Less Power to Him at Air Show

Pilot Bret Willat’s favorite time to perform at air shows is immediately after the noisiest, most aggressive military routine in the lineup. “The spectators’ ears are hurting and they are ready for a break from all the noise,” said the 40-year-old West Point graduate. “The sailplane’s grace and beauty is the perfect response to the jet’s show of power and force,” he said.

Willat begins his routine with a few slow, graceful circles, “because that’s the only thing most people think a sailplane is capable of,” he said. Then he breaks into a series of aerobatic loops and rolls. The sailplane’s strength and versatility surprise most spectators. From Willat’s in-flight narration, onlookers learn of the sailplane’s place in military history, “which is right up there with jets and load-carrying cargo planes,” he said.

According to Willat, a sailplane is the best vehicle for a pilot to sense how a plane flies, and many countries--including the United States, republics of the former Soviet Union and Great Britain--still use them to train fighter pilots.

Willat flies a German-made Grob G-103 Acro, with a 36-to-one glide ratio. That means for every 36 feet, only 1 foot of altitude is lost. “That’s the difference between a glider and a sailplane,” he said. A glider’s ratio is much less, usually only 20 to 1.”

The Grob model is capable of climbing up to 50,000 feet and traveling as far as 1,000 miles.

Willat operates Sky Sailing, a glider and sailplane operation in Warner Springs (near San Diego), with his wife, Karen, and sons Garret and Boyd, who act as ground crew during his performances.

Willat was left partially paralyzed after a 1985 accident in a tow plane and has a special interest in teaching quadriplegics and paraplegics how to fly. “I haven’t let my injury affect my flying, and they are encouraged by that,” he said. “I want people to see that they can go on doing what they love to do, or take up a new sport after being injured. I love the freedom of flight, and that’s why I chose sailplanes over powered aircraft,” said Willat, who once flew powered aircraft with the legendary stunt performer Art Scholl, who was killed while filming scenes for the movie “Top Gun.”

“Sailplanes navigate the world’s other ocean, the beautiful blue sky,” said Willat. “They are about beauty and freedom. That’s what I hope to illustrate during my performance at El Toro.”

Bret Willat performs at 11:15 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at the El Toro Air Show. Information: (714) 726-2100.