Five Compact Pop-Up Tents for the Baggage Compartment

These lightweight shelters are easy on your aircraft’s useful load.

Pop-up tents are ideal for portable sun protection.
Lozi & Gabe pop-up tent with base towel [Credit: Lozi & Gabe]

There are certain items we typically carry in our aircraft, like spare engine oil, wheel chocks, tie-down rope, first-aid kits, and other emergency gear. Beyond those items, we tend to limit what lives in the baggage compartment to reduce clutter and excess weight.

If you have a little extra capacity, though, and you enjoy visiting fly-ins, pancake breakfasts, and airports near beaches, parks, and outdoor events, you might spare some of your useful load for a pop-up tent. These lightweight, portable shelters are known for easy, rapid setup and have continuously improved in  materials, sun protection, and ease of use.

Jonathan Welsh

Jonathan Welsh is a private pilot and lifelong aviation enthusiast who has been a reporter, writer and columnist for 35 years. His career includes stints with the Wall Street Journal, Flying Magazine and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He recently returned to Firecrown to lead Aviation Consumer.