At EAA’s annual Gathering of Eagles gala on Thursday night, EAA Chairman Jack Pelton announced the new Young Eagles Chairman, aerobatics star Sean D. Tucker. In a hilarious and energetic acceptance speech (Pelton later said he was pretty sure that Tucker actually accepted), Tucker wowed the crowd with his infectious enthusiasm for the role. “Yeah, baby!” were Tucker’s exact words when his selection was announced and that refrain filled the Eagle Hangar throughout the rest of the show. Tucker takes over from Miracle on the Hudson pilots Sully Sullenberger and Jeff Skiles, who thanked EAA for the honor of having served in the post the past several years. Tucker is the fifth chair of Young Eagles, following behind the late Cliff Robertson, Gen. Chuck Yeager, Harrison Ford, and Sully and Skiles.
The evening opened with a tribute to Yves “Jetman” Rossy, who spoke with the guests and oversaw the auctioning of a trip to Switzerland for the lucky winner to fly in formation with Rossy, as well as get a ride in a Hawker Hunter jet with Jetman. The package sold for $100,000. In all the auction raised more than $2.4 million dollars, starting with Rossy and culminating in the sale of a custom 640 hp Ford Mustang styled after an Air Force Thunderbird F-16 that went for $398,000.
