Meet Capt Aimee ‘Rebel’ Fiedler: F-16 Viper Demo Team Pilot

U.S Air Force (USAF) Captain Aimee “Rebel” Fiedler may be a distinguished female fighter pilot, but if you ask her, the ideology that women in aviation are rare shouldn’t exist.

“The more we try to glamorize and glorify women in this role, the less we’re normalizing it,” she told Skies. “I grew up in an environment where I was the only girl on the team. [As a child], I played on a boys’ soccer team until my sophomore year [of high school]. No one ever said, ‘You can’t play soccer at this level.'”

Fiedler feels “a responsibility to be an example of hard work and excellence to girls and boys around the world,” she said.

“And really, the answer should be [to become] the best player on the field, and then they have to let you play.”

With more than 2,000 flying hours accumulated during her six years of military service, as well as her time as a civilian flight instructor, she has no qualms about whether or not she earned her spot on the USAF F-16 Viper Demonstration Team.

From her office at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina, the current F-16 Viper Demo pilot recently joined Skies for an interview. While sharing her passion for military aviation and a fondness for the F-16, she shared that her team was hard at work preparing the aircraft for the next performance.

Fiedler achieved her position as commander and pilot for the Viper Demo Team following extensive training, including multiple certification flights.

“I learned on the T-6 [Texan II], the T-38 [Talon], as well as the F-16 [Fighting Falcon],” she said.

“My favorite aircraft is definitely the F-16 because of its power, speed, and everything it can do. It’s such a tactical aircraft. So, it’s hard for it not to be my favorite,” she quipped.

Yet, despite her hard work and proven ability, she admits that she will often “wake up in the morning [to] comments on Instagram or YouTube about how girls shouldn’t be in combat roles.”

As a result, she feels “a huge responsibility to represent women at the highest standard; to show that you can be successful in a male-dominated environment without sacrificing your femininity.”

Originally from New Braunfels, Texas, Fiedler graduated from South Dakota State University with a bachelor of science in aviation education.

True to the creed that “great pilots are made, not born,” she worked hard to get where she is — bringing her A-game to play on a team of men and women who she says helped make her who she is today by challenging her at the highest level.

After Fiedler attended Undergraduate Pilot Training and Fighter Fundamentals, she then joined the F-16 Viper B-course at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. It was while stationed at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea that she earned her call sign, Rebel.

When asked if she considers herself a rebel, she responded with, “Yes, and no. I’ll find ways to get the things I need to get done, but all within the regulation,” she jested.

Following her assignment in Korea, she was allocated to the 55th Fighter Squadron at the 20th Fighter Wing as an operational F-16 Flight Lead. During this assignment, she was selected as the F-16 Viper Demo Team pilot for the 2022 season.

As the team’s commander, Fiedler skillfully demonstrates the combat capabilities of the F-16, also known as the “Viper.”

“When you travel to airshows, you are meeting the next generation of fighter pilots and airmen, and that inspires me to do my job better,” said Fiedler. “They are the ones that are going to be flying alongside me or trained up to take on this mission after my time is done. We get to show the people we meet that this is an attainable goal, and as long as they set themselves up for success, they can do this job.”

The Viper Demo Team currently consists of eight members who Fiedler admits were the reason she was so motivated to join the crew.

“We have a superintendent, a non-commissioned officer in charge, three crew chiefs, an avionics specialist, and an environmental specialist,” she said.

Responsible for maintaining and readying the jet for airshow performances, the team members are “some of the most fantastic humans” Fiedler has ever met.

The 2022 F-16 Viper airshow season consists of 21 performances across North America, and Fiedler shared that the people who attend the shows keep her motivation and mindset intact throughout the busy season. “Meeting new people at every show is one of the main things that prevents burnout.”

She added: “It’s every time you meet a new kid who has never seen the demo before. It’s the fact that some people have waited maybe two years or drove seven hours to get here. It’s impossible to feel burnout when you hear the stories of people who have traveled super far just to watch your show.”

Before each show, she likes to “get into the zone” by removing herself from the airshow environment.

“Normally, that means sitting in my rental car, listening to music. I have a playlist I listen to,” she shared.

Her favorite maneuver is a no-brainer: The Falcon Turn because it’s “dynamic and shows how maneuverable the F-16 is. . . . It’s my favorite because it’s the most athletic. And flying the Viper is already super athletic, but the Falcon Turn is the peak of the aircraft’s performance. It shows you just how maneuverable the aircraft is.

“Basically, I start in a 90-degree and pitch up and away from the crowd,” she explained. “Then, after gaining about 200 feet of altitude, I roll under and return in the other direction. So, it’s like an infinity symbol or a figure eight. I’m vertical and horizontal at the same time, and it’s really cool to showcase that capability.”

Her message to those who find themselves manifesting their own figure eight in the sky?

“Make yourself a well-rounded individual. . . . Get good grades, play sports, play musical instruments. I think these skills directly translate to success in the aviation world.

“[Similar to] playing the violin, learning how to use both your hands at the same time — making them do different things — has definitely translated to success when it comes to flying very complicated aircraft,” added Fiedler.

At the end of the day, she hopes to convey that “seeing a woman in the skies is not a rarity,” and “all great aviators, man or woman, should be celebrated.”

Because, ultimately, the best players get to play!