Airplane Encounters

Images of people interacting around aircraft, including pilots in cockpits, passengers boarding, and maintenance checks, conveying moments of aviation experience.

Man posing in aircraft

Man posing in aircraft

Man helping woman off wing of airplane

03.06.2005, Mannheim, DEU, first flying hour in the glider

Older man looks at car engine

Couple in private aeroplane

Maintenance of a Grumman S2F-1 (S-2A) Tracker Subdue boat control aircraft (1960-1976).

Senior caucasian male with Cessna aircraft. PR

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson settles in the driver's seat of NASAs silver Astrovan. Since 1984, the Astrovan, a modified Airstream motor home, has carried shuttle crew members to the launch pads. Ferguson, along with Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus, was at the center for the traditional post-flight crew return presentation.

Senior caucasian male with Cessna aircraft. PR

Mechanics in hangar repairing light aircraft

interior detail Ferrari 250 GTO 1963 1960s Innes Ireland driver hands steering wheel gauges right hand drive race car

Airship Ventures Zeppelin Dedication during the Moffett Field Diamond Jubilee. New NRP Partner KleenSpeed Chairman Timothy Collins (l) with THRUXAR electric race car at the Nov. 21 Diamond Jubilee exhibits. KleenSpeed is an advanced R&D firm focusing on scalable electric propulsion systems for transportation

Gliding above the Delaware River Valley.

Confident senior man steering a boat

The awesome responsibility for ships several times bigger than the large harbor tug WENATCHEE (YTB-808) belongs to the "CHIEF" shown here at the helm inside the wheelhouse of the tug. Base: Naval Air Station, North Island State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

France, young man at self-service gas station.

Edwin W. Lewis Jr. is a research pilot in the Airborne Science program, Flight Crew Branch, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. He currently flies the DC-8, F/A-18, Lear Jet 24, King Air, and T-34C in support of Dryden's flight operations and is mentor pilot for the King Air and the Lear Jet.Prior to accepting this assignment Lewis was a pilot for eight years at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, flying 10 different aircraft C-130B, DC-8-72, UH-1, SH-3, King Air, Lear 24, T-38A, T-39G and YO-3A in support of NASA flight missions. Lewis also flew the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (a modified civilian version of the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter). He was project pilot for Ames' 747 and T-38 programs.Lewis was born in New York City on May 19, 1936, and began flight training as a Civil Air Patrol cadet in 1951, ultimately earning his commercial pilot's certificate in 1958. He received a bachelor of arts degree in biology from Hobart College, Geneva, N.Y.,

Bass fishing in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais

Two men flying in an airplane

Senior caucasian male with Cessna aircraft. PR

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, made his first official visit to the agency's Kennedy Space Center on Monday, Aug. 6, 2018. His up-close look at the premier, multi-user spaceport began with Center Director Bob Cabana giving the administrator a helicopter tour over the bustling Florida spaceport.

Sailor at the helm

Senior couple traveling in a vintage van, taking a break at the sea, talking

Caucasian farmer driving tractor

Senior caucasian male with Cessna aircraft. PR

Passenger Giving Thumbs Up

Taxi driver, US classic car, Trinidad, Cuba, Central America

Mechanic fixes vintage planes, sunny day

Senior man polishes the headlights on his campervan

A bus driver picks up Russian Search and Rescue teams after they arrived at the Zhezkazgan Airport in Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017. Teams are preparing for the Soyuz MS-05 landing with Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik of NASA and Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency) and Sergey Ryazanskiy of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. Bresnik, Nespoli and Ryazanskiy are returning after 139 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 52 and 53 crews onboard the International Space Station.

In the cockpit of a vintage aircraft In the cockpit of an old propeller aircraft ,model released, Symbolfoto Copyright: xZoonar.com/JFsxPicxFactory xThielemannx 9338314 ,model released, Symbolfoto ,property released

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At NASA Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility, Steve Fossett is happy and eager to start what he hopes will be a historic flight in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer he is strapped into. Fossett will pilot the GlobalFlyer on a record-breaking attempt by flying solo, non-stop without refueling, to surpass the current record for the longest flight of any aircraft. This is the second attempt in two days after a fuel leak was detected Feb. 7. The expected time of takeoff is 7 a.m.

two business men glancing in car

Air transportation during the visit of Secretary Gale Norton to the Powder River Basin area of northeastern Wyoming

Caribbean, Cuba, Havana. Motorcycle police officer. (Editorial Use Only)

Senior couple traveling in a vintage van, looking at the sea

Biker riding motorcycle, low angle view

Pilot Loading Passengers Into Cessna, Moab utah

England, Essex, Castle Hedingham. Happy engineer and assistant on a steam train belonging to the Colne Valley Railway.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the NASA Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility, employees load hurricane relief supplies onto a NASA aircraft bound for Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, which suffered damage from Hurricane Katrina. The supplies included 10 boxes of load bus disconnects going to Michoud Assesmbly Facility near New Orleans and 17 boxes of personal hygiene items, along with boxes of clothing and water. Many Stennis and Michoud employees were rendered homeless by the hurricane. NASA centers have been generous with relief supplies and personnel. Stennis is in limited operations mode. Daily convoys have been moving between Stennis and Michould, transporting personnel and supplies as Michoud prepares to resume limited operations.

Man on vintage motorbike in garage

At a seaport, a man smokes a pipe near seaplanes.; Anchorage, Alaska

Confident woman by old plane

Senior Rural guy stands with old truck

1970s SMILING MAILMAN IN U.S. MAIL TRUCK DELIVERING MAIL TO HOME MAILBOX LOOKING AT CAMERA

Two young pilots inspecting a light aircraft

Pilot with vintage airplane

Mule team and wagon on freeway near Bishop, CA

Grossglockner Grand Prix 2017, Auto Union mountain car type C/D from 1938, replica true to original, Hans Joachim Stuck on the car with which his father won the race in 1938, Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, Grossglockner, Austria, Europe

Bob Clayton displays his corvette at the 388th Munition Squadron second annual auto show at Northridge High School in Layton, Utah, May 7th, 2022. The 388th MUNS hosted the show to strengthen the relationship between Hill Air Force Base and the local community.

Low angle view of a mature man sitting on a motorcycle

Three captains on a cruise ship are dressed in white.

Latah, Washington State, USA. Man in his rusted vintage Ford Model A pickup truck. (Editorial Use Only)

A man on a motorboat. Sweden

Smith Point Light House, with Dave McNally

Antarctica, Antarctic Peninsula, Neumayer Channel, Antactic Dream ship.

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

Older Caucasian man driving golf cart

Bruce Bohannon exits his Exxon Flyin Tiger after setting a time to climb record at EAA Oshkosh. In the Flyin' Tiger he has set more than 24 time to climb and altitude records nearing 50 000 feet altitude. One of a kind airplane based on a Vans RV-4

A five-year-old boy sitting in his toy car. Sweden

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sits with Greenlandic Premier Kim Kielsen on an Air Greenland plane on June 17, 2016, at Kangerlussuaq International Airport in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland as they prepared to join Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vittus Qujaukitsoq on a flight to Ilulissat, Greenland for a bilateral meeting, a flight over the Jacobshavn Glacier Front, and a cruise through an iceberg field next to the town aboard the HDMS Thetis.

Havelock, New Zealand - 19 May 2025: View of a captain speaking into a microphone in the cabin of a boat, with the calm waters and lush green banks visible through the window.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-114 Pilot James Kelly arrives at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility in a T-38 jet aircraft. He and other crew members are at KSC to take part in crew equipment and orbiter familiarization.

Father and son maintaining vintage moped

Canada Quebec province Centre du Quebec region Drummondville Village Quebecois d'Antan ancient village (1810-1930) restored with real old buildings old car Ford T 1917 and his driver

Touch-A-Truck

Couple with Their RV

close up of apprentices under the aircraft

Mature woman hailing taxi at airport.

U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower about to take first Helicopter ride, White House South Lawn, Washington, D.C., USA, Warren K. Leffler, US News & World Report Magazine Collection, July 1957

Airshow attendees wait in line to board a KC-46 Pegasus static display during the Fairchild Skyfest 2022 at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, May 14, 2022. Fairchild Skyfest 2022 offered a unique view of Team Fairchild's role in enabling Rapid Global Mobility for the U.S. Air Force.

NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson, STS-135 commander, departs from the Moffett Field flight operations center for his trip 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 )

A man stands in a field next to his Cessna airplane with mountains in the background near Bozeman, Montana.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, and Kennedy Space Center director Robert Cabana pose for a photo as space shuttle Atlantis rolls toward its new home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, early Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The spacecraft traveled 125,935,769 miles during 33 spaceflights, including 12 missions to the International Space Station. Its final flight, STS-135, closed out the Space Shuttle Program era with a landing on July 21, 2011.

A lorry driver stands in a lorry trailer and leans against the load

Chief engineer on the Delta Queen, a relic of the steamboat era of the 19th century, Mississippi River

Office of the Administrator (Stephen L. Johnson) - Locomotive Marine Diesel. Cleaner Shipping, Cleaner Air , Environmental Protection Agency

A man who restores fire engines. Here he stands in front of a recently restored 1937 Ahrens-Fox Medole BT.

Jeep tour in desert, Sedona. Arizona. USA

Astronaut Susan Helms arrives at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. Helms is flying on mission STS-102, launching March 8, as part of the Expedition Two crew going to the International Space Station. The other members of the Expedition Two crew are James Voss and Yury Usachev. They are at KSC to inspect the air lock that will be carried to the Station during their tenure in space. STS-102 will be Helms and Vosss fifth Shuttle flight, and Usachevs second. They will be replacing the Expedition One crew (Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev), who will return to Earth March 20 on Discovery along with the STS-102 crew

Woman Pilot

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The STS-135 crew members are congratulated on their successful mission to the International Space Station. Four astronauts brought space shuttle Atlantis home to the Shuttle Landing Facility's Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:57 a.m. EDT bringing a close NASA's Space Shuttle Program. Atlantis' final return from space completed a 13-day, 5.2-million-mile journey to the International Space Station.STS-135 delivered spare parts, equipment and supplies in the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis, which has spent 307 days in space, orbited Earth 4,848 times and traveled 125,935,769 miles.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the crawler transporter used for moving space shuttles to the NASA Kennedy Space Centers launch pads, Rick Drollinger (center) and John Koehring get a close look at one of the crawlers still in use. Drollingers father, Richard, was director of engineering at Marion Power Shovel Co. in Ohio where the crawlers were initially built in 1965. Koehring is the son of Philip Koehring Sr., who was project manager at Marion. Media representatives and invited guests had the opportunity to tour one of NASA's two crawlers. This included the driver cab and engine room. Guests included current drivers and operators, as well as drivers from the Apollo Program. In January 1966, the crawler completed its first successful move with a 10.6-million-pound launch umbilical tower. It moved three-quarters of a mile in about nine hours. Throughout 40 years of service, the two crawlers have moved more than 3,500 miles and carried sev

Cable car from ski resort Sierra Nevada through Sierra Nevada National Park, Andalusia, Spain, Europe

CNN's Rachel Crane talks to Orion program manager, Mark Geyer, at the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on June 23, 2015. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

Fireman of the C Class Locomotive

Rickshaw with driver on the traditional street, Hida-Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan

Jets Fixed Wing Aviat Airplanes Bombardier Challenger 601 stairs arrival

The STS-102 crew heads to the silver Astrovan after leaving the Operations and Checkout Building. In front are Mission Specialist Yury Usachev (left) and Commander James Wetherbee; second are Mission Specialist Susan Helms and Pilot James Kelly; third, Mission Specialists James Voss and Andrew Thomas; and last, Mission Specialist Paul Richards. Voss, Helms and Usachev are the Expedition Two crew, going to the International Space Station for their four-month rotation. The Astrovan will take the crew to Launch Pad 39B for a simulated countdown, part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. In addition, Expedition One will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8

Jets Fixed Wing Aviat Airplanes Bombardier Challenger 601 stairs arrival jet engine

Mozambique, Maputo. A colourful taxi parked outside the Polana hotel in the Polana district of Maputo. Maputo is the capital of Mozambique. It is a bustling, attractive port city with a population of at least 1.5 million Maputo is a very agreeable city which is considerably safe and more attractive when compared to other African capitals.

SupraTransII driving test facility

Man standing next to private jet.

STS128 Welcome Home Ceremony to Ellington Field. Photo Date: September 12, 2009. Location: Ellington Field - Hanger 990.

News presenter and car on fire

Black man driving convertible

Man Standing Beside Pump At Old Gas Station

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the crawler transporter used for moving space shuttles to the NASA Kennedy Space Centers launch pads, former crawler engineer Bill Clemens (right) introduces Philip Koehring Jr., whose father was project manager at the Marion Power Shovel Co. in Ohio where the crawlers were initially built in 1965. Media representatives and invited guests had the opportunity to tour one of NASA's two crawlers. This included the driver cab and engine room. Guests included current drivers and operators, as well as drivers from the Apollo Program. In January 1966, the crawler completed its first successful move with a 10.6-million-pound launch umbilical tower. It moved three-quarters of a mile in about nine hours. Throughout 40 years of service, the two crawlers have moved more than 3,500 miles and carried seven vehicles.

Paralyzed man in wheel chair rides motorcycle to Andersonville National Park in GA

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