2022 Aviation Week Photo Contest Winning Photos

A Boeing EA-18G Growler waits on the ramp at Grant County International Airport. The aircraft was one of two performing at the Moses Lake Airshow in Washington.

A four-ship formation of Israel Defense Forces Black Hawks from the 123 Sqdn. releases flares simultaneously in an exercise over the southern part of Israel, creating this amazing view.

A U.S. Air Force KC-10 flies in formation with three Israel Defense Forces F-16Ds from the Scorpion Sqdn.

A trio of U.S. Air Force T-38s from Sheppard AFB, Texas, show off their heritage paint schemes.

An Air X Charter Boeing 737-700 rests on the ramp at Dallas--Fort Worth International Airport with an American Airlines Airbus A320 under tow behind it. The streaks of light are the tail of the A320, made possible by the 20-sec. exposure.

A Siller Helicopters Sikorsky Skycrane drops water at the Sheep Fire near Wrightwood, California. The blaze was almost out and then, in what seemed liked minutes, grew to more than 1,000 acres. I drove on California State Route 2 with intense flames on both sides, following the fire and helicopters.

A Boeing 747 operated by Atlas Air appears to be flying toward the Apollo 11 landing site and Mare Tranquillitatis on the face of the partially illuminated Moon.

Doug Matthews of Wellington, Florida, pilots his North American F-86 Sabre fighter during an Atlas rocket launch from Cape Canaveral. He, S-211 Marchetti chase pilot Scott Farnsworth and photographer Mike Killian coordinated their flight from Titusville, Florida, taking off when the rocket launch was at about T-20 min. and shooting this photo along the Indian River just outside restricted airspace.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Intelsat G-33/G-34 payload to orbit rises in front of the Moon. Launch was 5 min. after sunset on Oct. 8, so there was still quite a bit of light in the sky, and moonrise was at 6:37 p.m., so the 98.9% illuminated Moon was only 5.65 deg. above the horizon. Brigham Young University Physics and Astronomy Department Chair Kent Gee explained on Twitter: “The ripples you see across the Moon’s face are caused by high-intensity acoustic waves. The steep pressure gradient changes the light’s index of refraction. These Mach waves are present in supersonic jet flows.”

Two Arrow 3 rockets leave trails as they fly to space. Stars moving across the sky that night drew trails as well in this long-exposure photo. Perfect conflicting trails make a unique space photo of Arrows shot from their starry bow.

Pilatus has delivered 200 PC-12 NGXs since unveiling the derivative in October 2019, according to the Aviation Week Fleet Discovery database. Including the earlier variants, more than 1,900 PC-12s are in service. The type has accumulated more than 7 million flight hours, the Stans, Switzerland-based manufacturer says.

Two MS.733 Alcyon trainers perform a fly-by of two schooners operated by the French Navy to train young sailors. The Alcyons are retired French Navy aircraft operated by the Cocardes Marine, a private association that operates vintage aircraft. This picture was particularly tricky to shoot because I had to coordinate the aircraft and boat movements by radio. The picture was shot above the Atlantic Ocean, in southern Brittany.

Jerod Flohr slices up the sky with Douglas A-4 Skyhawk No. 518 at the Apple Valley Airshow in California.