Year-End Bargains For Aviation Shoppers

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With the holiday shopping season in full swing, our inbox is overflowing with aviation-related gift ideas. For those in the airplane-shopping mood, perhaps looking to take the bonus-depreciation tax write-off before the end of the year, Liberty Aerospace, in Melbourne, Fla., is selling eight of its demonstrator airplanes at deep discounts. The XL2 two-seaters are selling for $115,000 to $153,000, marked down from standard prices up to $210,000. Click here for more info. Diamond Aircraft said recently that for a limited time, they will match customer down payments with up to 10 percent of the actual purchase price, plus offer Garmin Synthetic Vision Technology free on selected models. “Combined with bonus depreciation … this program presents our best retail offer ever,” said Peter Maurer, president of Diamond Aircraft Industries. Mooney is offering financing rates as low as 2.99 percent and flexible leaseback options to entice buyers. “This is an unprecedented opportunity to own the best,” says Wayne Fischer, director of sales for Mooney. For those with somewhat less to spend on holiday gifts, there are plenty of other options.

One-of-a-kind flight experiences make great gifts for pilots. Waldo Wright’s Flying Service offers rides in vintage biplanes at Fantasy of Flight, near Orlando, Fla. A half-hour “hands-on” flight in a Boeing Stearman goes for $229. Airship Ventures offers gift certificates for Zeppelin flights in California, starting at $199. Tickets for next summer’s EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh are now for sale online, along with show merchandise and gift certificates for rides in the B-17 “Aluminum Overcast,” all available with free gift wrapping; just click here. And for stocking stuffers: A new documentary film about the joy of flight, Barnstorming, is for sale now on DVD for just $19.95. And a 2010 calendar from Powder Puff Pilot celebrates “This Day in Women’s Aviation” for $14.95. And for the kid in all of us, check out the annual Norad Tracks Santa project, now upgraded with animated videos from around the world. This one has the best price of all … free to all comers.

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