AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - 62

FAVORITESMIKE FIZER

"One More Time," November 2016 AOPA Pilot: My father, retired U.S. Air Force
Maj. Robert Fizer, belongs to the Super Sabre Society, an organization that preserves the history of the men who flew the North American F-100 Super Sabre. At
the society's annual gathering in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Dean Cutshall offered his
two seat F-100F for $5,000 per flight and retired "Hun" drivers got the chance to feel
the hard kick of the F-100 afterburner one more time. Seeing these men come in from
their flights awash in bliss, watching them reminiscing, and seeing my father with
his peers sent me back to my childhood. But bitter accompanies the sweet with the
realization that these men, and the aircraft they love, are passing on. (Thanks, Pop!)

SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER MIKE FIZER

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow," March 2020 AOPA Pilot: AOPA Senior Editor
Julie Summers Walker had identified several great story ideas in Hawaii and
scrimped and negotiated hard to come up with a budget that made the trip
feasible. Yet, we end up at the Four Seasons Hotel on Lanai; I spend a day
chasing a Cirrus SR22 in a Robinson R44 over stunning scenery; I'm in a Cessna
182 off the wing of the SR22, searching for waterfalls and volcanoes; and then Julie
and I have lunch with a view of the Pacific to die for. I don't know how she did it,
but actually, she didn't. Special thanks to Laurence Balter of Maui Flight Academy,
Nick Moran of Go Fly Maui (see "Pilots," p. 112), David Sacco and his Cessna 182,
and Four Seasons Lanai for helping make this Hawaiian journey financially possible.

"A Daughter's Homecoming," January 2017 AOPA Pilot: With her purchase of a
Cessna 180, then-AOPA senior vice president Katie Pribyl started the ball rolling to fulfill her dream of landing her own airplane on her family's ranch near
Great Falls, Montana. AOPA Editor at Large Dave Hirschman caught wind of
this, and before you know it, a small cadre of AOPA staff departed AOPA headquarters to document Katie's adventure. I got to the Pribyl ranch two days prior to Katie's
arrival to document life on the ranch with her parents, Rod and Julie Pribyl. The hospitality and graciousness of the extended family, the tours of the deserted homesteads
and their histories, and witnessing the rigors of ranching were all humbling. I still
find myself thanking Katie for allowing me to tag along as she achieved her dream.

"Tall Tale [That's True]," August 2014 AOPA Pilot: Dave Hirschman and I
arrived at the Edwards Ranch in West Texas on Easter Sunday to interview
the cantankerous aircraft collector Connie Edwards. Edwards was selling
his legendary collection: 100,000 square feet of jaw-dropping aircraft. I was
in heaven. Edwards was old-money, held strong opinions, and didn't give a hoot
whom he offended. The Edwards family wealth provided him a lifetime of incredible exploits, and you would think him a happy man. Sadly, his son, "Tex" Edwards,
had died the previous year. I saw the sadness that permeated him. And all his comments found offensive faded away, and I could not help but care for the shattered man.

SLIDESHOW

"Iceland Calls," March 2018 AOPA Pilot: When Editor at Large Tom Horne
mentioned an Iceland destination piece, I had to pinch myself. Our contact was
the affable Haraldur Diego, AOPA-Iceland's president, who rolled out the carpet for us. We attended fly-ins, walked under glacier-fed waterfalls, drove the
beautiful countryside-and, of course, went flying. Diego arranged a backseat for me in
Arnar Thor Emilsson's SQ 12 Supercruiser, built by Arnar's father. We flew over surreal
scenery; landed on glaciers, mountaintops, and gravel streams. The Icelanders were as
marvelous and good-natured people as you'll find. One surprise for me was to discover
the Icelanders love their horses-so much so they eat them. My fillet was delicious.
EMAIL mike.fizer@aopa.org

@mike.fizer
62 | AOPA PILOT September 2020

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2020/september/pilot/favorite-shoots-fizer

AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020