When I fly upside-down

 

I even had a particularly sweet experience during my upside-down flight: my plane was completely turned-over and I suddenly got sprinkled in the most subtle way imaginable at this altitude. Petrol was getting out of the air intake of the petrol tank and got projected to my face by the wind provoked by the propeller. I was refreshed similarly to an after shave sprinkling. Laughing, I said loudly to myself:      "well my friend, here you are now, at the barbers shop!"      Feeling very comfortable, I continued in this position for about 700 meters, gliding feet up, turning and friendly waving to the gasping crowds who were wondering whether I was going to crash or to stay there upside-down forever.      I was very comfortably installed, having my feet anchored in hooks on both sides of the floor and my body solidly anchored by safety-belts so that I felt myself quite part of the plane. I'm sure I could have carried-on like that for another 3.000 or 6.000 meters, to get upright at only 300 meters of the ground and this without feeling the slightest discomfort, or without being amazed at all.      Besides, can one imagine a better position? The outlook is perfect, you don't miss a thing, nothing obstructs the view, and I especially recommend this position for military reconnaissance....just kidding, but who knows? Anything can happen! I myself,if I were asked to do this kind of work, I'd do it upside-down. The only difficulty would be to read numbers backwards, but I think I'd get used to that too! THE JOYS OF THE PARACHUTE.      The trolley airplane and the seemingly crackpot flying have not been my only activities. I also did some trials of M. Bonnet's parachute. This inventor has found a system which is extremely practical and works wonderfully. But while all displays had been performed with scale models until now, a real test with an airplane had not taken place. M. Bonnet was looking everywhere to find a pilot. Nobody wanted to entrust himself to the excellence of the parachute, fearing that it wouldn't open in the end.      Having been informed about me by some good friends who - then and now - considered me as being a bit of a nutcase, this

outstanding manufacturer came to see me, explained his invention and told me what results he expected. Being most interested, always ready for this kind of experiments, I accepted immediately to study the matter profoundly, since I never had seen how this device performed in the air. With my airplane I did a first try-out at a fixed point, engine running: the parachute performed wonderfully, triggering immediately its unfolding. Very happy with this result I declared to M. Bonnet:      "Your parachute is wonderful! It will save the lives of many pilots. As a matter of facts, you will be able to see it for yourself, since I want to try it as soon as possible, being sure of its success!"      After a long series of nuisances caused by either the engine or the local law, I finally got to prove that I wasn't wrong.      I would have been even more pleased if, before triggering the unfolding, my "old bird" would have been smashed down by the blasts of the winds in the valley: the experiment would have been even more valuable in the eye of the critics. This trial with a plane that's either getting down because of breakdown or by fire aboard of the plane will have to be performed yet, I will do it to prove the absolute safety and efficiency of the parachute. One can see I have work to do!      The impressions you get by this exclusive transport are infinitely peculiar. It's rather amusing to get extracted so delicately out of the airplane, then the smooth glide, without the slightest shock, the touchdown without a scratch, even while coming down on a tree, it's a nice stroll, really. Once again the view is perfect while one descends, of course. There's no high anxiety. One could just want for a cigar, a newspaper, while the sympathetic device does discreetly its job taking care of you. MY GOAL IS TO BE OF SERVICE      These are the sensations I gained by aviation until now. I hope it's only a beginning and that soon I'll get a multitude of new sensations. But, before ending this story, I want to emphasise once more that, even being an air acrobate, all my so called whims have no other objective as to improve aviation by testing and demonstrate airplane security. By doing this, I hope to support the spirit of the pilot who finds himself in dire straits