"No, I don't thank you for the fish at all" (notindetroit)
11/29/2015 at 15:05 • Filed to: Gift Guide, Secret Senna, Ultimate Aviation Gifts
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"No, I don't thank you for the fish at all" (notindetroit)
11/29/2015 at 15:05 • Filed to: Gift Guide, Secret Senna, Ultimate Aviation Gifts | 2
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Let’s say you have a Secret Senna, loved one, or any other gift recipient who’s in love with airplanes, or you think that person should be started on the path towards being a wingnut. Here’s a guide towards constructing that ultimate enthusiast’s starter kit for the young and young at heart. This guide is split into two parts: gifts appropriate for younger children and gifts appropriate for older and fully-grown children (like the one you’re married to).
The Ultimate Wingnut Starter Kit For the Truly Young
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Presentation is everything, after all, and what makes a better gift basket than something that in turn is a gift itself? Apparently Disney/Pixar’s Planes mania is dying down after a year or so from the last movie’s lukewarm release, which means the double-edged sword of extra online hunting and great clearance prices. Savvy online shopping or even just walking into the store (any typical department store) yourself can result in massive savings from Kohl’s advertised $29.99 regular price.
Reading Materials
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Amazon describes this book as follows: Imaginations will soar! From the fastest—and noisiest—passenger plane in the world, to downright strange aircraft, here is a spectacular look at a subject of endless fascination to children. Marvel at one of the first planes to blast into space! Learn about a plane that can land on water. And take a close look at the fastest of all jet planes, the Blackbird. Striking photographs are supported by lively and informative text that gives children a fuller understanding of these amazing machines. If any of you remember the “Eyewitness” books that were big in the 90s, this is more or less a continuation of that series from the same publisher with a decent selection of interesting subject matter likely to interest younger and older readers alike.
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Understanding what makes up an airplane is a useful thing to know for the aviation enthusiast, and is an endless well of fascination for the young and technically-inclined. For those who are strictly interested in terrestrial modes of transportation, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is available for $14.64 thorugh Amazon Prime.
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Amazon describes this book as Emma Jacobs is pleased to present her new picture book for kids. This easy reading book for children contains fun facts about airplanes in detail among the content of, Children’s Book About Airplanes: A Kids Picture Book About Airplanes With Photos and Fun Facts. This book is aimed at especially younger children who may just be learning to read, and is likely an excellent gateway to explore any early-budding technical interests. Plus, the price is hard to beat especially if you already have a Kindle subscription. As far as presentation goes, you can print out the cover image onto some heavy-stock paper with an explanation of how to access the ebook on the back, or sneak your child’s Kindle or smartphone (or your own) in with the book preloaded.
Inspirational Visual Aids (i.e., Toys!)
Revell 1:100 SnapTite Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet: $10.95 through Revell via HobbyShipper.com
Revell’s SnapTite kits are ideal for children who might have grown out of the choking hazard stage but not quite mature enough to handle chemical solvents or sharp blades. Although lacking in the type of detail more “mature” kits may have as well as embellishing themselves in extraneous features (the Blue Angels don’t have “shark mouths” painted on them) they combine some playability with a greater degree of precision assembly than for example what Legos might offer.
Not that I want to knock against Legos. In fact....
Lego City-Theme Ambulance Plane: $19.99 through Shop.Lego.Com
Everyone knows that Legos are great toys for kids ages 8-89. The brand-new Ambulance Plane features a twin-boom pod design that allows for a ramp to load patients, an all-terrain motorcycle, a stretcher, and three interchangeable minifigures with unique heads (including a female head!)
Estes Hot Head foam rubber band-powered airplane: $5.99 through EstesRockets.com
Rubber band-powered toy aircraft remain a basic yet fun and interactive entertainment option, and Estes foam rubber band-powered aircraft are more complex, durable, and offer more playability than typical balsa wood-cut toys while still being very cheap.
Guillow’s U.S. Hellcat: $12.99 through Guillow.com
Guillow’s U.S. Hellcat balsa wood glider provides more complex do-it-yourself assembly for older children and a basic introduction to aircraft design with wing spars, ribs and transparent plastic wing skin.
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Unfortunately there seems to be a serious dearth of educational flight software for younger children compared to what was available in the last decade and especially the 90s. You’re certainly free to scour Amazon for used disks and hope they’re compatible with current operating systems. In the meantime, Disney Pixar’s Planes is a surprisingly fun license adaptation based on Best Buy reviews.
Remove Before Flight Keyring: $6.99 through Sportys.com
Yes, it’s the scourge of every Cars & Coffee you’ve been to. For your middle school son or daughter, however, it’s a nice personalized accessory for his or her housekeys.
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The Ultimate Wingnut Starter Kit for the Young at Heart
The Gift Basket
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This multi-use flight bag has an assortment of storage spaces useful for long flights, long hikes or long business commutes. Plus, it has a large “FAA CERTIFIED PILOT” logo to let everyone know who’s boss, er, a pilot.
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A fancier, more slick-looking flight bag with various internal pockets and storage.
Reading Materials
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There is a heavy romanticism with the ability to leave the ground, let alone being paid big bucks to do it (up to six figures) spending eight hours a day traveling faster than any other civilian alive in comfort that rivals a high-profile Manhattan law firm and technology straight from Microsoft’s secret labs. That said, the path to get to that point !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and there are !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to accompany the highs even when you make it big. Freight Dog is the memoir of an experienced pilot with decades of “big league” flying experience, and a detailed look at just what kind of life a professional pilot responsible for hundreds of passengers or hundreds of thousands of dollars of cargo at one go is like. Plus, the price (for Kindle subscribers) is hard to beat.
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A thorough guide to the history of aviation complete with comprehensive photographs, it’s practically a complete encyclopedia of aviation condensed into a single volume.
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In fiction, it’s usually the guy (or occasionally girl) with the gun (or bow) who gets all the protagonist attention. Rarely is there an appreciation for the “little people” who do the real grunt work of war, including getting the supplies and people to where they need to be to make a cruital difference. Richard Herman’s The Trash Haulers is a harrowing tale of “non-combat” pilots caught up in the Tet Offensive. Highly rated (4.7 out of 5 stars) on Amazon, The Trash Haulers is a great alternative to someone thinking Firefox or Top Gun is a little too cliche nowadyas. Plus, at this price it’s a little hard to go wrong other than in time invested. You don’t even have to worry about throwing the book away if you don’t like it!
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One of the hottest creative non-fiction aviation-related (or not, even) tomes of 2014 and 2015, The Aviators tells the narrative of some of the most pioneering and transformative pilots in the history of air travel and development. Focusing on the flights that most demonstrated their heroism, leadership and innovation as well as changing the very course of history, The Aviators is a must-read for both aviation and history buff alike. It’s also a recommended read from my local library, for what that’s worth.
If you prefer the feel and tangibility of a hardcover, The Aviators is also available through Amazon Prime at $22.04, but the Kindle edition is a much more budget-friendly alternative (and of course there’s also the localused bookstore).
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You may have heard of a group of American pilots who volunteered to fly for the Royal Air Force in defense against the Nazis during the Battle of Britain, much like the more famous “Flying Tigers” volunteer group that flew P-40s against Japanese Zeros on the other side of the globe. Tally Ho! is the memoir of one such pilot who took to the skies in one of the war’s most iconic fighter planes, the Supermarine Spitfire. This memoir provides a harrowing insight into the bravery that was called for from fighter pilots of WWII, and the volunteer heroes who helped repulse Hitler’s conquest of the Isles. Again, another great read for aviation and history buffs alike.
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Hey, did you know that the same guy who brought us all those whimsical yet kind of messed-up tales of childhood such as
Matilda
,
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
and
James and the Giant Peach
was also a
WWII fighter ace
? Dahl’s second memior,
Going Solo
, is an account of his late pre-war and combat experiences in North Africa and later becoming a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, claiming a total of five kills against
Luftwaffe
bombers in Gloster Gladiator biplane fighters and later the iconic Hawker Hurricane before succumbing to flight-ending injuries in a crash. Don’t let the whimsy cover and Dahl’s reputation fool you: the memoir is a raw, very personal and
very
politically incorrect account of deadly combat (on the ground as well as in the air), unfiltered racial tension between native North Africans and British troops and a little bit of the typical raunchiness a natural part of a wounded soldier’s convalescence surrounded by nurses. Not exactly appropriate for 4th graders just getting through
James and the Giant Peach
but may be of interest to older tweens, middle-teens and adult, married teens-at-heart regarding this virtually unknown chapter of one of the world’s most beloved children’s authors.
Models and Other Aviation Displays
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If you thought being able to see through a V8 engine is neat, seeing through one of the most iconic aircraft of all time is a great desktop model and centerpiece. Adding up all the supplies together results in a hefty price tag, but there simply isn’t anything else like it.
Lego Technic Fire Plane: $49.99 through Shop.Lego.Com
A cheaper alternative to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the Fire Plane represents a generic but accurate large single-engine floatplane that provides hours of challenging and skilled construction fun for all ages.
Guillow’s German Fokker Dr. I Triplane: $53.99 through Guillow.com
For those who think skill and craft is the ultimate demonstration of hobby, the Guillow’s Fokker Dr. I Triplane features accurate and challenging all-wood construction techniques that can either be covered with fabric or paper or left bare for display purposes.
Syma X5C Explorers 2.4G 4CH 6-Axis Gyro RC Quadcopter With HD Camera: $63.99 through Amazon Prime
Hobby drones are all the rage now, and the Syma X5C comes with a high-def camera for you to spy on the neighbors!
Software
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X-Plane is simply the only realistic civilian flight simulator left on the market (Microsoft abandoned their Flight Simulator series a few years ago). Known for both its realistic flight simulation and aerodynamic model builder (touted as being used by some aerospace firms to help design real aircraft) and a large support community, X-Plane has been able to survive through its combination of realistic fidelity and open-end user friendliness. The mobile version is much more nerf’d, as expected, but still provides excellent simulation on-the-go and, hey, it’s free!
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Perhaps the most famous realistic space simulator out there, Kerbal Space Program is the sandbox game of aeronautical engineering, allowing you to put together an endless combination of spacecraft and see what happens.
“We Can Do It!” WWII Vintage-Style 17.5x11.5 Metal Sign: $26.99 through Sporty’s Wright Bros. Collection via Sportys.com
WWII was also a crucible for aviation art and pop culture - not all of which can pass through today’s sensibilities - but also gave rise to the woman as a blue-collar heroine as celebrated in culture and art. This sign shows an appreciation for both history, aviation and the spirit strong enough to send Hitler packing.
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Anon
> No, I don't thank you for the fish at all
11/29/2015 at 15:39 |
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Trash haulers looks intresting! I’ll have to check it out after I’m done with finals!
TheRealBicycleBuck
> No, I don't thank you for the fish at all
11/29/2015 at 15:41 |
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It’s a good start. I’d also recommend watching the guys over at Flite Test ( http://flitetest.com/ ). Their approach to r/c flight is to make it fun and approachable with free designs that can be built out of inexpensive foam board. They have full build videos for many of their plans. Their modular designs also encourage experimentation. Good stuff.
Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> No, I don't thank you for the fish at all
11/29/2015 at 15:44 |
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Lego Technic sets are always great.