Throughout the 2018 air show season, rumors have circulated around the question: “What is next for Sean Tucker?” Starting in 2019, ICAS member Sean D. Tucker of Team Oracle will transition his career to multi-ship formation flying.
“My goal is to start another career,” Tucker said. “I’m really good at solo performance, but now I have to learn how to be a team player. So, if it means that I need to go back to the minor leagues, then I’m going back to the minor leagues.”
Currently, Tucker is preparing for a two-ship formation team with John De Gennaro of Team Oracle as his wingman. But the team could grow to be a three- or four-ship formation team before the start of the 2019 season. Tucker’s goal is to eventually have the team grow to be a five-ship formation team.
“Who knows? I may be able to announce at [the] ICAS [Convention], but it is for sure a two-ship and we are moving forward in the industry,” Tucker said.
Oracle has already signed on to sponsor 50 percent of Tucker’s multi-ship formation team. Tucker and Oracle are entering their 20th year of partnership. Tucker and his team are looking into additional sponsors to help make the eventual transition to a five-ship team.
“I’ve finished this [solo] career; it’s been great,” Tucker said. “I can take this ride and do a couple more years of this stuff, but that’s not my character. I’ve been there, done that, reached the end of the Internet. I’m moving on.”
Tucker will continue to perform in the Oracle Challenger III through the 2019 season before he hands it over to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Tucker’s biplane will be included in the Smithsonian’s new general aviation exhibit, “We All Fly,” which is scheduled to open in 2021.
