The chance to fly on a 747 is dwindling. Delta and United both plan to retire the 747 from their fleets this year, marking the end of an era for the jumbo jet in passenger service on U.S. carriers.

They were taken by Dutch 747-400 captain Christiaan Van Heijst, who has earned a reputation for breathtaking cockpit images and garnered 147,000 Instagram followers.

To capture his stunning shots van Heijst currently uses a Nikon D850. Most of his longer exposure night images utilize a 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens. It was only recently, in late 2017, that van ...

“As people interested in planes, it was just exciting to even get to see inside a Boeing 747 because they're so rarely used for passengers these days. Getting to sleep in the cockpit was great.