A member of my family will, in all likelihood, complete their last flight as a pilot in the Air Force sometime in the next 4 to 6 months.

Its obviously sad in one respect, but my family and I would like to get him something really cool to mark this milestone as sort of congratulations of having flown.

Any suggestions, thoughts, etc would be greatly appreciated - realize it may be a bit unusual.

My best friend had his 'fini flight' a few years ago. I made him a desktop/bookshelf display.

You can find online several places that offer nice wood or pewter carvings or castings of different aircraft. A trophy shop can make a plaque with his name and rank, type of aircraft, flying hours, and number of combat sorties (if any) that you can attach to the display.

[This message has been edited by fighterpilot (edited 11/21/2011 4:10p).]

Some of the best gifts I have seen involve a piece of the actual type of aircraft they flew. Obviously that is somewhat difficult, and would require some help. A nice picture or shadow box with patches, wings, pictures, and such would be nice too.

Cheers guys.

Yes, surfing ebay and avionics websites looking for inspirtation for something of that sort - some one in the family is rather handy, so I suspect we could do something decent for a display

Commission a painting of them with their aircraft if it's smaller. If it's a heavy, a shield plaque with their name, rank & frame.

My dad flew hercs and he keeps his plaque in his office.

If he flew fighters get him a control stick grip (AKA Pickle Grip) It should run you around $200 if you can find one and if you want to spemd that much on him. Last flights are very memorable.

He flies A-10s

Had some warning and he's really important to me, and I know how much flying means to him, so ~$500 is my budget unless I find something really spectacular.

[This message has been edited by SeaAGGIE05 (edited 12/11/2011 8:45p).]

Stuff like a control grip or throttle quadrant would be awesome. I have seen those done, as well as stuff like panels with squadron insignia on them. Those things are all tough to do, and you would need some real help. That kind of stuff has gone to people in higher positions from what I've seen. Other alternatives like a plaque/picture/shadow box with patches and so forth can be very nice if done well. Also, a nice model with the correct markings and so forth on a base would also fit in a $500 budget. There are various sites out there that make pretty good custom models so you can have his name on the jet and have it with the correct markings.

[This message has been edited by GAC06 (edited 11/26/2011 8:59p).]

Take a look at squadron toys.com They make desktop display aircraft of any type. Hand carved and then painted. They can customize anyway you want, including call sign, squadron insignia, and tail markings of his "favorite" jet. Will run somewhere in the $250-$300 range.

So, just a quick update -

Bad news - The final flight ended up being scheduled with very little notice, so only his immediate family was able to attend. Probably a good thing, as I am sure it was highly emotional for him.

Good news - Its done, so I can get the final tally all correct on whatever I ultimately decide to do. Going to check out the suggestions here and will post an update in a couple of weeks or so.

You might get a copy of his log book pages for his first and final flights...have just those lines engraved as part of the placard on a desktop model done up in correct markings.

quote:

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He flies A-10s

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Obtain a spent shell casing from a GAU-8. His CO can probably scarf one up for you. Polish it and have it engraved.

There's anough space on one of those to print a Bible.

Lot's of good advice on this thread, but I'd be hard pressed to pick one of the last two suggestions.

Both are pure gold.