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Flying
With With Alix Lambert
Featured in "Life 360" on PBS
Friday, Jan. 11, 2002; 3 p.m. EST

"To fly -- it was once the dreams of poets and the diagrams of mad scientists. But in this past hundred years of altitude, our love affair with flying has been souring with every delayed flight out of O'Hare. For better or worse, flight is a part of our lives. So it's time we reconnected with the romance of being airborne." These are the words of Alix Lambert, a filmmaker who takes flight on Life 360.

Lambert explores all aspects of flying, asking the principle question: Why do we want to do it? In the course of her Life 360 piece, she learns to fly a small plane, flies on the Goodyear Blimp, rides with the Blue Angels and experiences weightlessness with NASA trainees in Houston.

Lambert is an independent filmmaker with a background in art. Her work has appeared in feature films, television broadcasts, and film and video exhibitions around the world. In the United States, her work has been seen repeatedly on ABC News Nightline. Lambert also teaches documentary film at the California Institute of the Arts.

The transcript follows.

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Arlington, Va.: Since we haven't seen the show yet, I assume its about your experiences learning how to fly. What made you decide to do this? Was it a lifelong desire?

Alix Lambert: It's partly about my learning to fly, but also about threads on other people's desire to be airborn. I've always been interested in flying. I love to fly -- the whole sensation of being airborn. Part of the show is the weightless vomit comit and there's also a theater group involved. So, not just aviation, but all kinds of flying and being airborn.

Wichita,Kan.: What was it that made you want to get into making documentary films?

Alix Lambert: My background's in photography and fine arts and conceptual art with video components and that work had a nontraditional documentary aspect to it. I'm interested in learning about the world.

I made a fake documentary that was kind of a Spinal Tap type film, then I made my feature lenghth on Russian Prisons and that I wanted it to have a different audience than my art projects, so I made that and really had a great experience and so I continued the interest in that.

Alabama: Flying with the Blue Angels must have been unbelievable. What types of maneuvers did they perform? What do you think it is about the Angels that are so appealing, so All-American? I think there is sort of a romantism about the Blue Angels.

Alix Lambert: It was amazing and we did every maneuver they do in the airshow except it was just me with one Angel.

What makes them so appealing? They're exciting. It's impressive and exhilirating and even more impressive once you fly with them. Especially right now, with a feeling of patriotism they kind of symbolize the brave armed forces in a sort of way that is a exhilirating -- the flying, the speed, the accuracy and skill is impressive.

Washington, D.C.: In light of what happened on Sept. 11, did you feel at all strange or trepidacious about doing a show on "flying?" Was the show made before or after Sept. 11?

Alix Lambert: I started before Sept. 11 and then a number of things happened. Sept. 11 stopped production because flights were grounded, civilians were banned from military planes, which caused logistical problems. Then of course, I knew I had to be sensitive to people's feelings about flying and address that which I would not have done before Sept. 11.

Luckily for me, Patty Wagstaff said this is a horrible thing that happened and it's too bad that this was the tool that was used because flying is one of the most amazing things and people need to see that as well.

Alexandria, Va.: What do you mean by a Theater Group being involved?

Alix Lambert: In the show, there's also a theatre group that performs hanging from wires flying through the air, so that's another form of wanting to fly that I wanted to include in the program.

Washington, D.C.: Can you talk about flying with the NASA trainees? I've read interviews with actors who've flown in the "vomit comet" and it sounds like an experience I definitely couldn't handle. What was it like?

Alix Lambert: You can handle it! It's really amazing once in a lifetime experience, but not scary. Just incredible not to have gravity, but you're also super strong. The people at NASA are great about telling you what to expect, and how to keep from getting sick or bumping into things and getting hurt.

Washington, D.C.: Sounds crazy, but I've wanted to ride on the Goodyear Blimp since I was a kid. How is the experience different from being in a plane?

Alix Lambert: The Goodyear Blimp is the only thing that ended up not included in the piece because all of my footage was flying around New York City with the World Trade Center in the shots, so we didn't use it.

As far as what it feels like -- much more mellow, it's really slow moving. It's nice and soft.

Arlington, Va.: Did you like learning to fly the small plane? I'm not a white-knuckle flyer, and I've never had any problem with going airborne. But I just don't seem to share that passion for piloting a plane that so many people have. There seems to be a culture around wanting to fly -- can you talk about it?

Alix Lambert: I loved learning how to fly. THere are people who are super-passionate about it. I don't have the desire to that level, but I think it's like anything else you're passionate about -- there's a group of people who get satisfction out of flying aircraft. You could spend the rest of your life doing that.

It was very fun.

Arlington, Va.: Have you ever been afraid of flying as a passenger or pilot? And, if so, how did you overcome that fear?

I hate to fly now. I used to love it as a child but had a bad experience almost 10 years ago now on a commercial jet and I now have panic attacks for the duration of any flights I have to take.

Alix Lambert: I'm not afraid of flying. I'm afraid of heights, but unenclosed ones. So I'm terrified of standing on the edge of a cliff, but not of flying.

New York, N.Y.: Clearly, since I've seen other films dealing with military planes, it's not an off-limits thing. But what kind of clearances or logistical hoops did you have to jump through to get access?

Alix Lambert: They wanted press credentials, a physical from a flight doctor -- those were the two main things, then it's just a matter of scheduling. You also have to send a description of your project and how you want to present them. But they were very accomodating.

Bethesda, Md.: Did you consider putting skydiving in the show?

Alix Lambert: It's in there. The Golden Knights, the Army Airborne Division.

Alexandria, Va.: It must be very strange for you to look back at the footage shot of flying around New York City and the World Trade Centers in a blimp.

Alix Lambert: It is strange. Before Sept. 11 it seemed like beautiful footage and now it still is, but it's also tragic and taken on a whole different feeling. Especially because you're from the view of the airplane, which now seems creepy.

Harrisburg, Pa.: I understand that two of the more common dreams are of flying and of falling. Maybe this means our subconscious wishes it could fly and fears that that it can't. What do you think?

Alix Lambert: Well, funnily enough, I've never had a flying dream. I can't remember what they say in books about what it means, but I know it means something.

Baltimore, Md.: Are there any other projects you are working on? Are you exploring other passions as you did with flying?

Alix Lambert: I'm doing new projects for the same show -- yet to be disclosed! Let's see how they go.

Chapel Hill, N.C.: Did you do it -skydive]? For a person scared of unenclosed heights, hurling yourself out of a plane would be really scary.

Alix Lambert: Actually I have skydived, but it was less scary, because it's a fear of something where there's an edge of something in relation to something. When you jump out of an airplane, you're not going to hit anything for a while.

I'm not doing it in the show, though, with the Golden Knights.

Somewhere, USA: Sorry to get too "well what about this? what about that?", but did you look at ultralight planes? They're a wild hobby -- not to mention dangerous. But I think it's almost like a glider.

Alix Lambert: I did look at them and had a bunch of footage sent to me, but I didn't include it because I only had 30 minutes and so much film. They're totally interesting and maybe I'll put them in something else. I also looked at kit airplanes, they're pretty cool.

Alexandria, Va.: OK, so how do you keep from getting sick in weightlessness? That up-down-up-down thing is more than a little daunting.

Alix Lambert: Well, they give you medicine, so that's helpful. They also tell you when you turn, not to turn your head separate from your body and apparently that's one of the things that makes you sick. Has to do with your inner ears. They give you candies to suck on and make sure that your feet are on the ground when you come out of it cause you're going to hit 2 Gs. Not to have anything acidic for breakfast, nothing to greasy or carbonated. Then they give you a bunch of vomit bags.

Even the people who got sick felt like it was the best time they had and just kept going. But please get it in a bag, cause you are weightless.

New York, N.Y.: Have you ever bungie jumped? That is one thing I could never do.

Alix Lambert: NO and that I have no interest in. That seems horrible -- hurling down and hanging from your ankles?

Bethesda, Md.: Wow...this is a movie I've got to see! Any advice for someone who wants to get a private pilot's license? Especially in light of the suspicion that a lot of people will have after the terrorist attacks?

Thanks, and thanks for the film!

Alix Lambert: You can still just go to a local flight school and start taking lessons. Yes, people are concerned, but nobody's stopping anyone from learning.

Bethesda, Md.: Do you have any thoughts on small plane flights and schools after the case of the teenager who crashed his Cessna into a Miami office building? Have you found the places you fly to be what you'd consider "secure?"

Alix Lambert: I haven't been back to the schools, but again, I feel similarly to what Patty expressed. I think it's tragic that this kid did that and these things are happening, but I don't think its a reason to not fly or stop being interested in flying. Not just interested, but its a vital part of how we live.

Washington, D.C.: So we went from feet to wheeled vehicles to cars to trains to planes... why has there been no move toward a new form of mass public long-distance transportation in the past few decades? It seems as if when commercial jetliners were made, people stopped trying to come up with alternatives.

Alix Lambert: There is the Concord and the space shuttle and we're not far from space tourism. It does seem like we're figuring out what the best way is to fly people around.

Other than planes or some variation on airplanes, you'd have to get into time travel.

Raleigh, N.C.: I saw on the Web site that the Blue Angels don't wear G suits. I was thinking about G forces and the Space Shuttle and flying -- what's a G suit, first of all, and why would it be distracting for a pilot?

Alix Lambert: A G suit, from what I know, inflates and deflates so when you experience high Gs the suit inflates and presses in on you so the blood of your body doesn't rush out of your head and down to your feet. But that inflation and deflation is enough of a distracting movement that if you're flying 10 inches away from another plane at 10,000 feet you don't want to be wearing it. I've never worn one, so if that's wrong, I apologize to the Blue Angels.

Baltimore, Md.: How long do people train to be Blue Angels? How much do the Angels practice their manuevers? With the speed of the aircrafts was your stomach upside down at times?

Alix Lambert: Apparently, once you get your military pilot's license, it's close to six years before you have enough flight hours to try out for the Blue Angels, then you have two years in the Angels before you move on. So, it's a lot of years getting there.

Washington, D.C.: It seems you have an innovative and personal interperative style. What are some of your thoughts for future projects?

Alix Lambert: I'm working on both documentary work and developing a feature film that's not a documentary.

Richmond, Va.: The NASA folks host civilians aboard the vomit comet -- did you get any sense of whether they'll allow more civilians in flight? Sort of like "space tourists."

Alix Lambert: I think that will happen with not necessarily the vomit comet at NASA, but other private companies are building the same type of aircraft for the reason of using it commercially. In Russia, you can pay.

Alexandria, Va.: What was the one most interesting thing you learned in your quest for flight?

Alix Lambert: It was all pretty interesting, I don't know if I could pick one thing. It was all one good experience after another.

Washington, D.C.: Breaking the sound barrier didn't feel like anything special? Wow -- I guess fast is fast is fast and once you've done it it's the norm. Just reading that made me think of the whole quest to fly so fast.

Alix Lambert: It seemed like when you "break" the barrier, the plane would jump, but nothing happened, you're just going a different speed. I didn't mean it wasn't special!

Washington, D.C: Did you do a sumersault while you were weightless?

Alix Lambert: Oh ya, absolutely.

Alix Lambert: You lift your legs up and you don't fall. It's very weird.

Washington, D.C.: Can you ever again look at taking a plane from place to place -- delays at the airport or no -- as just transportation?

Alix Lambert: Ya, because I'm on a darn plane every week as transportation. I fly a lot and I don't always look at it as some event. If you have to go across the country four times in a month, it's annoying.

Alexandria, Va.: I would think the footage taken while flying around the WTC would be a great resource for documentaries in the future. I watched Ric Burns New York on PBS after Sept. 11 and was taken by New York and New Yorkers. The history of the city and its people is amazing. Your film clip will have a place in history and be one I think people will want to see.

Alix Lambert: I'm hanging on to it. It's not inappropriate across the board, just not right for this show.

This show was about the love of flight and there's a different context for that footage that has to be created, I think.

Alix Lambert: Thank you!

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