If you plan to catch the air show at Shriners Fest this weekend -- between the wild stunts you may wonder who is sitting in the cockpit. Eyewitness News talks to Tim Weber -- the aerobatic pilot for team Geico who is also known for his musical talent.
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Tim Weber's passion for flying started when he was a little boy. He says he would bike to Turf Soaring School in Phoenix to stare at the airplanes through a fence. Finally someone told the boy peering through the chain-link fence that he could fly a glider when he was 14-years-old.
"I went peddling home on my bicycle and told my dad I wanted to be a pilot," says Weber. He says his father told him he could do anything he wanted to but he had to learn do it by himself. So 13-year-old Weber traded work for flight lessons, working about an hour for each minute of lessons. He says the rest is history.
He says he has been doing aerobatic flying as his only job for about 15 years. Weber is among several pilots participating in the Shriners Fest air show.
"We all have our bag of tricks," says Weber. "The point is to make the plane do what planes aren't supposed to do."
The Shriners say Weber will give the audience something to talk about. "When you see Tim you figure out that he ain't right. Some of the things he does in the air just shouldn't be done. But he says that's what his plane was built for," says Dale Thomas, Shriners Fest Director of Marketing.
Thomas says Weber's performance isn't just a thrill for the eyes. The air show pilot is also a musician. He writes and performs the music played during every performance.
Weber says he wants to create an experience that glues an audience to him. Between Weber's notoriously wild tricks in the air and music in the background the Shriners say it will be no chore to watch the show.
The Shriners Fest air show is Saturday at 1 p.m. A total of six teams will perform in the air show.
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Tim Weber's passion for flying started when he was a little boy. He says he would bike to Turf Soaring School in Phoenix to stare at the airplanes through a fence. Finally someone told the boy peering through the chain-link fence that he could fly a glider when he was 14-years-old.
"I went peddling home on my bicycle and told my dad I wanted to be a pilot," says Weber. He says his father told him he could do anything he wanted to but he had to learn do it by himself. So 13-year-old Weber traded work for flight lessons, working about an hour for each minute of lessons. He says the rest is history.
He says he has been doing aerobatic flying as his only job for about 15 years. Weber is among several pilots participating in the Shriners Fest air show.
"We all have our bag of tricks," says Weber. "The point is to make the plane do what planes aren't supposed to do."
The Shriners say Weber will give the audience something to talk about. "When you see Tim you figure out that he ain't right. Some of the things he does in the air just shouldn't be done. But he says that's what his plane was built for," says Dale Thomas, Shriners Fest Director of Marketing.
Thomas says Weber's performance isn't just a thrill for the eyes. The air show pilot is also a musician. He writes and performs the music played during every performance.
Weber says he wants to create an experience that glues an audience to him. Between Weber's notoriously wild tricks in the air and music in the background the Shriners say it will be no chore to watch the show.
The Shriners Fest air show is Saturday at 1 p.m. A total of six teams will perform in the air show.
