Brighton High School grad Shane Bilek added to the thrill of the Detroit Tigers’ Opening Day win as one of the four pilots who flew their A-10 Warthog fighter jets over the crowd at Comerica Park.
The flyover, Bilek said, was an “incredible experience.”
“There are lots of nerves involved,” he said. “There are a lot of people in the stadium, and you want to look good, which means you need to do a tight formation.”
Bilek explained that while the A-10 pilots fly close all the time, it’s not usually in front of so many people. Since his job as a wingman is to pay attention to the plane next to him, he had no idea how well the flyover was going until the crew member on the ground said, “You look good, guys.”
Friday marked the third flyover at a sporting event for Bilek, a pilot with the 107th Fighter Squadron of the 127th Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. He piloted an A-10 Warthog as part of last year’s Opening Day ceremonies at Comerica Park, and he was one of four pilots flying over The Big House for the Wolverine’s 2021 season opener against Western Michigan University.
It was The Big House flyover that put Bilek’s collegiate loyalty to the test.
“They wanted me to wear a Michigan hat,” said Bilek, a WMU grad. “It was a super nice hat, too, but I had to pass.” Instead, Bilek waved it.
Military service and flying run strong in Bilek’s family.
Bilek, who graduated from Brighton High School in 2012, grew up with a father who took to the skies for a living.
“I didn’t quite understand what it was,” Bilek said, “but I knew I wanted to do it.”
His father, Brian Bilek, piloted the exact same plane that his son flies today when he was at the Air National Guard Base in Battle Creek from 1990-2000.
These days, Brian Bilek works a desk job with the Air Operations Group at Battle Creek. He also flies for UPS.
Bilek — the oldest sibling — and his two brothers have followed in their dad’s military footsteps.
Colin Bilek, a hockey player at West Point Military Academy, was recently named an All-American, and he could be playing professionally sometime soon, Bilek said. His youngest sibling is Liam Bilek, who is also serving at Selfridge.
“He and I get to work together,” Bilek said.
One of the things Bilek is hoping to get sometime soon is a photo of the four Bilek men in their uniforms.
And as thrilling as flying is for Bilek, he is looking forward to the start of a new journey as he gets married to Tawny Klesz on May 14.
“I couldn’t be luckier,” he said.
