incredible photos, taken by Alfred Buckham, a daredevil airplane pilot, in 1927 - standing in his plane. His death-defying images are the subject of a major new exhibition, Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer, at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.

Buchham, first head of aerial reconnaissance and irrepressible risk-taker who survived nine crash landings, stated that the best results were achieved between 60 and 80mph. 

There was no holding on: arms, he recommended, needed to be kept clear of the fuselage to prevent the vibrations from spoiling the image. "It's not easy to tumble out of an aeroplane unless you really want to, and on considerably more than a thousand flights I have used a safety belt only once," he pronounced in January 1927.

 "I always stand up to make an exposure and, taking the precaution to tie my right leg to the seat [with a scarf or a piece of rope], I am free to move rapidly, and easily, in any desired direction; and loop the loop; and indulge in other such delights, with perfect safety."

Against the odds, he lived to be 76. The challenges he faced along the way – the crashes and close calls – he viewed with a veteran's pragmatism and a dash of nostalgia. "Such unpleasing circumstances are mostly forgotten, or only serve to add spice to the remembrance," he told the New York Times Magazine in 1930. "Ah! One was a rare daredevil in those days!"

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20251030-the-trail-blazing-photos-of-a-daredevil-wwi-pilot

https://www.vintag.es/2021/06/alfred-buckham-aerial-photos.html