Twitter: @blueangelf4 Email: [email protected] Jerry "Turkey" Tucker served as both a lead and opposing solo pilot for the United States Navy Blue Angels Fight Demonstration Team. During his tenure on the team, which included the 1973, 1974, and 1979 air show seasons, Jerry flew both the F4 Phantom and A4 Skyhawk, and played a critical role in the team's transition between the two aircraft. Jerry, originally from Tilden, Nebraska, became fascinated with aviation at a young age, when his father took him to his first air show at the age of two. He would go on to enter the Navy and get his Wings of Gold in 1969, before joining fighter squadron VF-211 and executing 235 combat missions. After retiring from the Navy, Jerry went on to fly commercially for Southwest Airlines and now serves as a pilot for a private aviation charter company. Special thanks to Jerry Tucker who selflessly gave up an entire Friday to spend sharing his incredible life story with me. 1873 Blue Angels Team: #1 LCD Skip Amsted #2 Lieutenant Marlin Wita #3 Capt John Fogg #4 Capt Mike Murphy #5 LT Steve Lambert #6 LT Jerry Tucker #7 LT John Chehansky Naval Flight Officer/Public Affairs Officer: LT Chuck Newcomb Maintenance Officer: LCDR Fred Wiggins Product Service Engineer: Mr. Bill Pritchett Also special thanks to: David Marlow for allowing me to use video footage from the movie Threshold. (See link below to purchase the DVD) which features the 1970 & 1971 Blue Angel teams. The history behind each of the pilots featured in the film is absolutely amazing. The film also features a look at how time-intensive it is to maintain the F4 Phantom and gives a glimpse behind the scenes of the maintenance team that kept the planes up and flying so that the Blues never missed a show. Threshold: The Blue Angels Experience http://www.thresholdtheblueangelsexperience.com Emmanuel Rodriguez, the author of Phantoms and Angels, for assistance with research. Phantoms & Angels is an outstanding book that chronicles the history of the Blue Angels while in the F4 Phantoms. See link below: Phantoms and Angels http://www.phantomsandangels.com