Safe in the south harbor of Menomonee Valley reside trucks and tents connected to and from American Family Field by cords snaking from here to who knows where. It’s three hours before Labor Day gametime and two men sitting under a white tent are already seeing how the game will unfold, high above the cathedral in which it is played. Michael Hoeppner and Kyle Arn pilot the drones that soar overhead Bernie Brewer’s chalet. They’re the eyes in the sky, the eyes on the sky, and here’s how they navigate their terrestrial space:
This is the kind of stuff that’s keeping me glued to this year’s television broadcast, which I typically have on mute. I am much more a radio guy when it comes to Brewers baseball. This season, however, the shots of an emerging moon or a setting sun have allowed an elemental sense of awe to emerge during the baseball broadcast. Instead of simply zooming in on manager Pat Murphy grinding his teeth on the top steps of the dugout (though we love our Murph), the drone camera allows the viewer to orient themselves to the full context of Milwaukee’s topography. Not only do we get majestic skyline shots between pitches, we also ride the contour of AmFam’s unique architecture, with drones gliding between impossible columns like Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing through the Meridian trench. But this is no movie, no video game: piloting these drones over AmFam, as Han Solo once said, “ain’t like dusting crops, boy.”
Michael Hoeppner: “You start chasing shots, you get hungry for the next sunset.”
Michael’s been flying drones for 10 years. From tiny drones with minimal camera capabilities to drones “with cameras with three lenses and forty minutes of flight time, which is insane.” He invited Kyle to the drone pilot party around 2020. “Michael got me into it,” Kyle says. “Literally everywhere we went, he had his drone. I got into it as well. It’s so freeing. Mike and I, we rely on each other. It’s good to have someone else there. It’s really crucial to have a two-person system to get certain shots. It’s fun to push each other.”
Kyle Arn: “Every movement that we do is completely inputed by our fingers, there’s no programming the drones.”
The drone pilots fly for an hour or more during pregame. They do a ton of shots, any of which can be pulled to use during the broadcast. They are piloting for nearly five consecutive hours, including pregame and postgame. The director might talk the drone pilot through a shot, ask them to hold steady on a shot they like or to go back to a previous shot. But for the most part, the pilots explore the environment, capturing what they believe best serves the broadcast.
“There’s always one or two shots that the directors want, but other than that, it’s just us flying the drone around looking for the best shot,” Kyle explains. “Everything is dictated by the clouds for us. Architecturally, American Family Field is the best.”
I ask Kyle if he’s ever tempted to follow a bird in flight.
“We don’t want to disturb wildlife. It’s very important. But if we can fly 200 feet away and shoot a hawk on the roof, that’s something no one gets to see. That’s where the drone is cool, when we’re showing something no one else gets to see.”
I share that I have often dreamed of orbiting the stadium, enjoying the view of the crowd, the game, the vendors shouting beer-here, maybe pacing a hawk or two. I ask the actual aerial artists what might constitute a dream shot for them.
“Right now,” Kyle shares, “a shot I’ve been pining for is to chase Bernie down the slide.” Then he reveals a dream realized: “I got to work a little bit on the Uecker documentary. Got to do drone stuff for that. My dad was a big Brewers fan, and when he found out he was so proud.”
Michael mentions some shots that made him feel like he was dreaming. “I was orbiting Miz, and I was like, there’s no way I’m filming this guy just throwing pitches right now. I got to film Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr. with flames and stuff…I can’t believe I’m doing this shot!”
Michael Hoeppner: “This job is a dream come true. I love it. I would come here on a day I didn’t have to work if I could do this.”
To be fair, I would not have concocted this assignment if it hadn’t been for The Shot. I’m watching the game and suddenly from far above AmFam…well, I’ll let Paul Simon explain:
He looks around, around
He sees angels in the architecture
Spinning in infinity
He says, “Amen!” and “Hallelujah!”
“The shot that ran parallel to the architecture, high above the stadium,” I ask the pilots, “how did that come up?”
Michael, who has no idea that he could, should he choose to, call me Al, says: “I had to get that shot. The rollercoaster shot.”
I ask: “Is that shot any more difficult to pilot than other shots?”
“No, it’s pretty easy.” Michael says.
Kyle shakes his head and interrupts: “He says that, but it’s a hard shot to get. I’ve done it twice. You’re not just worrying about flying straight, you’ve got the arches next to you, you need to be centered on those arches. When you’re going over the roof, you’re also tilting the camera down, too, to give it that look. He says it’s an easy shot, I’ll say it’s a difficult shot. A lot of people get a drone and we call it 2D flying, one stick at a time. We like to say we want to fly in 3D, come around the corner nicely and reveal stuff.”
“Risk it for the shot,” Michael explains: “We’re the artsier side of it all. At the end of the day we just want to make stuff look good. No matter what, I’m always live.”
Just like the players, Michael and Kyle have to be ready to bring their best for every single game. This game? With my head in the clouds, I nearly forget about the Cubs. Fortunately, the Brewers and Jackson Chourio do not. A two-run 8th inning single and a game-saving catch by the Venezuelan phenom lead to what is ultimately a sweep of the Northsiders, effectively cinching a fourth straight NL Central Division title.
My dream shot? Michael and Kyle piloting a drone each, one entering the stadium via the South Dock, the other through the home dugout, and the two mechanical birds meet, midair, to film the eternal arc and spray of champagne erupting from the Brewers clubhouse on October 30, 2026.
Kyle concurs: “I really think they’re gonna win it this year, because Mike and I are working here. Ever since we’ve started they’ve been on this crazy roll…”
Michael Hoeppner
Instagram: @mister_mke
Professional site: http://mistermke.pic-time.com
Kyle Arn
Instagram: @wisco_roamer
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