Holiday shopping can be daunting, but take heart if you have a pilot, aircraft owner or aviation aficionado in your life; there are lots of things big and small that can be wrapped up for under the tree. Here are a few suggestions, starting with stocking stuffers.
Winter flying means you need a flashlight, especially a heavy duty one that can take some hard knocks along the way. But just as important is a small accessible flashlight that a pilot can easily reach if something goes wrong. Get one at any outdoor shop that clips onto a flight bag or zipper so your favorite pilot won't waste precious time looking for it.
A small multi-tool is a good gift choice that can be useful in so many situations, and especially if you need to get out of a seatbelt quickly. This is an item that can be easily slipped into a stocking.
Carbon monoxide detectors are very cheap life-savers (only $4.95 each at Sporty's) and need to be replaced every few months once opened; these are a no-brainer for the stocking. (You can order online or check a local avionics shop such as Northern Lights Avionics in Anchorage or Aircom Avionics in Fairbanks for this and other items in the article.)
Taku Graphics in Juneau has magnets, bookmarks and ornaments that all celebrate flying. Their items are available at gift shops, museums and bookstores across Alaska, as well as online.
For larger gifts, consider a good thermos, always welcome on an early morning flight. If you want to get fancy, Stanley has a one-liter coffee system that means your favorite pilot could make a brew before departure and have a fresh cup upon landing in Dillingham, Galena or Fort Yukon (and for up to 24 hours later).
Something else to look for at an outdoor store is a scale that can be hung from a tiedown hook. You can pick up a spring scale from Cabelas that handles weights to 150 pounds for less than $50. If there are hunting trips or a lot of baggage in the future, you might want to spring for a heavier duty model like this one from Roughneck that can go up to 800 pounds.
Anyone who has brushed off an airplane will know the value of a good set of wing covers. Alaska Wing Covers of Eagle River has been in business since 1969 and makes wing, cowling and other surface covers to order.
It will be a little tricky to wrap up an app (maybe write down the list of apps you have downloaded and put in a box), but there are several worth taking a look at. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association came out with a list of 20 recommended apps last year ranging from free up to $99. They run an "Apps of the Week" column that is archived for easy perusal and will provide a lot of ideas as well. Ron Kronenfeld's weight and balance calculator app has also been recommended to Bush Pilot by several Alaska pilots and it is only $9.99 on iTunes.
There are many great books on Alaska aviation including "The Flying North," "Arctic Bush Pilot," "Panhandle Pilot," "Winging It," "Hidden Warbirds,", "Wager With the Wind" and "14 Days to Alaska" -- which was just reviewed here. All of these titles are available at local gift and bookstores across the state. (And there's my own book on the subject, "The Map of My Dead Pilots.")
Art lovers should take a look at the work of John Fehringer, who shared several of his aircraft prints with Alaska Dispatch News in January. (He is widely known as the artist behind Alaska Brewing Company's iconic labels.) You can see more of his work at Taku Graphics and Annie Kaill's gallery, both in Juneau. Also, see Byron Birdsall's prints.
It will only take a few minutes on YouTube to convince you how much fun a GoPro camera can be. (Check out this video from paramotoring over the Iditarod Trail.) Sporty's has some basic tips on mounting and using a camera and Tech Crunch has a look at the brand new Hero model releases to give you some ideas.
For safety items, Bush Pilot ran an article on Angle of Attack indicators earlier this year and it is clear that this small piece of equipment can be a lifesaver, especially for general aviation aircraft owners. Alpha Systems has been recommended to us as well as the Bendix Lift Reserve Indicator. Your best bet here is to contact the aviation mechanic who works on your favorite pilot's aircraft and ask for some advice.
Finally, it might seem a bit pricey but a gift certificate for a Learn to Return course in Anchorage is a safety investment that will repay itself a thousand times over in the event of a crash.
As a fatal floatplane crash in Homer in 2012 made clear, float flying comes with some unique safety concerns. The training and knowledge provided by Aviation Land and Water and Helicopter Underwater Egress Training programs could both be critical to accident survival in operations over water. LTR also offers many other survival training courses including Aviation Land Crash Training and Wilderness/Survival Medicine that will be of value to those who fly in and out of the back country.
Happy holidays!
Contact Colleen Mondor at colleen@alaskadispatch.com if you have any questions about tracking down any of these items.