Just Puttering Along

The Players, the Positions, the Presentations

We concentrated on four catalogs, selected somewhat at random from aviation magazines. Even the catalog names give you some hint of their respective positioning.

Aircraft Spruce & Specialty has a huge (588 pages), automotive parts-style catalog aimed at backyard plane builders. It even sells the spruce lumber used in old-style planes. Most products are presented either in very small black-and-white photos or mechanical drawings. The book has 14 tabbed sections with categories like “Metals & Plastics” and “Instruments.”