[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":248},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-blog-\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fgifts-for-pilots":3,"mdc-gjng7t-key":237},{"post":4,"surround":221,"translations":231},{"id":5,"title":6,"body":7,"date":206,"description":207,"extension":208,"image":209,"meta":212,"navigation":213,"path":214,"seo":215,"stem":218,"translationKey":219,"__hash__":220},"blog_en\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fgifts-for-pilots.md","Gifts for Pilots: What Gets Used and What Ends Up in a Drawer",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":190},"minimark",[10,14,19,28,31,35,48,54,59,72,76,79,83,96,100,111,115,126,130,133,136,140,147,155,159],[11,12,13],"p",{},"Pilots are hard to shop for, because they bought the headset, the kneeboard and the sunglasses long ago, to their own taste and usually after a lot of comparing. If you don't fly yourself, the pilot mug with a joke on it starts to look tempting. You can do better without knowing what a METAR is.",[15,16,18],"h2",{"id":17},"the-metarmap-as-a-gift","The METARMAP as a gift",[11,20,21,22,27],{},"We'll start with our own product and get that out of the way. The METARMAP is a printed aviation chart with LEDs, built in Leipzig. Each airfield has an LED that glows in the colour of the weather currently reported there, using the ",[23,24,26],"a",{"href":25},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fgafor-categories","GAFOR scheme"," that pilots in Germany know from flight planning. The map fetches new data every five minutes on its own.",[11,29,30],{},"Few people would buy one for themselves. They still use it every day, since one look in the morning shows whether the drive to the airfield is worth it. In the evening it's a nice lamp on the shelf.",[32,33],"blog-products",{":handles":34},"[\"metarmap-mini\", \"metarmap\"]",[11,36,37,38,42,43,47],{},"For a gift, the ",[23,39,41],{"href":40},"\u002Fen\u002Fproducts\u002Fmetarmap-mini","METARMAP Mini"," is usually the better pick. It sits on a desk or sideboard, so you don't need to know which wall is free. The large A1 ",[23,44,46],{"href":45},"\u002Fen\u002Fproducts\u002Fmetarmap","METARMAP"," makes sense once you know where it will hang, or when a whole flying club is the recipient.",[49,50,51],"tip",{},[11,52,53],{},"You don't need to know their home airfield. Both maps cover all of Germany, and the Mini adds airfields in neighbouring countries.",[55,56,58],"h3",{"id":57},"what-the-map-needs","What the map needs",[11,60,61,62,66,67,71],{},"Power and Wi-Fi. It's set up once in the browser through ",[23,63,65],{"href":64},"\u002Fen\u002Fconnect","METARMAP Connect",", and there is no app. On a computer that works with Chrome, Edge or Opera, and on Android with Chrome. Safari can't use the Bluetooth interface it needs, so on an iPhone you use the Bluefy browser instead. The ",[23,68,70],{"href":69},"\u002Fen\u002Fdocs\u002Fmetarmap-connect\u002Fbrowser","list of supported browsers"," has the details.",[15,73,75],{"id":74},"more-gift-ideas-for-pilots","More gift ideas for pilots",[11,77,78],{},"Not every gift has to light up.",[55,80,82],{"id":81},"small-things","Small things",[84,85,86,90,93],"ul",{},[87,88,89],"li",{},"A remove-before-flight tag costs little, and any pilot recognises one at once. On an aircraft these red streamers hang from the pitot tube and the control lock.",[87,91,92],{},"DFS, Germany's air navigation service, publishes a new ICAO chart every year. Plenty of pilots still carry a paper chart as a backup to their app, and then the current edition belongs on board.",[87,94,95],{},"Saint-Exupéry's \"Wind, Sand and Stars\" is a classic of flying literature. It reads well even for people who rarely pick up a book.",[55,97,99],{"id":98},"for-everyday-flying","For everyday flying",[84,101,102,105,108],{},[87,103,104],{},"A kneeboard straps to the thigh and holds the chart, checklist and notes. Ask first whether they fly with a tablet, because then it has to fit their iPad.",[87,106,107],{},"A good flight bag takes the headset, charts and water. Look for one with a padded headset compartment.",[87,109,110],{},"A nice logbook is only worth it if they still log on paper. Many switched to an electronic one years ago.",[55,112,114],{"id":113},"experiences","Experiences",[84,116,117,120,123],{},[87,118,119],{},"An hour in an airliner simulator appeals to private pilots in particular. They get to fly an aircraft they would never otherwise get near.",[87,121,122],{},"A guest flight in a different kind of aircraft changes the view: the powered pilot in a glider, the glider pilot in a gyroplane.",[87,124,125],{},"A tailwheel conversion or a taster aerobatics lesson teaches something they can go on to fly themselves. Ask their flight school or club about vouchers.",[15,127,129],{"id":128},"better-to-ask-first","Better to ask first",[11,131,132],{},"Headsets are a matter of taste. Fit, weight and noise cancelling are things people want to try for themselves, and the plug has to match the aircraft. At those prices, don't guess.",[11,134,135],{},"Polarised sunglasses are a poor fit for the cockpit. Some displays become hard to read through them, and they show stress patterns in the windscreen. If it has to be sunglasses, pick a pair without polarisation.",[15,137,139],{"id":138},"order-in-good-time","Order in good time",[11,141,142,143,71],{},"Every METARMAP is assembled and tested after you order it, and it usually reaches you within 4 to 7 business days, sometimes a little later in the run-up to Christmas. The ",[23,144,146],{"href":145},"\u002Fen\u002Fshipping","shipping page",[11,148,149,150,154],{},"If the map doesn't suit them, you can return it unused and in its original packaging within 30 days. That period starts on delivery, not on the day you hand it over, which matters if you order in October. The ",[23,151,153],{"href":152},"\u002Fen\u002Flegal\u002Frevocation","revocation policy"," explains the rest.",[15,156,158],{"id":157},"frequently-asked-questions","Frequently asked questions",[160,161,162,169,175,184],"accordion",{},[163,164,166],"accordion-item",{"label":165},"What can you give a pilot?",[11,167,168],{},"Things people rarely buy for themselves but use often. That might be an LED aviation weather map like the METARMAP, the current ICAO chart, a kneeboard or a flight bag. For something special, give an experience such as an hour in an airliner simulator or a guest flight in a glider.",[163,170,172],{"label":171},"Do I need to know where they fly?",[11,173,174],{},"Not for the METARMAP. Both maps cover all of Germany, and the Mini adds airfields in neighbouring countries.",[163,176,178],{"label":177},"Does the METARMAP need an app?",[11,179,180,181,183],{},"No. It's set up once in the browser through ",[23,182,65],{"href":64}," and then runs over Wi-Fi. On an iPhone that takes the Bluefy browser, because Safari doesn't support Web Bluetooth.",[163,185,187],{"label":186},"Is the METARMAP available for other countries?",[11,188,189],{},"Both maps currently show Germany, and the Mini also covers airfields in neighbouring countries. More European country versions are planned.",{"title":191,"searchDepth":192,"depth":192,"links":193},"",2,[194,198,203,204,205],{"id":17,"depth":192,"text":18,"children":195},[196],{"id":57,"depth":197,"text":58},3,{"id":74,"depth":192,"text":75,"children":199},[200,201,202],{"id":81,"depth":197,"text":82},{"id":98,"depth":197,"text":99},{"id":113,"depth":197,"text":114},{"id":128,"depth":192,"text":129},{"id":138,"depth":192,"text":139},{"id":157,"depth":192,"text":158},"2026-09-29","What do you give someone who flies? Ideas from small tokens to a guest flight, and two things to check with them before you buy.","md",{"src":210,"alt":211},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgeschenk-metarmap-zuhause.webp","On the left the large METARMAP framed on a wall, on the right the METARMAP Mini on a desk, both with glowing airfields",{},true,"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fgifts-for-pilots",{"title":216,"description":217},"Gifts for Pilots: Ideas That Actually Land","Gift ideas for pilots, from an LED aviation weather map to a kneeboard or a guest flight, plus what to check with them before you buy.","en\u002Fblog\u002Fgifts-for-pilots","gifts-for-pilots","up1E8XhSJ-OjVTQ80y7wurJvrEPHgtCzXvRREihzw3U",[222,226],{"title":223,"path":25,"stem":224,"description":225,"children":-1},"GAFOR Colours: What Charlie, Oscar, Delta, Mike and X-Ray Mean","en\u002Fblog\u002Fgafor-categories","The five GAFOR categories with their visibility and cloud ceiling limits, and how the METARMAP turns them into colours.",{"title":227,"path":228,"stem":229,"description":230,"children":-1},"How to Read a METAR: The Aviation Weather Report, Group by Group","\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-read-a-metar","en\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-read-a-metar","Wind, visibility, cloud, temperature, pressure: how to read a METAR, with examples from a quiet afternoon to a foggy morning.",[232,235],[233,234],"de","geschenk-fuer-piloten",[236,219],"en",{"data":238,"body":239},{},{"type":240,"children":241},"root",[242],{"type":243,"tag":11,"props":244,"children":245},"element",{},[246],{"type":247,"value":207},"text",1790966140834]