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News & Media Best photos of 2019

Best photos of 2019

January 7, 2020 By David Tulis

From fly-ins to magazine cover images, AOPA photographers transport readers to destinations in the United States and overseas to showcase the best of the general aviation community. Join us on a visual journey through 2019 to explore some of their finest moments. Click to enlarge and learn more about each image from the photographers.

We almost canceled this air-to-air photo shoot of the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet due to gloomy, overcast skies. However, when the cloud layer finally broke over eastern West Virginia, it gave way to an amazing mix of low light and a dramatic skyscape. Photo by Chris Rose. Toward the end of a midday summer shoot, the Carbon Cub FX-3 subject aircraft passed under the photo ship on the return leg to the airport. As I tracked it through the lens, I squeezed off one last frame—and it ended up as one of my favorites. Photo by Chris Rose. The opportunity to photograph the seventy-fifth anniversary of D-Day in England and France during 2019 ceremonies will remain one of the most memorable moments of my career. It was like being in the middle of a gigantic movie set. Photo by Chris Rose. Everything about the Extra 330SC is sexy—looks, performance, and speed. It is just an amazing aircraft to watch and listen to 25 feet away from the end of your lens. Photo by Chris Rose. Skiplane flying in northern Maine is not for the faint of heart. Those who can brave subzero temperatures at the base of Mount Kineo, which frames a Piper PA-12, will be treated to an amazing vista. Photo by Chris Rose. The Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline always provide an exciting and recognizable background to any photo shoot, but with a bright red Aviat Aircraft Pitts S-2C—it is even better. Smoke on! Photo by Chris Rose. Gray storm clouds contrast with bright green Central Florida farmland to provide a dramatic background for the sleek features of the Daher TBM 940. Photo by Chris Rose. Mist fills the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest valleys below a Pilatus PC-24 jet near Hot Springs, Virginia. Photo by Mike Fizer. Thom Richard, owner of Warbird Adventures, flies his Curtiss TP-40N Warhawk over Central Florida with AOPA columnist Barry Schiff. Photo by Mike Fizer. A 1935 Kinner Sportwing, restored by David DeVries of Windham, New Hampshire, is framed by the Atlantic coast near Boston. Photo by Mike Fizer. A Pilatus Porter PC-6, piloted by Cedric Gitchenko, is configured for medical evacuation operations south of Tampa, Florida. Photo by Mike Fizer. Jeff Parker pilots a restored Cessna 195 Businessliner over Lake Drummond near Norfolk, Virginia. Photo by Mike Fizer. Fireworks arch skyward after a night airshow during EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Bradley Hatcher of Jackson, Georgia, owns the 1950 Cessna 170A. Photo by Mike Collins. An aircraft participating in the AOPA short takeoff and landing (STOL) demonstration at the Livermore, California, Fly-In climbs past a setting sun. Photo by Mike Collins. The pitot-static system of a D-Day Douglas C-47 turned DC-3 gets attention after sitting idle for almost 20 years. In a project called "Plane Savers," Mikey McBryan and a cast of volunteers worked two months so the airplane could fly on the seventy-fifth anniversary of D-Day. Photo by Mike Collins. Ken Rieder of Redline Airshows launches pyrotechnics from his Van's Aircraft RV-8 during a night airshow at the 2019 Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In and Expo. Photo by Mike Collins. A member of the World War II Airborne Demonstration Team takes a photo before a dawn jump during a weeklong jump school. Many team members jumped from aircraft overflying Normandy, France, during the seventy-fifth anniversary of D-Day. Photo by Mike Collins. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Charles McGee, a Tuskegee Airman and a decorated veteran of three wars, flies a Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet from Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to help celebrate his 100th birthday. Photo by David Tulis. The sun sets behind Air Safety Institute Executive Director Richard McSpadden and his North American Navion Super B during a short takeoff and landing (STOL) demonstration at the AOPA Tullahoma, Tennessee, Fly-In. Photo by David Tulis. Sometimes it pays to be in the right place at the right time. Ninety-eight-year-old retired World War II Navy veteran Robert Penton enjoys the view form the top turret of "Champaign Gal," a North American B-25 that operated paid flights during the AOPA Tullahoma, Tennessee, Fly-In. Photo by David Tulis. Miss Virginia, a Douglas C-47 that participated in D-Day remembrance ceremonies in Normandy, France, June 6, taxis for takeoff during the AOPA Frederick Fly-In and eightieth anniversary celebration. Photo by David Tulis. A Piper Super Cub on amphibious floats splashes down in the crystal turquoise water of Norris Lake in Tennessee. Photo by David Tulis. Family members experience their first general aviation flight as Brianna Lindsey, 5, hugs her mother Kayla, who documents the flight during the Young Aviators Fly-In at Triple Tree Aerodrome in South Carolina. Photo by David Tulis. A Beechcraft Model 18 frames a drone performance during the AOPA Tullahoma, Tennessee, Fly-In. Photo by David Tulis.
David Tulis

David Tulis

Senior Photographer
Senior Photographer David Tulis joined AOPA in 2015 and is a private pilot with single-engine land and sea ratings and a tailwheel endorsement. He is also a certificated remote pilot and co-host of the award-wining AOPA Hangar Talk podcast. David enjoys vintage aircraft ad photography.
Go to David Tulis's Profile
Topics: Aircraft, Travel

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