In the 1920s, aviator and adventurer Hubert Fauntleroy Julian parachuted out of his plane over Harlem in New York, wearing a red devil jumpsuit and playing the saxophone. I’d give quite a bit to see a video, or even just a photo. In terms of memorableness, this stunt beats anything contemporaneous pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry came up with.
Because Julian was black, in the 1920s there was no way for him to join conventional flying organizations such as the US Air Force. Instead, he went to Ethiopia and became a colonel in the air force of emperor Haile Sailassie. Later, he challenged Hermann Göring to a dogfight over the English Channel.
Here is an article in Smithsonian Magazine by David Shaftel that goes into some depth about Julian’s life, including his later pivot from selling himself to selling arms.
