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Aviation

105 images Created 20 Nov 2008

These 30 images come from the book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, published by Penguin in April 2009.

The book's last chapter - Aviation - was photographed at the Paris Air Show and in the aircraft graveyards of Arizona and California.

This gallery is part of a short series relating to this book, though their titles have in some cases been adapted for this archive. They are viewed here as a showcase but will be released for sale on the 1st April 2009 at Photoshelter and Alamy or exclusively at CORBIS and therefore each file has its own restrictions which can be read within its metadata.

The book pictures are reproduced in black and white but all appear here in colour.

A blog story about the project's photography is at:
http://wp.me/p3fbj-4j

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  • 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
  • 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
  • Abandoned motorcycle covered in river weed and mud is exposed by low-tide Thames waters at Greenhithe, Kent
    paris_air_show134-20-06-2007.jpg
  • Stored old airliners sit in mid-day heat of arid Sonoran Desert at Mojave airport facility, awaiting recycling for scrap value.
    aviation_graveyard03-16-03-2008.jpg
  • Seen from the air at dawn, the last remaining B-52 bombers from the Cold War-era are laid out in grids across the arid desert near Tucson Arizona. These retired aircraft whose air frames are too old for flight are being recycled, their aluminium worth more than their sum total. In the nuclear arms treaties of the 80s, Soviet satellites proved their decommissioning by spying the tails had been sliced apart huge guillotines and set at right-angles. This is a scene of confrontation, with opposing forces apparently facing each other in the way that Soviet and western armies fought the war of propaganda. 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_corbis38-10-08-1998.jpg
  • Seen from another aircraft, the Dimanod Nine formation by the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team.
    Red_Arrows642_RBA.jpg
  • Airliners and grass promote the environment at engine manufacturer CFM stand during the Paris Air Show exhibition at Le Bourget
    paris_air_show087-20-06-2007.jpg
  • Abandoned motorcycle covered in river weed and mud is exposed by low-tide Thames waters at Greenhithe, Kent
    paris_air_show57-20-06-2007.jpg
  • Artist Fiona Banner's fighter jet art work 'Harrier and Jaguar' exhibited in south and north Duveens galleries at Tate Britain.
    tate_harrier01-29-06-2010.jpg
  • Climbing at sub-sonic speed, a Hawk jet aircraft of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, is seen from a neighbouring aircraft during an 'In-Season Practice' (ISP), a summer training flight over the farming fields of Lincolnshire. A landscape of agriculture is behind the red airplanes as they loop after a vertical climb. The front-seated pilot and his guest passenger stare through visors towards the wing to keep a perfect 'reference', maintaining an exact formation as seen from the ground. The Red Arrows fly to within 10 feet (3 metres) apart in some formations with speeds of 480 mph (770 kph), keeping in formation is a skill they learn every winter and refine on spare days like this between public air shows. The RAF roundel, (emblem), is on the nearest wing and the other fuselage as the world falls away in perspective.
    Red_Arrows575_RBA.jpg
  • About to board their Sri Lankan airlines flight to the Maldives, crowds of economy class passengers stand and make an orderly queue when their flight has been called by ground staff at London Heathrow airport England. Lines of people from all nations can be seen reflected in a large window that also overlooks the airport apron where their front-facing Airbus A340-300 aircraft awaits them, its flight-deck crew is seen in the cockpit readying their plane for the long night journey ahead. Catering service trucks are parked alongside the aircraft, loading supplies and all is on schedule from this large intercontinental airport hub to the much smaller island airfield in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the idyllic destination for holidaying Europeans.
    maldives01-10-11-2007.jpg
  • Abandoned motorcycle covered in river weed and mud is exposed by low-tide Thames waters at Greenhithe, Kent
    paris_air_show42-20-06-2007.jpg
  • Seen from the cockpit of another Hawk of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team during an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. Seen through the explosive Plexiglass cockpit of a tenth plane, we see forward into deep blue sky as two sets of aerobatic pilots steer their machines from a crossover manoeuvre, their organic white smoke pouring from their jet pipes to emphasize their paths through the air. In front of a local crowd at the airfield the team work their way through a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows684_RBA.jpg
  • Japanese lady delegate sits outside full-size mock-up the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) cabin at the Paris Air Show exhibition
    paris_air_show41-20-06-2007.jpg
  • A short-skirted Russian lady perches on a stool during the Paris Air Show exhibition at Le Bourget airfield
    paris_air_show045-20-06-2007.jpg
  • A delegate sends a text message from a mobile phone in a mock-up airliner cabin at the Paris Air Show exhibition at Le Bourget
    paris_air_show089-20-06-2007.jpg
  • A young lady perches on a stool outside an aircraft cabin mock-up during the Paris Air Show exhibition at Le Bourget airfield
    paris_air_show127-20-06-2007.jpg
  • Four business partners are in the middle of a meeting at the Paris Air Show, Le Bourget France. Seated within a private area that looks like a cage, they engage in conversation on this stylish stand that also features a lush oasis of green vegetation. The Paris Air Show is a commercial air show, organised by the French aerospace industry whose purpose is to demonstrate military and civilian aircraft to potential customers.
    paris_air_show123-20-06-2007.jpg
  • Full-size mock-up of a Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) cockpit and cabin catering interior areas at the Paris Air Show exhibition
    paris_air_show38-20-06-2007.jpg
  • US Air airliner cabin floor and magazine in arid Sonoran Desert at Mojave airport facility, awaiting recycling for scrap value.
    aviation_graveyard05-16-03-2008.jpg
  • Two military officers from Ecuador admire an air-to-ground PARS 3 LR missile at the Paris Air Show, Le Bourget France
    paris_air_show74-20-06-2007.jpg
  • Man touches scale model of A380 airliner displayed at the Airbus/EADS stand during the Paris Air Show exhibition at Le Bourget
    paris_air_show215-20-06-2007.jpg
  • Rolls of turf are rolled up by exhibition workers at the end of a long day at the Paris Air Show, Le Bourget France. Removing the real grass from at the CFM stand (a company formed from SNECMA and General Electric jet engines) that manufactures a family of 7,200 commercial and military jet engines for Airbus and Boeing airliners. The men bend over to make a tight roll of organic lawn to keep it fresh and watered overnight before another hot day in this hall. Alongside them, a giant turbofan engine is seen, its huge turbine blades lit by artificial lights. The Paris Air Show is a commercial air show, organised by the French aerospace industry whose purpose is to demonstrate military and civilian aircraft to potential customers.
    paris_air_show224-20-06-2007.jpg
  • Airliner and jet engines in mid-day heat of arid Sonoran Desert at Mojave airport facility, awaiting recycling for scrap value.
    aviation_graveyard07-16-03-2008.jpg
  • Oxygen mask survival equipment in airliner cabin at Mojave airport desert facility, awaiting recycling for scrap value.
    aviation_graveyard09-09-04-2008.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
  • Two employees of the Japanese aircraft manufacturer Mitsubishi sit in a full-scale model of their MRJ at the Paris Air Show, Le Bourget France. Seated in different rows of this stylish small regional jet, they awkwardly stare expressionless, straight ahead and although the seats are real, the mock-up fuselage is in the middle of an exhibition hall. The MRJ is a next generation jetliner with 70 or 90 seat economy class configurations, the first regional jet to adopt composite materials for its wings and vertical fins on significant scale. The Paris Air Show expo is a commercial air show, organised by the French aerospace industry who demonstrate military and civilian aircraft equipment to interested customers.
    paris_air_show028-20-06-2007.jpg
  • Economy class seats in mid-day heat of arid Sonoran Desert at Mojave airport facility, awaiting recycling for scrap value.
    aviation_graveyard06-16-03-2008.jpg
  • Legs and scale model of an A380 airliner displayed at Airbus/EADS stand during the Paris Air Show exhibition Le Bourget
    paris_air_show199-20-06-2007.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
  • Faceless Russian delegates are in deep discussion in a hall at the Paris Air Show, Le Bourget France. With the flag of the Russian Federation strategically placed to the right of the stand, the three anonymous are secretively talking business in a group meeting, their crumpled suits show they have been working on this project for many hours or days. Two of the men have exchanged business cards to make new contacts. The Paris Air Show is a commercial air show, organised by the French aerospace industry whose purpose is to demonstrate military and civilian aircraft to potential customers.
    paris_air_show53-20-06-2007.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
  • 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
  • French language edition book cover of Alain de Botton's "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work" containing photography by Richard Baker.
    work_france.jpg
  • A detail of the bomb-aimer's window in the nose of a Victor bomber from the nuclear Cold War V-bomber era. The Handley Page Victor was a British jet-powered strategic bomber, developed and produced by the Handley Page Aircraft Company and served during the Cold War. It was the third and final of the V-bombers operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF)
    victor_bomber01-07-08-2000.jpg
  • Surrounded by personal effects and baggage, a US airman with the insignia for a Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt), awaits his flight in the terminal at Mildenhall air force base, Suffolk, England. Leaving England and a posting abroad, the man looks relaxed before a long flight back the USA after duty in Europe.
    us_serviceman01-10-01-2003.jpg
  • A detail of the fuel-stained runway deck of the US Navy's Harry S Truman aircraft carrier whilst on exercise somewhere in the Persian Gulf. From this surface, $38 million F/A-18s fighters take off the ship's deck and into the air from a standing position. The angled flight decks of the carriers use a CATOBAR arrangement to operate aircraft, with steam catapults and arrestor wires for launch and recovery. The Truman is the largest and newest of the US Navy's fleet of new generation carriers, a 97,000 ton floating city with a crew of  5,137, 650 are women.
    US_navy_carrier03-10-12-2002.jpg
  • An anonymous US Navy P-3 surveillance pilot walks out of a hangar into the dark and towards his aircraft before his night patrol over the Mediterranean, simulating the search for enemy submarines during a NATO exercise. Holding his flight bag containing secret details of his flight and equipment needed for politing the plane, he also wears survival clothing for operations over hostile seas.
    US_navy_pilot01-10-01-2003.jpg
  • The glow and trails of night manoeuvres seen from an upper deck of the US Navy's Harry S Truman aircraft carrier whilst on exercise somewhere in the Persian Gulf. <br />
The Truman is the largest and newest of the US Navy's fleet of new generation carriers, a 97,000 ton floating city with a crew of  5,137, 650 are women. The Iraqi no-fly zones (NFZs) were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf War of 1991 to protect humanitarian operations in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones. The policy was enforced by US, UK and French aircraft patrols until France withdrew in 1998.
    US_navy_carrier04-10-01-2003.jpg
  • Detail of the catapult that propels F-A/18 fighters from the deck of the US Navy's Harry S Truman aircraft carrier whilst on exercise somewhere in the Persian Gulf. The cable drives $38 million F/A-18s fighters off the ship's deck and into the air from a standing position. The angled flight decks of the carriers use a CATOBAR arrangement to operate aircraft, with steam catapults and arrestor wires for launch and recovery. The Truman is the largest and newest of the US Navy's fleet of new generation carriers, a 97,000 ton floating city with a crew of  5,137, 650 are women.
    US_navy_carrier02-07-01-2003.jpg
  • An EA-6B Prowler intelligence-gathering patrol aircraft is worked on in the hangar deck of the US Navy's Harry S Truman aircraft carrier whilst on exercise somewhere in the Persian Gulf. Red light shines down from overhead lighting as the crewman carries on his work, servicing the plane. The Truman is the largest and newest of the US Navy's fleet of new generation carriers, a 97,000 ton floating city with a crew of  5,137, 650 are women. The Iraqi no-fly zones (NFZs) were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf War of 1991 to protect humanitarian operations in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones. The policy was enforced by US, UK and French aircraft patrols until France withdrew in 1998.
    US_navy_carrier01-10-01-2003.jpg
  • Aviation enthusiasts and beachcombers watch the aerobatics overhead during the annual Southend airshow on the seafront on the Thames estuary in Essex. WHile some children dig in the sand to make sandcastles or ditches, others watch a turning vintage fighter plane as it passes overhead in the distance.
    southend_airshow02-29-07-2002.jpg
  • A four-engined airliner takes-off into distant darkening skies during the bi-annual aerospace industry expo at the Farnborough in southern England. Lifting off from an unseen runway, the aircraft leaves the ground to climb away towards its unknown destination - its modern navigation aides pointing it to foreign lands and skies.
    sky_takeoff01-29-07-2002.jpg
  • A night-time exposure during the flight over a city in rural Arizona whose lights are blurred underneath the twin-propeller powered aircraft, an air ambulance ferrying a patient to hospital. The British Aerospace BAe-3101 Jetstream 31 is an air ambulance en-route from San Carlos Apache reservation in Arizona, USA. Native American Air Services, provides critical care level air ambulance services in Arizona. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Mesa, Arizona. The San Carlos Reservation is one of the poorest Native American communities in the United States, with an annual median household income of approximately $14,000 in 2000, according to the US Census. About 60% of the people live under the poverty line, and 68% of the active labor force is unemployed
    san_carlos03-07-01-2000.jpg
  • The Air Forces Memorial, or Runnymede Memorial,in Englefield Green, near Egham, Surrey. This memorial is dedicated to 20,456 men and women from the British Empire who were lost in operations from World War II. Those recorded have no known grave anywhere in the world, and many were lost without trace. The name of each of these airmen and airwomen is engraved into the stone walls of the memorial, according to country and squadron.
    runnymede01-10-01-2003.jpg
  • Moss and weeds now grow where once B-24 Liberators of the 392nd US Air Force bomb Group took-off to attack German cities during WW2. Land once again owned by local farmers, the airfields of Norfolk and Suffolk in south-east England were home to 85,000 US personnel from 1942-45.
    runway_weeds01-10-01-2003.jpg
  • A portrait of an aviation enthusiast with boxes of Airfix modelling kits during an airshow at North Weald in Essex, southern England. Holding a silver equipment case in one hand and his camera in another, the eccentric obsessive wears an anorak adorned with collectable badges and pins. Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer.
    plane_spotters07-10-01-2003.jpg
  • Waiting for the airshow to commence, an aviation enthusiast family huddle in the cold at Mildenhall, a US Air Force base in Suffolk, England.
    plane_spotters05-10-01-2003.jpg
  • An aviation enthusiast husband sits on an overturned baggage trolley on the roof of a terminal at London Heathrow airport, while his bored wife sits in their car, waiting for the homeward journey.
    plane_spotters06-10-01-2003.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
  • An aviation enthusiast eats an ice cream during an airshow at North Weald in Essex, southern England. Slurping on the melting ice cream, the odd-looking man wearing an anorak looks to unseen aircraft parked alongside the public areas during the hours before the flying displays commence at this small airfield north of London.
    plane_spotters02-10-01-2003.jpg
  • Young and older aviation enthusiasts look through a rack of modelling kits during an airshow at Biggin Hill in Kent, southern England. Packets of scaled models of all types - in particular, British Spitfires and Mustangs) are on display for the buyer to browse during the hours before the flying displays commence at this small airfield north of London.
    plane_spotters01-29-07-2002.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
  • An English Electric Lightning supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era sits in an industrial wasteland on the side of the A1 motorway in England. Parked in a take-off attitude, the wreck is now covered with graffiti though once the forefront of Britain's nuclear deterrent. The Lightning was noted for its great speed, the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft and was the first aircraft in the world capable of supercruise. The Lightning was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; pilots commonly described it as "being saddled to a skyrocket"
    lightning01-10-01-2003.jpg
  • Architectural detail inside a lower-ground control bunker at the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use.
    greenham_common12-19-03-2003.jpg
  • Young people play with supersonic Air France Concorde models beneath the shadow of a fighter jet at the Le Bourget airport, days after the crash at nearby Gonesse which ended the life of the Concorde airliner.
    le_bourget_aviation01-29-07-2002.jpg
  • Perimeter fence and Mod sign at the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the United States Air Force during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in 1993. The airfield was also known for the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.
    greenham_common09-19-03-2003.jpg
  • Wall art detail inside a lower-ground control bunker at the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use.
    greenham_common11-19-03-2003.jpg
  • Wall art detail inside a lower-ground control bunker at the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use.
    greenham_common10-19-03-2003.jpg
  • Architectural landscape of a missile silo door entrance at the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the United States Air Force during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in 1993. The airfield was also known for the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.
    greenham_common06-19-03-2003.jpg
  • Womens' protest graffiti inside the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the United States Air Force during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in 1993. The airfield was also known for the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.
    greenham_common07-19-03-2003.jpg
  • Empty countryside landscape at the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the United States Air Force during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in 1993. The airfield was also known for the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.
    greenham_common08-19-03-2003.jpg
  • Architectural landscape of a missile silo door entrance at the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the United States Air Force during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in 1993. The airfield was also known for the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.
    greenham_common05-19-03-2003.jpg
  • Natural landscape of grass-covered missile silos at the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the United States Air Force during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in 1993. The airfield was also known for the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.
    greenham_common03-19-03-2003.jpg
  • Architectural detail of a missile silo door entrance at the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the United States Air Force during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in 1993. The airfield was also known for the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.
    greenham_common04-19-03-2003.jpg
  • Natural landscape of grass-covered missile silos at the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the United States Air Force during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in 1993. The airfield was also known for the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.
    greenham_common02-19-03-2003.jpg
  • Concrete and fence landscape at the entrance of the former nuclear weapons-era airfield occupied by US Air force personnel during the Cold War and now vacant, awaiting re-landscaping and returning to common parkland for the public to use. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the United States Air Force during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in 1993. The airfield was also known for the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.
    greenham_common01-19-03-2003.jpg
  • A lone sleeping passenger rests on a bench in an otherwise peaceful corner of Gatwick airport in England. Having chosen a quiet location in the terminal, near  departure number gate 44, there is enough space to stretch out and grab some valuable sleep. Jet lag, medically referred to as desynchronosis, is a physiological condition which results from alterations to the body's circadian rhythms resulting from rapid long-distance transmeridian (east–west or west–east) travel on a (typically jet) aircraft. It was previously classified as one of the circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
    gatwick_sleep01-29-07-2002.jpg
  • An Aerospatiale SA365N Dauphin II offshore helicopter (reg number G-BKXD) operated by Bond Helicopters takes-off from a gas platform in the Irish Sea bound for its base at Blackpool, England. On duty ferrying offshore gas workers from Morcambe Bay, England, the helicopter flies off into a pink sky as darkness approaches. Left behind are the lights that illuminate the deck of the gas rig, the letter H beneath the facilities' netting. Bond Offshore Helicopters are a British Helicopter operator, specialising in providing offshore helicopter transportation services between Aberdeen, Scotland, Blackpool, Norwich and Humberside to North Sea and Irish Sea oil and gas platforms.
    gas_helicopter01-07-01-2000.jpg
  • French aviation enthusiasts at an airshow at Le Mans in northern France watch aerobatics overhead - in front of a scaled replica of The Flyer, the first powered aeroplane by the American Wright Brothers. The Wright Flyer is the first successful powered aircraft, designed and built by the Wright brothers. They flew it for the first time on December 17th, 1903 for 12 seconds over 120 feet near the Kill Devil Hills, about four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, U.S. Today, the airplane is exhibited in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. though many scaled copies exist at similar events such as this.
    french_airshow01-29-07-1998.jpg
  • From an airliner passenger seat, bright sunshine causes lens flare during a flight across the English Channel between Paris and London. We see out at a cruising altitude across the clouds that blanket the ground below. The curve of the Airbus window makes for a corner along the right-hand side of the image.
    flight_wing01-29-07-2002.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 family of three members covered with aviation and aerospace badges and knitted-plane jumpers during the bi-annual aerospace industry expo at the Farnborough airshow in southern England. Eccentric and obsessive, the family members look odd and ill-at-ease with their matching jumbers and adorned with dozens of collectable badges and pins loved by aviation groupies.
    farnborough11-06-01-2003.jpg
  • A Russian Mikoyan employee stands alongside a Malaysian air force officer examining the seller's business card during the bi-annual aerospace industry expo at the Farnborough airshow in southern England. We see the seller as a man in brown jacket with hand on hip, looking unimpressed and bored while the officer in full dress uniform peering at the card intently, carrying his shopping bag containing information from other manufacturers around the aviation fair. Farnborough is organised by Farnborough International Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ADS Group Limited (ADS). According to the organisers, the 2012 Farnborough show attracted 109,000 trade visitors over the first five days, and 100,000 public visitors on the Saturday and Sunday. Orders and commitments for 758 aircraft were announced, worth US$72 billion.
    farnborough09-29-07-2002.jpg
  • Visitors from a south Asian country admire British engineering and design at the BAE Systems stand where an open cockpit Typhoon fighter jet is on static display during the bi-annual aerospace industry expo at the Farnborough airshow in southern England. The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed and is manufactured by a consortium of three companies; EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems, who conduct the majority of affairs dealing with the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, which was formed in 1986. As an important trading partner, the controversial arms and weapons dealer BAE Systems helps to promote the UK-PLC  brand and urging foreign governments to buy British.
    farnborough08-29-07-2002.jpg
  • A detail of a Boeing 777 airliner during the bi-annual aerospace industry expo at the Farnborough airshow in southern England. The plane's colour scheme across its fuselage and cabin has been carefully chosen and applied by Boeing whose aircraft this is as it makes a European press and PR tour to help foreign airlines make their choice of an American manufacturer.
    farnborough05-02-08-2000.jpg
  • Business deals being sealed at the ATR aviation stand during the bi-annual aerospace industry expo at the Farnborough airshow in southern England. ATR (Aerei da Trasporto Regionale or Avions de transport régional) is a French-Italian aircraft manufacturer headquartered on the grounds of Toulouse Blagnac International Airport in Blagnac, France. It was formed in 1981 by Aérospatiale of France (now EADS) and Aeritalia (now Alenia Aermacchi) of Italy. Its primary products are the ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft.
    farnborough07-29-07-2002.jpg
  • A hand steadies an awkward event banner showing the fleet of modern airliners belonging to European consortium, Airbus during the bi-annual aerospace industry expo at the Farnborough airshow in southern England. From the top of the banner we see the short-haul A319 type to the bottom which has featured the long-range A340-600 version. Alongside each model's profile, we see the aircraft's statistics and performance figures. Airbus is the main competitor to the American Boeing range of modern airliners. Airbus is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, the company produces approximately half of the world's jet airliners, employing around 63,000 people at sixteen sites in four European Union countries: France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain.
    farnborough06-29-07-2002.jpg
  • Boeing executives meet Korean Airlines officials at an evening event during the bi-annual aerospace industry expo at the Farnborough airshow in southern England.
    farnborough03-02-08-2000.jpg
  • Emirates airlines announce the purchase of the very first Airbus A380 during the bi-annual aerospace industry expo at the Farnborough airshow in southern England. Executives congratulate themselves and speak into a micophone for the benefit of the press conference in the Emirates chalet at this important aviation and aerospace exposition. A scaled model of this new-generation of composite material aircraft sits on a table pointing to officials excited at their new business deal.
    farnborough01-02-08-2000.jpg
  • Boeing executives meet Korean Airlines officials at an evening event during the bi-annual aerospace industry expo at the Farnborough airshow in southern England. While handshakes and grins outwardly show the aviation business deal, both client and customers are happy to have concluded this deal between important aviation partners. As of June 2013, the Korean airlines aircraft fleet consisted of 146 planes - of which 117 were Boeing and just 29 Airbus.
    farnborough02-02-08-2000.jpg
  • A view along the fuselage of a DC3 Dakota, from its tail aileron to its propeller. Pointing upwards as it sits on a low tail wheel and with one of its 4 propellers still against a blue sky, we see the plane painted in the colours that many appeared in during the D-Day landings in June 1944, from where paratroopers jumped out for the eventual invasion of German-occupied France. The Douglas DC-3 is a fixed-wing propeller-driven airliner. Its speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made. Many DC-3s and converted C-47s are still used in all parts of the world. The designation "DC" stands for "Douglas Commercial".
    dakota01-07-08-2000.jpg
  • The wrecked remains of a Curtiss C-46 Commando WW2-era transport aircraft awaiting salvage or recycling in the desert airfield of Davis Monthan in Tucson, Arizona. The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps under the designation R5C. Known to the men who flew them as "The Whale," the "Curtiss Calamity," the "plumber's nightmare" and the "flying coffin," At the time of its production, the C-46 was the largest twin-engine aircraft in the world, and the largest and heaviest twin-engine aircraft to see service in World War II.
    davis_monthan_boneyard01-15-08-1998.jpg
  • A poster stuck into the ground promoting a book during the bi-annual aerospace industry expo at the Farnborough airshow, about the Concorde supersonic airliner, on the day an Air France Concorde crashed outside Paris on 25th July 2002.
    concorse_poster01-25-07-2002.jpg
  • Model plane enthusiasts discuss the finer points of radio controlled flight on the site of the former London (Croydon) airfield, once the location of the first international passenger services from England in the 1930s.
    croydon_airfield02-29-07-2002.jpg
  • A modern airliner passes over the renovated control tower that once saw aviation heroes such as Charles Lindbergh arrive after his historic transatlantic flight to Paris, on the site of the former London (Croydon) airfield, once the location of the first international passenger services from England in the 1930s. The airport's terminal building and control tower were completed in 1928; the old wooden air traffic control and Customs building was demolished. The new buildings and layout began operations on 20 January 1928.
    croydon_airfield01-10-01-2003.jpg
  • A landscape of Bleriot Plage near Calais on the northern French coast, where the first-ever international flight between France and the southern English coast took place by the French aviator Louis Bleriot on 25th July 1909. He flew from the beach at Sangatte, to the cliffs at Dover to claim the prize offered by the Daily Mail. Nowadays, French families use the sand and dunes as a holiday beach destination using inflatable dinghies to paddle in the surf. The Bleriot crossing took 37 minutes in his aeroplane, Blériot XI, built in collaboration with Raymond Saulnier. It was powered by a 3 cylinder 25 horsepower (19 kW) engine.
    bleriot_plage01-02-08-2000.jpg
  • A detail of an ill-fated Comet airliner door now confined to the ground at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, England. Peeling paint and a make-shift padlock shows this museum piece's age and exposure to the outside elements. A year after entering commercial service the Comets began suffering problems, with three of them breaking up during mid-flight in well-publicised accidents. This was later found to be due to catastrophic metal fatigue, not well understood at the time, in the airframes. The Comet was withdrawn from service and extensively tested to discover the cause; the first incident had been incorrectly blamed on adverse weather.
    comet_door01-07-08-2000 15-08-13.jpg
  • Blurred travellers on the escalator in an inter-terminal tunnel at Chicago-O'Hare airport, Illinois, USA. As the travelling escalator makes its way along the tunnel, colours and shapes blur except for a lone figure coming the other way, en-route to a departure or arrival gate in the public domain area of the airport hub, one of the largest airport in the United States, and 12 months before the terrorist attacks on America that changed the public's attitude to flying on commercial airliners.
    chicago_o_hare01-23-11-2000 15-08-13.jpg
  • Alongside the official portrait of a member of the Bahraini royal family, the smiling face of a blonde Dutch KLM airline girl adorns a poster in the airline's office in Bahrain airport. This European airline is showing the greatest of respect to the ruling classes in this Gulf State. Similar portraits of kings and princes are seen throughout the arab world, especially where business is being conducted and contracts being sought. Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines), known by its initials KLM, is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM's headquarters is in Amstelveen near its hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. KLM operates worldwide scheduled passenger and cargo services to more than 90 destinations. It is the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name.
    bahrain_klm_poster01-21-04-2001.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
  • A navigational sign for the benefit of airline pilots showing inflight computer longitude and latitude reference points on the apron at Bahrain airport. As airline pilots sit in the cockpit seats they can view this information and input the co-ordinates into the aircraft computers which is then used to plot their departure point and arrival routing, seen here 12 months before the terrorist attacks on America that changed the public's attitude to flying on commercial airliners.
    bahrain_airport07-21-04-2001.jpg
  • With feet up on airport seating, a migrant worker awaits his homeward flight from Bahrain to South-Asia. Sitting with legs gathered and with shoes removed - in the manner that people subjected to fierce desert or tropical heat try to keep cool, although in this airpirt terminal building, air-conditioning allows more comfort. The young man works on building projects somewhere in the middle-east region and is either in transit of beginning his journey to India, Pakistan or perhaps Bangladesh, seen here months before the terrorist attacks on America that changed the public's attitude to flying on commercial airliners.
    bahrain_airport_passenger02-21-04-20...jpg
  • Reading his newspaper to pass the time, a businessman in traditional Gulf state thawb and agal headdress awaits his flight from Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. With a plastic bag alongside containing Duty Free purchases and with the cheeky face for the Adams kids clothing brand for his young family, the man studies the latest news from the Gulf states and further Middle-East region before boarding his airline departure, seen here months before the terrorist attacks on America that changed the public's attitude to flying on commercial airliners.
    bahrain_airport_passenger01-21-04-20...jpg
  • With suitcases and a dinosaur toy box in the foreground, two baggage-handlers manhandle bags onto a Saudi Airlines McDonnell-Douglas MD90-30 (registered as HZ-APP) on the apron at Bahrain airport. In the foreground is a box containing a toy dinosaur called The Monster which is too large to be cabin baggage, instead having to travel in the hold along with cargo and the luggage of other passengers on this flight operated by Saudi and departing from this Gulf state seen here 12 months before the terrorist attacks on America that changed the public's attitude to flying on commercial airliners.
    bahrain_airport_loading01-21-04-2001.jpg
  • Late night work on a cargo pallet Ball Mat Flooring System by an engineer staff member who performs maintenance checks in the British Airways engineering hangar on the far side of London's Heathrow airport. On his hands and knees in the otherwise spacious compartment beneath the aircraft passengers' cabin, the hold is used for storing cargo freight and baggage containers that are pushed freely along then locked into position during the loading process.
    ba_engineering02-23-11-2000 15-08-13.jpg
  • A Boeing 747 is surrounded by gantries during late night work by engineering staff who perform maintenance checks in the British Airways engineering hangar on the far side of London's Heathrow airport. As a landscape of confusing lines and linear design, we see the paintwork of the jet aircraft echoed in those of the platform struts and the steps that help the maintenance crews gain height and access to the high places required for the work to be carried out. At its tallest point, the 747's tail is 63 feet (19m).
    ba_engineering01-23-11-2000 15-08-13.jpg
  • With others, a young man with a Welcome Home balloon meets a friend called George after a long absence, in the airport terminal at Chicago-O'Hare airport, Illinois, USA. The crowd of friends await the arrival of George in the public domain area of the airport hub, one of the largest airport in the United States - 12 months before the terrorist attacks on America that changed the public's attitude to flying on commercial airliners.
    airport_welcome01-02-08-2000.jpg
  • A young man with a Welcome Home balloon, meets his partner after a long absence, in the airport terminal at Chicago-O'Hare airport, Illinois, USA. Waiting for his partner for some hours in the darkened terminal, a late arrival oon this day, the young man has been patient after a slight delay but finally, the girl comes through the arrivals gate to greet her close friend - loving the balloon gesture and pleased to be safely in his arms. Travelling down the escalator into a cross-terminal tunnel they leave the airport for home, 12 months before the terrorist attacks on America that changed the public's attitude to flying on commercial airliners.
    airport_welcome04-23-11-2000.jpg
  • A young man with a Welcome Home balloon, meets his partner after a long absence, in the airport terminal at Chicago-O'Hare airport, Illinois, USA. Waiting for his partner for some hours in the darkened terminal, a late arrival oon this day, the young man has been patient after a slight delay but finally, the girl comes through the arrivals gate to greet her close friend - loving the balloon gesture and pleased to be safely in his arms. Hugging tightly they embrace in front of other passengers before leaving the airport for home, 12 months before the terrorist attacks on America that changed the public's attitude to flying on commercial airliners.
    airport_welcome03-23-11-2000.jpg
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Richard Baker Photography

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