Flying Sideways: The Interview with the World's Most Famous Stunt Pilot Fred North

Bond on Cinema

Flying Sideways: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Stunt Pilot

In his gripping, surprising, and wildly entertaining new memoir, Fred North tells the incredible true story of how he became the most famous film stunt helicopter pilot in the world.

As a young, misunderstood boy, Fred North was never a fan of the rules. Then, on an unremarkable day in 1969, a helicopter touched down in his hometown of Saint-Louis, Senegal, and turned his world upside down. Fifty years later, he's Hollywood's go-to stunt pilot with a world altitude record and over two hundred film credits to his name, including Inception, James Bond: Spectre, and Fast X. But a lot of incredible things happened in between.

Flying Sideways tells the thrilling but heartfelt story of how a misfit boy with nothing but a dream breaks the rules, beats the odds, and learns to bet on himself. Against a vibrant global backdrop that touches down everywhere from New York City to Mongolia to Madagascar, we follow Fred as he deserts the French Army (in roller skates), talks his way into flight school, becomes chief pilot for the world's greatest rally car and adventures races, gets mixed up with DEA in Miami, dodges death (many times), and―perhaps most improbably―falls in love.

Flying Sideways is a non-stop thrill ride, reminding us that the most dangerous thing we can do with life is give up on it.

About Fred North

In 1985, Fred North began his career as a Camera Helicopter Pilot flying for desert rally car races. From the jungles of Costa Rica and Madagascar to the Eurasian Steppe and the Swiss Alps, Fred has flown in some of the world's most perilous and demanding conditions, serving as Camera Helicopter Pilot and Chief Pilot for world renowned rally car races such as "Paris-Dakar" and "Paris-Moscow-Beijing" and as coordinator for the famous sport trek, "Raid Gauloises." At 32, determined to use his skills as a pilot and his natural eye for the camera to tell stories, Fred makes the transition to from "pilot who films" to Film Pilot.

Specializing in the film industry for more than 30 years, Fred is an expert in aerial cinematography having accumulated more than 15,000 hours shooting feature films and commercials, and more than 21,000 total flying hours. He has worked on a number of blockbusters and franchises, including the Fast and Furious series, Transformers, Bad Boys, Guardians of the Galaxy, Gladiator, The Incredible Hulk, Inception, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, The Last Airbender, Kong: Skull Island, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pacific Rim: Uprising, X-Men: The Last Stand, and many more.

Working out of Los Angeles, Fred possesses extensive aerial film experience throughout the world and enjoys collaborating with filmmakers to ensure a selection of the best camera systems and helicopters based on director, cinematographer, and script requirements. He carries helicopter pilot licenses to fly in over 65 countries and holds the World Record for Altitude with a Helicopter, accomplished in South Africa, March 2002.

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