Aircraft and Pilots

Snapshots of pilots in various aircraft settings, revealing preparations and candid moments in aviation, conveying excitement and adventure.

Pilot waiting beside retro plane in hangar

NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson, STS-135 commander, prepares for departure from Moffett Field as he flies a T-38 trainer home to Houston after the crew of STS-135 trained in the Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) at NASA's AMES Research Center on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, in Mountain View, Calif. ( NASA Photo / Houston Chronicle, Smiley N. Pool )

Pilot and dashboard of a small plane on the runway ready to take off

Ethan Thomas, an honorary aviator, leans out the window of an HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane at Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Alabama, June 15, 2022. Ethan was chosen to be part of ATC Mobile's Pilot-for-a-day program, which allows selected persons to visit the unit and have an in-depth tour of the aircraft and facilities.

Father and 4 Year Old Daughter Posing by an Airplane, MR-0601 MR-0603 PR-0622

Detachment Eelde of the Klu kite courses at the Rijksvaartschool in Eelde.Elling-kite (left) and instructor at the aircraft.

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Little girl and grandfather getting ready to take off airplane at airfield

Pilot waiting beside retro plane in hangar

People on Airport Tarmac

People by private aeroplane

With this Breeder F-28 Fellowship of the State of the Netherlands, H.K.H. Koningin Beatrix and Z.K.H. Prince Claus from Eelde airport after a visit to the city of Groningen on Queen's Day 1982.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken departs Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 30, 2021.

Probe on F-18

President John F. Kennedy on crutches disembarking from Air Force One by fork lift. Kennedy injured his back planting a ceremonial tree during a state visit to Canada on May 16, 1961. (BSLOC_2015_2_224)

Pilot doing pre flight inspection on his sports plane

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-127 Pilot Doug Hurley heads into the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landings in preparation for launch of space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission on June 13 to the International Space Station. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulfstream II jet that was modified to simulate a shuttles cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. Endeavour will deliver the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility, or JEM-EF, and the Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, or ELM-ES. on STS-127. The mission is the final of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory complex on the space station.

Smiling Man Standing Next to a Monoplane

President Barack Obama salutes as he makes his way back onto Air Force One leaving Indianapolis, May 17, 2009.

DN-ST-87-06901. Country: Unknown

Young, well dressed couple on their Cessna 310 airplane.

Businessman approaching private plane

Military pilot in helmet stands near jet plane Military pilot in helmet stands near jet plane. Copyright: xZoonar.com/AlexanderxStrelax 10775211

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the Shuttle Landing Facility, Mission STS-117 Commander Rick Sturckow is ready to begin practice flights on the shuttle training aircraft (STA) during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) Activities. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. The mission payload aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis is the S3/S4 integrated truss structure, along with a third set of solar arrays and batteries. The crew of six astronauts will install the truss to continue assembly of the International Space Station. STS-117 is the 118th space shuttle flight and the 21st flight to the station

Man refueling an airplane

Pilot Holding a Map and Standing by a Private Propeller Plane

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Italy, Lombardy, Malpensa airport

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard, Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana and Junichi Sakai, manager of the International Space Station Program for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) greet NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as they arrive at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center ahead of SpaceXs Crew-1 mission, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Crew-1 mission is the first operational mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. Hopkins, Glover, Walker, Noguchi are scheduled to launch at 7:49 p.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 14, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

Air transportation during the Wyoming-Utah leg of the visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Western states

PROPELLER AIRPLANE REFLECTION. In front of a helix of a little airplane

couple walking from private plane with baggage

Man with suitcase boarding airplane in hanger, Nobato, California, United States

portrait of man inspecting the aircraft

A man on a motorcycle in front of an aeroplane, Sweden.

Jets Fixed Wing Aviat Airplanes Bombardier Challenger 601 stairs arrival

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dressed in his launch and entry suit, STS-122 Pilot Alan Poindexter climbs the steps to the shuttle training aircraft, or STA, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Poindexter and Commander Steve Frick will practice shuttle landings in the STA before the Dec. 6 launch on space shuttle Atlantis. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities.

1960S 2 Salesmen Shaking Hands Stand On Tarmac By Private Plane Briefcase Overcoat

close up of aircraft exterior components

Two mid-adult businessmen leaving a helicopter at an airport.

Female pilot

NASA engineers put the X-57 Maxwell, NASAs first all-electric X-plane, through its initial telemetry tests at NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, testing the aircrafts ability to transmit data to teams on the ground. The data is packaged and transmitted down to ground assets, where its decoded into a format that can be presented to a flight control team to look at screens in real time for flight operations. X-57s goal is to help set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

Mid adult man flying private aeroplane

Three airplane mechanics standing next to small planes in hangar

Two pilots walking in front of hangars

Three Musicians Transferring From Car To Plane; Langley, British Columbia, Canada

NASA engineers put the X-57 Maxwell, NASAs first all-electric X-plane, through its initial telemetry tests at NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, testing the aircrafts ability to transmit data to teams on the ground. The data is packaged and transmitted down to ground assets, where its decoded into a format that can be presented to a flight control team to look at screens in real time for flight operations. X-57s goal is to help set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

Smiling Young BIPOC Female Pilot sitting on wing of small airplane

Ellie Mahan looks over the flightline from a static display at the Titans of Flight Air Expo, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, April 8, 2022. The airshow showcases more than 50 aerial demonstration performances and static aircraft displays.

Young Boy Playing With A Toy Airplane At The Alaska Airmen's Air Show, Alaska, USA

DF-ST-86-03850. Base: Rhein-Main Air Base Country: Deutschland / Germany (DEU)

Vintage Photograph. SUNRISE ON HANGAR MEMPHIS TENNESSEE. Aircraft tails at sunset near a glowing hangar.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-117 Pilot Lee Archambault climbs into the shuttle training aircraft, or STA, at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility. He will be making practice landings in the STA, which is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. STS-117 is scheduled to launch at 7:38 p.m. June 8. During the 11-day mission and three spacewalks, the crew will work with flight controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to install the 17-ton segment on the station's girder-like truss and deploy the set of solar arrays, S3/S4. The mission will increase the space station's power capability in preparation for the arrival of new science modules from the European and Japanese space agencies.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson prepares to practice touch-and-go landings in a Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. An STA is a Gulfstream II jet that is modified to mimic the shuttle's handling during the final phase of landing. Ferguson and Hurley will practice landings as part of standard procedure before space shuttle Atlantis' launch to the International Space Station.Atlantis and its crew are scheduled to lift off at 11:26 a.m. EDT on July 8 to deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the

McDonnell Douglas MD-11

Aircrafts - HU-25 Guardian - 26-HK-55-12. Coast Guardsman refueling HU-25 on ramp at night. Hurricane Katrina

Businessman in silhouette holding passenger aeroplane in flying angle in one hand MR 703T,NO PR Copyright: xAngeloxD Silva/DinodiaxPhotox

1960s SMILING BUSINESSMEN IN CESSNA 310G TWIN ENGINE AIRPLANE MAN HANDING LEATHER BRIEFCASE TO PASSENGER

Young BIPOC Female Pilot preparing to travel by small airplane

Portrait of confident teenage boy standing outside private airplane

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Bill Martin, a URS Federal Technical Services helicopter pilot in the agency's Aircraft Operations, is interviewed near the Shuttle Landing Facility. He discussed working with spaceport Fire Rescue personnel to develop procedures for using agency helicopters to transport injured patients to a local hospital.The training activity took place in Kennedy's Launch Complex 39 turn-basin parking lot. It was part of a new training program developed by Kennedy's Fire Rescue department along with NASA Aircraft Operations to sharpen the skills needed to help rescue personnel learn how to collaborate with helicopter pilots in taking injured patients to hospitals as quickly as possible.

The STS-103 crew pose for a group portrait with their families and loved ones on the runway at Patrick Air Force Base. They are preparing to board an airplane that will return them to their home base at the Johnson Space Center in Houston following the successful completion of their mission. From left to right, the crew members are Mission Specialists John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), Claude Nicollier of Switzerland, Jean-François Clervoy of France, and Steven L. Smith; Pilot Scott J. Kelly; and Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr. Discovery landed in darkness the previous evening, Dec. 27, on runway 33 at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility at 7:00:47 p.m. EST. This was the first time that a Shuttle crew spent the Christmas holiday in space. The STS-103 mission supplied the Hubble Space Telescope with six new gyroscopes, six new voltage/temperature improvement kits, a new onboard computer, a new solid state recorder and new data transmitter, and a new fine guidance sensor along

Germany, Bavaria, Landshut, Air traffic controller securing landing and take off of helicopoter

Little boy and little girl pilot with handmade plane at the airport

Three airplane mechanics in hangar standing by private jet

airline pilot standing near aircraft

West Indies, Cayman Islands, Little Cayman, Passenger Plane With Tourists On Runway Unpacking Luggage.

portrait of beautiful helicopter pilot

Portrait of flight attendant standing in front of private jet.

Spectators are seen as they watch space shuttle Endeavour as it passes by on its way to its new home at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012. Endeavour, built as a replacement for space shuttle Challenger, completed 25 missions, spent 299 days in orbit, and orbited Earth 4,671 times while traveling 122,883,151 miles. Beginning Oct. 30, the shuttle will be on display in the CSCs Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion, embarking on its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and educate and inspire future generations of explorers.

Private Plane

NASA Astronaut and STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson walks underneath the space shuttle Atlantis shortly after he and the rest of the STS-135 crew landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), completing a 13-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program, early Thursday morning, July 21, 2011, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Overall, Atlantis spent 307 days in space and traveled nearly 126 million miles during its 33 flights. Atlantis, the fourth orbiter built, launched on its first mission on Oct. 3, 1985.

Man by private aeroplane

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After greeting the media on their arrival on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the crew members of space shuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission wave and head for the van that will take them to crew quarters in the Operations and Checkout Building. They will be preparing for launch scheduled for 5:02 p.m. May 31. On the STS-124 mission, the crew of seven will deliver and install the Japanese Experiment Module - Pressurized Module and Japanese Remote Manipulator System.

Svenja Schulze (SPD), Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, lands unaccompanied at the airport in Abuja after the government plane's overflight rights over Niger were withdrawn Abuja, 07.02.2024.Photographed on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-113 Mission Specialist Michael Lopez-Alegria concentrates on driving an M-113 armored personnel carrier during emergency egress training at the pad. He is accompanied by (far left) Mission Specialist John Herrington and Commander James Wetherbee. Behind Lopez-Alegria is Pilot Paul Lockhart. The crew is preparing for the mission aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, which is scheduled to launch Nov. 10, by taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities. The TCDT includes a simulated launch countdown.. The primary payloads on mission STS-113 are the first port truss segment, P1, and the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart B. Once delivered, the P1 truss will remain stowed until flight 12A.1 in 2003 when it will be attached to the central truss segment, S0, on the Space Station. Also onboard Space Shuttle Endeavour will be the Expedition 6 crew who will replace Expedition 5, returning to Earth after 4 months.

Cuban migrants are shown boarding a C-9 aircraft for transportation from the makeshift compound at the Truman annex to Port Isabel, Texas. They are some of the thirty five Cubans who had landed by boat at Fort Jefferson State Park in the dry Tortugas located west of Key West on the 8th of September. Base: Naval Air Station, Key West State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Smiling Young BIPOC Female Pilot sitting on wing of small airplane

Man walking with suitcase in airplane hanger, Nobato, California, United States

woman in sunglasses with plane on the background

Teenager boy retro pilot playnig with toy plane, blue sky with clouds in background. Teenager boy pilot

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Larry Ostarly (red tie), director of Ground Systems Support, United Space Alliance, welcomes STS-131 Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio back from space following the landing of space shuttle Discovery on Runway 33. Also moving down the receiving line, from left, are STS-131 Mission Specialists Naoko Yamazaki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Stephanie Wilson, and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger; and Pilot James P. Dutton Jr., at right. Discovery landed at Kennedy after 15 days in space, completing the more than 6.2-million-mile STS-131 mission on orbit 238. Main gear touchdown was at 9 08 35 a.m. EDT followed by nose gear touchdown at 9 08 47 a.m. and wheelstop at 9 09 33 a.m. The seven-member STS-131 crew carried the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that were transferred to the International Space Station'

Young BIPOC Female Pilot having morning coffee on small plane wing

Pilatus PC-7A Turbo-trainer-lesson from the basic military kite training (EMVO).

Crowned Price Akihito and Princess Michiko of Japan disembark from their plane upon arrival for a state visit. Base: Andrews Air Force Base State: Maryland (MD) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Man taking a picture in airplane

Members of the U.S. Secret Service provide security as the President of the United States, Joe Biden, not shown, prepares to depart New York City as the presidential limo pulls away from Marine One in New York City, New York, Sept. 22, 2022.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo departs Helsinki, Finland on July 16, 2018.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The STS-135 crew depart the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the Astronaut Crew Quarters in Kennedy's Operations and Checkout Building. From left are Pilot Doug Hurley, Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus, Commander Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialist Rex Walheim.The STS-135 astronauts arrived at Kennedy about 2:30 p.m. EDT on July 4 for final preparations for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis is scheduled to lift off on July 8 to deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space statio

A man standing on the background of a small single engine plane. A man standing on the background of a small single engine plane. Runway ,model released, Symbolfoto Copyright: xZoonar.com/OleksiixHrecheniukx 14746821 ,model released, Symbolfoto ,property released

Beautiful model inside of hangar

Pilot Loading Passengers Into Cessna, Moab utah

Young woman standing in front of an airplane

a pilot near an airplane

portrait portrait of attractive woman near aircraft ,model released, Symbolfoto Copyright: xZoonar.com/Photographer:xSergiixPavlovx 5801392 ,model released, Symbolfoto ,property released

groom and bride fly to wedding travel by plane

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-135 Pilot Doug Hurley stands in front of a T-38 training jet. Hurley, along with Commander Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus, was at the center for the traditional post-flight crew return presentation. STS-135 Mission Specialist Rex Walheim was unable to attend the Kennedy event. In July 2011, Atlantis and its crew delivered to the International Space Station the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis and the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program.

Train guards looking out of windows of a subway train, Tokyo, Japan

installing a bike rack

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry rebounds his plane at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after he stopped on August 3, 2016, en route from Washington, D.C., to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

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