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| Hi From Di | Jul '08 |
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| By Di Freeze |
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Academy Award winning producer and director Sydney Pollack was as passionate about aviation as he was about his life's work. In both areas, he was an inspiration to many.
Encouraged by the example of screenwriter and producer Roland Kibbee, Pollack began taking lessons and got his private pilot's license in the mid-1960s. After getting his multi-engine rating, he flew Cessna 172s, 182s, 206s, Aero Commanders, 310s and other multi-engine aircraft, which he rented. In the 1970s and 1980s, his career made it hard to stay current with his flying. He began to charter aircraft, including a Lear 25 from Clay Lacy. After sitting in the right seat on some of the charters, Pollack decided it was time to get back into flying in earnest. He bought that aircraft and hired a copilot, later moving on to a Lear 35, 55 and 60. In recent years, Pollack flew a Cessna Citation X. As a tribute to this passionate aviator, who died May 26, we're reprinting the interview I conducted with him in 2004. To read about his love affair with flight, turn to page 4-B.
Another person who has been an inspiration to many is Sean D. Tucker, a charismatic aerobatic superstar who will be inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame this month. Born in 1952 in California, Tucker recalls family outings at the local airport, watching planes land for "hours and hours and hours." He recalls being mesmerized on the first flight he took with his father. He also remembers that a downside to his father being an aviation trial lawyer was that Tucker heard a lot about aircraft crashes. He followed his father into the cockpit, but found that they had something in common: a fear of flight. To face that fear, with 55 hours as a new private pilot, he took aerobatic lessons. His instructor skillfully talked him through what they would accomplish. When he rolled his first aircraft successfully, he realized his goal was to learn that art form.
In 1988, Tucker became the U.S. National Advanced Aerobatic Champion. In 1992, he became the first aerobatic performer to receive the Art Scholl Memorial Showmanship Award and the Bill Barber Award for Air Show Showmanship—the two most prestigious awards in the air show industry—in the same year. To read more about Sean Tucker, see page 11-B.
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