Remote Piloted Aircraft

Images of various remotely piloted aircraft and experimental flying vehicles, showcasing aviation technology in different environments.

USA, New Mexico, White Sands Missle Range: Outdoor US MIssle Tactical Display White Sands Missle Range Museum

DF-SC-88-08426. Country: Unknown

A Pioneer remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) touches down on the runway after a flight during Operation Desert Shield. The Pioneer is assigned to the Marine Corps' 3rd RPV Platoon.. Subject Operation/Series: DESERT SHIELD Base: Jubail Country: Saudi Arabia(SAU)

Marchetti SF-260 SF260 performing a break / wing-over. Over the deserts of Southern California.

The Hyper III was a low-cost test vehicle for an advanced lifting-body shape. Like the earlier M2-F1, it was a "homebuilt" research aircraft, i.e., built at the Flight Research Center (FRC), later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center. It had a steel-tube frame covered with Dacron, a fiberglass nose, sheet aluminum fins, and a wing from an HP-11 sailplane. Construction was by volunteers at the FRC. Although the Hyper III was to be flown remotely in its initial tests, it was fitted with a cockpit for a pilot. On the Hyper III's only flight, it was towed aloft attached to a Navy SH-3 helicopter by a 400-foot cable. NASA research pilot Bruce Peterson flew the SH-3. After he released the Hyper III from the cable, NASA research pilot Milt Thompson flew the vehicle by radio control until the final approach when Dick Fischer took over control using a model-airplane radio-control box. The Hyper III flared, then landed and slid to a stop on Rogers Dry Lakebed.

A chase plane view of the tufts on the KC-135 winglet. The use of tufts in flight research dates back to the early days of the NACA, and remains an effective means of observing airflow even today. In this procedure, rows of strings are attached to an airplane's surface, with one end of each string taped to the airplane and the other end free to swing about in the airflow. The movements of the tufts are photographed by on-board cameras or a chase plane. If the tufts are arrayed in neat rows, as seen here, then the airflow is smooth over the airplane's surface. If, however, they are moving about violently, it suggests turbulent airflow. Such motions may indicate high drag, flow separation (such as in a stall), or buffeting. In some cases, tufts will actually point forward, indicating the airflow has reversed direction.

USA, New Mexico, White Sands Missle Range: Outdoor US MIssle Tactical Display White Sands Missle Range Museum

Navy E-2C Hawkeye

The Helios Prototype is an enlarged version of the Centurion flying wing, which flew a series of test flights at Dryden in late 1998.

Giant Mine townsite and Aurora Borealis, Northwest Territories, Canada

A Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 Ocean Sentry prepares to takeoff for pre-storm assessment imagery Sept. 28, 2022 in Mobile, Alabama. Coast Guard assets are being staged outside of the predicted path of Hurricane Ian at Aviation Training Center Mobile Alabama.

DN-SC-04-13404. State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Baqubah, Iraq - An Iraqi Mi-2 helicopter sits on the flight deck abandoned at Camp Warhorse

The X-56A flies a mission Oct. 18, 2018.

A right side view of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Enterprise and its specially-modified 747 transport aircraft being towed to the Weight and Thrust Hangar for vibration testing. Base: Edwards Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Vintage Photograph. Closeup of a jet engine.

NASA's F/A-18 Hornet is seen here in a banked turn over Rogers Dry Lake in the Mojave desert on an early research flight. It was flown by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in a multi-year, joint NASA/DOD/industry program, the former Navy fighter was modified into a unique Systems Research Aircraft (SRA) to investigate a host of new technologies in the areas of flight controls, airdata sensing and advanced computing.One of the more than 20 experiments tested aboard the SRA F-18 was an advanced air data sensing system which used a group of pressure taps flush-mounted on the forward fuselage to measure both altitude and wind speed and direction--critical data for flight control and research investigations. The Real-Time Flush Air Data Sensing system concept was evaluated for possible use on the X-33 and X-34 resuable space-launch vehicles.The primary goal of the SRA program was to validate through flight research cutting-edge technologies which could benefit fu

The Space Shuttle Challenger lands at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at the end of the STS 41-G mission. The main landing gear has already touched down in this view, but the nose gear is still in the air (90232); Front view through tall grass of the Challenger making its landing at KSC (90233); Close-up side view of the Challenger making its landing at KSC (90234); Aerial view of the Challenger making its final approach to the runway to land at KSC (90235).

A C-17 Globemaster lands on the newly completed eastern runway on Ascension Island Aug. 31, 2022. Following the completion of the first half of the runway, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center is preparing to begin its work on the western runway in the coming weeks. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Vintage Photograph. PLANE AT BOARDING DOCK JACKSONVILLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FL. Aircraft parked at an airport gate preparing for boarding.

Airmen assigned to the 319th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron from Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, tow an RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft June 6, 2022, across the Grand Forks Air Force Base flight line to Northrop Grumman at Grand Sky. This was the first of five RQ-4 Block 30s to be transferred to Grand Sky to be outfitted with different sensor technology and begin operating as a part of the Test Resource Management Centers High Speed System Test department. Located on Grand Forks Air Force Base, Grand Sky is a business and aviation park focused on developing and growing the unmanned aerial systems industry.

X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle, or UCAV, technology demonstration aircraft in flight during its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

UAE, Abu Dhabi, Shanayl, Lockheed L-1011 airliner, abandoned in the desert

U-2 (NASA 709) in flight over Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA

Bushplane Arriving At The Noatak River, Brooks Range, Arctic Alaska; Alaska, United States Of America

in crains austalia window of little popular plane parking in the airport

Not every moment of a test pilot's day is serious business. In a moment of levity, NASA pilots Bill Dana (left) and John A. Manke try to drag Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag away from the HL-10 lifting body while Air Force Major Jerauld R. Gentry helps from the cockpit. These four men were the principal pilots for the HL-10 program.This was not the only prank involving the HL-10 and its pilots. Once "Captain Midnight" (Gentry) and the "Midnight Skulkers" sneaked into the NASA hangar and put "U.S. Air Force" on the aircraft using stick-on letters. Later, while Gentry was making a lifting-body flight, his 1954 Ford was "borrowed" from the parking lot, painted with yellow-green zinc-chromate primer, and decorated with large stick-on flowers about one foot in diameter. After Gentry returned from the flight, he was surprised to see what had happened to his car.

DN-ST-86-09579. Base: Dillingham Field State: Hawaii (HI) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Air to air right side view of a 28th Aerial Refueling Squadron KC-135R refueling a 4th Air Command and Control Squadron EC-135 during a mission out of Ellsoworth AFB, South Dakota where they are based. Exact Date Shot Unknown. Country: Unknown

LLTV on runway. EAFB, HOUSTON, TX

A P-3C Orion aircraft flies over the naval station. Base: Naval Station, Mayport State: Florida(FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

May 24, 2007 - Two Dryden F/A-18s fly in tight formation over the desert at Edwards Air Force Base.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Touchdown is apparent by the cloud of dust kicked up by space shuttle Atlantis as its main landing gear tires contact Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After 11 days in space, Atlantis' 4.5-million-mile STS-129 mission is completed on orbit 171.Main gear touchdown was at 9:44:23 a.m. EST. Nose gear touchdown was at 9:44:36 a.m., and wheels stop was at 9:45:05 a.m. Aboard Atlantis are Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr.; and Expedition 20 and 21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott who spent 87 days aboard the International Space Station. STS-129 is the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight on the manifest. On STS-129, the crew delivered 14 tons of cargo to the orbiting laboratory, including two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers containing spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are

The Pathfinder aircraft has set a new unofficial world record for high-altitude flight of over 71,500 feet for solar-powered aircraft at the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii. Pathfinder was designed and manufactured by AeroVironment, Inc, of Simi Valley, California, and was operated by the firm under a jointly sponsored research agreement with NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. Pathfinder's record-breaking flight occurred July 7, 1997. The aircraft took off at 11:34 a.m. PDT, passed its previous record altitude of 67,350 feet at about 5:45 p.m. and then reached its new record altitude at 7 p.m. The mission ended with a perfect nighttime landing at 2:05 a.m. PDT July 8. The new record is the highest altitude ever attained by a propellor-driven aircraft. Before Pathfinder, the altitude record for propellor-driven aircraft was 67,028 feet, set by the experimental Boeing Condor remotely piloted aircraft..

Towing the M2-F1

The M2-F1 Lifting Body is seen here under tow, high above Rogers Dry Lake near the Flight Research Center (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California. R. Dale Reed effectively advocated the project with the support of NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Together, they gained the support of Flight Research Center Director Paul Bikle. After a six-month feasibility study, Bikle gave approval in the fall of 1962 for the M2-F1 to be built.

This photograph shows NASA's 3/8th-scale remotely piloted research vehicle landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1975.

Northrop B-49. Northrop B-49. "A Northrop B-49 jet-propelled flying wing medium bomber is shown on the ramp at Muroc Air Force Base, California, flight test center for the U.S. Air Force. Looking deceptively thin in this photo, the Flying Wing is actually big enough at its center for a six-foot man to stand erect inside. The B-49 is capable of carrying 15 tons and has a top speed of more than 500 miles an hour.". 1940 - 1980. National Archives at College Park - Archives II (College Park, MD). Transparency. Department of Defense. Department of the Air Force. 9/26/1947-. Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force Activities, Facilities, and Personnel, Domestic and Foreign

A C-17 Globemaster III takes off from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Oct. 19. The early-morning flight marked the first flight of the C-17 using a Fischer-Tropsch synthetic fuel blend in one of its engines. All four engines ran the fuel blend in a test flight here Oct. 22.

airshow hosted by MFA

Victorville, United States - 28 March 2025: Aerial view of rows of parked airplanes with red tails standing stark against the sun-baked earth, a silent fleet awaiting their next journey.

X-14B NASA-704 A Bell single-place, open cockpit, twin-engine, jet-lift VTOL aircraft over Highway 101 in approach to Moffett Field, California. The X-14 was used by NASA Ames Research Center to advance state-of-the-art jet-powered VTOL aircraft.

X-43 Hypersonic Aircraft

NASA Dryden's highly modified F-15B aircraft, tail number 837, serves as an Intelligent flight Control System (IFCS) research testbed aircraft.

An air-to-air front view of a KC-10A Extender aircraft being refueled by another KC-10 Extender aircraft. Country: Unknown

A Westland Lynx mk.27 (SH-14B) helicopter (1979-) gets fuel.

Jets Fixed Wing Commercial Aviat Airplanes abandoned

DN-SC-87-13196. Base: Naval Air Station, Norfolk State: Virginia (VA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

The Space Shuttle Columbia on Rogers Dry lakebed at Edwards AFB after landing to complete its first orbital mission on April 14, 1981. Technicians towed the Shuttle back to the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center for post-flight processing and preparation for a return ferry flight atop a modified 747 to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (JSC photo # S81-30749)

The NASA X-43A hypersonic research vehicle and its Pegasus booster rocket, mounted beneath the wing of their B-52 mothership, had a successful first captive-carry flight on April 28, 2001, Basically a dress rehearsal for a subsequent free flight, the captive-carry flight kept the X-43A-and-Pegasus combination attached to the B-52's wing pylon throughout the almost two-hour mission from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., over the Pacific Missile Test Range, and back to Dryden.

DAST Mated to B-52 on Ramp - Close-up

DF-SC-85-12686. Base: Edwards Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- With its drag chute deployed, the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia touches down on Runway 33 at KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility at 6:46:34 a.m. EDT with Mission Commander James D. Halsell Jr. and Pilot Susan L. Still at the controls to complete the STS-94 mission. Also on board are Mission Specialist Donald A. Thomas, Mission Specialist Michael L. Gernhardt , Payload Commander Janice Voss, and Payload Specialists Roger K. Crouch and Gregory T. Linteris. Mission elapsed time for STS-94 was 15 days,16 hours, 44 seconds. During the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) mission, the Spacelab module was used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducted combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. This mission was a reflight of the STS-83 mission that lifted off from KSC in April of this year. That space flight was

4191-V111118497

View from aeroplane window

The arrival of the Twin Otter aeroplane comes as a little surprise, one morning as the team were not sure if it would come that day. Apparently the pilots had a very brief weather window so decided to

General Aviation Fixed Wing Aviat Airplanes Grob G102 glider

New Zealand, Otago, Wanaka, Warbirds Over Wanaka, De Havilland DH 82A Tiger Moth Biplanes

A flight crew from NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center in California prepares to fly NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) staff on an Armstrong G-III aircraft from California to NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. JPL staff are completing critical work to ensure NASAs Mars 2020 mission is ready on time

(13 March 1978) --- The space shuttle orbiter 101 Enterprise approaches riding atop its 747 carrier aircraft, arrives at the Redstone Arsenal airstrip near Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, Alabama, on March 13, 1978.

The GOES-L weather satellite, to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS) aboard an Atlas II rocket in March or April, is covered and waiting on a semi-trailer truck (in background) that will transport it to Astrotech in Titusville for final testing. It arrived aboard the C-5 air cargo plane (seen in foreground) at CCAS. GOES-L, the fourth of a new advanced series of geostationary weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is a three-axis inertially stabilized spacecraft that will provide pictures and perform atmospheric sounding at the same time. Once launched, the satellite will undergo checkout and then provide backup capabilities for the existing, aging GOES East weather satellite

The BETA Technologies ALIA prepares to take off as a 41st Rescue Squadron HH-60W Jolly Green II lifts off at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida Jan. 11, 2024. The two aircraft and crews participated in a casualty evacuation exercise with the HH-60 dropping off and the ALIA, an electric convention take-off and landing aircraft, picking up the simulated patient for higher-level care.

A Thunderbird makes a solo pass in a display of the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft's capabilities during Indian Springs Appreciation Day March 11, 2014, at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron performs precision aerial maneuvers to exhibit the capabilities of modern high-performance aircraft to audiences throughout the world.

A C-23A Sherpa aircraft from the 10th Military Airlift Squadron flies over the Rhine valley during a flight out of Zweibrucken Air Base, West Germany. Country: Federal Republic Of Germany (FRG)

The Aero Commander arrival to NASA Flight Research Center.

Aircraft Hanno, Imperial Airways, Gaza, ca. 1935, Gaza Strip, Middle East

AN air-to-air right side view of a B-52H Stratofortress aircraft over a lake during exercise Busy Prairie II. Subject Operation/Series: BUSY PRAIRIE II State: Nevada (NV) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Air views of Palestine. Aircrafts etc. of the Imperial Airways Ltd. on the Sea of Galilee and at Semakh. Aircraft 'Hanno.' A take-off. Started for Baghdad and India. 1931, Israel, Tsemaḥ

A pilot from the 47th Flying Training Wing flies a T-6A Texan II at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, Sept. 30, 2022. Laughlins mission continues to be training the militarys finest and most lethal pilots.

Proteus in Flight Over Southern California

Right side air-to-air view of a KC-10A Extender aircraft. State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Aerial view of retired aircraft bathe in the warm glow of the setting sun at the airplane graveyard, a testament to engineering's past, Tucson, Arizona, United States.

Nazca Lines, Peru

The last MC-130H Combat Talon II, Tail Number 89-0280, approaches Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., April 2, 2023. The aircraft departed Hurlburt Field for the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, also known as the Boneyard,” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

Military jet bomber Su-24 Fencer flying above the clouds.

New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Wanaka, National Transport and Toy Museum, BAC Strikemaster jet fighter

Two people flying their ultralight plane over desert, Namibia.

X-40A Free Flight #5. The unpowered X-40A, an 85 percent scale risk reduction version of the proposed X-37, proved the capability of an autonomous flight control and landing system in a series of glide flights at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California.NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the X-37 project. At Dryden, the X-40A underwent a series of ground and air tests to reduce possible risks to the larger X-37, including drop tests from a helicopter to check guidance and navigation systems planned for use in the X-37. The X-37 is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound.

S82-28840 (30 March 1982) --- T-38 chase planes remain relatively close to the NASA reusable space shuttle Columbia (STS-3) as it heads for a completion of an eight-day mission on the White Sands Missile Range's Northrup strip. Astronauts Jack R. Lousma and C. Gordon Fullerton were aboard the craft. This view was photographed from another T-38.

Crashed Airplane

Vintage Cessna 170 airplane involved in a landing accident and turned upside down.

Plane flying over High Sierra Fly In

Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaiian Islands, with N'ihau and Lehua in the background.

Secured Helicopter Wheel

February 23, 2010 - Air Force Academy cadets fly in a TG-15A glider above Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Sudan. Wadi Halfa. Air view. Modern town. 1936, Sudan, Ḥalfāʾ al-Jadīdah

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