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Forget aerial views – try these incredible views from the cockpit of the jumbo jet.
The images were taken by Dutch 747-400 captain Christiaan Van Heijst, who has earned a well-deserved reputation for his stunning cockpit images.
His aerial photographs have earned him multiple awards and 147,000 followers on Instagram.
Christiaan said: ‘In my first job as a pilot in 2004, I was flying turboprops around Africa and Afghanistanand I was fully aware that I was seeing things and landscapes that were unique, so I had a strong motivation to document them all.
‘I started taking pictures with a simple camera and as my racing career progressed, so did my photography.’
Scroll down to see Christiaan’s latest stunning photographs, taken in locations including Manhattan, Dubai, China and remote Sable Island.
Contrails above the clouds: a stunning image of a plane speeding below Christiaan’s 747
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 7 A fascinating image of Cape Verde, an African island country in the Atlantic Ocean.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528223_904_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
A fascinating image of Cape Verde, an African island country in the Atlantic Ocean.
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 9 Hue goes there: An amazing image of an aurora. Christiaan said that capturing auroras through the cabin took a lot of effort.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528224_228_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
Hue goes there: An amazing image of an aurora. Christiaan said that capturing auroras through the cabin required a lot of “trial and error.”
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 11 Christiaan has completed over 10,000 flight hours in various types of aircraft. Above: the mountains of Armenia](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528224_578_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
Christiaan has completed over 10,000 flight hours in various types of aircraft. Above: the mountains of Armenia
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 13 Manhattan looks like a toy town in this incredible photograph taken from the sky.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528225_328_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
Manhattan looks like a toy town in this incredible photograph taken from the sky.
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 15 Christiaan reveals that he has flown approximately 8.6 million kilometers, or 5.4 million miles,](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528225_895_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
Christiaan reveals that he has flown approximately 8.6 million kilometers, or 5.4 million miles, “give or take”
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 17 Way to Shine: The celestial image above shows moonlight over the Pacific Ocean.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528226_628_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
Way to Shine: The celestial image above shows moonlight over the Pacific Ocean.
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 19 Peaky Blinder: The Himalayas look like a painting in this hypnotic image](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528226_600_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
Peaky Blinder: The Himalayas look like a painting in this hypnotic image
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 21 Here, the vast Gobi Desert stretches out beneath Christiaan's jumbo jet.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528226_33_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
Here, the vast Gobi Desert stretches out beneath Christiaan’s jumbo jet.
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 23 An impressive mountain range in China. Christiaan calculates that he has flown 17 times the distance from Earth to the Moon](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528227_144_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
An impressive mountain range in China. Christiaan calculates that he has flown 17 times the distance from Earth to the Moon
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 25 Christiaan said: 'In my first job as a pilot in 2004, I was flying turboprop aircraft over Africa and Afghanistan and I was very aware that I was seeing unique things and landscapes, so I had a strong motivation to document everything.'](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528227_451_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 27 The Two Palm Islands of Dubai](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528227_157_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
Christiaan said: “In my first job as a pilot in 2004, I was flying turboprops over Africa and Afghanistan and I was very aware that I was seeing unique things and landscapes, so I had a strong motivation to document everything.” Pictured right: Dubai’s two Palm Islands
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 29 Images like this have helped Christiaan gain 147,000 followers on Instagram.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528228_388_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
Images like this have helped Christiaan gain 147,000 followers on Instagram.
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 31 Christiaan captures his 'office' here: the cockpit of a Boeing 747-400](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528228_516_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
Christiaan captures his ‘office’ here: the cockpit of a Boeing 747-400
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 33 This striking image captures Canada's Sable Island, home to around 350 shipwrecks.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528228_461_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
This striking image captures Canada’s Sable Island, home to around 350 shipwrecks.
![The view from VERY far away: Incredible images taken from the cockpit of a jumbo jet show the Earth as you've never seen it before, from Manhattan to Dubai 35 We were blown away by a spectacular aurora captured by Christiaan over Germany](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/07/1720528229_454_The-view-from-VERY-far-away-Incredible-images-taken-from.jpg.webp)
We were blown away by a spectacular aurora captured by Christiaan over Germany
For more amazing photos and videos, check out Christaan’s Instagram: @jpcvanheijst.