5 Reasonably Priced Gifts Any GA Pilot Would Love

Last year at this time, I featured five of my favorite products priced at around $500 that would make excellent holiday gifts for airplane owners. This year, in light of inflation and ever-increasing operational costs, I’ll be reviewing and recommending five excellent holiday gift ideas for airplane owner friends that you only love about two figures’ worth. 

With the exception of the hat that I received as a freebie, these are items that I have paid for with my own money and have enjoyed immensely over the past year or two. Each has, in its own unique way, made some part of my airplane ownership just a little bit easier or more enjoyable. And each item would leave an annoying void in my ownership experience if it were to suddenly disappear.

At this point, I feel obligated to ask Marty, if you’re reading this, please stop here. One of your Christmas gifts is outlined in detail at the end of this article, and continuing on would thoroughly ruin the surprise.

When I first purchased my beloved Alaskan Bushwheels, I also made sure to buy a digital tire pressure gauge capable of providing precise readings at low, single digits. The gauge I purchased ultimately turned out to be junk. It inexplicably stopped displaying data, and after replacing the annoying stack of tiny cylindrical watch batteries, it continued to malfunction.

Determined to avoid another such situation, I watched an amusingly thorough review of pressure gauges on the YouTube channel “Project Farm.” The 20-minute-long independent review involving seven test criteria, 23 different pressure gauges, and a large spreadsheet to present the findings arrived at one final conclusion: The JACO digital pressure gauge was the undisputed winner. Accordingly, I ordered it then and there.

As it turns out, the review was spot on. Compared with other digital gauges, the JACO feels beefy and far more durable than the cheap alternatives. It’s clearly an industrial-grade device, seemingly able to withstand being dropped or crushed in a toolbox. It reads accurately to one decimal place, and perhaps best of all, it uses two standard, easily replaceable AAA batteries. 

From my experience, many aircraft owners make do with cheap, low-quality gauges and never bother to replace something that works “well enough.” Owners like this would undoubtedly appreciate having what appears to be the perfect tire pressure gauge. 

I received this hat as a freebie from Garmin and Flight Outfitters, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not in love with its appearance. It’s fine. I simply don’t have enough allegiance to Flight Outfitters to go out of my way to display its logo. But as it turns out, that darn hat is  perfect to keep tucked in the seatback of my airplane. Here’s why.

On three separate cold-weather occasions, I hopped into my plane and headed off for an hour or two of flying. Because of the low temperatures, I wore wool winter hats to keep warm. And inevitably, as the cabin heated up, I found myself uncomfortable, sweaty, and wishing I had worn something different.

Fortunately, I remembered my Flight Outfitters hat jammed into the seatback, and within seconds, I swapped lids and went on to enjoy the flight. The mesh back kept me cool, and the compact, low-volume shape fit much more nicely beneath my headset than my usual trucker caps. The lack of structure also makes it easy to cram into the seatback without permanently deforming the hat.

The coolest feature, however, is the compatibility with headsets. The good people at Flight Outfitters are clearly pilots themselves because they omitted the otherwise ever-present button on the very top of the hat. This eliminates the annoying pressure point under the headset band that results from wearing nearly any other hat while flying.

Each of these benefits is so minuscule they’re almost laughable. But I love the thing, and I’ll always keep it tucked into my seatback as my backup flying hat.

When I upgraded to my big Alaskan Bushwheels, I discovered that my existing wheel chocks were suddenly of very little use. Next to the massive tires, the compact chocks would serve only as a minor annoyance to an airplane motivated to roll across the ramp. The solution? Big Camco RV Double Wheel Chocks with Rope. Finally, I was able to secure my plane and keep it from rolling away. And unlike other large-sized chocks, each pair only weighs about a pound. 

If you’re shopping for someone with standard-sized tires, they’ll still appreciate having nice, high-quality chocks. One set that stands out is ASA’s thoughtfully designed wheel chocks. Unlike basic triangular cross-section chocks or the metal L-bracket variety with little ground contact, ASA’s are molded to the shape of most tires, maximizing surface area with the tire and the ground to secure the airplane more effectively.

When flying your airplane, the last thing you want is a finicky coffee mug that can spill all over yourself or your interior. Ideally, you want a mug with a 100 percent perfect seal that enables you to turn the flow on or off instantly—and without having to think about it. Camelbak’s Forge Flow series is just the ticket.

After filling the mug and threading the lid into place, you simply pull a trigger with your index finger to enable your beverage to flow. Release the trigger, and the mug instantly seals shut. It’s effective and intuitive, and the seal is so tight and reliable you can release the trigger and toss the entire mug onto its side in the seat next to you without worrying about leaks.

I’ve had my old Forge since 2012, and even though it’s seen very heavy use, the replaceable rubber gasket still functions perfectly. To this day, I have yet to find a more perfect mug for easy, one-handed drinking.

Seriously, Marty, stop reading. Your Christmas gift is next.

When I purchased my airplane, one of my social media followers did something nice to congratulate me on achieving such a major milestone. A talented independent artist who creates commissioned aviation artwork through Instagram and sells cool designs on Redbubble, he drew a cartoon version of my airplane and welcomed me to use the artwork however I saw fit. 

Wanting to thank others for their support with cool freebies, I opted to use the artwork for custom, 4-inch long, die-cut airplane stickers. Uploading the file to a sticker manufacturer was quick and easy, and about a week later, I had several stacks of custom airplane stickers to give away. Whether at EAA AirVenture or a sleepy, out-of-the-way rural airfield, kids and adults alike love receiving a sticker version of the airplane in front of them, and it’s fun to brighten people’s days unexpectedly. I later added cool custom keychains to my offerings.

More recently, my friend Marty and his wife, Emily, purchased a beautiful 1955 Cessna 180 that they love far more than the jets they fly for a living. Their enthusiasm for the airplane is such that I knew I had to have some custom stickers made for them.

I contacted RampRatGear, sent photos of the 180, and approved some proofs. Before long, I had custom artwork in my inbox. I then uploaded the artwork to a sticker manufacturer, and for $50, I had 65 stickers printed and delivered to my front door. Technically, the cost of the artwork ($50-$250) and the cost of the stickers exceeds my two-figure target for this article. But the gift is so unique and memorable I had to include it. 

Besides, I love Marty and Emily more than two figures’ worth, so it’s a worthwhile investment. Even if Marty and I both know damn well he kept reading this article and ruined the surprise entirely.