About Fly-n-Eat
The story of two passions — flying and eating — and the husband-and-wife team who built an app to bring them together.
A typewritten list of restaurants started it all
Rick Rzepka has been a recreational pilot for more than 25 years, with his Bonanza based at Cuyahoga County Airport (KCGF) in Cleveland. Like most pilots, he loved the idea of flying somewhere new for a great meal — the classic $100 hamburger run.
One day at his flight school, he asked an instructor where a good place to fly and eat would be. The response? A piece of paper that, in Rick’s words, looked like it had been “typed on a typewriter.”
“I thought, isn’t this 1950-esque?” he recalls. He went online looking for something better and found websites that looked like they were from the 80s. Surely there had to be an app for this.
There wasn’t. So Rick decided to build one.
How Fly-n-Eat came to life
The typewritten list
Rick asks for restaurant suggestions at the FBO and gets a list that feels stuck in the 1950s. He decides there has to be a better way.
Vikki takes the lead
Vikki, a marketing professional, takes on the monumental task of building the database. She pulls information from everywhere and starts making phone calls — a process that covered the entire continental US.
Six months of development
An app development company is brought in. After about six months of development and testing, Fly-n-Eat is ready for the real world.
Launch on App Store and Google Play
Fly-n-Eat launches on Apple and Android with 340+ restaurants in the database. Word spreads quickly through the pilot community.
450+ restaurants, 4,500+ pilots
The app continues to grow with weekly updates from Vikki, restaurant submissions from pilot users, and an expanding CFI/CFII database. New restaurants are added all the time.
Vikki & Dr. Rick Rzepka
A husband-and-wife team from Solon, Ohio, who turned their shared love of flying and food into an app for the entire aviation community.
Dr. Rick Rzepka
Rick has been a private pilot for 25+ years and a practicing dentist in Beachwood, Ohio for over 35 years. He attended The Ohio State University for undergrad and Case Western Reserve University for dental school, where he later taught for 25+ years.
An adventurous eater — Italian, Mexican, Chinese, BBQ, and especially hamburgers — Rick keeps his Bonanza at Cuyahoga County Airport (KCGF) and continues working on his instrument rating.
“My motto right now, even though I am 62, is I’m still trying to figure out what I need to do when I grow up.”
Vikki Rzepka
Vikki is a marketing professional who took on the monumental task of building the Fly-n-Eat restaurant database from the ground up. She personally researched every airport, called restaurants, verified hours, and continues to update the database weekly based on pilot feedback.
Her attention to detail is what makes Fly-n-Eat different from outdated guidebooks and forum threads — every entry is verified, current, and useful.
“The research took a very long time because the app covers the continental U.S. I pulled information from everywhere and then started making phone calls.”
Connecting pilots, restaurants, and the joy of flying
Fly-n-Eat exists to make general aviation more fun, more social, and more rewarding. Every entry in the database supports a small airport restaurant, encourages pilots to explore new destinations, and turns a fuel stop into an adventure.
We’re proud to support local airport businesses that depend on aviation traffic, to introduce new pilots to general aviation through the joy of $100-hamburger runs, and to keep the database accurate so you never fly somewhere only to find it closed on Mondays.
Press & Media Coverage
Fly-n-Eat has been featured in major aviation and lifestyle publications since launch.
AOPA
“App serves pilots who plan around food” — Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Twin & Turbine
“New Fly-N-Eat App Revolutionizes Aviation Dining for Pilots”
General Aviation News
“App launches to help pilots find airport restaurants”
Cleveland Magazine
“Northeast Ohio Couple Launches Fly-n-Eat App”
KitPlanes
“Flying To Lunch Just Got Easiers”
Voyage Ohio Magazine
“Inspiring Conversations with Dr. Rick Rzepka”
Ready to fly somewhere new?
Join 4,500+ pilots already using Fly-n-Eat to find their next favorite airport restaurant.