Category: Review

Most established airlines these days have a museum associated with them. Southwest has a museum near Love Field in Dallas, American has the CR Smith museum in Ft. Worth, and United has a web page that looks like it was last updated in 2004. The best of these is Delta’s Flight Museum in Atlanta, Georgia where not only are historical Deltas aircraft on display, but there’s even a 747 in the parking lot that is open to visitors. And this specific 747 has a heck of a history.

Full motion flight simulators are massively expensive pieces of equipment, but for an airline it’s the most cost effective way to train new flight crews before they ever touch the controls of a real aircraft. These simulators use the same controls and instruments as the actual aircraft and are supported on hydraulic actuators that allow the simulator to move and make you feel like you’re actually flying an airplane. It’s probably as close to flying one of these beasts as the average aviation nerd will get, and there’s only one place that rents one by the hour to the general public: the Delta Flight Museum.

Are you the kind of person that gets all excited about getting their hands on an original Northwest Airlines flight manual? Perhaps you’d like a service cart that’s been lovingly used in service for a few years but is looking for a quiet place to retire? How about an entire row of original 727 seats? All at rock bottom prices? If any of this sounds interesting to you then you definitely need to check out the monthly surplus sale at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta.

There are few things as useful in this world as a good sharp knife. Humanity’s second oldest tool behind a large rock used as a hammer I never leave the house without one. For pilots who might find themselves needing to escape from a downed aircraft or just cut some new tie-downs for their aircraft the Benchmade Triage 915 (or the current equivalent) might be a good choice.

I’ve found that pilots appreciate well designed and specialized tools. Heck, some pilots still lug around their E6B flight computer because it works and it works well, even though the same thing can be done with an app on their phone. I was looking for a similar solution to my writing needs, a single tool able to draw on my tablet touchscreen and still write on the actual paper paperwork for each flight without breaking after a handful of uses. Enter the Smith & Wesson SWPEN3BK.