AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2016 - 14

LETTERS

PILOT BRIEFING

PEOPLE |

Starting over
How flying gave him his life back
B Y D AV E H I R S C H M A N

had planned to make the Army his career.
"I loved what I did in the military and found
it totally fulfilling because my job was saving American lives, and I was good at it. But
MS disqualified me from serving, and even
though I tried, there was no way around it."
Parker had grown up in southern Ohio,
and his dad took him to airshows throughout the region. He signed up for a private

"There have been lots of highs and lows along the
way, but I consider myself extremely lucky."
-Ben Parker

CHRIS CONE

THE END of his second year-long deployment
to Afghanistan was only a couple weeks
away when U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Benjamin
Parker got a life-altering diagnosis.
The double vision he'd recently experienced wasn't a delayed reaction to a nearby
bomb blast, as the explosive ordnance disposal technician had anticipated. It was
the onset of multiple sclerosis, a chronic
and irreversible neurological disorder that
would immediately end his nine-year military career and force him to reorient his
future.
"I really didn't know anything about MS
at the time, and the more I looked into it, the
more terrified I got," said Parker, 28, who

pilot ground school course
when he returned to the United
States.
When he took the FAA
medical exam in 2011, however, Parker was asked whether
he had ever been treated for a
neurological disorder. Parker
listed MS and was quickly and
predictably rejected-but he
didn't give up. He contacted
AOPA's medical experts and
started building a case for why
he should be allowed to fly.
At the same time, he relocated to Daytona Beach, Florida,
and enrolled in Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University's aviation maintenance program.
"If I couldn't fly," he said, "I
wanted to work on airplanes,
and that could help people stay
safe in a similar way to the work
I had done in the military."
Parker is upbeat and animated by nature. But even
though he was getting perfect
grades at college, he struggled
emotionally. His marriage had
ended, and being around airplanes without being allowed
to learn to fly them took a
toll. (The Light Sport aircraft
category was out of reach,
too, because he had been denied an FAA
medical.)
Parker felt fine physically, his MS was in
remission, and he hadn't had a recurrence
of double vision since returning home. His
application for a special issuance medical
was complete in 2013-and the FAA asked
Parker whether there was anything else he'd
like to add to his paperwork.

40 | AOPA PILOT February 2016

I know all too well the challenges
and rigors Ben Parker faced.
Thanks for sharing his story
of determination and courage
with the aviation community.
James Welty
AOPA 1090067
Ashtabula, Ohio

Best of what's
available

HANGAR TALK

I enjoyed the article "Best of
What's Available," but was surprised no one mentioned the
Bellanca Super Viking. I own a

14 | AOPA PILOT April 2016

Great read! I'm a CFI
that's been teaching
since 2005, with MS.
Your story on Ben
Parker was truly
inspiring. If you can,
let him know he's not
alone. Thank you!

Ken Hirsch
AOPA 1674269
Mountain View, California

1977 Viking, and, the Beechcraft
Baron aside for obvious reasons,
it'll eat anything you mentioned
in the article. My wife and I
bought mine for $65,000 and I
file for 155 knots and get that at
around 12 gph all day. If I want
to burn 18 to 20 gph, I will get
160 to 180 knots depending on
wind, et cetera.
It's also probably the solidest
airplane in GA, with a rollcage
fuselage and a wood wing (please,
never try to say a spam can has a

strong wing!). It also has a useful load of around 900 to 1,000
pounds. If there's a drawback,
it's cabin space. It's "cozy," but
no worse than a Mooney.
Of course, I'm terribly biased.
Ian Shere
AOPA 9474273
Buckeye, Arizona

10 romantic
flying movies

I am writing with regard to
the list of romantic flying movies. Three of the offerings-Top
Gun; Six Days, Seven Nights; and
Always-are respectable choices.
Excellent flying scenes, sappy
love stories, and great airplanes.
The rest of the list, if I may say so,
leaves something to be desired. I
offer some substitutes:
A Guy Named Joe. How
can a list include Always, but
leave out the original starring
Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson,
Irene Dunne, and Ward Bond?
The Flying Tigers. Possibly
the most classic of all romantic
flying movies (albeit an almost
scene-for-scene ripoff of Only
Angels Have Wings).
The Bridges at Toko-Ri.
William Holden and Grace

AOPA Senior Photographer MIKE FIZER admits that
he often misses the scenery in the shots he photographs for the magazine. "I'm humping it," the
veteran aviation photographer says. He's been
shooting for AOPA Pilot since 1988. "I often can't
remember the area because I'm behind the camera, shooting all the time." But for the seaplane
adventure in Minnesota, where he accompanied
Editor at Large DAVE HIRSCHMAN for "REAL-WORLD
SEAPLANES," page 72, Fizer admits to seeing
"stunning, gorgeous country-and a whole lot of
water." Hungry Jack Lodge is just two miles south
of the Canadian border. "It's a fabulous lodge
with really nice cabins." Toting camera equipment
around in a seaplane also exercised Fizer's agility.
"I'm not known for grace and beauty, and I had to
hand down my equipment and remember where
to put my feet. It's always fun to straddle and
cross the struts on a seaplane," he says. "I understand the affection for the Beaver. The romance,
that radial engine, power, and size-and you can
pack it to the gills and go anywhere."

Kelly, F9Fs, and Skyraiders.
Need I say more?
Strategic Air Command.
How could any list of romantic
flying movies leave out Jimmy
Stewart and June Allyson, with
loads of spectacular B-36 and
B-47 flying scenes to boot?
Jet Pilot. John Wayne and
Janet Leigh. You couldn't cast
a more unconvincing Soviet
spy, but any list of romantic flying movies must include this
John Wayne classic, with loads
of great F-86 aerobatics, and
the last flight of the Glamorous
Glennis Bell X-1 with Chuck
Yeager in the cockpit.
The War Lover. Wartime
love triangle with B-17 pilot
Steve McQueen, co-pilot
Robert Wagner, and love-interest Shirley Anne Field. The best
B-17 scenes in any movie, and
plenty of romantic sap.
Out of Africa. Before you
doubt me, I'm pretty sure we
see more flying here than in
Pearl Harbor, but without the
abominable plot. Meryl Streep
and Robert Redford in a de
Havilland Gypsy Moth. Not
some computer-generated
imagery P-40, but a real, firebreathing Gypsy Moth.
Andy Collins
AOPA 4212311
Middlebury, Vermont

Erratum

In the March 2016 AOPA Pilot,
a list of aviation events incorrectly identified the dates of
EAA AirVenture 2016. The
dates are July 25 through 31.
AOPA Pilot regrets the error.
We welcome your comments.
Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland
21701 or email (pilot@aopa.
org). Letters may be edited
for length and style before
publication.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2016