Pilot Collection

WW2 - British Air Transport Auxiliary Pilot
WW2 - A smiling British Air Transport Auxiliary Pilot, carrying her parachute over her shoulder. Date: 1944

Churchills praise for RAF Pilots
" Never was so much owed by so many to so few" - Prime Minister Winston Churchill from a speech made on 20th August 1940

Elizabeth Bessie Coleman (1892-1926)
Elizabeth Bessie Coleman, 1892-1926, the first female pilot of African American descent and the first person of African American descent to hold an international pilot license. Date: 1926

Captain Albert Ball (1896-1917), VC, DSO
Artist: Newling, Edward - Title: Captain Albert Ball (1896-1917), VC, DSO - Date: 1921 - Original Medium and Size: Oil on Canvas 111.8 x 86.4

Flying Officer W E Johns - Biggles stories in Modern Boy
Advertisement in The Modern Boy magazine for the forthcoming series of stories written by Flying Officer W. E

Ford V8 Pilot 1954 Green light

Amelia Earhart, US aviation pioneer
Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), American aviation pioneer

137 Squadron RAF, 1943
Group photograph of the pilots and ground crew of 137 Squadron with Westland Whirlwind fighter-bombers and the squadron mascot

Wartime poster of Churchills famous words: Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few, referring to the pilots of the Royal Air Force, fighting the Battle of Britain

Howard Hughes, US aviation pioneer
Howard Hughes (1905-1976), American aviation pioneer. Hughes was 16 when his mother died

Bismarck / Dropping Pilot
OTTO BISMARCK German Chancellor dismissed by Kaiser Wilhelm II: Dropping the Pilot

Tiger Moth Biplane, Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand

Royal Air Force Display Poster, Hendon, showing two pilots in flight, with other planes in the background. 1936

Propaganda poster: prime ministers statement
Second world war propaganda poster. Above a photograph of five brave airmen is a quotation from the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill: Never was so much owed by so many to so few

Amy Johnson 1930
Miss Amy Johnson overhauling her Gypsy Moth aeroplane after landing in Australia. She was the first woman pilot to fly alone to Australia

Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) in Boston training plane, 1926 (b / w photo)
SLS249192 Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) in Boston training plane, 1926 (b/w photo) by American Photographer, (20th century); Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute

Dropping the Pilot, 1890. Artist: John Tenniel
Dropping the Pilot, 1890

WW2 poster, To Victory -- With Our Help! Pilots profile with Hawker Hurricanes. Printed by Massey-Harris for distribution in England. Date: circa 1942

WW2 poster, Fly with the RAF
WW2 poster, Men in reserved occupations can now fly with the RAF as pilot or observer. Apply nearest combined recruiting centre. Date: 1941

De Havilland Tiger Moth British biplane
De Havilland Tiger Moth British trainer biplane. Date: 1930s

National Air Safety Committee Poster
Poster, National Air Safety Committee, providing instructions to new pilots -- please help to keep flying safe. 1933

Amy Johnson - pioneering English pilot
Amy Johnson (later Mollison) CBE (1903-1941) - pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia

Supermarine test pilots at High Post Aerodrome in March?
Supermarine test pilots at High Post Aerodrome in March 1946: From left: Flt Lt P. Wigley DFC, Sqn Ldr W.J.G. Morgan DFC, Lt Cdr Jeffrey K. Quill AFC, Chief Test Pilot; Flt Lt Leslie R

WW2 poster, The British Commonwealth of Nations Together. 1941

Douglas Bader - Flying Ace of WW2
Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader (1910-1982) - Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War

Birthday card, RAF flying dog pilot. mid-20th century

Usa-Aviation-Boeing 747
Family picture taken on January 13, 1970 of the aircrew of the first commercial flight of the Boeing 747 from New York to London for Pan American

Richard Todd in The Dam Busters (1958)
a portrait of Todd as Wing Commander Guy Gibson, V.C. D.S.O. D.F.C

Amy Johnson CBE (1903-1941) - pioneering English female pilot - pictured standing in front of her Gipsy Moth just before she undertook a 19-day solo flight to Australia

Instruction booklet, Knitting for the RAF, WW2
Cover design, instruction booklet, Knitting for the RAF, World War Two, price one shilling. circa 1940

Flight simulator in use, RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire
A flight simulator in use at RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire. Before computers, flight simulators used actual models of different airfields in order to train pilots

Tibbetts, Paul, Pilot as Col USaF beside Boeing B-29 Enola Gay

An F-86 Sabre jet in flight over Glendale, Arizona

Mitsubishi A6M Zero aircraft, World War 2 C016 / 3818
Mitsubishi A6M2 (Zero). US Air Force photograph of a test flight of a captured Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 (Zero)

The seat of a hero: Spitfire pilots cockpit, 1940
The cockpit, with its amazing array of dials, is the epitome of intensive mechancial warfare of World War Two. Date: 1940

Major James McCudden, Royal Flying Corps, WW1
Major James Thomas Byford McCudden (1895-1918), officer and pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War

The Battle of Britain
A circular painting depicting the brave men of the Royal Airforce on the ground and in action during the Battle of Briatin

Pilots on flight deck of Jumbo Boeing 747 of Air New Zealand with sunrise ahead

Biggles / Fire / Plane
The crumpled figure in the cockpit came to life : the female pilot in the burning plane points her gun at Biggles

RAF bomber pilot and second pilot, 1941. Brave yet cautious, cool yet daring. From Bomber Command. [His Majestys Stationery Office, London, 1941]

A Supermarine Spitfire Mk-18 in flight near West Chester County, Pennsylvania

Imperial Airways Poster, Travel Luxuriously in the Worlds largest air liners, serving Europe, Africa, India and the Far East. Showing two pilots in the cockpit of a Heracles, and passengers boarding

Royal Air Force Display Poster, Hendon, showing a pilot in flying gear, gesturing towards three biplanes in flight. 1934

Pneumonia strikes like a man eating shark led by its pilot fish the common cold Consult your physician

Major James McCudden, Royal Flying Corps, WW1
Major James Thomas Byford McCudden (1895-1918), officer and pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War

Manfred von Richthofen, German pilot
Manfred von Richthofen (1892-1918), or the Red Baron, German fighter pilot who won 80 air combats during World War I. Richthofen (centre) is standing with members of Jasta 11, or the Flying Circus

Boeing 747-8 flight deck. Most flight information is displayed on screens instead of separate mechanical instruments in this glass cockpit. Photographed at the 2011 Paris Air Show

Yuri Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut
Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968), soviet cosmonaut and first man in space. Gagarin made the first manned space flight on 12 April 1961

First airmail letter delivered, Windsor Castle
The first airmail letter ever to be delivered is handed to the Postmaster of Windsor, to whom it is addressed, on the East Lawn of Windsor Castle

The Flying Saucer Conspiracy, book cover
THE FLYING SAUCER CONSPIRACY, a book by Donald E Keyhoe. The cover shows two airline pilots sighting a flying saucer through their cockpit window

Poster, Sir Alan Cobhams National Aviation Day Campaign Air Display (also known as Cobhams Flying Circus), Chapel Farm, Lochgelly Road, Kirkcaldy, 13-14 July 1935. Date: 1935

The first Hawk XX154 in the air for the first time
The first Hawk, XX154, in the air for the first time on 21 August 1974 with chief test pilot, Duncan Simpson, at the controls. The flight from the flight test centre at Dunsfold lasted 53 minutes

RAF Bomb-Aimer at his position; Second World War, 1943
Photograph showing a Royal Air Force bomb-aimer at his position with the bomb release cable ready in his right hand, November 1943

Wilbur and Orville Wright with Flyer II at Huffman Prairie, Dayton, Ohio, USA, May 1, 1904

USA, North America, Minnesota
AT-6 airplane on the runway at Fleming Field

Littlehampton Pier
At Littlehampton Pier (which is complete with windmill and lighthouse), a steam tugboat brings a large sailing ship safely into port. Date: circa 1910s

Baron Manfred von Richthofen, German air ace, WW1
Baron Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (1892-1918), also known as the Red Baron, legendary German fighter pilot during the First World War

Soviet Pe-2 bomber and pilot, 1944
Soviet Pe-2 bomber and pilot. The pilot, Grigory Pasynkov, held the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Photographed in December 1944, in the St Petersburg region of Russia

Airmail postcards at Gamages, London
People at Gamages in Holborn, Central London, addressing postcards and posting them in the special London Aerial Postbox

Richthofen and members of the Jagdstaffel
Captain Baron von Richthofen, German flying ace, responsible for bringing down 80 Allied planes during World War One

Boulton Paul Defiant fighter; Second World War, 1940

RAF Sea King Helicopter crew attend a mountain rescue incident in the Lake District UK
Ashley Cooper / SpecialistStock

Aviator John Alcock 1919
Captain in the Royal Air Force, he was the pilot of the first direct transatlantic flight in June 1919 with navigator Arthur Whitten Brown

A colorful Republic Seabee amphibian aircraft splashing down in Lakes Agnes, Fl

Wright Glider Flying
Wilbur Wright pilots a glider with a movable double rear vertical rudder over the Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk. The Wright Brothers camp can be seen in the distance

Wiley Post with Racing Plane
(Original Caption) 6/15/1933-Floyd Bennett Field, NY- Wiley Post, famous round-the-world flier, is shown in front of his globe-girdling plane, Winnie Mae, after his arrival at Floyd Bennett Field

Pilot with Model of Loch Ness Monster He Witnessed
(Original Caption) London

WW2 poster, Wings for Victory, Lets Go, National Savings. Date: circa 1944

Daily Herald photographer Ron Burton in the cockpit of a Folland Gnat aircraft of the RAF Aerobatics team the Red Arrows as he joins the team on a training flight over RAF Little Rissington

British airman dropping a bomb by hand, WW1
A British airman dropping a bomb by hand, in midair, during the First World War. The message on the bomb reads: Hun, Bulgar, Share This Ration. Date: 1914-1918

Ascent of the Nassau Balloon, Royal Gardens, Vauxhall, August 7, 1838, pub
2962411 Ascent of the Nassau Balloon, Royal Gardens, Vauxhall, August 7, 1838, pub

John Derry, Supermarine test pilot, at the 1947 Royal Aeronautical Society Garden Party at Radlett on 14 September. Date: 1947

Otto Lilienthal makes one of his last flights, 1896 (1956). Otto Lilienthal (1848-1896) German gliding pioneer and aeronautical inventor, flying one of his gliders

Cartoon, the French aviator as hero, WW1
Cartoon, the French aviator as hero -- everyone admires him! Date: 1915

Luke, Frank, Pilot and 2nd ranking US air ace in WW1

RAFs new gyro gun sight by G. H. Davis
Details of the RAFs new gyro gun sight, which makes every fighter pilot an accurate marksman

Cartoon, The Dropped Pilot, WW1
Cartoon, The Dropped Pilot, twenty-four years after Tenniel

OH-58D Kiowa pilots run through their pre-flight checks before taking off
Tikrit, Iraq - OH-58D Kiowa pilots from the 6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, run through their pre-flight checks before taking off on a mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom

WWII: WOMEN PILOTS, c1941. Four female pilots looking at a chart. Photograph, c1941, digitally colored by Granger, NYC -- All Rights Reserved

Chelyuskin search and rescue, 1934
Chelyuskin search and rescue aviators from the USA and the Soviet Union, in front of a seaplane

Richard Branson drinking from a bottle of champagne as he celebrates Virgin Atlantic Airlines inaugural flight June 1984

Harrier Pilot Prepares for Takeoff
A digitally manipulated image of a Harrier pilots view as he prepares to take off from aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal

Two Short Sunderlands rescuing crew, 1940
An artists impression of two Short Sunderlands rescuing the crew of the torpedoed merchant ship Kensington Court, 1940

WW2 poster, Teamwork -- Thanks Pal! Printed by DeHavilland of Canada Ltd for distribution in England. Date: circa 1942

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"Pilot: Defying Gravity, Embracing Destiny" From the skies of history to the dreams of tomorrow, pilots have always been at the forefront of human ambition. Their courage and skill have shaped our world in ways unimaginable. Churchill's praise for RAF Pilots echoes through time as a testament to their unwavering dedication and heroism. In the face of adversity, they soared high, defending freedom with every flight. Elizabeth Bessie Coleman shattered barriers as she became the first African-American woman pilot. Her determination defied societal norms, inspiring generations to reach for the stars. Amelia Earhart, an iconic US aviation pioneer, fearlessly charted new horizons and proved that women could conquer any sky-bound challenge. Her legacy continues to inspire countless dreamers around the globe. The Ford V8 Pilot 1954 Green light symbolized not only automotive innovation but also represented a spirit of adventure that resonated with pilots worldwide. It was a beacon calling them towards endless possibilities in uncharted territories. Flying Officer W E Johns immortalized aviators' bravery through his captivating Biggles stories in Modern Boy magazine. His tales ignited young imaginations and instilled a sense of wonder about aviation's limitless potential. A wartime poster bearing Churchill's famous words "Never was so much owed by so many to so few" encapsulated gratitude towards those who defended nations from above during World War II—a reminder that heroes don't always wear capes; sometimes they wear wings. The Bismarck dropping its pilot serves as a poignant metaphor for letting go of old limitations and embracing new beginnings—an allegory mirrored by pilots who constantly push boundaries both within themselves and their aircrafts. Amy Johnson blazed trails as an English pilot whose pioneering spirit knew no bounds. With each flight she took, she challenged gender stereotypes while leaving an indelible mark on aviation history.