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  • Two heads wearing aviation caps seen just over the striped wings of a WW2-era P-51 Mustang fighter plane during the world's largest aviation airshow at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, at Oshkosh Air Venture, the world’s largest air show in Wisconsin USA. Close to a million populate the mass fly-in over the week, a pilgrimage worshipping all aspects of flight. The event annually generates $85 million in revenue over a 25 mile radius from Oshkosh. The event is presented by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), a national/international organization based in Oshkosh. The airshow is seven days long and typically begins on the last Monday in July. The airport's control tower is the busiest control tower in the world during the gathering
    oshkosh_airshow05-07-01-2000.jpg
  • Three enthusiasts ponder the prospect of owning a WW2 warbird during the world's largest aviation airshow at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, at Oshkosh Air Venture, the world’s largest air show in Wisconsin USA. Close to a million populate the mass fly-in over the week, a pilgrimage worshipping all aspects of flight. The event annually generates $85 million in revenue over a 25 mile radius from Oshkosh. The event is presented by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), a national/international organization based in Oshkosh. The airshow is seven days long and typically begins on the last Monday in July. The airport's control tower is the busiest control tower in the world during the gathering.
    oshkosh_airshow04-07-01-2000.jpg
  • The owner of a home-built aeroplane polishes its shiny surfaces during the world's largest aviation airshow at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, at Oshkosh Air Venture, the world’s largest air show in Wisconsin USA. Close to a million populate the mass fly-in over the week, a pilgrimage worshipping all aspects of flight. The event annually generates $85 million in revenue over a 25 mile radius from Oshkosh. The event is presented by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), a national/international organization based in Oshkosh. The airshow is seven days long and typically begins on the last Monday in July. The airport's control tower is the busiest control tower in the world during the gathering.
    oshkosh_airshow07-07-01-2000.jpg
  • Enthusiasts watch descending parachutists during the world's largest aviation airshow at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, at Oshkosh Air Venture, the world’s largest air show in Wisconsin USA. Close to a million populate the mass fly-in over the week, a pilgrimage worshipping all aspects of flight. The event annually generates $85 million in revenue over a 25 mile radius from Oshkosh. The event is presented by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), a national/international organization based in Oshkosh. The airshow is seven days long and typically begins on the last Monday in July. The airport's control tower is the busiest control tower in the world during the gathering.
    oshkosh_airshow06-07-01-2000.jpg
  • Visitors to the world's largest aviation airshow at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, admire home-built kit aeroplanes at Oshkosh Air Venture, the world’s largest air show in Wisconsin USA. Close to a million people populate the mass fly-in over the week, a pilgrimage worshipping all aspects of flight. The event annually generates $85 million in revenue over a 25 mile radius from Oshkosh. The event is presented by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), a national/international organization based in Oshkosh. The airshow is seven days long and typically begins on the last Monday in July. The airport's control tower is the busiest control tower in the world during the gathering.
    oshkosh_airshow01-02-08-2000.jpg
  • Starting the motor of a paraglider for its pilot during the world's largest aviation airshow at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, at Oshkosh Air Venture, the world’s largest air show in Wisconsin USA. Close to a million populate the mass fly-in over the week, a pilgrimage worshipping all aspects of flight. The event annually generates $85 million in revenue over a 25 mile radius from Oshkosh. The event is presented by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), a national/international organization based in Oshkosh. The airshow is seven days long and typically begins on the last Monday in July. The airport's control tower is the busiest control tower in the world during the gathering
    oshkosh_airshow03-07-01-2000.jpg
  • Seductive world destinations on view in a Manama City travel agency window, in the Bahrain capital. Showing the capitals of the world with the faces of European flight attendant and the children from an Asian country, the poster promises a seductive opportunity to book a trip to new experiences - the clock tower of Big Ben in London and the Sphinx of Giza in Egypt being two ideas that wealthy Bahrainis might wish to see for themselves, seen here months before the terrorist attacks on America that changed the public's attitude to flying on commercial airliners.
    bahrain_airport_poster01-21-04-2001.jpg
  • Spectators at the French Capgemini and Russian Defence Export chalets watch flying displays outide during the Paris Air Show
    paris_air_show92-20-06-2007.jpg
  • Delegates watch flying displays outide during the Paris Air Show exhibition at Le Bourget airfield
    paris_air_show64-20-06-2007.jpg
  • With great concentration, Flight Lieutenant Dan Simmons and Squadron Leader David Thomas of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team, meticulously brief themselves for their forthcoming air display at the RAF College at Cranwell, Lincolnshire. The two pilots, dressed in their famous red flying suits, stand out from a small group of Ministry of Defence (MoD) drivers who stand around with time to spare, some looking skyward at other overhead aerobatics. The 'Synchro Pair' (Reds 6 and 7) are the two pilots whose aircraft make the most dynamic of the manoeuvres including a cross called the Opposition Barrel Roll where both pilots aim at each other at closing speeds of 760 mph.Since 1965 the Red Arrows have flown over 4,000 such shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows181_RBA.jpg
  • A jet airliner passes overhead in bright skies, blurred purposely using a slow camera speed.
    blurred_aviation10-16-08-2010.jpg
  • A jet airliner passes overhead in bright skies, blurred purposely using a slow camera speed.
    blurred_aviation08-16-08-2010.jpg
  • A jet airliner passes overhead in bright skies, blurred purposely using a slow camera speed.
    blurred_aviation07-16-08-2010.jpg
  • A jet airliner passes overhead in bright skies, blurred purposely using a slow camera speed.
    blurred_aviation06-16-08-2010.jpg
  • A jet airliner passes overhead in bright skies, blurred purposely using a slow camera speed.
    blurred_aviation05-16-08-2010.jpg
  • During a two-hour flight to attend the first-ever international Conference on Womens' Challenge in Darfur. Women sit patiently in the cabin of a chartered Russian Antonov aircraft during flight to Al Fasher (also spelled, Al-Fashir) in north Darfur where women from remote parts of Sudan gathered to discuss peace and political issues. The short flight saves them a hazardous five-day drive by road, known for extreme acts of violence by rebels and Janjaweed soldiers.
    sudan038-23-05-2009.jpg
  • During a two-hour flight to attend the first-ever international Conference on Womens' Challenge in Darfur. Women sit patiently in the cabin of a chartered Russian Antonov aircraft during flight to Al Fasher (also spelled, Al-Fashir) in north Darfur where women from remote parts of Sudan gathered to discuss peace and political issues. The short flight saves them a hazardous five-day drive by road, known for extreme acts of violence by rebels and Janjaweed soldiers.
    sudan037-23-05-2009.jpg
  • Dr Safaa Elagib Adam and Maha Faraigon help themselves to airline sweets near the window on a flight to attend the first-ever international Conference on Womens' Challenge in Darfur. Discussing conference matters, they sit in a chartered Russian Antonov aircraft during flight to Al Fasher (also spelled, Al-Fashir) in north Darfur where women from remote parts of Sudan gathered to discuss peace and political issues. The short flight saves them a hazardous five-day drive by road, known for extreme acts of violence by rebels and Janjaweed soldiers.
    sudan035-23-05-2009.jpg
  • Dr Safaa Elagib Adam and Maha Faraigon are seated near the window on a flight to attend the first-ever international Conference on Womens' Challenge in Darfur. Discussing conference matters, they sit in a chartered Russian Antonov aircraft during flight to Al Fasher (also spelled, Al-Fashir) in north Darfur where women from remote parts of Sudan gathered to discuss peace and political issues. The short flight saves them a hazardous five-day drive by road, known for extreme acts of violence by rebels and Janjaweed soldiers.
    sudan034-23-05-2009.jpg
  • An airline flight-engineer occupies his own seat in the cockpit of a Boeing 747 - before the era arrived when technology made his role as a third flight crew member redundant. With a bowl of fresh fruit beside his seat, the male member of the flight-deck crew watches instruments and readings in front of the unseen pilots at the front. Wearing the three stripes designating his rank and seniority within his unspecified airline, the specialist's skills are in engineering systems that maintain efficient flight. When introduced, the Boeing 747-400 model was equipped with a two-crew glass cockpit, which dispensed with the need for a flight engineer - many of whom lost their jobs or retrained as pilots themselves.
    flight_engineer01-07-08-2000.jpg
  • A jet airliner passes overhead in bright skies, blurred purposely using a slow camera speed.
    blurred_aviation01-29-08-2010.jpg
  • A jet airliner passes overhead in bright skies, blurred purposely using a slow camera speed.
    blurred_aviation12-16-08-2010.jpg
  • A jet airliner passes overhead in bright skies, blurred purposely using a slow camera speed.
    blurred_aviation11-16-08-2010.jpg
  • Seen through garden trees, a jet airliner passes overhead in bright skies, blurred purposely using a slow camera speed.
    blurred_aviation01-16-08-2010.jpg
  • Dr Safaa Elagib Adam reads documents on the journey by air to the firstever international Conference on Womens' Challenge in Darfur. Seated in a chartered Russian Antonov aircraft during flight to Al Fasher (also spelled, Al-Fashir) where women from remote parts of Sudan gathered to discuss peace and political issues. The short flight saves her a hazardous five-day drive by road, known for extreme acts of violence by rebels and Janjaweed soldiers.
    sudan041-23-05-2009.jpg
  • Dr Safaa Elagib Adam reads documents on the journey by air to the firstever international Conference on Womens' Challenge in Darfur. Seated in a chartered Russian Antonov aircraft during flight to Al Fasher (also spelled, Al-Fashir) where women from remote parts of Sudan gathered to discuss peace and political issues. The short flight saves her a hazardous five-day drive by road, known for extreme acts of violence by rebels and Janjaweed soldiers.
    sudan040-23-05-2009.jpg
  • Dr Safaa Elagib Adam and Maha Faraigon are seated near the window on a flight to attend the first-ever international Conference on Womens' Challenge in Darfur. Discussing conference matters, they sit in a chartered Russian Antonov aircraft during flight to Al Fasher (also spelled, Al-Fashir) in north Darfur where women from remote parts of Sudan gathered to discuss peace and political issues. The short flight saves them a hazardous five-day drive by road, known for extreme acts of violence by rebels and Janjaweed soldiers.
    sudan036-23-05-2009.jpg
  • A lady attending the first international Conference on Womens' Challenge in Darfur, boards a chartered Russian Antonov aircraft during flight to Al Fasher (also spelled, Al-Fashir) where women from remote parts of Sudan gathered to discuss peace and political issues.
    sudan023-23-05-2009.jpg
  • Waiting in line for a departing flight, an airline captain patiently queues with his flight baggage along with passengers. Rather than being on duty and flying the aircraft himself, he is travelling home as a passenger. On many commercial flights, off-duty air crew position as passengers. Airlines plan complicated logistics with cabin and cockpit crew members' duty rosters. This man's four stripes denotes his seniority as a captain who flies right-hand seat, in command of a airliner. In the US, pilots might also have National Guard careers flying jet fighters in times of conflict while off-duty in airline shifts. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis53-10-11-2000.jpg
  • Spectators watch an air show at North Weald in Cambridgeshire, England. A man films a lone aircraft that banks across the summer sky. The enthusiast's blue denim jacket is almost fully-covered with aeronautical badges which depict various foreign military aerobatic teams, including the Swiss, Norwegian and German squadrons, whose emblems have been stitched into the fabric. Plane spotters form hardcore groups of aviation pilgrims. Logging and photographing flying machines, they follow air displays across their own countries and the calendars of other European festivals that attract hundreds of thousands. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
    aviation_corbis10-12-05-1997.jpg
  • In mid-flight over Greater London, we see a passenger?s view of a turning airliner's wing and the capital's dusk landscape below at a low altitude. As the starboard (right) wing dips, the Virgin Atlantic Airbus banks and a long exposure blurs the city lights below. A small curved portion of the passenger window, red engines and the Union Jack colours are seen. As aerodynamic design, the flying machine is a perfect gesture towards the conquest of flight, copied from the characteristics of a bird?s anatomy. As art, the mere beauty of taking to the air and maintaining level, organised speed is so routine, we rarely look our from our window to marvel at how and why. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis50-10-11-2000.jpg
  • An airport worker employed by SABTCO guides an arriving Airbus onto its stand at Bahrain International Airport. The man carefully encourages the slow-moving flying machine using his illuminated sticks alerting the pilot in control of this commercial airliner to an exact stopping place after its taxiing from the runway. It is another hot day in this Gulf State, a key hub airport in the region, providing a gateway to the Northern Gulf. The airport is the major hub for Gulf Air which provides 52% of overall movements. It is also the half-way point between Western Europe and Asian destinations such as Hong Kong and Beijing. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis07-21-04-2001.jpg
  • A Bahrani aircraft mechanic stands beneath the giant nose wheel assembly of a Being airliner at Bahrain International Airport. Wearing a red headset, he can communicate by cable with the pilots high up in the aircraft's cockpit as a vehicle pushes-back the flying machine onto the taxi-way before starting its engines and departure. It is another hot day in this Gulf State, a key hub airport in the region, providing a gateway to the Northern Gulf. The airport is the major hub for Gulf Air which provides 52% of overall movements. It is also the half-way point between Western Europe and Asian destinations such as Hong Kong and Beijing. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis06-21-04-2001.jpg
  • A female passenger leans forward with head in hands amid the busy terminal at Chicago O'Hare Airport, Illinois, USA. Fellow-travellers in the background appear unworried, waiting for their respective flights in a calm manner. The lady in the foreground's body language however, suggests fatigue and distress and perhaps a fear of flying. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis52-10-11-2000.jpg
  • In mid-flight between Hamburg in Germany and London Heathrow, we see a passenger?s view of a climbing airliner's port wing and the hazy German landscape below at a high altitude. The sky above reflects its soft blue hue on the upper surface of the left wing but the air below is a soft pink, a rural patchwork of fields and villages. As an example of aerodynamic design, the flying machine is a perfect gesture towards the conquest of flight, copied from the characteristics of a bird?s anatomy. As art, the mere beauty of taking to the air and maintaining level, organised speed is so routine, we rarely look our from our window to marvel at how and why. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis34-21-05-2002.jpg
  • Near the end of the military runway at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk England, a road sign warns of low-flying aircraft near the base which is populated by the United States Air Force Refuelling Wing. Beneath the triangular sign is a locally made makeshift advertisement for CJ's, a nearby cafe. It is summer and the shrubs are green with white flowers to the side. The sign itself has become discoloured with green algae after being rained on over successive wet weather days. In the UK, the Highway Code for road-users lists this warning sign (always triangular) as "Low-flying aircraft or sudden aircraft noise." Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis21-27-05-2001.jpg
  • A French Dassault-Breguet Mirage military jet interceptor/fighter stands on a pedestal in the Place de la Concorde, Paris during an aviation display weekend along the Champs Elysées. Passers-by seem oblivious to this celebration of French aviation as they walk through the Parisian square, the scene of public executions during the revolution. The Mirage seems to be climbing off its platform and up into the cloudless summer afternoon sky as a young child sits on top of his father's shoulders and passengers in a city bus seem trapped behind the windows. Its is a scene of incongruous moments, a surreal appearance of frightening military technology amid the calm of a public place. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis28-15-09-1998.jpg
  • In a farmer's tool shed, a painted mural depicting B-24 Liberators sweeping over the cracked brick wall of what was once an officers? mess at the WW2 Wendling airfield, Norfolk England. Below this scene of heroic military might, young officers flying Liberators of the 392nd Bomb Group gathered before and after raids into Germany from November 1943 to July 1945. The runway is now partly covered by a turkey farm and this building is now full of car and tractor parts. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis19-05-10-2000.jpg
  • Virgin Chairman Sir Richard Branson performs in front of the media during a publicity launch of Virgin Atlantic's new Airbus A340-600 which is parked behind the business tycoon during the Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire, England. He stands on one leg in a typically eccentric aviation-owner balancing trick. Behind him near the aircraft's nose a Virgin 'babe' echoes his outstretched arms while flying the British Union Jack flag. Farnborough centres its presence on big aerospace business to the tune of $40bn in orders and industry leaders like Branson, Boeing and Airbus parade their brands and announce new orders throughout the week-long display. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis26-23-07-2002.jpg
  • Empty chairs and open Bibles, all bathed in yellow artificial light make this airport chapel in Frankfurt am Main, Germany a European modernist haven from the chaos of global air travel; an escape from delays, terrorism and overall fears of flying. Predominately Christian with small corners for Muslim believers, the new modernism at Frankfurt/Main reflects a strong European tradition of functional design ? far removed from the drab, dourness of many similar American facilities. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis32-19-10-2000.jpg
  • During a lull in activity, a Boeing 747 is swathed in engineering gantries during a major check (maintenance schedule) at the British Airways Heathrow base in London England. As if in a hospital ER several metres off the ground, yellow struts surround the aircraft's forward nose section and the first class windows along the white fuselage allowing mechanics, engineers and avionics specialists unimpeded access to every element of the air frame. Neon tubes illuminate the hangar that houses flying machines which are serviced here between transcontinental commercial passenger flights. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis20-17-11-2000.jpg
  • A competitor in the annual Birdman of Bognor event attempts to fly at Bognor Regis, East Sussex, England. English eccentrics gather annually at the southern seaside town to jump from the pier into the chilly waters of the English Channel. Fun jumpers ?wearing? their aeroplane suits compete for a £25,000 prize for the one to fly 100 metres from the pier platform ? a record not yet achieved. Entrants (who often jump for charity rather than any aeronautical pretensions) include sugar plum fairies, condoms, Ninja Turtles and vampires. The winner was a hang-glider pilot reaching 26 metres but here, a Spitfire sponsored by a milk company drops vertically. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis22-27-05-2001.jpg
  • Now an overgrown, mildew-ridden farm shack in woodland in Seething, Norfolk England, this wall mural was once one of the barracks housing 3,000 young World War 2 bomber crews so was probably painted by a young aspiring artist and aviator with the 448th Bomb Group, a fleet of bombers based in England from November 1943 to July 1945. The picture depicts a confrontation between US Air Force B-24 Liberators, a P-51 Mustang and probably a German Dornier. There are hairline cracks in the plaster but the yellow hue of the hand-painted wall is largely intact despite damp conditions in the shed. There are however, other artistic details now faded. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
    aviation_corbis18-05-10-2000.jpg
  • A father supports his son on his shoulders as a giant four-engined airliner passes directly overhead, about to land at London's Heathrow airport, England. Seen from a low angle, we see the graphic cruciform shape of the aircraft as it screams past two powerful airfield landing lights that help guide arriving aircraft to the runway. The backlit scene is largely monochrome apart from the boys red t-shirt and yellow-faced watch which are lit by flash, underexposing the overcast sky. Prior to 9/11, British airport authorities and police tolerated plane spotters near runway fences but with heightened terrorist alerts, these enthusiasts are told to move on or face arrest. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis13-17-08-1997.jpg
  • The nose detail of a de Havilland Comet in the colours of the long-defunct airline Dan Air is seen in profile at the Imperial War Museum's Duxford airfield, Cambridgeshire, England. The British de Havilland Comet first flew in July 1949 and is noted as the world's first commercial jet airliner as well as one of the first pressurized commercial aircraft. Early models suffered from catastrophic metal fatigue and the aircraft was redesigned. Here, the nose structure is held together with rivets that sit askew of the aircraft skin making it aerodynamically unfit to fly. It remains however, one of the classic and iconic designs in the history of commercial aviation. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis15-12-12-1997.jpg
  • Stacks of cigarette cartons are piled up in a display of duty free goods at Bahrain International airport . Camel Filters are featured more prominently here to suggest the importance of desert Gulf States like Bahrain in the global market. Bahrain is a key hub airport in the region, providing a gateway to the Northern Gulf. The airport is the major hub for Gulf Air which provides 52% of overall movements. It is also the half-way point between Western Europe and Asian destinations such as Hong Kong and Beijing. Duty free merchandise such as tobacco, jewellery, perfumes and electronics are big business here, favouring cheaper import duties and currency rates. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
    aviation_corbis09-21-04-2001.jpg
  • On a hot night at Bahrain International Airport, a Boeing airliner is about to be pushed backwards and start its engines. Two airport agents wearing traditional Arab dress stand patiently high up on the air bridge (that joins the aircraft fuselage during its turnaround time), several metres above ground level, ensuring no last-minute problems occur before departure. This Gulf State is, a key hub airport in the region, providing a gateway to the Northern Gulf. The airport is the major hub for Gulf Air which provides 52% of overall movements. It is also the half-way point between Western Europe and Asian destinations such as Hong Kong and Beijing. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis08-21-04-2001.jpg
  • The main nose wheel of an Airbus is parked on a stand at Bahrain International Airport. The names of other Airbuses and Boeing 737 types are also written on the concrete to allow exact distances for expandable air bridges and other airfield vehicles to connect and service these similarly-sized commercial airliners. A key hub airport in this region, providing a gateway to the Northern Gulf, Bahrain is the major hub for Gulf Air which provides 52% of overall movements. It is also the half-way point between Western Europe and Asian destinations such as Hong Kong and Beijing. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis05-21-04-2001.jpg
  • An aircraft cleaner from Kathmandu, Nepal, stands in white overalls with his bucket and mop on the tarmac at Bahrain International airport. It is another hot day in this key hub airport in this Gulf region, providing a gateway to the Northern Gulf. The airport is the major hub for Gulf Air which provides 52% of overall movements and is also the half-way point between Western Europe and Asian destinations such as Hong Kong and Beijing. Gulf states also rely on the workforces from south-Asia such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh whose wages are often low and harsh living conditions compared to local nationals and tourists who enjoy superior accommodation. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.  .
    aviation_corbis04-21-04-2001.jpg
  • A Bahrani baggage-handler employed by SABTCO pauses during his shift at Bahrain International airport. Having loaded luggage and cargo into the hold of an Egyptair Airbus, he sits looking hot and tired on the company?s conveyor belt awaiting last-minute additions to the manifest before its imminent departure for Cairo, across the Mediterranean. It is another hot day in this Gulf State, a key hub airport in the region, providing a gateway to the Northern Gulf. The airport is the home for Gulf Air which provides 52% of overall movements and is also the half-way point between Western Europe and Asian destinations such as Hong Kong and Beijing. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
    aviation_corbis03-21-04-2001.jpg
  • Ten jets of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, fly over the Victoria Memorial opposite Buckingham Palace in London, on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's 100th birthday. Tourists watch as the ten aircraft leave a trail of patriotic red, white and blue smoke in honour of the monarch's elderly mother whose centenary was celebrated  in lavish style with cultural events and church services. The memorial to Queen Victoria was built by the sculptor Sir Thomas Brock, in 1911. The surround was constructed by the architect Sir Aston Webb, from 2,300 tons of white marble and is a Grade I listed building. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis17-19-07-2000.jpg
  • Taking notes from an air band receiving radio, plane spotters log aircraft serial numbers and other details in notebooks near their perimeter fence at London's Heathrow airport. A large man has a pair of binoculars and an old SLR film camera and leans against his Peugeot car's bonnet (hood) to record the obsessive facts about airliners that pass overhead as they approach the runways of West London. His fellow-aviation enthusiast checks the radio that transmits the voices of pilots and air traffic controllers. In Britain, plane spotters are regarded as eccentric and sad but not trespassers. Some have been accused of spying near foreign military airfields. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
    aviation_corbis12-17-08-1997.jpg
  • Behind railings that honoured American aviator Wilbur Wright at the annual Le Mans air show, France, seven spectators gaze upwards to a clear sky where a lone but unseen aircraft performs in front of the French crowd. Wright made 110 flights at Le Mans and nearby Auvours in 1908 and his legacy for French and global aerospace lives on at events like this where a replica of his Wright Flyer was also exhibited. It is a bright summer's day and the blue sky has vapour trails left by a previous display pilot's jet engine. A prominent British Union Jack flutters on a pole and the words 'invites' (for invited guests only) are printed on to sheets of paper. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis27-20-07-1998.jpg
  • A US Navy airman stands holding a recently-bought hot dog from a food dispenser at the Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily Italy. Wearing a green flying suit, the snack is wrapped in a napkin and its chemically-enhanced yellow mustard echoes the stripes and badge of his squadron. Home to over 5,000 military and civilian personnel including family members, Sigonella is an outpost for American nationals who have the luxuries from home freighted out to their remote mission, a hub of naval air operations in the Mediterranean Sea and home comforts keep up morale. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis35-22-02-2001.jpg
  • A lone Tornado jet fighter arcs across a typically overcast sky at Southend-on-Sea on a Bank Holiday Sunday. Well-defined figures of children and adults either play nonchalantly on the beach at low tide, or watch in awe as the aircraft thunders over the Thames Estuary mud. A few stranded yachts stand upright in the low water and a groyne stretches out to sea towards the Kent coast, seen in the distance. It is a bleak and depressingly empty scene and the jet is merely a dot in the grey English sky, traditionally familiar summer weather. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis11-25-05-1997.jpg
  • Fading, graduated light of the arid Sonoran desert shows the remains of airliners at the storage facility at Mojave, California, their silhouettes forming a line of aviation's by-gone era. Because of age or a cooling economy they are either cannibalised for still-working parts or recycled for scrap, their aluminium fuselages worth more than their sum total. After a lifetime of safe commercial flight, wings are clipped and cockpits sliced apart by huge guillotines, cutting through their once-magnificent engineering. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903...
    aviation_corbis41-15-08-1998.jpg
  • In the terminal at Charles de Gaulle/Roissy airport, Paris France, the peace of the airport chapel looks like a Star Trek-style place of worship, typical of the new airport experience pushed upon in the late '60s and early '70s. Short stools and padded benches line the intimate space in the satellite building. Designed by Paul Andreu, Charles de Gaulle became a symbol for airport modernity becoming an 'Aérogare' where trains and planes whisk the new world traveller of the late '60s, away beyond an ever-extending horizon. From here, the Air France Concorde crashed on the aviation employment town of Gonesse on July 25th 2000. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
    aviation_corbis31-24-07-2001.jpg
  • A lone passenger gazes out from the departure lounge at Charles de Gaulle/Roissy airport terminal to where airliners are parked. It is late evening and blue light outside makes the orange interior look warm. Designed by Paul Andreu, Charles de Gaulle became a symbol for airport modernity - a Le Corbusier concept of rail stations and ?autodromes.? Charles de Gaulle?s role as airport and rail station fuses into one, thus becoming an ?Aérogare? where trains and planes whisk the new world traveller of the late ?60s, away beyond an ever-extending horizon. From here, the Air France Concorde crashed on the aviation employment town of Gonesse on July 25th 2000. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis30-27-07-2000.jpg
  • A competitor in the annual Birdman of Bognor event stands on the pier floor boards at Bognor Regis, East Sussex, England. English eccentrics gather annually at the southern seaside town to jump from the pier into the chilly waters of the English Channel. Fun jumpers ?wearing? their aeroplane suits compete for a £25,000 prize for the one to fly 100 metres from the pier platform ? a record not yet achieved. Entrants (who often jump for charity rather than any aeronautical pretensions) include sugar plum fairies, condoms, Ninja Turtles and vampires. The winner was a hang-glider pilot reaching 26 metres but here, a Spitfire pilot sponsored by a milk company eventually dropped vertically. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis23-27-05-2001.jpg
  • A visitor to Oshkosh Air Venture, the world?s largest air show in Wisconsin USA, stands by an A-10 Thunderbolt Tank Buster or Warthog. Wearing a t-shirt depicting a Cherokee Indian and a Bald Eagle, the tourist awaits family as aviation enthusiasts climb steps to the aircraft's cockpit. The Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft designed to provide close air support of ground forces by attacking tanks, armoured vehicles, and other ground targets. It has also been involved with British friendly fire incidents in Iraq. Close to a million populate the mass fly-in over the week, a pilgrimage worshipping all aspects of flight. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
    aviation_corbis46-29-08-1998.jpg
  • Air passengers exit and enter a transit train at Chicago O'Hare airport, Illinois USA. They pull suitcases behind them as they negotiate the airport terminal transport system that takes them across the sprawling complex of terminals and tunnels. A large central yellow traffic arrow saying OUT is most prominent telling arriving people to keep in the middle, allowing those departing to enter the carriage from the sides. There is a slight blur to the picture showing the hurrying nature of modern air travel, vastly different from the pioneering days of flight for only the socially elite. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903..
    aviation_corbis49-10-11-2000.jpg
  • In mid-day heat of the arid Sonoran desert sit the remains of a Boeing 747 airliner at the storage facility at Mojave, California. Here, the fate of the world's retired civil airliners is decided by age or a cooling economy and are either cannibalised for still-working parts or recycled for scrap, their aluminium fuselages worth more than their sum total. After a lifetime of safe commercial flight, wings are clipped and cockpits sliced apart by huge guillotines, cutting through their once-magnificant engineering. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_graveyard02-16-03-2008-15-0...jpg
  • In mid-day heat of the arid Sonoran desert sit the remains of a Boeing airliner sat the storage facility at Mojave, California. Here, the fate of the world's retired civil airliners is decided by age or a cooling economy and are either cannibalised for still-working parts or recycled for scrap, their aluminium fuselages worth more than their sum total. After a lifetime of safe commercial flight, wings are clipped and cockpits sliced apart by huge guillotines, cutting through their once-magnificant engineering. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_graveyard04-16-03-2008-15-0...jpg
  • Like a huge caged animal in a zoo, the cockpit section of a Boeing 747 'jumbo' jet is perceived peering over the barbed-wire perimeter fence at London's Heathrow airport between engineering schedules and more transcontinental flights. Two fluffy cumulus clouds are stacked vertically above the hump of the airliner's nose to form three white blotches of the same tone. This major hub is mainly for British Airways operations, one of the three busiest airports in the world. When asked what is his favourite building of the Century, architect Sir Norman Foster offered the 747 the Jumbo has since carried 2.2 billion people: 40% of the world's population. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis14-17-08-1997.jpg
  • Sheryl is an Airport Ambassador Volunteer at Dallas Fort Worth, Texas and stands for a portrait at the foot of some escalators in the main terminal. She sports a straw hat saying 'Ask Me' in red and a name badge with her job title although she comes to the airport to assist strangers at her city's airport, hoping her good nature and charitable efforts will help uncertain travellers find their way. Also on her jacket is a the phrase 'Proud to be Drug Free .. Airport Narcotics Task Force.' 'Fort Worth is the sixth busiest airport in the world transporting 59,064,360 passengers in 2005. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903..
    aviation_corbis56-10-11-2000.jpg
  • A United Airlines ramp agent stands in the terminal building of Chicago O'Hare airport before continuing his airside shift, dispatching and communicating with his operational airline colleagues. The man stands with hands in pockets wearing his company issue fluorescent safety jacket with reflective materials important on the ramp, in the company of dangerous vehicles and running aircraft engines. Ensuring the smooth arrival and departures of flights across America and the rest of the world, he is a key member of the airline at its O'Hare hub. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis55-10-11-2000.jpg
  • Late at night, in a gloomy arrivals gate at Chicago O'Hare airport, a young man sits patiently on his own awaiting the arrival of his girlfriend after a holiday in Asia. It is the last flight to land and a helium balloon floats on a string bearing the words 'Welcome Home', a popular gesture for relatives in airports around the world, each having their own cultural way of showing affection for arriving family members after long absences. The balloon stands still, the only colour amid the drab interior of this sprawling airport hub. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis54-10-11-2000.jpg
  • We see a male passenger from the waste down with a laptop computer in one hand and a Retriever puppy peering out from his owner's bag in the other, both human and pet are about to board a domestic flight from Chicago O'Hare airport. According to the American Transport Security Administration, taking pets into the aircraft cabin is permissable but the animal is required to be presented to the Security Officers at the checkpoint. it may also walk with its owner through the metal detector but not through the x-ray scanner. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis51-10-11-2000.jpg
  • A gentleman Sky Cap stands in front of the terminal building at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, California, USA. Wearing his red waste-coat, ID badge and cap he holds the handle of the baggage trolley with which he assists passengers to offload their belongings and guides them to the check-in counters inside. The man has a greying beard and sunglasses against the glare and is an eager helper to those struggling with heavy travel possessions. On the ground are stencilled the words 'Passenger Loading Only' referring to where departing travellers might seek help with baggage. There are armies of workers across the world keeping airlines and airports running 24/7. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903..
    aviation_corbis47-10-11-2000.jpg
  • In the heat and dust of the arid Sonoran desert are the remains of a Boeing 747 cockpit at the storage facility at Mojave, California. The wiring of the now-extinct flight engineer's console is a jumble of old technology. Either by age or cooling economy airliners are either cannibalised for still-working parts or recycled for scrap, their aluminium fuselages worth more than their sum total. Elsewhere, assorted aircraft wrecks sit abandoned in the scrub minus their bellies, legs or wings like dying birds. After a lifetime of safe commercial flight, wings are clipped and cockpits sliced apart by huge guillotines, cutting through their once-magnificent engineering. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903..
    aviation_corbis43-15-08-1998.jpg
  • In mid-day heat of the arid Arizona desert, a complete set of main landing gear undercarriage stands upright amid a field of similar items from airliners at the storage facility at Davis Monthan, Tucson. Here, the fate of the world's retired civil airliners is decided by age or cooling economy. Cannibalised for still-working parts or recycled for scrap, their aluminium is worth more than their sum total. Elsewhere, assorted aircraft wrecks sit abandoned in the scrub minus their bellies, legs or wings like dying birds. After a lifetime of safe commercial flight, wings are clipped and cockpits sliced apart by huge guillotines, cutting through their engineering. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
    aviation_corbis42-15-08-1998.jpg
  • In mid-day heat of the arid Sonoran desert sit the remains of Boeing 747 airliners at the storage facility at Mojave, California. Here, the fate of the world?s retired civil airliners is decided by age or a cooling economy and are either cannibalised for still-working parts or recycled for scrap, their aluminium fuselages worth more than their sum total. After a lifetime of safe commercial flight, wings are clipped and cockpits sliced apart by huge guillotines, cutting through their once-magnificant engineering. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
    aviation_corbis40-15-08-1998.jpg
  • In mid-day heat of the arid Sonoran desert sits the gutted remains of a Lockheed Tri-Star airliner at the storage facility at Mojave, California. Here, the fate of the world?s retired civil airliners is decided by age or a cooling economy and are either cannibalised for still-working parts or recycled for scrap, their aluminium fuselages worth more than their sum total. After a lifetime of safe commercial flight, wings are clipped and cockpits sliced apart by huge guillotines, cutting through the sleek curves. Elsewhere, Jumbo jets, Airbuses and assorted Boeings sit abandoned in the scrub minus their bellies, legs or wings like dying birds. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis39-15-08-1998.jpg
  • Seen through a glass screen, we see a crowd of passengers - a mixture of business and holiday travellers - awaiting the departure of their commercial flight from Frankfurt am Main international airport, Germany. Reflected lights and other windows merge into this scene of European air travel where the everyday misery of delays and disruption affect millions on a daily basis. Some people are still seated while the more enthusiastic wait in line, queuing for the imminent departure. Frankfurt is also a sprawling hub for the German state airline Lufthansa. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis33-19-10-2000.jpg
  • Looking down from above, we see one lone queuing traveller at Charles de Gaulle, gazes up towards the large Departures board. Fellow-passengers wait by baggage trolleys in a civilised line beneath the information. Charles de Gaulle/Roissy is a hub airport for Air France north of the French capital. The departures information has schedule times, destinations, flight, satellite and gate numbers plus   remarks. Air travellers experience such misery every day and shows of how global air travel has become a routine, mundane and stressful for the everyday airline passenger - a far cry from when commercial flight was purely for the elite. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis29-27-07-2000.jpg
  • A Rolls-Royce turbofan has been fixed to the exterior of the company?s sales stand at the Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire, England. The British-owned company have been making aircraft engines since 1914 at the start of the First World War, in response to the nation's needs, Royce designed his first aero engine ? the Eagle. Modern airliners have the Trent engine's technology embedded in its power plants and Farnborough is a major showcase for its many designs. Here, their chalet has a mocked-up garden feature complete railings and the turbine blades attached to the wall above. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis25-23-07-2002.jpg
  • Like a huge caged animal in a zoo, the cockpit section of a Boeing 747 'jumbo' jet is perceived peering over the barbed-wire perimeter fence at London's Heathrow airport between engineering schedules and more transcontinental flights. Two fluffy cumulus clouds are stacked vertically above the hump of the airliner's nose to form three white blotches of the same tone. This major hub is mainly for British Airways operations, one of the three busiest airports in the world. When asked what is his favourite building of the Century, architect Sir Norman Foster offered the 747 the Jumbo has since carried 2.2 billion people: 40% of the world?s population. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis14-17-08-1997.jpg
  • An American Airlines male flight attendant stands with his crew baggage against a window at Dallas Fort Worth airport, Texas. Dressed in the corporate airline uniform he stands erect with a hand in his pocket, his ID badge clipped to his jacket and a pin conveying his command of the Japanese language. A mesh screen partially obscures drab concrete buildings outside which can be seen through the glass. Dallas Fort Worth is the sixth busiest airport in the world transporting 59,064,360 passengers in 2005. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903..
    aviation_corbis48-10-11-2000.jpg
  • Two crewmen aboard the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman sit on a fire vehicle on the ship's deck. Wearing red signifies that they are part of a crash and salvage team who respond to emergencies and fire hazards and so wear flame-retardant and anti-flash clothing material. Ordinarily they are responsible for making safe and towing ("doing the bow dance") $38 million F/A-18s fighters round the deck of the Navy?s newest aircraft carrier, here on coalition patrol somewhere off Kuwait in the Arabian Sea. The Truman is so called after the US President who was in office from 1945 to 1953.  Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
    aviation_corbis01-19-04-2001.jpg
  • Exercise Dogfish 2001, will take place in the Ionian Sea to the east of Sicily. Eight NATO surface ships from Standing Naval Force Mediterranean will join the exercise...P-3 Orion..Seven submarines from Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United States are also scheduled to take part...Over 130 air missions are planned, and on average this will result in a crew briefing every two hours, day and night, throughout the 14-day exercise. ..Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis36-22-02-2001.jpg
  • Known as 'Old Glory', a polished silver Boeing Mitchell B-25 is refuelled in readiness for a display flight at Oshkosh Air Venture, the world?s largest air show in Wisconsin USA. In afternoon light, a lady in a stars and stripes shirt stands arms behind her back admiring the lovingly restored polished twin-engine bomber, the most heavily armed airplane of the second world war used for high and low-level bombing, strafing, photoreconnaissance, submarine patrol and fighter. Close to a million populate the mass fly-in over the week, a pilgrimage worshipping all aspects of flight. The event annually generates $85 million in revenue over a 25 mile radius from Oshkosh. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903
    aviation_corbis45-28-08-1998.jpg
  • Baggage belonging to a British Airways Concorde crew is lined up beneath their aircraft after arriving at Oshkosh Air Venture, the world?s largest air show in Wisconsin USA. Twelve cases match 12 of Concorde's tiny windows and some of the crowd either take shelter from the sun or walk around the supersonic jet in awe of this engineering marvel. Their baggage is lined up beneath the aircraft during its visit to this huge show in Wisconsin, USA. Close to a million populate the mass fly-in over the week, a pilgrimage worshipping all aspects of flight. The event annually generates $85 million in revenue over a 25 mile radius from Oshkosh. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis44-27-08-1998.jpg
  • Two US Navy helicopters have been parked next to some cacti at the Pima Air and Space Museum near Davis Monthan Air Force base, Tucson, Arizona. In the arid desert heat we see only the rear sections of the aircraft, their rotors have been moved into a storage position and so echo the arm-like form and camouflaged tones of the cactus branches. The ground is sandy from the desert floor and soft, overhead light casts a shadow beneath the aircraft's fuselage. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis37-10-08-1998.jpg
  • 'Counting the Cost' is a memorial sculpture in glass designed by Renato Niemis which is outside at the American Air Museum at the Imperial War Museum, RAF Duxford, England. The sculpture comprises of 52 toughened clear float glass panels, each etched with the outlines of 7,031 aircraft missing in action in operations flown by American air forces (Air Force and Navy Groups) from Britain during the Second World War. The images are scaled at 1:240, diagonally pointing towards the blue summer sky once filled with bombers and fighters during the air campaign over Germany and France. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis16-12-12-1997.jpg
  • A US Navy electrician looks straight into the camera wearing a brown colour-coded uniform and beneath the cockpit of an EA-6B Prowler, a communications and intelligence-gathering patrol aircraft on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman, on patrol off Kuwait in the Persian Gulf enforcing the coalition's no-fly zone over Iraq. Behind him are the signs and emblems of the US Navy aircraft that is parked on the deck of this carrier so named after the US President who was in office from 1945 to 1953. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903. .
    aviation_corbis02-19-04-2001.jpg
  • Joining with the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team on the far left, are the smoke trails of forty leading European display aircraft: Spanish Patrulla Aguila; Italian Frecce Tricolori; French Breitling Jet Team and the Swiss Patrouille Suisse. All flew together in the clear, blue alpine skies on a spectacular fly-past at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. The two-day festival at the Swiss airfield is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. European display teams and air forces gathered to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Swiss military aviation. Flying on the far left here, the Red Arrows have performed over 4,000 shows in 52 countries since 1965.
    Red_Arrows672_RBA.jpg
  • Joining with the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team on the far left, are the smoke trails of forty leading European display aircraft: Spanish Patrulla Aguila; Italian Frecce Tricolori; French Breitling Jet Team and the Swiss Patrouille Suisse. All flew together in the clear, blue alpine skies on a spectacular fly-past at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. The two-day festival at the Swiss airfield is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. European display teams and air forces gathered to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Swiss military aviation. Flying on the far left here, the Red Arrows have performed over 4,000 shows in 52 countries since 1965. .
    Red_Arrows673_RBA.jpg
  • Pilots belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, walk in line from their parked Hawk jet aircraft during their two-day visit to the airfield at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. It is a perfect day for aerobatics with blue alpine skies during the teams' two-day visit to the Swiss airfield. Payerne is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. European display teams and air forces gathered to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Swiss military aviation. The team walk towards waiting transport wearing the red flying suits, synonymous with an ambassadorial role for the UK and recruiting tool for the RAF's pilots of the future. SInce their birth in 1965, they have performed over 4,000 shows in 52 countries. .
    Red_Arrows667_RBA.jpg
  • Joining with the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team on the far left, are the smoke trails of forty leading European display aircraft: Spanish Patrulla Aguila; Italian Frecce Tricolori; French Breitling Jet Team and the Swiss Patrouille Suisse. All flew together in the clear, blue alpine skies on a spectacular fly-past at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. The two-day festival at the Swiss airfield is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. European display teams and air forces gathered to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Swiss military aviation. Flying on the far left here, the Red Arrows have performed over 4,000 shows in 52 countries since 1965.
    Red_Arrows671_RBA.jpg
  • Joining with the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team on the far left, are the smoke trails of forty leading European display aircraft: Spanish Patrulla Aguila; Italian Frecce Tricolori; French Breitling Jet Team and the Swiss Patrouille Suisse. All flew together in the clear, blue alpine skies on a spectacular fly-past at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. The two-day festival at the Swiss airfield is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. European display teams and air forces gathered to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Swiss military aviation. Flying on the far left here, the Red Arrows have performed over 4,000 shows in 52 countries since 1965.
    Red_Arrows641_RBA.jpg
  • Squadron Leader Duncan Mason of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, strides out across a gloomy, rainswept 'apron' at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. Squadron Leader Mason will fly up to 6 times daily during winter training ,when weather permits, learning new manoeuvres. Wearing winter green flying suits, their day is spent flying and de-briefing. Mason  wears a green flying suit with anti-g pants and helmet on with its pilot number. He is being greeted by a member of the team's support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1.  The engineer wears a fluorescent yellow tabard and stands politely by the waiting aircraft on the 'line'. He has already prepared it for flight and helps with any technical issues that may arise.
    Red_Arrows015_RBA.jpg
  • Pilots belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, walk in line from their parked Hawk jet aircraft during their two-day visit to the airfield at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. It is a perfect day for aerobatics with blue alpine skies during the teams' two-day visit to the Swiss airfield. Payerne is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. European display teams and air forces gathered to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Swiss military aviation. The team walk towards waiting transport wearing the red flying suits, synonymous with an ambassadorial role for the UK and recruiting tool for the RAF's pilots of the future. Since their birth in 1965, they have performed over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows668_RBA.jpg
  • Squadron Leader John Green the executive officer of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, instructs a group of RAF fighter pilots in the art of manual close-formation aerobatic flying. Explaining how to line up their aircraft with their nearest neighbour using a system called 'referencing', he shows them with his fingers the margin of error that is tolerated when only 12ft (3-4m) apart and flying at 400mph (650kph).  The recruits all hope to be selected for next year's team and have travelled to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus where the Red Arrows complete their pre-season training. Seen from beneath the Hawk jet aircraft's nose on the 'line' Squadron Leader Green kneels by the trailing wing edge to demonstrate what he will expect from their upcoming flying test.
    Red_Arrows305_RBA.jpg
  • Brian Lecomber flew as a professional aerobatic pilot for 23 years, during which time his Firebird Aerobatics team completed over 2,800 solo and formation displays in front of an estimated total of 90 million spectators. They gave displays in 15 countries, and had a 100% safety record before closing in 2003. They will be remembered as one of the UK's most successful professional civilian aerobatic display company. Lecomber has been a racing motorcycle mechanic; journalist; wing-walker in a flying circus; chief flying instructor in the Caribbean; crop-spray pilot, and then a best-selling author of aviation novels. We see him in-flight performing a tight turn above southern English fields of Buckinghamshire with flying partner Alan Wade when the team was sponsored by the Rover Group.
    brian_lecomber01.jpg
  • In the mid-day heat, Squadron Leader John Green is a member of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Here he walks out alone to his aircraft, which is lined up with some of the others jets at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus before flying out to Marka in Jordan for the first display of the year. The Red Arrows arrive each April to fine-tune their air show skills in the clear Mediterranean skies and continue their busy display calendar above the skies of the UK and other European show circuit. We see John Green carrying his flight bag and life-vest over his shoulder. He paces confidently across the bright 'apron' dressed in his famous red flying suit that the Red Arrows have made famous since 1965. He is alone and striding confidently towards the matching red eight Hawk airplanes.
    Red_Arrows093_RBA.jpg
  • An airshow aviation enthusiast adorned with badges enjoy aerobatic activity above their heads at Biggin Hill, Kent, England. As a helicopter banks tightly to the right, other groupies film something else to the left from the public areas during the many varied flying displays  at this small airfield north of London that saw action as an important airfield during the WW2 Battle of Britain, a location for the "Operations Room" for the Operation Crossbow V-1 flying bomb defences.
    plane_spotters03-29-07-2002.jpg
  • Craning their necks skyward, both a pilot and support ground engineers of elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, gaze up to view an air display directly overhead at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. It is a perfect day for aerobatics with blue skies and during the team's two-day visit to the Swiss airfield at Payerne. Pilot Squadron Leader John Green is one of nine aviators who are collectively known as the Reds because of their famous red flying suits. The ground crew are obviously called the Blues. Payerne is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. The picture is full of humour because John Green is looking one way and the two others look in the opposite direction, while standing next to the aircraft.   .
    Red_Arrows660_RBA.jpg
  • At the start of another day's work, pilots belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, walk in single-file out into the pink morning light for the first winter training flight of the day at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. Emerging from their squadron building the aviators make their way along a pathway towards the waiting Hawk jet aircraft known the world over. Wearing winter green flying suits and carrying their helmets, their day is spent flying and de-briefing up to six times a day when weather permits. Long shadows spill over on to the airfield's cropped grass. Scampton  is one of the original World War 2 RAF stations for the Lancaster bombers the 617 Dambusters squadron who attacked the damns of the German Ruhr valley on 16th May 1943 using the Bouncing Bomb. Today, it is used almost exclusively by the team.
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  • Flight Lieutenant Simon Stevens, a pilot in the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, makes a pre-flight check of his Hawk jet aircraft before a practice flight at RAF Scampton. Stevens and his fellow-aviators fly up to 6 times in winter training, learning new manoeuvres. The dangers of high-speed close formation flight makes health and safety precuations vital; the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Royal Air Force take working environments of their personnel seriously so pre-flight examination of aircraft happens before every sortie (flight). Performing the brief safety walk-around, Stevens bends at the waste to avoid the aeroplane's low aileron despite wearing a helmet, full flying suit, boots, life-vest and anti-g-pants. Flying still continues despite rainclouds in the gloomy Lincolnshire sky.
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  • A pilot of the French Air Force walks looking down along the fuselage of his C-130 Hercules oblivious to nine Hawk jet aircraft of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, who come screaming behind and 'breaking to land'. This set procedure prepares them to split up as a group, peel off seperately and land safely at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. It is a perfect day for aerobatics with blue alpine skies during the teams' two-day visit to the Swiss airfield. Payerne is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. European display teams and air forces gathered to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Swiss military aviation. .
    Red_Arrows663_RBA.jpg
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