Tucker teams up

Team Oracle has been planning Tucker’s exit for a while, announcing in 2017 that the legendary performer and close friend of the late, great R. A. “Bob” Hoover would retire from solo performances at the end of the 2018 season. The team’s 2019 schedule includes 10 airshow appearances (a California airshow in March included the pair's first public performance together), and Tucker will fly the Oracle Challenger III biplane with Panzer on his wing flying the Oracle Extra 300L. The Legends in Flight Joint Base Andrews Air and Space Expo is free and open to the public, with shuttle service from FedEx Field (home of the Washington Redskins) the only way to get into the military facility. Premium seats are still available online for the performances on May 12, the day after the AOPA Fly-In at Frederick wraps up. (Did we mention we’ll all be in Frederick May 10 and 11?)

Panzer was under Tucker’s wing for a while before becoming his teammate. According to the team's announcement, she is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with instructor ratings in airplanes, rotorcraft, and seaplanes. Panzer began flying aerobatics in 2000 and earned a spot on the U.S. Advanced Aerobatic Team in 2012. She also qualified to race Formula One Class at the Reno National Championship Air Races in 2004, a year before she met Tucker and coach Bill Stein, who designed the pair’s routine, in 2005, when she was among those invited to be mentored by Tucker and Stein and perform with the “Stars of Tomorrow” Aerobatic Flight Team.

“It’s an honor to fly aerobatics and I am so humbled to fly alongside and under the mentorship of Sean Tucker,” Panzer said in the team news release. “He’s been an inspiration to me ever since I began my career in flying.”

Each performance by the pair will begin with a formation entry, Panzer tucked in tight on Tucker’s wing, then a chase ensues through a loop and a clover split into opposing solos. Tucker then shows off his signature maneuvers, including the Inside-Outside Loop and Tucker Upper, while Panzer flies counterpoints including a hammerhead, avalanche, and others, before rejoining Tucker for a Torque Circle and a “Speedo Heart” departure.

The last of these, in October, will mark the end of the Oracle Challenger III biplane’s airshow career. It will head soon after to become part of a permanent exhibit in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

“Jessy is as reverent to the demands, the art form and the discipline required for aerobatic flight as anyone else I’ve seen. I’m thrilled to fly with Jessy and share the magic of flight as a team with millions of fans this year,” Tucker said. “This season is truly one fans won’t want to miss.”