SDSU Alum and Fighter Pilot Makes History in Inaugural Snapdragon Stadium Flyover

Fowler grad leads the coordination effort for the Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet flyover prior to the Stadium’s first kickoff

By Suzanne Finch

Two F/A-18 Hornets fly over Snapdragon Stadium immediately prior to the first game played in the new stadium (Courtesy of SDSU)

For U.S. Marine fighter pilot and San Diego State University alumnus, Capt. Christopher “Vlad” Willis, his first event flyover was a memorable one: He flew an F/A-18 Hornet over SDSU’s new Snapdragon Stadium prior to the first-ever football game played there on September 3, 2022. 

Though the fans sitting at Snapdragon stadium that day saw the planes for only a few seconds, the planning that went into the flyover took months of coordination between the Marine Corps, MCAS Miramar (where the flight originated) and the Federal Aviation Administration. Willis became one of the driving forces to make the flyover a reality. 

The “Top Gun” Connection
Willis, who earned his financial services degree from SDSU’s Fowler College of Business in 2014, initially enlisted in the Marine Corps because he loved the movie “Top Gun” as a child and dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot. While stationed in San Diego, he was accepted into the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program, which sets the foundation for enlisted personnel to earn their college degrees and paves the way for them to become Marine Corps officers. 

Since becoming an officer was the only way for Willis to live his dream of becoming a fighter pilot, he enrolled at SDSU with the help of MECEP. “I’d spent 14 of my 20 years of service in San Diego and I started pulling for the local sports teams, including the Aztecs,” said Willis, a native of Mellow Valley, Alabama. “So, when it came time to select a college, SDSU was an easy choice.”

In 2015, one year after graduating from SDSU, Willis reported to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida where he earned his wings. Then it was back to San Diego’s Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in August 2018, which is where he was stationed when he learned about the Snapdragon Stadium flyover.

“I received an email with a list of Marine Corps approved flyovers and while I was scrolling through it, I saw the SDSU season opener,” said Willis. “I immediately emailed the point of contact and asked if they would like an F/A-18 to support this event.” 

Willis sits in the cockpit of a U.S. Marine Corps  F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet

Discipline
Willis didn’t know it at the time, but the Marine Corps approval he saw in the email was only the first step into uncharted territory and it would take one of the most important skills he learned as an SDSU student to make his first flyover a reality. “While the Marine Corps does a good job of instilling discipline, I learned a different kind of discipline at SDSU,” said Willis. “While I was in school, I learned how to reach goals when there was no one looking over your shoulder. This is the type of discipline you need to help you set standards and succeed at given tasks.” 

And it took plenty of discipline and tenacity to coordinate the details of the flyover mainly because the stadium site presented some unique challenges. “Snapdragon Stadium has a north-south orientation where Qualcomm Stadium had an east-west orientation,” said Willis. “Because of this, we would need to come from MCAS Miramar and fly into San Diego’s international airspace, which is extremely busy. This required extensive collaboration between the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and the FAA to approve the flight plan.”

After weeks of using simulators to formulate and test the flyover’s planned timing and synchronization, Willis was given the necessary approvals on September 1— only two days before kick-off.

Fowler alumnus, Christopher Willis (right), with fellow Marine Corps aviators Bentley and Silvia on the field of Snapdragon Stadium shortly after their flyover (Courtesy of SDSU)

Making History
Shortly before the opening kickoff, Willis and Marine fighter pilot, Capt. Austin Bentley, and Weapons Systems Officer Mike Silvia, took off in their fighter jets, flew over the stadium, and made history as they set the stage for all future Snapdragon Stadium flyovers. 

After they successfully flew in a southern direction at low altitude over the stadium, they continued south for approximately 22 miles before landing at Brown Field Municipal Airport in the Otay Mesa region of San Diego. After landing, they drove up to Snapdragon Stadium to watch the second half of the game. 

During the third quarter, the trio took the field, where they were recognized and applauded for their ground-breaking flight and their military service. Few, if any, in the crowd realized the effort undertaken to make this flight a reality. But to Willis, it was not only an opportunity to participate in his first flyover, but to honor his alma mater. 

“I am very humbled and honored to have been able to support SDSU,” he said. “My wife (Ada Willis, ’22, MA-Communication) and I are both SDSU alumni and we are proud to see all the improvements to the campus and all SDSU is doing for the neighboring communities.”