Why do we fly?
Filmmaker Michael Bud isn’t a recreational or professional pilot, but with friends who are both, he’s been involved in those circles for many years. He had long considered creating a documentary answering the question, “Why do we fly?” but never took the first step.
When working on another documentary a year ago, Bud interviewed an 82-year-old pilot who’d learned to fly in Alaska, and his son, who earned his license in his 40s. That became the catalyst for Bud to launch his next project: “Why do We Fly? Love Letters to Aviation,” documenting the passion of aviation. The film is under development. Bud is director and producer.
“Every pilot remembers their first flight as a moment that changed their life,” Bud says. His goal is to answer the question of why fly and bring attention as well as support for general aviation. Bud began collecting pilots’ stories.
For the 82-year-old pilot, flying remotely in Alaska was the only way to get around. One day, the pilot’s son, who was six at the time, took his first flight when he became injured and his father had to fly him for medical treatment.
“But he was so excited that he literally forgot about his injury,” Bud said of the son. “Then, in his 40s, when most people say, ‘Hey, it’s too late to pick up a new skill,’ he earned his pilot’s license, and he’s flying now for search and rescue.”
Bud, who owns a production company, envisions the documentary as an immersive experience to showcase pilots’ passion for aviation. He plans to highlight what it feels like to fly in the backcountry, down a canyon, or through the clouds.
He also knows aviation has a problem with perception. There are many who don’t understand the benefits of aviation, think it isn’t needed or that it is only for the rich, he said.
“What we’re trying to do with the film, we’re trying to explain those benefits,” Bud said. “There’s a whole lot of benefits that an aviation community brings to our lives ... Almost every pilot I meet, most of them volunteer Young Eagles (a program to give discovery flights to young people) and to kind of pass the torch. And if they cannot volunteer, then they would give their friends’ rides ... Almost every pilot will do whatever is in their power to show you why they’re doing it and why it’s so good.”
Bud and his team have cooperation from the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and a team that includes Fred North, a veteran stunt pilot and aerial coordinator with more than 200 film credits, and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Lawrence Lasker, he said.
Most of the research has been completed. Bud still needs to raise money to begin filming and is in conversations. Bud hopes to film throughout the spring and early summer months with release in 2027.
The project’s website is https://loveletterstoaviation.com.
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