Photo Contest 2014: Best of the Best

BEST OF THE BEST

Gene Soucy performs a nighttime pyrotechnic routine in his Showcat Grumman biplane at the 2014 EAA Airventure Oshkosh (Wis.). The fireworks create a visual display of wing vortex. Photo by Evan Peers, San Carlos, California.

GENERAL FIRST PLACE

Three Lockheed Electras fly a tight formation over Lake Michigan. They were flown by David Marco, Les Whitelsey and Peter Ramm during EAA Airventure 2014. Photo by Tyson Rininger, Monterey, California.

GENERAL SECOND PLACE

Stunt aircraft flown by Skip Stewart and Melissa Pemberton cross in front of “wall of fire” at EAA Airventure 2014. Photo by Ricardo von Puttkammer, New York, New York.

GENERAL THIRD PLACE

A solitary hot air balloon floats above Cappadocia in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Photo by Ognyan Stefanov, Sofia, Bulgaria.

DEFENSE FIRST PLACE

An Israel Air Force Boeing AH-64A Apache, at an IAF pilot graduation ceremony and air show at Hazerim AFB, appears to be engulfed in flames. Actually, a wind shift blew smoke from the flares, creating the illusion. Photo by Avichai Socher, Givat Shmuel, Israel.

DEFENSE SECOND PLACE

The Airbus X3 helicopter hybrid is setting a high-speed record. Photo by Alain Ernoult, Saint Remy, France.

DEFENSE THIRD PLACE

A Royal Netherlands Air Force Boeing AH-64 demonstrates its flare capability at sunset near Sanicole, Belgium. Photo by Benoit Denet, Rixensart, Belgium.

SPACE FIRST PLACE

An Atlas V launches with NROL-39, blasting water from the noise-suppression system and ice from the supercold liquid oxygen in the rocket. Photo by Patrick Corkery, Littleton, Colorado.

SPACE SECOND PLACE

A SpaceX Falcon 9 V1.1 rocket, carrying the Thaicom 6 satellite, lifts off from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40. Photo by Walter Scriptunas, 2nd, Charleston, West Virginia.

SPACE THIRD PLACE

The GPS IIF-5 spacecraft ascends through a clear night sky aboard a Delta IV rocket on Feb. 20, 2014, creating a beautiful arc over the masts of sailboats moored at a Titusville, Florida, marina. Photo by John Moss, Viera, Florida.

COMMERCIAL FIRST PLACE

A Summit Air Twin Otter approaches for landing near Yellowknife. Photo by Jason Pineau, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

COMMERCIAL SECOND PLACE

An Airbus A380 is reflected in the control tower window at the July 2014 Farnborough Airshow. Photo by Richard Deakin, Oxshott, England.

COMMERCIAL THIRD PLACE

An Air Tindi Cessna Caravan floats on the Tazin River, in the Northwest Territories. Photo by Jason Pineau, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

SELFIE FIRST PLACE

A panoramic self-portrait taken while flying a Cessna Caravan near Yellowknife. Photo by Jason Pineau,Yellowknife, Northwest Territories .

SELFIE SECOND PLACE

I took my friend gliding in a Grob G103A above Bensov, Czech Republic, last fall and took a selfie to commemorate his first “glide ride.” Photo by Jakub Vlk, Prague, Czech Republic.

SELFIE THIRD PLACE

I captured a shot of me hang-gliding on a Northwing Freedom 190 over Torrey Pines, California. Photo by Chris Bolfing, San Diego, California.

More than 130 photographers from 20 countries submitted more than 580 images for Aviation Week's 23rd Annual Photo Contest. See the best photos selected by our panel of judges. Then click through to our 2014 Photo Contest page to see the winning photographs, the photographers who took them, who the judges were and galleries of more entries.