Ifølge hans egen blogg, tok nederlandske Christian Van Heijst flysertifikatet allerede da han var 18 år, før han tok bilsertifikatet.

Nå er han 34 år, og har fløyet i mer enn 8000 timer. Han begynte tidlig å ta bilder av de utrolige utsiktene han får se hver dag, og etter han begynte å legge ut bildene på Instagram, har han fått over 60.000 følgere.

Les også:  Ny video viser hvordan det er å jobbe som flyvertinne

Christiaan flyr et fraktfly av typen Boeing 747-8, og har blant annet tatt bilder av torden, lyn og nordlys fra cockpiten. Flere av bildene hans har gått viralt i internasjonale medier, og det er ikke vanskelig å se hvorfor. Se noen av de fantastiske bildene hans nedenfor! 

Fisheye view of the 747-8 cockpit. The full moon behind us gives a nice glow in the windows and sky outside.. . #boeing #boeing747 #cockpit #avgeek #aviation #aviationphotography #aviationlovers #aviationgeek #boeinglovers #flight #flying #pilot #pilotlife #crewlife #instagood #instadaily #instagramaviation #photo #photography #photoaday #jpcvanheijst #nikon @instagramaviation @aviationdaily @boeinglovers

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) Nov. 7, 2017 at 8:42 PST

Finding our way through a maze of heavy weather and thunderstorms during a long and turbulent night flight. No matter how often I see this show of nature high up in the atmosphere, I am always impressed by the enormous dimensions of these clouds and energy that is bursting inside. Our 747 is just a tiny bug in comparison with those thunderstorms and it clearly shows how insignificant humanity is when compared with the forces of nature. #aviation #avgeek #boeing #boeing747 #flying #flight #storm #weather #cloud #clouds #cloudporn #cloud #thunderstorm #cockpit #crewlife #pilotlife #instagood #instaphoto #instagramaviation #instaaviation @instagramaviation @aviation4u @aviationdaily

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) Nov. 19, 2017 at 9:30 PST

While large parts of Europe are now covered in snow and winter weather, Mongolia is turning more and more white every day. A few rocky peaks have managed to catch just enough sunlight to stay clear of frost and snow until now, but even those will be covered soon in the pristine blanket of ice crystals. As the rhythm of the seasons progresses, we'll be enjoying the green rolling hills in a few months again, followed by the scorching heat of summer that turns everything brown and dry on this land-locked Asian country. When flying over the world on a regular basis, its amazing to see the transformation of the planet below us throughout the year. #mongolia #winter #weather #winterwonderland #wintertime #landscape #world #sky #aerial #landscapephotography #landscapes #photo #photography #instawinter #instagood #instatravel #travel #traveling #nikon

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) Des. 11, 2017 at 11:13 PST

The beautiful mountainous landscape of Georgia below us with in the distance the dominating Mount Ararat; the over 5100m high peak is nearly always sticking out from the clouds over the Turkish and Armenian land below. For many religious people, Mount Ararat is regarded as a holy mountain as it would have been the place where Noah's Ark first reached land after the world-covering flood, as described in various religious books like the Torah, Bible and Quran. Over the course of centuries, many expeditions have been launched to find evidence of this theological/religious event, even recently, and some interesting finds have been reported like old pieces of wood, far above the vegetation line. If they are related in any way to the religious books and stories remains a topic of debate among believers, but regardless of the story and finds, the mountain is an impressive landmark and a beautiful sight to see from above. #mountain #mountains #georgia #turkey #armenia #landscape #landscapephotography #clouds #cloudy #history #photo #photography #instapic #nikon

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) Jan. 20, 2018 at 11:50 PST

St Elmo’s fire. Somewhere over the Atlantic between South-America and Africa we encountered a huge front of active thunderstorms. Flying in thick clouds with zero visibility, we had to rely on our weather-radar to get a clear image of the weather ahead. It was obvious that there was no way to fly all around this squall line of entangled thunderstorms that stretched across our route for hundreds of miles to either side. Coming closer, the radar provided us with a more detailed image of the interior of the clouds ahead, enabling us to plan a route through this maze of violent weather. This time though, we immediately understood that we won’t get away with a smooth passage. The storms had almost grown together into one, forcing us to find the ‘least’ violent spot to fly through. Our long range HF-radio was already rendered completely useless with the nearby storms that charge the atmosphere and our airplane, thereby blocking all signals to and from the outside…. Full blog can be read here; https://jpcvanheijst.com/blogs/2017/06/574544-st-elmo-s-fire-4-minute-read #stelmosfire #elmosfire #aircraft #airplane #boeing #boeing747 #747 #cockpit #flightdeck #pilot #piloteye #pilotlife #thunderstorm #cloud #cloudporn #instaweather #instaflight #instagramaviation #instaaviation #aviation #flight #avgeek #instadaily #photodaily #photoaday #photography #nature #jpcvanheijst #nikon

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) Juni 2, 2017 at 1:15 PDT

Sentinel Island. Partially hiding in clouds, this island lives up to its mysterious reputation and name, even from high up in the air. It looks as a typical idyllic island, just like so many others that are littered in the Indian and Pacific ocean. But in reality, its one of the most dangerous and least-visited places in the world. Located south in the Bay of Bengal, between India and Malaysia, it is part of the Nicobar Islands. No airways or flying routes are planned over this island, but due to some very big thunderstorms over the Indian Ocean, we were forced to divert for a few hundred miles from our original course and found ourselves overflying this unique spot on the globe that was hiding in between the clouds. Surrounded by spectacular white sandy beaches and coral reefs in turquoise waters, the island is entirely covered by dense jungle. A forrest that hides one of the last truly indigenous tribes that have so far been able to live all by… Read more; https://jpcvanheijst.com/blogs/2017/07/585891-sentinel-island-3-minute-read #sentinelisland #sentinel #island #ocean #tropical #clouds #cloud #weather #ocean #aerial #tribe #human #humans #people #natgeo #nationalgeographic #weather #clouds #cloud #exotic #adventure #adventurer #jpcvanheijst #instatravel #instagood #instaweather #instaisland #instadaily #instanature

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) Juli 9, 2017 at 6:17 PDT

Last night over the Atlantic ocean, between Africa and South America. We witnessed the debris of a Soyuz rocket falling back to earth. Read the entire story with more pictures on my blog; jpcvanheijst.com/blogs/2017/04/571472-soyuz-rocket-debris-in-flight-3-minute-read #space #flight #soyuz #rocket #night #sky #missile #flying #aviation #avgeek #instaspace #spacephoto #photoaday #atlantic #instagramaviation #instaaviation #instaflight #instanight #instastars #arianaspace #jpcvanheijst #cockpit #piloteye #pilotview

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) Mai 28, 2017 at 9:11 PDT

Three shooting stars - Reflections on life (6 minutes total read) Night flight over Central India, between Doha and Hanoi. Thousands of miles from the place I call home, flying through one of those dark nights where millions of stars are illuminating the expanse above and just as many lights and people on the ground pass by in slow motion. With my body still in the European time zone, it feels as if I’m residing in a time capsule that is suspended somewhere between the surface and the infinity of the universe above. Time, distance and perspectives become completely relative if I let my thoughts wander for a minute. At home I’m missing another birthday party I was invited for; one of the many drawbacks of this job that I willingly accepted when I choose to pursue this career. The unique views and perspectives come with a price. What do you want to be when you grow up? 10-year old Christiaan; ‘A pilot!’ This time of the year, the earth is facing the ‘faint’ part of the milky way, with the bright galactic core invisible before sunrise at this time of year. But when there is no light pollution from the moon or other nearby light sources, even this dim band of stars becomes visible for the naked eye in the right circumstances. Three meteorites fall through the earth’s atmosphere during this exposure, leaving bright trails of purple, white, blue, green and yellow that are nature’s reward for the those that take the time to look out and appreciate the views in the celestial heavens above. We dim the cockpit lights and when time and workload allows, I often lean over the instruments to place my face next to the heated window and enjoy the unique view on the world from my cockpit. Watching the occasional moonlight reflect on the rivers and lakes, counting ….. Read more; https://jpcvanheijst.com/blogs/2017/04/549774-reflections-on-life-three-shooting-stars #blog #stars #life #flying #avgeek #aviation #instagramaviation #nightflight #piloteye #pilotview #india #shootingstar #night #instagood #instablog #instablogger #instapic #instagramblogger #jpcvanheijst #longexposure #boeing #747 #flying #flight #aircraft #cockpit #flightdeck #nikon #d800

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) April 1, 2017 at 4:47 PDT

A long exposure shot over the dark Sinai peninsula in Egypt. When the air is completely stable, sometimes its possible to make photos with extremely long exposures so the camera can catch every bit of light that’s out there. Far away cities, camp fires and settlements on the ground, but most of all the countless billions of stars that paint the sky high above. At certain times in the year, we can look into the core of our own galaxy, which shows like a long band of ‘milky’ light, hence the name Milky Way. A huge concentration of so many stars and nebulae that all are spread out over distances our human brain can simply not comprehend. #stars #milkyway #nightlife #nightphotography #nightshot #milkyway #galaxy #nightflight #egypt #longexposure #longexposure_shots #aviation #flight #flying #jpcvanheijst #nikon #d800 #instasky, #instagramaviation #avgeek #space #photography

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) Sep. 24, 2016 at 11:27 PDT

Cockpit view of a beautiful show of Northern Lights, far North over the ice-covered Arctic ocean. Far North of Alaska, on our way to North-Siberia. The intense show of green and purple colors casts her gentle glow over the ice and clouds below. #aurora #borealis #auroraborealis #northernlights #night #nightflight #cockpit #flight #flying #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #airplane #boeing #boeing747 #747 #instapic #instagood #instadaily #instagramaviation #nikon #d800 #longexposure #jpcvanheijst #nature #amazing #beautiful

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) Feb. 16, 2016 at 4:09 PST

New blog! A short, 3 minute reflection of my adventures in Afghanistan roughly 10 years ago. With winter all over the entire Northern Hemisphere, it reminds me of the adventures a long time ago, in a country far, far away (for most of us). Flying for a small company that no longer exists anymore, I was a contractor in, among other shady places, Afghanistan. Read more here; https://jpcvanheijst.com/blogs/2018/01/641544-memories-of-afghanistan-3-minute-read #blog #blogger #afghanistan #flying #flight #aviation #avgeek #aviationdaily #pilot #pilotlife #adventure #instagramaviation #instadaily #instaflight #instablog

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) Jan. 11, 2018 at 7:14 PST

Digging through my old archives, I came across this little gem that I never had time to work on before. A beautiful sunrise between the clouds, a view that never gets boring, no matter how many hours aloft. #sunrise #clouds #cloud #cloudporn #sunrises #nature #world #landscape #photo #photography #photooftheday #picture #instagood #instasunrise #instaweather #instadaily #instasky #instaphoto #sky #skyporn #flying #flight #aviation #instapic #jpcvanheijst #nikon #weatherporn

Et innlegg delt av Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) Aug. 7, 2017 at 7:59 PDT

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