30+ Absolutely Mind Blowing Cockpit Photos Taken By A Pilot Captain

From the UAE, this flight captain has taken some of the most incredible cockpit photos in the world and he shares them online for hundreds of thousands of adoring fans.

Elana

• Published in Interesting
• October 16, 2021

Captain Karim Nafatni has been living in Dubai for over a decade but on a regular basis, Karim travels the world as a Pilot Captain. With a genuinely positive attitude and disposition as well as an obviously well-tuned artistic eye, Karim soars the skies with a camera in hand.

Karim documents his journeys as a talented photographer, often from what he refers to as "the office." However, Karim's office is a far cry from your office or my office... his office is a cockpit. The cockpit, the front of the airplane where the pilots spend essentially their entire flight time (and sometimes other crew members as well,) offers visibility to the front and sides of the plane.

The term cockpit originated as a nautical term in the 17th century to mean a control center (although prior to that it was in reference to cock fighting.) Cock was actually an old English term for small boat!

Karim's cockpit office would appear to be a magical place through his keen eye and because of the incredible way he sees the world...and shares it, he has accumulated over 100k followers on Instagram and is an official ambassador for Bose. His photography and cheerful, positive disposition is engulfing and more than easy to appreciate and respect.

1. Light in the dark

2. Incredible skies

3. Rays of sunshine

4. Do you suppose this is a sunrise or a sunset?

5. What a seriously incredible photo.

More often than not, Karim adorns his Instagram posts with motivational quotes intending to inspire his followers to keep a positive mindset no matter what they do. "Make your life a masterpiece; imagine no limitations on what you can be , have or do," Karim urges his fans.

Often with a smiling selfie, he says things like this all the time:

"Nothing holds you back more than your own insecurities. Doubt your power, and you will give power to your own doubts.

Whatever you believe about yourself on the inside is what you will manifest on the outside. Be proud of who you are.

What you think of yourself is much more important than what others think of you. Oh! and yea, always keep a smile on your face.

Have an amazing Saturday my dear friends."

6. We mean it when we say mind-blowing and breathtaking

7. Sometimes Karim's photos feature other airline employees, too.

8. The natural lighting from the sun and the lights from the cockpit make for fascinating juxtaposition all the time.

9. You don't see clouds like this on land.

10. In the sky!

The first airplane was invented and flown in 1903 by the Wrights Brothers, which is something you probably learned in grade school. Their aircraft, the Wright Flyer, flew about 120 feet, and it was considered the world's first “sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight.”

By contrast today, a Boeing 787 can fly 10,000 miles on a single tank of gas! It's incredible to think about how far science has come when it comes to humans in the skies.

11. Silver and Gray

12. Splashes of color

13. Serene

14. Is there anything more incredible than sunshine?

15. The definition of peace.

Being from Dubai, you may be surprised to notice Karim's English is quite fantastic. However, you would only be surprised if you didn't know this fun fact about international flight rules:

"English is the international language of flight. All flight controllers and all commercial pilots who fly on international flights are required to speak English."

16. It's like looking at a mural

17. The universe is incredible

18. How can a still photogaph invoke a sense of movement?

19. Honestly breathtaking.

20. Sneaking in

A single windshield or window of a Boeing 747-400’s cockpit costs as much as a BMW (an average of almost $33k) and the average Boeing 747 has around 150–175 miles of wiring inside it. Airplanes like Boeing are crafted in the United States by Aeronautical Engineers.

In order to prevent the risk of an entire flight crew falling victim to food poisoning, pilots do not eat the same food on the plane as anyone else. On major airlines, they're actually not even allowed to eat the same food as the rest of the crew and in many cases, pilots actually bring their own food with them.

21. Blue

22. A view

23. The clouds almost look like the ocean in this shot

24. Coming into view

25. Another day, another flight, another incredible shot

In 1911, the first woman to become licensed to fly a plane was Harriet Quimby, She was also the first woman to fly across the English Channel, the busiest shipping area in the world considered an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France and links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end.

Quimby is considered an "early aviation pioneer," who sadly passed away at the age of 37 on July 1, 1912 during an unsanctioned contest in Boston when her aircraft unexpectedly pitched forward for reasons still unknown, ejecting her and her passenger William Willard (who organized the event.) The plane glided down into mud but Quimby and Willard fell to their deaths.

26. Stunning and vibrantly colorful

27. Incredible views

28. City Lights almost look like galaxies from the cockpit

29. Intentionally blurry

30. Surprisingly Stunning

31. Fog in Dubai

32. Undeniably artistic

Karim continues to post regularly on Instagram, much to the delight of over 111k followers. Whether he's posting a selfie, a view from a hotel, or an artistic photograph from the cockpit, he's surely earned his way into the hearts and minds of thousands of people all over the world for authentically and imaginatively showing us something we may not otherwise ever have seen.

You can keep up with Karim by following him on Instagram.

Elana