Holiday Gift List for Pilots

If a pilot is on your holiday gift list, what should you get for him or her? With so much on the market, what’s worth buying? Thanks to Flying (Flyingmag.com), here’s a list of some of the coolest products for pilots and aviation enthusiasts.

Aviation: A Filmed History DVD box set
Price: $79.99
Manufacturer: Sporty’s

Culled from the National Archives and the vaults of talented filmmakers, this extensive 24-DVD box set is a visual treat for aviation fans. “Aviation: A Filmed History” offers hours of newsreel footage, documentary featurettes and rare scenes of from the earliest flight footage to World War II missions to hypersonic space flight — much of it narrated by Hollywood stars.

BrightLine B10 Classic bag
Price: $143.00
Manufacturer: BrightLine

Pilots fly with a lot of stuff, including a headset, sunglasses, fuel tester, iPad, GPS, etc. The BrightLine B10 Classic is a great bag to keep the pilot in your life organized. BrightLine bags have a “Flex System,” which can be used separately or connected to create larger bags. The B10 Classic bag features two main sections with multiple interior pockets, as well as exterior attachments “Alpha” and “Charlie” to hold a radio, pens, etc.

D1 Pocket Panel EFIS
Price: $1,425.00
Manufacturer: Dynon Avionics

For under $1,500, the new D1 Pocket Panel portable Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) is an awesome and affordable backup attitude indicator. The D1’s technology is based on the same reference system that Dynon’s panel-mount displays use. But the D1 features a built-in GPS receiver which displays groundspeed, altitude and course data, providing an accurate artificial horizon not available with smartphone and tablet apps. Bonus: the D1 offers a four-hour battery life.

Khaki flight timer
Price: $1,445.00
Manufacturer: Hamilton

Hamilton’s new Khaki Flight Timer watch offers many pilot-friendly features, without sacrificing style. Cased in stainless steel, the Khaki can record details of up to 20 flights and nearly 100 landings, as well as display ISA temperature at different altitudes.

inReach satellite communicator
Price: $249.95, plus subscription starting at $9.95 per month
Manufacturer: DeLorme

This incredibly affordable communication unit helps pilots stay connected in areas with no cell phone reception. The inReach satellite communication device can be paired wirelessly to an iPhone, iPad or Android device to enable communication via Facebook or Twitter, or text messaging up to 160 characters per message. The inReach also provides two-way emergency messaging to GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Center, which will coordinate a search-and-rescue mission, if needed. The inReach’s GPS feature also allows friends and family to track a pilot’s flight path.

The Jay by Redbird flight simulator
Price: $1,999.00
Manufacturer: Redbird

The Jay flight simulator by Redbird blends education and entertainment for both pilots and aviation enthusiasts. The Jay offers simple controls and a user-friendly interface that allows quick set up and play.

King Schools CRM Course
Price: $199.00
Manufacturer: King Schools

This online course developed by John and Martha King of King Schools is great for pilots who regularly fly with other pilots. The goal of the course is to help pilots create a less stressful, more cohesive relationship in the cockpit, minimize potential conflicts, and make cockpit communication more efficient.

Sporty’s iPad briefcase
Price: $39.95
Manufacturer: Sporty’s

Know a pilot using an iPad? Help them protect it with an iPad Briefcase from Sporty’s. The case has padded sides and soft cloth material lining the main compartment, a zippered front pocket, and an open pocket on the back for pens, notepads, etc.

Stratus portable receiver
Price: $799.00
Manufacturer: Stratus

The new Stratus portable receiver offers in-flight weather reports without a subscription. The compact device connects wirelessly to an iPad, providing GPS and ADS-B weather reports, in addition to other features, including Nexrad, metars, winds aloft, pireps, and textual weather. The Stratus also offers seamless integration with the ForeFlight app.

X-Plane 10 flight simulator
Price: $69.99
Manufacturer: X-Plane

The X-Plane 10 is a super realistic flight simulator that emulates flight characteristics more realistically than other PC flight sims. The reason: it predicts an aircraft’s handling in real time based on aerodynamic forces, as opposed to the static computational methods traditionally used by other PC sims. X-Plane 10 also offers many flight scenarios, enabling users to fly in various weather conditions and respond to a variety of systems failures.

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