Affordable christmas present ideas for pilots and aviators. Now I'm not talking about GoPro's,
BOSE headsets, sunglasses expensive items like that. But i'm also not talking novelty things like
juggling balls bottle openers shake like airplanes if you're on a budget but you want a decent gift
for the pilot or aviation lover in your life here are my top ideas if someone you know is really
into aviation they're really going to obviously like airplanes themselves now you can get these
die-cast models some of them can get quite big some of them can also get quite expensive
you can also get plastic versions which are a little bit smaller a little bit more affordable
but if you want to get an aircraft model for someone and you don't want to splash out sometimes
a couple of hundred dollars on a big metal model then see if you can pop down to your local hobby
store and see if you can find an aircraft kit that they can build themselves i used to love building
airplanes when i was a kid and you can start off with some really inexpensive ones in fact
some sets that have got everything you need the glues the paints the paint brushes everything
that you could possibly need to build your first model aircraft one word of warning it can become
a little bit of an obsession but equally it's a good present to build out as a bit of a set so if
they like what you've bought them this year then maybe you can choose a different model
for them next year and a different one from the year after i've got aircraft models here in my
office i absolutely love them and so i think a model aircraft is obviously a great option
for someone who well lives aviation it's kind of an obvious one if they like planes
buy them a plane secondly everyone these days has got an iphone or an android phone or some kind and
there are a bunch of aviation specific cases that you can get to kind of make their phones look a
little bit better than the standard kind of colors most people have got on their phones apart from
red which is awesome there are loads of sites out there that do these but just google whatever phone
they have an aviation phone covers and you'll find a whole bunch a lot of them pretty affordable as
well now talking of iphones and ipads most pilots out there especially pilots who are currently
flying are going to be using something called an efb or an electronic flight bag but they're
also going to have apps on their phone for all the aviation stuff they enjoy like flight radar
for tracking other aircraft weather apps there are loads trust me most pilots are into technology and
most pilots will have a ton of aviation apps on their iphone or ipad so one thing you can do for
them is buy them a gift card so they can upgrade from the standard versions to premium itunes for
apple devices have got gift cards google play for all android devices have got gift cards as
well you can choose how much you want to put on the gift card and write them a small note just
to say for upgrading the apps you've got on your phone for paying for your ongoing subscription for
your electronic flight bag most pilots are going to be into their technology and they're going to
appreciate a few extra bucks going towards their hobby if you know a pilot in training if they're
a student pilot and they're studying at the moment you can also get aviation themed notepad some of
which are really nice give them something a bit more interesting than just the standard kind
of mole skins and other notepad brands that you get out there and maybe get something which has
got terminal chart on the outside maybe it's got their favorite airport maybe even their favorite
aircraft or for the keen traveler who just wants a bit of a scrapbook for all the travels for
their memories as they go on they're gonna love something which has got an aviation theme to it
as well magazine subscriptions are a great idea as well find out what magazines they're into and
get them either a paper based like a print subscription or an electronic subscription
as well that they can put onto their ipad and read in those down times when they're sitting
at home the weather's not very nice outside and they're wishing that they're flying next
up if the aviation lover in your life has got a specific aircraft that they're really into for me
it's the 747 it's always been my favorite you can actually find bag tags and key fobs that are
made out of the actual skin from aircraft which have since been decommissioned so in my case for
example you can just google 747 skin bag tags and give them a really unique gif which reminds them
of their favorite airplane it might remind them of their favorite airplane being scrapped which is of
course sad but hopefully you can put a positive spin on it next up if you do know someone who's
doing flight training and maybe you're a bit short of time and can't get to the shops find
out which flying school they're learning to fly at give them a call and ask if you can put some
money towards their next flying lesson now i don't know any flight school in the world who wouldn't
accept some money from someone who's giving them a call asking to give them money so just make a
donation towards their flying in your name and next time when they turn up they can be told hey
bob's just called up and given us 20 off your next flying lesson it's a fun little surprise present
you can set exactly the budget that you want to spend on them and why not like make even hand
draw your own boarding pass put it in a really simple card and give them that on christmas day
books are obviously a great option as well now there are millions out there of course and you
can get a little bit lost but i really like books that are kind of story based but true stories this
is from my friend michael smith he flew a flying boat around the world voyage of the southern sun i
don't read very much i'll be honest but i've read this on more than one occasion but there are loads
of other books that you can get which tell the true stories of pilots cover areas of aviation the
person you're buying for might not know about but there's just a really nice way to stay immersed in
that whole aviation world now less of a budget option but i do want to include this as well
just in case you have got a little bit of money to spend and experiencing something like a 737
simulator is also a really good present that any aviator is going to enjoy these are those 30 45 60
minute sessions where you can sit in basically a simulated cockpit and get as close as most people
will ever get to actually sitting in the cockpit off a commercial aircraft now they're generally
just in the big city so if you're in more remote areas it's probably not a gift that you'll be able
to get hold of and also they can be a little bit on the expensive side but like i say if you're in
the city you've got a bit of money to spend then any aviation lover is going to love some time in
a simulator also i think i'm done with this santa hat now okay couple more ideas now i don't do this
but i know a lot of my youtube friends do if you know who their favorite youtubers are have
a look and see if they've got any merch available a couple of the pilots that i watch who are doing
merchandising line there's jodell flyer in the uk stevo knivo in the us john the flying reporter
non-stop dan if they're more into their commercial travel and you've got a whole host of others
then there's brian from just plain silly trent palmer's got his own merchandise line as well
not only are you helping those youtubers and the aviation community as a whole then you're also
still getting a really nice gift for that aviation lover in your life and if none of those ideas work
maybe you can't get to the shops in time maybe you just can't afford to buy something for someone but
you really want to give them something to do with aviation that they're going to really love this
christmas one final idea which will cost you nothing find your local airport maybe find the
airport that this person flies out of google plane spotting locations at that airport and organise
to take them there for a few hours maybe write them a card or a note saying that you'll organize
a picnic lunch you'll take them down on a nice day and just sit with them in their environment
ask them to tell you why they love aviation and what's going on in front of you at the airport
today trust me if there's an aviation lover who gets the chance to go to the airport with someone
that they care about they get lunch provided and they can talk about aviation for a couple of hours
to be honest that's probably the best present you can get them this year let me know in the comments
below your ideas for affordable christmas presents for aviation lovers it really helps the community
as a whole if we share ideas with each other otherwise i hope you have a very merry christmas
all the best for the new year and thank you as always for watching i'll see you in the next video