Navigate Your Way to the Most Unique Aviation Gifts for Pilot Husband (2018)

Even though to the rest of us an aviation job appears to be a rather glamorous one, in reality pilots have a very difficult and busy life. They do get to jet around the globe and see some fantastic places, but that comes at a cost. Long flights for days and nights leaves them with less time for their partner and family, and short notice scheduling are some of the problems faced by a pilot.

Every husband needs peace, admiration, respect, love and emotional support, commitment, acceptance, and your motivation. You need to be very strong and patient if you want to foster a healthy, happy, and a long-term relationship. Choosing and presenting a special gift for pilot husband can help strengthen your bond of this typical long-distance relationship.

It is not easy to become a pilot as there are lots of hardships, challenges, and responsibilities in this life. He has to undergo rigorous training, but being a pilot brings a lot of benefits too. While a pilot isn’t willing to quit his job for anything, including marriage, you need to understand his lifestyle, adapt to it, and support him during tough times. Though you don’t get much time to share your feelings and emotions, you can choose a special day in his life, like his birthday, your anniversary, or any other by getting him any of personalised pilot gifts.

Being married to a pilot means having to accept the fact that you will often not see him for days at a time, he has erratic work hours and he will often not be there by your side when you really need him. Knowing all these things is one thing, accepting them and being willing to be a supportive and loving wife is completely different.

Civil Aviation is regulated by Director General of Civil Aviation, who investigates incidents and accidents of flights. It is very hard to calculate the exact duty hours of a pilot as their working hours, or flying hours, depend on the type of work and aircraft. This makes it difficult to organise celebrations and even a surprise. Even if you do manage to make some kind of plans there is a good chance of a last minute change in his schedules ruining the plans completely. Hence, it is a good idea to make gifts, celebrations and other plans flexible. The duties of a pilot are categorised into the following:

The aircraft is generally operated by two crew members. But in case of long duration flights, there can be more than two crew members. A pilot is allowed to be in the air for a maximum of 35 hours in 1 week and 125 hours in a month. Thus, it shows that it is very difficult to lead a pilot’s life. So if your hubby is a pilot, you have to prepare yourself to be flexible in timings, plan dates accordingly and give full respect and love in the short duration.

Pilots lead a tough life, but at times, their hard training and schedule makes them irritable and short tempered. They also feel pain and emotions, and have strengths and weaknesses just like a common man.

He needs to be treated with love, affection, and support a bit more than non-pilots, when going through a rough time. At that time, you should be emotionally strong, don’t panic or loose temper, and stay cool and have patience. Try to make him laugh or listen to his problems and show care while trying to solve his issues. In case, you don’t get to connect to them often, you can choose from private pilot gifts and get one delivered to him that will remind him of you and also to stay calm and cool in difficult situations.

Give attention to your husband’s needs. Show your care, love, and respect to your husband so that he forgets all his tiredness and spends a quality time with you. In many respects being married to a pilot is like being in a long distance relationship, hence it is very important to communicate. The small things you notice about your man on a daily basis, the signs which tell you whether he is stressed or needs comforting, are harder to read when he is away for long stretches at a time. So pay extra attention and try to draw him out. There are some things you can follow, like:

Unlike the average working man, a pilot shoulders an additional responsibility of all the passengers on-board his flight, making sure that they reach safe and sound. Not only this, your pilot husband is involved in something that not everyone is able to do, like feeling the flight sensation regularly. Unlike a passenger, a pilot is the boss from take-off till landing. Thus, this makes it essential to include not-so-common items on the list of options, if you are planning to gift him on a particular occasion.

Thus, here is a list of unique aviation gifts that you can consider for your pilot husband to make him feel easy and relaxed during and in between duty hours.

A cool jacket is one of the fantasies of most of the pilots. Thus, getting him one could make him happier than ever. You can get him a bomber jacket, probably a reversible one that combines a dashing style and adds to his appearance.

Fort Collins Reversible Bomber Jacket is a great choice as a gift for your pilot husband. The design is inspired from winter-style padded construction along with insert pockets. The regular fit jacket is made of pure cotton and should be hand washed only to preserve its quality. You can order a navy blue coloured jacket for your pilot husband from AJIO for Rs.1,200, and choose the best fit from various sizes available, from medium to double-extra large.

A pilot of today’s time replaces paper charts with digital navigation tools, and thus, needs an effortless access to EFB (Electronic Flight Bags) in the cockpit. If he is using iPad Air, you can get him a kneeboard to hold his iPad with ease. Gift him a cockpit-friendly kneeboard or a leg strap to display your affection and care for him.

Sky High Gear Air Genesis iPad Air Kneeboard and Case is a perfect choice among personalized pilot gifts for your husband. Customised to the size of an iPad, it allows easy access to front and back cameras, microphone, headphone and syncing ports. Measuring 10 x 7 x 0.8 inch, you can get him this convenient kneeboard along with a high quality iPad case from Amazon for around Rs.2,300.

As a kid, we often used to make planes with paper and fly them high in the sky. Imagine if you get the same as a paper weight. This is one of those unique aviation gifts that will make him nostalgic with the memories of his childhood.

The silver paper weight in the form of a paper plane is a beautifully-crafted one, and can be used in office as well as at home. Its shining surface makes it worth and the nickel plating will prevent any form of damage due to tarnishing. When you gift him this, do tell him to use only a simple cloth to clean it.

The ‘Sky’s The Limit Airplane Paperweight’ is designed by Tamara Hensick, a maker from California. With 'Sky’s the limit' wording embedded on it, handmade gifts like this show not only creativity, but also affection on the part of the giver. Get him this handmade, personalized for pilots, gift without making much of your hands’ efforts from Uncommon Goods for Rs.3,868.

If your husband is a bibliophile, then a bookend set based on an aviation theme is a very good option for gifting him. Shaped like an airplane, it not only helps keep books in order, but also keeps the essence of a pilot in the house alive. Gifting him a unique aviation-themed gift will remind him of his duties, even after retirement.

Vintage Airplane Bookends is a silver-coloured, all-aluminium pair of vintage airplanes used as bookends, crafted in the shape of flying out and up. Bring back his memories of classic, glamorous air travel time with an item that reproduces an Attic heirloom. Buy him a pair of vintage airplane bookends, measuring 5-inch high and 5-inch wide, from Globe Imports for around Rs.2,300.

Being a pilot is an adventurous job in itself, and since your husband is in this job, he will not only love to go on other adventures, but also capture moments as well as memories. Make his adventures more fun and meaningful by giving him the right tools to capture and share those.

When it comes to capturing adventures in high quality, Go Pro is a preferred brand among surfers, skiers, motorsports enthusiasts, and others. The brand acclaims that its cameras free-up people to capture life as they live it and share their experiences, which adds more fun and makes them more meaningful.

Along with the cameras, the brand also offers drones, apps, as well as accessories. You can buy him a Go Pro camera from the official GoPro site or from eCommerce stores like Amazon and eBay with a starting price of around Rs.19,000.

You can date your husband even at odd hours. Yes, you heard right. He will enjoy it. Plan to go on a date to a peaceful place, a bookstore, and do much more, considering his busy schedule. You can even do various activities together at home such as a date at home, couple dance on his favourite song or something else.

Here’s a list of activities that you can plan out with your hubby, if he has got enough free time, to create some memories and turning them into some of the most loved private pilot gifts.

Imagine how much he will love if you and your family have the same night wear? And, if not the whole family, at least you both can have an identical pair. Sleeptime PJs Family Matching Christmas Nordic Pajamas PJS Sets for the Family is a wonderful set of night wear for the whole family. These are made of soft and lightweight fabric, and are also meant to be flame resistant.

These are available in many sizes and colours for men, women, and kids, and are perfect to wear on a holiday tour or some occasion like Christmas etc. These matching PJs can be bought for your pilot husband and the family from Amazon with a starting price of over Rs.500.

If you think a gift isn’t enough to share your feelings, you can go naughty and get something like a thong that expresses your love for your pilot husband. Getting such a gift will not be less than a surprise for him, specifically a naughty surprise.

CafePress – I Love My Pilot – Thong Underwear is a funny and feeling-filled gift for your husband that you buy for him but wear on your body. The thong for ladies is made of ultra-fine combed ring spun 1x1 baby rib cotton along with a high-end, super soft elastic trim. You can get this imported thong from Amazon for around Rs.1,300 as a special treat for your pilot husband.

A healthy dessert cuts down on a number of health risks. Make him feel special by cooking one with his favourite flavour and enjoy it together, even if it's for breakfast. If chocolate is his favourite flavour, make him one with the same. Chocolate, when taken in the right amount, helps lose weight and stay healthy. It also lowers blood pressure and cuts down on the risks of stroke. He can lose weight with a regular but restricted consumption, and eating chocolate leads to a better enjoyment in bed for couples.

Airplane food is hardly the most nutritious and his hectic work life forces him to eat most of his meals away from home. When is back home with you, pamper him with simple homemade food and his favourite sweets. Even the richer Indian sweets are healthier when made at home, and after having to eat out so often, even the simplest home fare will be a real indulgence for him.

Soak in a bath tub together. Showering with your partner helps you reduce stress and any type of headache as it deepens the bond between you and the person you love alongside saving time and water.

Stress, one of the silent killers, directly affects a man’s health. Also, showering together with luke warm water is good for the heart as it prevents heart attacks. You must choose a good shower gel for bathing according to your and his skin type. If you have more time at hand you can use bath bombs or run a bubble bath, light scented candles and indulge in a longer soak. Afterwards you can have a masseuse come home to give you both a nice massage, or you could give him a sensuous rub yourself.

Facing challenges on every trip, traveling at odd times, and almost on daily bases is not an easy task. A pilot’s life is very hectic and demanding. If your husband is a pilot, then you already know that. A marriage, or any relationship for that matter, requires work, but when you're married to a pilot the dynamics are slightly different and you need to work on things just a little bit more; you don't have the luxury of knowing exactly when he will be home on any given day.

You have to give him extra care and attention. Special gestures like buying gift for your pilot husband for no reason, dedicating a song, planning a candle light dinner, and anything else but special will make him feel special and emotionally strong enough to face the challenges that his job puts him into.