Gift for a pilot
Posted by tea-squirrel@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 46 comments
Hello! My boyfriend just finished up his cfi training and I would greatly appreciate any ideas on aviation related gifts I could get him to celebrate. Whats something you think he might want/need?
Peacewind152@reddit
I purchased myself an aviation themed tie pin for my successful instructor rating flight test. He'll need one eventually for interviews for sure, if not while working as an instructor.
vatsimguy@reddit
2025 Cessna 172
ClassyCowpoke@reddit
A couple choices based on many a budget:
A nice pair of sunglasses designed for pilots without polarization. My favorite brand is randolf. Ray ban is good too.
A large wall map sectional chart. This one is a bit more work, but buy sectional charts for the area where you live or maybe a place he wants to fly someday, like maybe alaska, them cut them out so the edges all line up just right, and glue them down to a big sheet of thin plywood or something. How you can hang it on the wall.
A mug with his favorite sectional chart on it. There is some company you can find that does this, I don't remember their name.
A model of the airplane type he took his last check ride in, or maybe one of the first plane he will fly for a paying flying job.
A nice dinner.
A keychain dongle that looks like the same plane mentioned above
Im_wolfyy@reddit
A lot less budget friendly, but MetarMaps are super cool. https://metarmaps.com/shop
8636396@reddit
That link doesn't seem to work. And it looks like I can only "drop them a line"? 🤔
Nicktuf99@reddit
I’d also recommend the Oakley Split Time sunglasses
Admirable-Yogurt9078@reddit
Flying Eyes are pretty good too
SombraMonkey@reddit
I’ve had 4/4 successful gifts with these mugs.
JewofTVC1986@reddit
He cares about one thing and none of it is listed here IYKYK
offgrid-wfh955@reddit
A silver or gold Cross pen, black ink, fine point. His students will be looking at his writing for years to come
Apuonbus@reddit
If you have a number you are budgeting in mind, let us know, it would help alot
space_rhinos@reddit
PEN, it’s a PEN. A good HEAVY PEN.
stickJ0ckey@reddit
An airplane is always a nice gift for any pilot! Doesn't have to be expensive like a G500, most people will be happy with a cirrus
Squawk_0877@reddit
Depends on budget but a few things that actually get used vs sit in the bag, if hes still rocking a starter David Clark, a new Bose A20 is the upgrade thats genuinely worth it, CFIs are in the headset 6+ hrs a day and his ears will thank you, an iPad mini with a ForeFlight subscription is the other one almost every CFI I know carries, fits a kneeboard perfectly, and on the smaller end, a DJI Mic 2 around $200 lets him record lessons. New CFIs love being able to review their own teaching back later, and students love getting audio of their first solo, cant go wrong with any of em, congrats to him, CFI grind is real.
s2soviet@reddit
I’d give him a nice watch. Citizen Avion is great, Casio divers watch is also a good option.
Or Randolph USA’s aviators.
tea-squirrel@reddit (OP)
Is garmin brand good? Ive heard him mention it before
s2soviet@reddit
They have some smart watches, but I honestly don’t see much use for them.
I’d much rather get a nice analog watch.
But again, that’s just me.
Relevant-Train5317@reddit
Brietling
junkyardman970@reddit
A nice Seiko GMT is another good option. Or go all out and skip to a Rolex GMT master II lol
s2soviet@reddit
If we are talking about this level of watch, then get him an omega speedmaster moon watch, or a used speedmaster reduced.
Fizzo21@reddit
Model airplane of what he flys
PuzzleheadedDuty8866@reddit
Custom leather headset case
Old_Combination_1038@reddit
My fiancée bought me a Garmin D2 Mach 2, I thought it was excessive but certainly an amazing gift.
Cal-Goat@reddit
Breitling Navitimer
Living_Guess_2845@reddit
Mile high club
Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit
Someone finally said it. But who's flying? Is plane head a thing?
Diligent_Demand_960@reddit
I think it would be air head
Janoy_Cresva69@reddit
A strong bottle of liquor… he’s gonna need it
jaytheman3@reddit
I’d get him an E6B
Simple_Match_1815@reddit
Get him a type rating and fill out an EBT application for him the next 1500-2000 hours bout to be rough 😭
YourSpanishMomTaco@reddit
My girlfriend made a leather billfold-wallet thing. The original intention is for it to hold a notebook and a few polaroid pictures. Instead she got it for me to hold my certificates and my medical and pictures of us when we went flying. If you're able to do some stitching, they sell kits like it on Amazon. Truly a heartwarming gift.
Virian@reddit
One of these is pretty neat: https://lightmaps.io/products/lightmap-air-station
Tiny-Ad-830@reddit
Google Sporty’s Pilot shop. They will have plenty for you to choose from.
Dry-Progress869@reddit
A student who isn’t gonna try to kill him 💀
PleaseGreaseTheL@reddit
As a student still learning landings I take offense to this (because its accurateL
Dry-Progress869@reddit
Trust me, a couple months ago i was doing the exact same thing lmao
scottyh214@reddit
The one thing I would say is do not try to guess what he needs and don’t try to get him something you think would be useful. I appreciate the hell out of fiends and family but they have no idea what I need or want in a flight bag or headset or anything like that. I love when someone tries but unless he has said “wow I really want that [thing] I wouldn’t try to get him a cockpit tool of any sort. I know this sounds very entitled and I don’t mean for that but it really is the truth.
My fiancée recently bought me a wall hangar of every checkride that I’ve taken for each of my certificates and jet types. I absolutely love it.
jimngo@reddit
Nice sunglasses if he doesn't have a good pair. Ray Ban aviators are classic there's a reason why they've been popular with flyers for over 80 years.
chainmam1@reddit
backup handheld radio
renaesherer@reddit
Buy a cheap logbook off Amazon, print small photos of significant dates, both his avionic career and your personal milestones, paste and label them in the logbook
Living-Radish@reddit
The flightwall
Few-Rock-8595@reddit
A portable ABS-B receiver is nice if he’s switching airplanes, flashlights are always good, battery pack for charging phones etc, a good headset if he doesn’t have one, lumbar pillow
humboldtreign@reddit
Cool watch
iridesc3nce@reddit
Small novelty gift ideas:
Or, assuming he has Active Noise Canceling headphones, a 100-pack of batteries.
x4457@reddit
Money. A job.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Hello! My boyfriend just finished up his cfi training and I would greatly appreciate any ideas on aviation related gifts I could get him to celebrate. Whats something you think he might want/need?
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