Flight Engineer Collection

The flight crew of a BOAC VC10 make preparations for landing at Khartoum airport, during a proving flight to Sudan 1st February 1964

Soyuz 11 crew before launch, 1971
Soyuz 11 crew before launch. Soviet cosmonauts (left to right) Georgy Dobrovolsky, Viktor Patsayev and Vladislav Volkov at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Cockpit of a British United Airlines BAC 1-11 during a European proving flight to Spain. 27th January 1965

RAF flight engineer on board an aircraft, c1940 (1943). The flight engineer watching his instrument board, which tells him how the engines are behaving. From Coastal Command

A Lancaster Bomber Crew (b / w photo)
XJF368481 A Lancaster Bomber Crew (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: the image includes a Jamaican serviceman; many men from the West Indies)

ISS Expedition 32 crew, August 2012 C016 / 4208
ISS Expedition 32 crew. Astronauts and cosmonauts inside the Kibo laboratory module of the International Space Station (ISS)

Astronaut exercising on the ISS C016 / 4207
Astronaut exercising on the ISS. NASA astronaut Sunita Williams (born 1965) exercising in a bungee harness on the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT)

Astronaut plant experiment on the ISS C016 / 4206
Astronaut plant experiment on the ISS. Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov (born 1973), Expedition 28 flight engineer, checking the progress of a plant experiment on the International Space Station (ISS)

Astronaut chess game on the ISS C016 / 4205
Astronaut chess game on the ISS. NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff (born 1962) playing a game of chess in the Harmony node of the International Space Station (ISS)

Soviet N-209 transpolar flight crew, 1937
Soviet N-209 transpolar flight crew, before their fatal flight on 12th August 1937. They flew a modified DB-A aircraft (background) from Moscow over the Arctic towards Alaska

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From the historic preparations of BOAC VC10's flight crew making their way to Khartoum airport, to the groundbreaking Soyuz 11 crew gearing up for launch in 1971, the role of a flight engineer has been a critical component in aviation and space exploration history. In vintage photos, we see RAF flight engineers from the 1940s (1943), British United Airlines BAC 1-11 cockpit crews on European proving flights, and the intense focus of a Lancaster Bomber crew during wartime. Fast forward to modern times, the ISS Expedition 32 crew in 2012 worked diligently on experiments, exercising, and even playing chess in zero gravity. The legacy of these flight engineers continues with the Soviet N-209 transpolar flight crew's pioneering spirit in 1937. Their unwavering dedication to safety, innovation, and exploration has shaped the skies and beyond.