Stunt Performer and Private Pilot! - Christina Low

Hi everyone! My name’s Christina Low and I’m a professional stunt performer/driver for film and tv and, as of last year, also a private pilot!

I did my PPL with Academy Aviation who are based at North Weald Airfield in Essex. I originally started it back in January 2020, but a mix of bad weather and a little pandemic called covid quickly put a stop to my flying after about seven hours of lessons. I did my theory exams sporadically throughout 2021 to keep them within the time frame, then in January 2022 I started flying again properly. I ended up getting my license in May last year at 45 hours flying.

Work wise I’ve been a member of the British Stunt Register since 2015 and have been fortunate enough to work in the industry ever since stunt doubling for various different actresses. My daily can be anything from car chases and crashes, fighting, falling over, running people over - every day’s a different day at work!

What inspired you to complete a PPL?

I’ve always been a bit of a petrol head, and definitely an adrenaline junkie! If something has an engine, whether it be car, bike, boat, plane…I always want to learn how to drive/ride/fly it! I’d also always wanted to try aerobatics, so doing my PPL was the first stepping stone to getting to do that. Another prominent thing that developed my love for planes though was my Grandad. He was a navigator in the Lancasters in the RAF in WW2 and I was very fortunate to be able to grow up listening to his stories about his time in the air during the war.

How did you find learning to fly in comparison with learning stunts?

Both had their challenges, flying was physically easier than the stunt training (And a lot fewer bumps and bruises!), but definitely much more of a brain workout for me! I hadn’t really had to ‘study’ for anything properly since I was at school so sitting down and getting through the 9 theory exams was a bit of a shock to the system! I probably studied harder for them than I did for my A Levels! The temperament and attitude needed to get through them both was quite similar though, both sets of training had setbacks and good and bad days - just a case of focusing on the end goal and getting through it!

Are there any similarities between stunt performing and flying?

Definitely - aside from the fact they’re both really fun! I’d say the main similarity is dealing with stress, multi tasking and getting on with things! In the cockpit you’re dealing with ATC, flying the plane, weather, navigating and making sure everything is functioning correctly. If for example, I’m doing a stunt driving job on set, I’m assessing the road surface, the car and how it handles, where cast/crew/cameras are, memorising the mark that the car has got to finish on, talking to the stunt co ordinator on the radio, finding out the exact trajectory the car needs to travel for it to look good on camera, dealing with hair/make up/costume making adjustments, and then finally putting it all together and doing the stunt multiple times with a crew of 50+ people watching.

How do you keep currency in your flying alongside your job?

Sometimes with difficulty depending on scheduling! Since I’ve had my license I’ve spent over half of that time working abroad which hasn’t been too conducive to flying! But whenever I’m at home and not working I’ll always try to make the effort to rent a plane out to stay current or sign up to more training. I recently took part in Get into Aeros which was run by the British Aerobatic Association which was an amazing weekend! Aerobatic’s rating, tail wheel training and IR(r) are all on my tick list to complete at the moment!

There is a disparity in both the percentage of female stunt performers and female pilots, has this impacted you in anyway?

I don’t feel like it’s impacted me much, if at all - having short legs has been a far more problematic issue for me! There’s a lot of mutual respect in the stunt world I think between male and female performers- we’ve all had to go through the same training and we all do the same job. If you’ve got to take a hit, you take the hit. Coming into the flying world there were quite a few women training at my flight school at the same time as me, so in the little isolated training bubble I was in, if anything, it seemed like it was the other way round! Sometimes I’ll inevitably get the odd comments from people outside of the flying/stunt world, especially about the stunt driving side of things, but it’s never really from anyone who’s opinion I actually care about and if anything, it just spurs me on to want to do it more!

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone wanting to gain a PPL?

Three words…Stick with it! It can get really tough at times but the reward when it clicks makes up for it! For me personally, I found that getting the theory exams out the way early definitely helped, I think I’d completed the exams by my sixth or seventh hour of flying, which allowed me to focus purely on the practical side of things. I also really appreciated the way my flight school ran lessons, we didn’t just drill circuits to get to solo as soon as possible. We did lots of nav and general air work, which meant that within 3 days of my first solo I was off doing my first cross country land away flights. Also I’d say put in the hours outside of the flight school, do as much preparation as you can before each flight - whether it be little cheat sheets for your radio calls or doing some chair flying, the more you can prepare on the ground, the easier the flight will be in the air!