger
Web: www.colohan.com Phone: (412)268-4751

Chris
Part of the illusion is the angle of the aircraft as viewed by the
crowd. When the winds are right, the pilot can be flying at an
indicated airspeed that appears to be zero on the ground. Wayne Handley
did it with his Raven but he had so much power that it was easy for him
to just "hang" on the prop, then fly out of it.
It is a combination of pilot skills (and Shawn is a superb pilot and
crop duster as was Wayne) and aircraft capability.
I have the utmost respect for their abilities. I'm also a crop duster
pilot and have known Wayne for 20 years but have only met Shawn in
passing.
Rocky

Does the Oracle plane have enough power to hover in place?

No, but pointing his nose into the wind, with lots of horsepower and a
radical angle of attack, allows him to do his patented "Harrier Pass" --
always a crowd pleaser. When the head winds are high enough, he can appear
to hover.

I've always wondered what would happen if his big ol' Lycoming O-540 (a
higher horsepower version of the engine in our plane) burped while at full
power. He does that pass pretty low to the ground, and technically he's
well *below* stall speed...

I've watched Tucker's incredible stunts for most of his airshow career, and
have always wondered when (not if) he was going to crash. The skill and
fortitude it has taken for him to remain alive -- while doing what he does
day after day -- is astounding.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" said:
I've watched Tucker's incredible stunts for most of his airshow career, and
have always wondered when (not if) he was going to crash. The skill and
fortitude it has taken for him to remain alive -- while doing what he does
day after day -- is astounding.

A few years ago he was in an inverted spin when the crankshaft and prop
departed the aircraft. He recovered and dead-stick landed back on his
home airport.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
It might not be practical, it might not be a good idea, but it could work.
Sort of like Windows.
-- berry

A few years ago he was in an inverted spin when the crankshaft and prop
departed the aircraft. He recovered and dead-stick landed back on his
home airport.

The CRANKSHAFT departed the airplane?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" said:
A few years ago he was in an inverted spin when the crankshaft and prop
departed the aircraft. He recovered and dead-stick landed back on his
home airport.

The CRANKSHAFT departed the airplane?

That's what the article said.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
If I have pinged farther than others, it is because I routed upon
the T3s of giants.
-- Greg Andrews

Yes, that's right, no BS, the propeller and the forward part of the
crankshaft departed the airplane.I saw a video of it, with sound, and
believe me there is absolutly no one in the world that has as much "cool" as
Sean D. Tucker, it was just like this happened all the time, every day, and
he made a perfect landing, all while reasurring his student that things
would be fine. There's no better stick than Sean.

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" said:
A few years ago he was in an inverted spin when the crankshaft and prop
departed the aircraft. He recovered and dead-stick landed back on his
home airport.

The CRANKSHAFT departed the airplane?

That's what the article said.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
If I have pinged farther than others, it is because I routed upon
the T3s of giants.
-- Greg Andrews

The Thunderbird show seems to emphasize "look at how cool our planes
are", and not "look at how skilled our pilots are".

If you want to see skilled pilots, you'll have to watch a Navy show.

Thunderbirds have power, Snowbirds have skill, Blue Angels have both.
--
Gene Seibel
Gene & Sue's Flying Machine - http://pad39a.com/gene/
Because we fly, we envy no one.

Franklin Newton wrote:

Yes, that's right, no BS, the propeller and the forward part of the
crankshaft departed the airplane.I saw a video of it, with sound, and
believe me there is absolutly no one in the world that has as much "cool" as
Sean D. Tucker, it was just like this happened all the time, every day, and
he made a perfect landing, all while reasurring his student that things
would be fine. There's no better stick than Sean.

Fellow airshow ace Mike Goulian (who's also a good pal of Sean) also had an
engine quit in a bad spot a number of years ago. I think it was during practice
in Texas just before one of the aerobatic championships. He came out of it ok,
but it sounded like it took a hell of a lot of skill to do it. Both of those
guys are awesome and every now and then they perform together.