13 Stunning Apache Pictures Taken By The Pilot Himself

combataviator / Instagram

It’s not every day that you find a badass pilot who also loves photography (and is great at both obviously), but we just stumbled upon an Instagram page where we found exactly that. Called combataviator, this dude’s mission is to give his followers “a glimpse into the life of an Apache helicopter pilot.”

We’ve looked through his account and we picked out 13 awesome pictures of his everyday life although we have to admit it was tough. His work is beautiful and the fact that he also serves his country and fights for the freedom we so dearly love is just awesome.

13. Yup. This is him. He really took all these pictures.

Some one must have sneezed on the TEDAC and didn’t wipe it up #selfie #ah64 #apache #attackhelicopter #combat #helicopter #Afghanistan #deployed #pilotlife #bestjobieverhad #attackaviation #pilot #nikon

A post shared by @ combataviator on Feb 9, 2018 at 8:27am PST

12. He likes to also take pictures of his wingmen who like to show off for him.

High Adventure Flying Club #ah64 #apache #attackhelicopter #army #aviation #boeing #goarmy #helicopter #deployed #Afghanistan #summer #attackaviation #pilotlife #sunset #landscape #patriots #weapons #airforce #aircraft #flight #sunrise #landscapephotography #aviationphotography #avgeek #guns #military #merica #instapilot #igmilitia #verticalmag

A post shared by @ combataviator on Jul 14, 2018 at 6:50am PDT

11. Here’s another bud deployed in Afghanistan.

Gun 1 inbound. #ah64 #apache #attackhelicopter #army #aviation #boeing #goarmy #helicopter #mountains #deployed #Afghanistan #summer #attackaviation #pilotlife #airforce #sunset #landscape #chopper #sunrise #cloudscape #weapons #landscapephotography #aviationphotography #avgeek #guns #military #merica #instapilot #igmilitia #verticalmag

A post shared by @ combataviator on Jul 11, 2018 at 7:42am PDT

1o. Never bad to show your patriotism, even if you can’t see where the hell you’re going.

Old Glory guides the way. I’d like to wish a happy Independence day to everyone, especially our soldiers still deployed overseas, who will be missing out on the beers and barbecue today. #ah64 #Apache #army #badass #attackhelicopter #attackaviation #4thofjuly #sunrise #rotorcraft #independenceday #avgeek #landscapephotography #aviationphotography #cloudscape #helicopter #pilotlife #afghanistan #igpilot #goarmy #clouds #skyline #military #aircraft #verticalmag #weapons #merica #oldglory #americanflag

A post shared by @ combataviator on Jul 4, 2018 at 6:14am PDT

9. A peaceful flight through Afghani mountains lookin’ for trouble.

Getting in tight #ah64 #apache #attackhelicopter #army #aviation #boeing #goarmy #helicopter #deployed #Afghanistan #spring #attackaviation #pilotlife #sunset #landscape #patriots #weapons #airforce #pilot #landscapephotography #aviationphotography #avgeek #guns #military #merica #instapilot #igmilitia #verticalmag #aircraft #flight

A post shared by @ combataviator on May 22, 2018 at 7:22am PDT

8. As he said himself, “Just chillin with the homies on the worst place on Earth.”

Just chillin with the homies on the worst place on Earth. #ah64 #Apache #army #badass #attackhelicopter #attackaviation #mountains #sunrise #rotorcraft #chopper #avgeek #airforce #landscapephotography #aviationphotography #cloudscape #helicopter #pilotlife #afghanistan #igpilot #goarmy #clouds #skyline #military #aircraft #verticalmag #weapons #merica #oldglory #americanflag #boeing

A post shared by @ combataviator on Jul 17, 2018 at 7:30am PDT

7. We don’t need many words to describe this. Just beautiful.

Looking back at the business end of this Boeing, and business was booming. #ah64 #apache #attackhelicopter #army #aviation #avgeek #nightlife #airforce #military #boeing #helicopter #mountains #deployed #Afghanistan #winter #attackaviation #pilotlife #igpilot #sunrise #aviationphotography #longexposure #lightpainting #weapons #guns #30mm #chopper #missile #rockets #verticalmag @philippetondeur

A post shared by @ combataviator on Jun 13, 2018 at 10:38am PDT

6. “Celebrating National Selfie Day 2018.” Not a bad way to do it!

Celebrating National Selfie day 2018 with this #throwback to one of my last flights from this past deployment. #ah64 #apache #attackhelicopter #army #cavalry #helicopter #pilotlife #stackbodies #combat #mustache #avgeek #aviationphotography #attackaviation #combatstache #pilot #igpilot #warphotography #afghanistan #patches #helmet #aviator #tbt #soldier #airforce #warrior #nationalselfieday #selfie #throwbackthursday

A post shared by @ combataviator on Jun 21, 2018 at 8:09am PDT

5. Conflicting messages in this one. (Look Closer)

It’s always good to be up to speed on lost commo procedures, otherwise I wouldn’t have known the front seater had to go number 1, and the backseater had to take a number 2. #ah64 #apache #attackhelicopter #army #aviation #boeing #goarmy #helicopter #deployed #Afghanistan #mountains #attackaviation #pilotlife #sunset #landscape #patriots #weapons #airforce #pilot #landscapephotography #aviationphotography #avgeek #guns #military #merica #instapilot #igmilitia #verticalmag #aircraft #flight

A post shared by @ combataviator on Jun 18, 2018 at 6:33am PDT

4. Making sure the rockets work. It seems like they do.

A post shared by @combataviator on Jul 8, 2018 at 6:22am PDT

3. Starting up the girl for a night around town.

#throwback to the start of the deployment. Catching a night shift crew for a quick photo op during their pre-mission runup. #ah64 #apache #army #attackhelicopter #aviation #avgeek #nightlife #airforce #military #boeing #helicopter #merica #deployed #Afghanistan #tbt #attackaviation #pilotlife #igpilot #combatlearjet #aviationphotography #longexposure #lightpainting #weapons #guns #30mm #chopper #missile #rockets #verticalmag

A post shared by @ combataviator on Jun 14, 2018 at 7:27am PDT

2. That’s a big gun.

#tbt to a much warmer and sunnier Afghanistan #ah64 #apache #attackhelicopter #30mm #gun #turret #combat #deployed #helicopter #army #afghanistan #pilotlife #military #multicam #pilot #attackaviation #aviation #aviationphotography

A post shared by @ combataviator on Feb 7, 2018 at 6:37am PST

1. Not a picture, but a great video letting you hear the sound of impending doom.

Cruisin’ down the street in my ’64 #ah64 #apache. #attackhelicopter #army #pilotlife #skidsareforkids #missiles #guns #rocket #combat #helicopter #attackaviation

A post shared by @ combataviator on Jan 31, 2018 at 9:57am PST

All in all, this is a great collection of pictures of this famously lethal helicopter. If you’d like to see more of this or any other aircraft of your choice, drop us a line on Facebook and we’ll dig up some goodies.