Buying Aerospace Products
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Whether you're actually taking to the skies, or looking for scale-model miniatures of flying machines, buying aerospace products has never been easier.
Aerospace Accessories for Pilots
Although amateur pilots have different needs from commercial airliners and military fleets when buying aerospace products, they still have a need for specialized equipment.
ALGLAS
ALGLAS features cleaning products designed for aviation, including wipes for instrument control panels and display screens as well as sprays to clean cockpit and passenger windows.
Products for Pilots
Products for Pilots sells laminated checklists for vital tasks that may not be second nature to amateur pilots, such as diverting to an alternate airport. The site also offers check pads for ensuring a safe take-off and recording pertinent flight data.
Wayman Pilot Supplies
At Wayman Pilot Supplies, the electronics selection includes a variety of headsets, transceivers, digital flight computers, microphones, and collision avoidance systems to keep you safe in the air. Software, videos and books can help you learn to fly or just brush up on your skills. Charts and plotters help you set your course, while logbooks, kneeboards and cases keep you organized. The site also offers unique gifts for pilots.
Buying Aerospace Products as a Hobby
Local Hobby Shops
If you have a local hobby shop, it will be the best place to start your search for model airplanes, rockets, and other miniature aerospace products. Small, independently owned shops will be your best bet for personalized service and knowledgeable employees. However, these shops have increasingly been driven out of business by chain stores and online retailers, so a local Hobby Lobby or HobbyTown USA would be the next option.
Online Retailers
Although online ordering doesn't provide the hands-on assistance you can find in a local store, it does have its advantages. You can enjoy lower prices by ordering directly from the manufacturer or an online-only store with lower overhead costs. Shop at any time from the convenience of your own home or office. You can also take advantage of a much larger selection; no single store could ever hope to stock every design available. In the time it would take your local shop to special-order a product, you can have it delivered to your door.
A few of the online retailers providing model aerospace products include:
- Apogee Components provides customers with five skill levels of model rockets, along with all the parts you need to create your own designs. They even offer model rocket design and simulation software suitable for science classrooms.
- Estes sells model rockets for three skill levels, along with airplanes and specialty products. The education section of the site offers instructional materials on products and model rocketry in general.
- In addition to brick-and-mortar stores, Hobby Lobby also has an online presence selling a full line of products.
- Polecat Aerospace products include more than 20 model rocket kits. They specialize in pre-fiberglassed kits that are easy to assemble.
- Sig Manufacturing Company offers model aircraft kits, paints and fuels created in their own facilities in addition to acting as a distributor for engines and R/C kits.
Additional Tips
- Just as with any other hobby, you should start small. Don't buy the most complicated kit for your first attempt at building a model airplane or rocket.
- Model kits are great gifts for kids, but you should be ready to offer construction assistance.
- Although you should browse the entire selection as you make your first steps into the hobby, you may eventually want to specialize. For instance, some collectors prefer World War II-era fighter planes. There are so many designs available that choosing a specialty makes the hobby much more manageable.
The appeal of the open skies makes model kits and flying supplies surefire hits for airplane and rocket enthusiasts.
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