Tim Tucker

United States | Training & Safety

Tim learned to fly in the US Army, then spent a combined 27 years as an Army reservist, on active duty and as a Department of Army civilian, instructing in the Army’s  iconic UH-1. He had overseas deployments to Vietnam, Honduras and Korea and retired as a Master Army Aviator.

On the civilian side, in 1979 Tim purchased the first Robinson R22 sold. Little did he know that this helicopter and the man who designed it would go on to transform the helicopter world.  A few years later, Tim went to work for the Robinson Helicopter Company doing experimental test flying, production test flying and, along with Frank Robinson, developed the well-known Robinson Safety Course in 1982. Tim would spend the next 38 years as the Chief Instructor for the Safety Course and during this time over 20,000 pilots attended. By 1992, Robinson helicopters were operating in over 50 countries around the world so Tim began teaching the Safety Course in other countries. To date he has taught 125 foreign Safety Courses in 31 countries and along the way has earned 17 foreign pilot licenses allowing him to act as PIC on commercial/instructional flights in foreign aircraft.  In 2000 Tim was selected as the Helicopter Aviation International’s (HAI) Outstanding Flight Instructor and in 2005 was HAI’s Joseph Mashman Safety Award winner. 

From 1984 until 2023 Tim worked as an FAA Designated Helicopter Piot Examiner for private through ATP certificates. He was authorized to give tests in 14 different make & models ranging from an SK-76 to the R22 and has administered over 8500 FAA practical tests. He has served on a number of FAA Working Groups including for the Helicopter Flying Handbook, Airmen Certification Standards and the DPE Reform project.  In 2020, Tim received the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.

Tim has over 21,000 flight hours and was inducted into the National Association of Flight Instructor’s Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the 2024 Oshkosh Air Adventure.