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Dear
Readers,
The
following interview is a sample from the chapter “Astral
Aviators” in my forthcoming book, StarWords: Inspirational
Conversations with Extraordinary Monterey Peninsulans. It was
conducted on Oct. 6, 2002:
Stardust Inspiration: Renowned acrobatic flyer, Sean Tucker,
lives a life of daring, thrill seeking and pressing the package
that’s known mostly to ego-maniacal macho men. Yet he is one of
the kindest, most down-to-earth people I’ve interviewed. He
maintains a loving family and hangar of friendships. And his
spiritual quest is most inspiring. He has reached for the stars
and, therein, found a deeply rewarding life. His words ring in
my mind: “It blows me away how short life is. Our lives are all
on the edge, but I’m in touch with it more often. You learn how
very precious tomorrow is.” Not to mention, his written words to
me regarding StarWords: “Good luck Susan (fly free).”
Flier Sean Tucker has the Right Stuff
To be
in the presence of Sean Tucker of Salinas, who has won every
aerobatic airshow competition in the world, is to brush stardust
off your sleeves after being sideswiped by a comet. His energy
on the ground is as exponential as it is in the air, where he
and his custom biplane enthrall air-show crowds by tumbling
end-over-end, flying tail-first, upside down and straight up,
blazing colored smoke and fireworks.
His adrenaline-pumping brushes with death keep him so present
that, at 50, he may have lived more life than someone twice his
age.
“You’re dancing, rocking to the music, at one with the sky and
plane,” he says. “It’s a cool feeling. You’re in the moment,
right now, and time stops. That’s as close as you can be to
being a spirit.”
Before each flight, he gets away from all distractions and
visualizes the flight. “I calm my thinking by doing yoga
breathing and listening to Enya. In the quiet zone I get
energized.”
As maniacal as his maneuvers look, he says they’re planned and
rehearsed with such precision that his body becomes one with the
plane, his arms the wings.
Hard to believe the man is a klutz on the dance floor.
We meet at his hangar, at Salinas Municipal Airport, where his
black BMW 3-Z is parked outside and his screamin’ orange flying
machine, with “Oracle” emblazoned on the side, is parked inside.
He grins like a tanned, blonde beach boy and offers me a seat at
a flimsy card table.
His energy is infectious.
Q:
Why are you so effervescent?
A: In my life, I can’t think on a negative level or I’ll die,
because of the margins I live on. That would be a
self-fulfilling prophecy. I visualize winning. It blows me away
how short life is. Our lives are all on the edge, but I’m in
touch with it more often. You learn how very precious tomorrow
is.
Q: You’ve been called a skygod. How do avoid a bloated ego?
A: (Laughs) I’m very proud of my accomplishments. I’m also
humble they could be taken away in a heartbeat if I step over
the line. This isn’t basket weaving 101. I can’t afford to have
a bad day. Your ego will kill you if you start believing your
own press. But you have to have a very high level of self
confidence.
Q: Why are you so good at it?
A: Because I work real hard. I was never a gifted aviator. I was
gifted for my passion but it didn’t come easy. I practice three
times a day - minimum - and exercise at the gym at least six
times a week (he laughs and flexes his biceps).
Q: Who introduced you to flying?
A: My father was a lawyer/pilot. I had my first plane ride at
14. I remember it was a foggy morning, before dawn, and he had
to climb up through clouds. The sun was just coming up and I got
it then, about the magic of flight. I’ll never forget that: the
vivid colors, the sound of the airplane, brilliant yellow and
red hues as the sun came up reflecting off the clouds. That’s
what hooked me. There’s a peace up there.
Q: Devil’s advocate: Air-show spectators secretly wish for a
spectacular accident.
A: What’s so compelling at air-shows is that people live
vicariously through you. I try to communicate this freedom and
passion you can have for the sky. I feel it’s performance art.
I’ve seen my friends die at air shows. People turn around and
leave. There is that sense of macabre drama that potentially an
accident could happen. But I don’t think they really want
something to happen. Air-show flying is extreme and dangerous.
We don’t walk away like the Indy 500 racers do.
Q: Your students are seasoned fliers, but what are the fatal
foibles of first pilots?
A: Number one is ignorance of their limitations. The perfect
example is JFK Jr. I knew him personally. He was ignorant going
to Martha’s Vineyard that night with bad weather. He needed more
experience with flying instruments.
Q: And John Denver?
A: I knew him too. He was very mature and competent. But it was
a new piece of equipment and he didn’t have the experience with
the fuel management system. It was ignorance again . . . The
next (foible) is ego. Ego will absolutely kill you in this
business: extending your own personal technical skills to
achieve a goal for accolades. One thing about the sky,
eventually, it will hold you accountable. I’ve flown over 19,000
hours and I’ve made my mistakes, and learned from them.
Q: How many of your nine lives have you used up?
A: Golly, not many in the last 12 years. It was preceding my
marriage that I used up quit a few. I had no death perception.
(Laughs) I jumped out of my first air-show airplane in ‘79 and
lost a dream (the craft). Then I had to grow up and get a real
job, crop-dusting. It was the best thing that happened in my
life. I worked with Wayne Handley and perfection was the only
word he would use. He was my god. He taught me how to always
give 110 percent.
Q: What do you fear? a) taxes b) poverty c)
failure
A: Taxes. I’ve learned to pay on time. My definition of failure
is abusing the gifts you’ve been given. I’m afraid mostly of
blowing my successes - both spiritually and technically as an
aviator. I’ve been broke before, so that’s easy. I’ve been lucky
to get to make a very good living . . . Larry Ellison, he’s the
CEO of Oracle, my sponsor, says failure is not in his vocabulary
and he’s one of the richest guys in the world.
Q: How did you perform in “Baywatch”?
A: I flew upside down at 250 mph, 10 feet over the actors’
heads, and they hit the dirt. They weren’t supposed to, but
every time I flew over them, it was reflex.
Q: The wildest thing you’ve ever done aside from flying?
A: In wintertime I’m helicopter-dropped onto a peak in the
Canadian Rockies to ski. There’s powder flying over my shoulders
and I’m touching the mountain, flowing . . . Next week I’m going
underwater cave diving in Yucatan. A mile underwater sometimes
you see Dante’s hell. It’s a nightmarish place. Then you go
through other passages and you’ll see where God lives, with
bright stalactites, and the water is crystal clear. My son and I
learned to do this together and it changed our lives because we
faced the fear and talked about it.
Q: When did you become a man?
A: When I had my first child. Because all of a sudden, until I
saw him, I had to do the Ricky Ricardo thing. I had to wait in
the waiting room and I was praying while she was having a
C-section. That’s when I really grew up.
Q: You have absolute control in the air, but in what areas of
life are you willing to relinquish control?
A: I don’t give a darn about money. My wife (Colleen, of 25
years) takes care of all that. I don’t care about the kind of
clothes I wear or a social agenda. I had to ask Colleen if I
could afford to buy my 2002 (BMW) M3.
Q: Have you grabbed the big brass ring or are you still on
the merry-go-round?
A: I’m ahold of the ring and still on the merry-go-round. I’m so
happy and satisfied with where my life is going. I have so much
more to learn. Thoughts of retiring aren’t even there.
Universal Update: It had been a few years since Tucker and I
interviewed, and I needed a photo for the book. He said sure, he
could meet me at his Salinas hangar. How about 5:30 p.m.? He had
a class to teach there, after which he would fly to Mammoth Lake
to ski, and then return to Salinas for another class. Obviously,
he was still going full-tilt boogie . . . He was tanned and trim
as ever and gave me a huge hug. Then he dragged his lightweight
craft out of the hangar and humored me for several photos.
Afterward, he waved me goodbye saying, “Follow your dream.
Follow your dream.” |
