Photos: Team Oracle’s Challenger III Gears Up for Oshkosh

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Next week at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Sean Tucker and Team Oracle will wow the crowds and show off their brand-new Challenger III. Team Oracle’s Brian Norris shared some of the biplane’s unique aerodynamic features with AVweb‘s Mary Grady, who brought home a few photos.

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photo by Victoria Arocho
Brian Norris, operations co‑ordinator for Team Oracle, has been working with Sean D. Tucker for 20 years.

The big Hartzell propeller creates a propwash that affects the inner ailerons, so they remain effective even when the airflow over the wing is next to nothing.
The unusual two-part ailerons allow the inner part of the aileron to fly at a different angle of attack from the outer part.

The small surfaces known as "spades," attached beneath the lower wings, act as an aerodynamic counter-force, keeping control inputs light.
The newly designed "3-D" carbon-fiber tail was inspired by remote-control aircraft and allows Tucker to make large deflections for low-speed maneuvers.
photo by Victoria Arocho
The Challenger III biplane is all-new, but Team Oracle is hanging on to one piece of equipment from their previous rig – pilot Sean Tucker.

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