The Flying Dentist: Dr. Bill Shortt is much more than a casual pilot

Dr. Bill Shortt has mixed dentistry and aviation for most of his life, but his love of flying soared to a new level two years ago when he bought a vintage military jet and began performing in air shows.

Shortt, 62, grew up in West Branch, Michigan, the son of a dentist who owned an airplane. He shared his father’s love of flying from an early age, earning his pilot’s license at age 17 and becoming a flight instructor at 21. He dreamed of being a military fighter pilot, but opted instead for a career in dentistry.

Being a dentist has not kept him from being airborne. He and his wife Therese have practiced dentistry in South Lyon, Michigan, since they graduated from U-M in 1987. From the start, Bill also worked part-time at his father’s dental office in West Branch. Two days a week, Bill would climb into his small plane and fly the 140 miles north to West Branch, then return that evening. Even after his father retired, he continued the aerial commute and has done so for 37 years, although he recently reduced his practice schedule to one day a week in West Branch and two in South Lyon.

The commutes to West Branch are only part of Shortt’s extensive flying portfolio and certifications in many types of planes. He has always owned a general aviation plane, upgrading to better models over the years, for the West Branch commute and family trips around the country. He also has nearly always owned a second plane, more for fun than utility, including a float plane and a T-28 Trojan, a 1950s-era military trainer aircraft used by the U.S. Air Force and Navy.

Shortt took the second plane tradition to a much higher level two years ago when he purchased an Aero L-39 Albatross, which is a Czechoslovakian-produced, single-engine jet designed as a light-attack fighter plane. Several countries, primarily in Eastern Europe, still use the plane in their militaries after its initial production run-up in the early 1970s. It also is one of the most widely used training jets in the world, notable for its comparatively simple design and controls that help introduce pilots to flying jets. In recent decades, vintage versions of the plane have become popular with private owners who are part of a small but tightly connected community of pilots who fly and maintain various types of historic “warbirds.”

Shortly after being certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly the L-39, Shortt accepted an invitation to join a group of L-39 pilots who do formation flying and aerobatics at air shows around the country. It requires extensive training, practice and additional FAA certifications.

“From day one, I was hooked,” Shortt said of his first practices for formation flying. “It was: oh, my gosh, this is the greatest thing ever. Flying three feet off of somebody else’s wing. And you take off together and land together, doing aerobatics in formation. I think I had a bit of a knack for it. And I’m telling you that, other than being a parent, it is the coolest thing I have ever done. It is just so much fun.”

His regular group of up to six pilots perform as the Czech Mate Demo Team, a nod to the country of origin for their L-39s. The other pilots are from Michigan and adjoining states, but Shortt sometimes fills in for demo teams based as far away as Texas when they have a pilot who can’t make an air show. The demo team meticulously plots their aerobatic flying sequence for each performance at a sort of ground-school discussion, then go airborne to practice and make sure the maneuvers flow perfectly.

Shortt has already performed at numerous air shows around the country, including the renowned, week-long event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as well as Traverse City and Flint in Michigan. Large photos on the walls of the South Lyon dental office show Shortt and his L-39 flying in close formations, sometimes with two or three aircraft, often with nine or ten in a squadron. The gallery includes Shortt’s plane and his teammates zooming above scenic shorelines, the Mackinac Bridge and the Sleeping Bear Dunes during practice flights.

The dark navy-and-gray camouflage paint pattern of Shortt’s L-39 makes it look like a working military jet, but there are a couple of hints that it is his private plane. His pilot’s helmet, which is visible through the canopy when he’s flying, is a replica of the distinctive winged helmets worn by his beloved Michigan football team. And when the plane is viewed from below or when it banks, the university’s Block M logos are revealed on the underside of each wing.

It’s not lost on Shortt that he is lucky to have both a successful dentistry career and the opportunity to log an astounding total of nearly 15,000 hours of flight over his lifetime. Even as he has pulled back a bit on his dentistry practice and embraced his new-found passion for aerobatics, he wants his patients to know that he isn’t retiring anytime soon. “I’ve always absolutely loved dentistry. If I didn’t absolutely love it, I would have stopped doing it a long time ago. I still love it,” he says.

It’s the same sentiment he brings to flying. He observes that he never made it to the military to be a fighter pilot, but all these years later he is now fortunate to be doing air show performances not unlike the Navy Blue Angels and the Air Force Thunderbirds. “I’m flying jets and I never had to do a push-up,” he says with a broad smile.