2019-01-LR-Final

Air Race 1 China Cup:
Steve Senegal Wins
Steve Senegal has become the first person to win a Formula
One air race in China after clinching the Air Race 1 China Cup in
Wuhan, November 16-18. Senegal, from San Bruno, California,
held off World Champion Tim Cone in the first air race in the
People’s Republic of China.
Cone, winner of the Air Race 1 World Cup event in Thailand
in 2017, initially led the Gold Final field in his fast-starting Cassutt
racer named What Airplane Honey, but after three laps had
to succumb to the superior pace of Steve Senegal’s super-sleek
Arnold AR-6 Endeavor, lapping the 3.07-mile course at over 240
mph. Third place was taken by Philip Goforth in his Cassutt Annie.
“I am very proud to be the first ever winner of the Air Race 1
China Cup,” said Senegal, who is a current United Airlines captain.
“China has certainly shown that it has aviation and air racing
in its heart, and we look forward to coming back again.”
Last Solo Performance:
Sean D. Tucker
Airshow great Sean D. Tucker performed his final performance
as a solo performer on October 21 at the Wings Over
Houston Airshow at Ellington Field outside of Houston, Texas.
After his final performance, he was greeted by members of his
family and the members of the United States Navy Blue Angels,
who were preparing to perform.
Sean has been flying airshows worldwide since the mid-1970s,
flying well over 1,275 performances at more than 525 airshows in
front of 135 million spectators. His bright red Oracle Challenger
III biplane is one of the most recognizable aircraft in America.
His sponsorship with Oracle is one of the longest and most successful
partnerships in the airshow business.
Sean is a member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame,
and he has won numerous awards and accolades including
the Bill Barber Award for Airshow Showmanship, the Art
Scholl Showmanship Award, and the ICAS Sword of Excellence.
Sean has been named as one of the Living Legends of
Flight, an elite group of aviators and astronauts that includes
General Jimmy Doolittle, General Chuck Yeager, and John
Glenn.
While Sean is completing his solo career, he’s not retiring
from airshows. He will be back in 2019 with a new formation
team performance that is currently under development.
The team is slated to debut as a two-ship act at the California
International Airshow in Sean’s hometown of Salinas, California
in late March, but he hopes to grow the team to four
or five planes in the future.
Sean’s famous red biplane is eventually destined to become
the center piece of the Smithsonian National Air and
Space Museum’s new “We All Fly” exhibit, but that will have
to wait until Sean can acquire new aircraft for his formation
team. Look for Sean and his new wingman, 27-year-old
Johnny DeGennaro, at an airshow near you in 2019.
Photo: Sunday, Oct 21 was the final solo performance for Sean D. Tucker. It was
an emotional day capped by a ceremony at show center and a greeting by the
Blue Angels (photo by Ken Cheung).
New USAF Tactical Demo:
The F-35A Lightning II
The USAF F-35 Heritage Flight Team is officially transitioning
to the F-35 Demonstration Team for the 2019 airshow
season. The Air Force announced a fourteen-show
2019 schedule for the new team at the 2019 ICAS Convention
in Las Vegas.
According to Capt. Andrew “Dojo” Olson, F-35 Demonstration
Team pilot and commander, the new thirteen-minute-long
flight profile will highlight the F-35A Lightning II’s
numerous capabilities to
include speed, agility, and
high-g turning.
“What makes the fifthgeneration
fighter so special
in general is the slowspeed,
high angle of attack
maneuvering it can do,”
Olson said. “We’re also going
to be performing controlled
flat spins while falling
out of the sky as well
as high-speed passes and
vertical climbs.”
Along with the new single-jet profile, the team plans to
continue the Heritage Flight display alongside older warbirds
representing the past, present, and future of Air Force
airpower.
During the off season, Olson is scheduled to fly a minimum
of sixteen training sorties before receiving his demo
certification at the Heritage Flight Certification and Training
Course.
World Airshow News 13 January/February 2019