Shortlisted: Sólheimasandur aircraft crash site, Iceland by Ollie Conway. (Photo by Ollie Conway/Historic Photographer of the Year Awards 2019/The Guardian)

The X-47B prototype on Tuesday flew off an aircraft carrier and into the history books. Today's achievement, the first-ever catapult launch of an unmanned aircraft from the flight deck of a carrier, promises to open up a new chapter in the annals of naval aviation. Photo: An X-47B pilot-less drone combat aircraft is launched for the first time off an aircraft carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia, May 14, 2013. The U.S. Navy made aviation history on Tuesday by catapulting an unmanned jet off an aircraft carrier for the first time, testing a long-range, stealthy, bat-winged plane that represents a jump forward in drone technology. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

Spectators in Moscow were treated to the site of humorously designed makeshift aircraft plunging into the Muskova River during the Red Bull Flugtag Moscow 2011 competition. 38 teams took part at the Flugtag – which means “flying day” – a competition in which teams in fancy dress attempt to pilot human-powered, home-made flying machines off a six-meter-high platform into water.

Photo: A makeshift aircraft plummets into the Moskva River during the Red Bull Flugtag Moscow 2011 competition. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

An aircraft flies past sculptures of dinosaurs at the “Valley of Animals” park in Chandigarh, India on November 9, 2019. (Photo by Vijay Mathur/AFP Photo)

“The Airbus A300-600ST (Super Transporter) or Beluga, is a version of the standard A300-600 wide-body airliner modified to carry aircraft parts and over-sized or awkward cargo. It was officially called the Super Transporter at first, but the name Beluga became popular and has now been officially adopted”. – Wikipedia

Photo: The first Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft wing set is loaded on to a giant Beluga Airbus aircraft for transit to Bremen on February 25, 2009 in Broughton, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

A stewardess holding a lightsabre poses for photos with visitors during a tour of the Star Wars themed All Nippon Airways ANA R2D2 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft at Singapore's Changi Airport November 12, 2015. The aircraft was opened to the media on Thursday as it makes its first Asian stop outside Japan. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

Alphajet aircraft draw a heart-shaped message in the sky during the 2010 presentation show of the French aerobatics team Patrouille de France, over the French city of Salon-de-Provence. (Photo by Gerard Julien/AFP Photo)

Portrait beautiful woman on the beach, Landing aircraft above the beach at Phuket Airport. Mai Khao beach, one of the most popular beaches among tourists in Phuket. (Photo by Southtownboy/Getty Images/iStockphoto)