With the swagger of a movie star, aerobatic pilot Sean D. Tucker can smile for a photo while flying his red-orange Oracle biplane sideways. He can adjust his flight pattern for the perfect shot as easily as someone posing for a portrait can adjust the tilt of a chin.

“When I look in the mirror, I see an aviator,’’ Tucker said. “And I’m proud of that.’’

Tucker, 66, who’s been named by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum as a “Living Legend of Flight,’’ will perform his death-defying “Sky Dance’’ for one of the last times during Rhode Island’s Air National Guard Show Saturday and Sunday in Providence.

Tucker, who lives in Salinas, Calif., with his wife, Colleen, will spend his summer traveling the country on an airshow tour for his last season as a solo performer.

A pilot for more than 40 years, Tucker said he was always enamored with flight but never expected to be one of the most successful aerobatic pilots of his time.

He was afraid to fly at all, so Tucker chose to face that fear by learning to fly upside down, sideways, and in multiple loops.

“I fly for the dance now,’’ Tucker said.

Tucker claims to be the only aerobatic pilot to perform a triple ribbon cut, in which he flies 20 feet above the ground cutting ribbons placed on three poles.

The stunts he pulls off require tremendous amounts of practice. Tucker’s days “off’’ include practice flights and taxing workouts to prepare his body for the G-forces he endures during performances.

In all, he’s racked up more than 27,000 hours of flying and 1,300 performances.

“I feel like I’m at the top of my game right now,’’ he said.

So why stop?

“My gut is telling me to,’’ Tucker said.

Tucker isn’t really retiring, though. He’s hanging up his solo career but plans to assemble a peformance team in the next year.

“He’s relentless,’’ said John De Gennaro, 27, who flies Tucker’s chase plane and hopes to be on the performance team.

De Gennaro, of Santa Clara, Calif., remembers being a child and watching Tucker fly airshows. With his extraordinary bank of stunts, Tucker was a larger-than-life figure for young De Gennaro.

“I never imagined I would get a chance to fly with him,’’ he said.

Tucker also serves as chairman for Young Eagles, which has allowed more than 2 million children to experience flight since it was established in 1992, according to the organization.

Tucker, who helps select children through essay contests to fly with him in his aircraft, has seen how transformative flight can be for young people.

“They resonate with the freedom,’’ he said.

Emily Williams can be reached at emily.williams@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @emilye_williams.