C.1.23 Biplane flying upsode down. Taken from another Biplane WW1 glass negative
Posted by rustyhakelfort@reddit | WeirdWings | View on Reddit | 12 comments
Flyingsquare@reddit
Looks like a Farman F.40
waldo--pepper@reddit
The widespread landing gear is a good match/tell. You are right. 👍
waldo--pepper@reddit
Oh boy. Here I go sticking my neck out.
I know what the caption says. But I don't think such a plane could fly upside down. Not for long anyway. Not without the engine conking out. No inverted carb. Fuel flow stops. So perhaps what we are seeing is a picture taken from another plane at a lower altitude. I can't see another explanation.
Uranophane@reddit
It's definitely flying upside down. This is a negative, so the darker the film, the brighter the scene. The plane was dark but the backdrop was bright, so the photo was likely taken from below.
waldo--pepper@reddit
Here is the image converted from a negative to a positive. To my eye those look like clouds in the sky behind the plane. And the man in the pulpit sure does not look like he is upside down to me. .Even though he would likely be strapped in, though perhaps tenuously. He is waving away like notmal and not hanging on for dear life.
I have quite a lot of respect for the person who wrote the caption. It could have been written quite some time after the picture was taken by some archivist. Mistakes happen. Or the person may have been an eyewitness. I am actually a big believer in respecting those who were there. But I just don't see it being upside down.
rustyhakelfort@reddit (OP)
How did you convert the image? This looks amazing!
waldo--pepper@reddit
It can be done with most any tool for photo manipulation. I could have used Photoshop but that is like using a sledgehammer to kill an ant. Kind of overkill. So I used a free program that is very popular called Irfanview.
(If you choose to play around with Irfanview make sure you install the collection of free plugins too!)
Briefly once the image is open in Irfanview it is simple enough. First click Image. Then Negative (invert image). And finally choose all channels.
Infanview is free and a very comprehensive/powerful little tool. It is among the first programs I install when I setup a new pc. Indispensable for the sort of things I do.
Uranophane@reddit
I thought the straps dangling from the nose were supports for a cockpit. It does look like the pilot is sitting on top now that you mentioned it.
rustyhakelfort@reddit (OP)
C 1.23 sorry for the mistake
Goatf00t@reddit
That's the number of the negative, not a plane designation.
Traditional_Drama_91@reddit
What an incredible image, do you have a transcription of the writing?
rustyhakelfort@reddit (OP)
Shorthand writing from the 1900s I think, I can make out Biplane upide down taken from anither Biplane upside down.