Tucker’s Air Patrol Comes to Sacramento! (FB)
Dead Stick, Comedy, and ‘Campbulance’ Landing …
“Entrepreneur, Consultant, Rocket Scientist, Philanthropist, Pilot, Performer, Family-Man, Surfer and Presenter” If these sound too good to be true, please read on. The unbelievably talented Eric Tucker and Tucker’s Rescue Air Patrol team are inbound for the 2023 California Capital Airshow on September 23 & 24th.
Instead of trying to rewrite compelling copy, we’re going to give it to you directly from TuckersAirPatrol.com.
“Eric Tucker’s current aviation adventure is a throwback to the glory days of Barnstorming. Flying an aircraft built in 1941, but designed in the late twenties, Tucker will be performing three very distinct acts:
- Dead Stick Aerobatics: From a mile high in the sky, Tucker will intentionally kill the engine, stop the propeller and glide down to earth to a safe and gentle landing. But, to take it to the next level, Tucker will perform graceful aerobatics (loops, rolls, spins and hammerheads) while soaring thru the air like a bird in complete silence.
- Comedy Act & Car-Top Landing: Think rodeo clown takes to the skies in this thrilling and entertaining aerial adventure. The act climaxes in an aerial rescue (Tucker’s Car Top Landing Attempt).
- Car-Top Takeoff & Aerobatics: If conditions are agreeable, and Tucker had a successful Car-Top Landing during the Comedy Act Performance, then he will take off of the vehicle and perform some barnstorming era aerobatics in the J3 Cub.
Eric Tucker…
The Airshow Pilot: Flying airshows across the world, from California to Abu Dhabi, in aircraft ranging from the J3 Cub to the Columbia 400 to the Extra 300
The Corporate Pilot: Jet setting to the far corners of the globe in King Airs, Citation Xs and the Falcon 900s for Solairus Aviation
The Rocket Scientist: B.S. Aerospace Engineering, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 2005
The Philanthropist: Co-Founder of the Bob Hoover Academy, a non-profit catalyzing life changing experiences in Aviation and Education for at-risk and under-privileged teens.
The Family Man: Father to a band of brothers & Husband to a most excellent wife
The Rambler: Banjo Picking, Seaweed Pickling, Organic Gardening, Artisan Bread Baking, Crossfitting, Surfing, Backpacking, Wild Foods Foraging, Disney Consulting, Apple Consulting, Tinkering, Igloo Building, Spanish Speaking, Continuing Online Educating, Biking (mountain & road), Wood Fired Pizza Oven Building, Et Cetera-ing
The Pedigree: Eric literally grew up in aviation…
As legend has it, his first aerobatic ride was literally the day before he was born while still in the womb.
From age 9 to 16, Eric spent his summers touring the airshow circuit as the narrator for his father’s, Sean D. Tucker, airshow routine and as the copilot in the team’s crew plane.
At 14, Eric soloed in gliders.
At 16, he soloed in the family Pitts S-2B.
In high school, he dabbled in aerobatic competition.
As soon as he got his flight instructor rating, Eric quit painting houses for a living and began teaching aerobatics, stall/spins and unusual attitudes as well as helping to build the Tutima Academy of Aviation Safety into a world-class flight training academy.
During the 2005 airshow season, Eric toured the states as the left-wingman for the Stars of Tomorrow formation flight demonstration team.
In 2006, Eric worked as a test pilot for Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation.
However, the airshow industry beaconed him back. Eric spent the next three years managing his father’s (aviation legend, Sean D. Tucker) airshow program, Team Oracle, Oracle’s Airshow Sports Marketing Program, and touring the US airshow circuit as the left-wingman for the Collaborator’s formation aerobatic team.
Aircraft: 1941 J3 Cub
America’s most iconic light aircraft, the J3 Cub. Tucker’s bird is a stock, Cub Yellow with Black Lightning Bolt, 1941 J3 with a C-85 engine pumped up to 100hp. 100hp doesn’t sound like much until you consider that that original prototype for the Cub had just 20hp. So, weighing in at just 770 pounds, Tucker’s Cub is a fire-breather. The J3 Cub found its way into the history books thru WWII in service as the L4 Grasshopper as a primary pilot trainer and later with roles in reconnaissance. This airplane is best known for its speed, slow speed to be exact. It can lift off the ground at just 32mph (that’s slower than most birds fly!), cruises at only 75mph and weighs in at a whopping 770 pounds. So, it’s not a going places airplane, but it’s absolutely the funnest aircraft in the sky.
Car-Top Landing Vehicle: Tucker’s Air Patrol, Rescue 82
When it drives down the street, people affectionately yell: “Yeah, Ghostbusters!” It’s a 1990 fire-engine-red ambulance that spent most of its life in service to the Ponderosa Fire Department in Flagstaff, AZ. This vehicle is a crowd pleaser, and with the lights and sirens fully ablaze, it’s over the top show-business. In its off time, it gets use taking Tucker’s kids to school and traveling California as the family camper van. It’s affectionately referred to as the ‘Campbulance.’
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Photo & Info Credits:
- Tyson Rinninger
- Tucker’s Air Patrol (TuckersAirPatrol.com)
- Method Seven
A Note on Performers:
Aircraft and performers are subject to change without notice, due to operational considerations. If anything changes, we will do our best to let you know. Thank you!
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