San Francisco Army veteran flies through Fleet Week with passion, inspiration
By Lauren Toms
From one thousand feet above the San Francisco Bay, the city unfolds like a postcard, stretching from the Golden Gate Bridge to the downtown skyline; it’s a view unlike any other.
For pilot and Army veteran Gregory Colyer, it’s also home.
“When I’m loitering before I start the show, I’m just taking in the scenery and getting my mind in the game,” he said, describing the calm moments before his aerobatic Fleet Week routine begins.
This year marks Colyer’s 15th time flying in the San Francisco Fleet Week Air Show, an annual celebration that brings thousands of spectators to the waterfront. For him, it’s not just another performance. It’s a return to the skies that first inspired him as a kid.
“To honor the history of our services and the history of the aircraft that I fly, and then hopefully inspiring that next generation to go, ‘I want to do that as a living,’ whether it’s a pilot or an engineer or a mechanic just inspiring that next generation that they could achieve their dreams as well,” Colyer told CBS News Bay Area.
Before the big show, Colyer took CBS News Bay Area reporter Lauren Toms up for a spin in his 1940s Stearman biplane, the same model used to train World War II aviators.
The vintage plane is also steeped in Hollywood history, as the same model was used by Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning,” where the actor famously dangled from its wing. Today, though, Colyer handled all the stunts himself.
But when Fleet Week arrives, it’s not the biplane that takes center stage. Instead, Colyer, known by his call sign “Wired,” commands the T-33 Shooting Star, America’s first operational jet fighter and trainer.
“Sometimes after [an airshow] I can see, still see my entire demo hang in there with the smoke,” he said, describing the lingering trail his jet leaves across the Bay skies.
The T-33 may be a relic of the early jet age, but under Colyer’s hands, it still screams with power.
“When I land is when I, you know, I get this big smile. I shut down the engine. I have this huge smile on my face. And that’s when the rush hits,” he said.
For Colyer, Fleet Week isn’t just a performance, it’s a personal story of passion, service, and inspiration.
