Watches - what are we using?

[Gnarly Gnu]

Oh man, do I have to buy a watch to fly now?

 

Actually many years ago I did own a digital watch, one night it literally exploded. Woke me up with the bang, blew the back cover right off with bits of battery scattered around the bedroom. Just a bog basic watch, no James Bond thing. Must have shorted out.

 

 

[boingk]

At the moment (student pilot approaching PPL) I just use my Android smart phone - it updates automatically from the network and gives good, consistent time. Obviously if you have your hands full its not the best option but is sufficient for point fixes, flight times and other basic stuff.

 

The best watch I currently own is a basic Colorado wristwatch, bought maybe 15 years ago and currently awaiting new band (been through 3 so far) and battery. Its a hardarse thing that won't quit and keeps good time. Manual date adjustment etc but hey - it works.

 

The best watch outright I've ever had was a Victrinox / Swiss pocketwatch. Bought for maybe $80 on sale and kept the best time imaginable (accurate to digital standards) until somone flogged it. Looking for another one now actually.

 

Cheers - boingk

 

 

[Thirsty]

Mine is an analogue longines. Has a date but that's it as far as bells and whistles. I've had it 10 years, never take it off and change the battery every 3 years or so. I've never adjusted the time except of daylight saving and it's very tough even though it looks like a going out watch. I'm an l2 and I also work on motorcycles and cars and it doesn't have a scratch on it. All stainless steel and looks like new. Even the luminescence still works!

 

 

[fatmal]

Got a link for the knock-off Breitling? :)

I used to live in Thailand, so bought a few from street vendors. I'm sure that if these guys set up a website to sell them then the copyright police would be onto them pretty quickly - as it is, when they see the police they either bribe them or run!

 

 

[eightyknots]

Oh man, do I have to buy a watch to fly now?Actually many years ago I did own a digital watch, one night it literally exploded. Woke me up with the bang, blew the back cover right off with bits of battery scattered around the bedroom. Just a bog basic watch, no James Bond thing. Must have shorted out.

Gnarly, they sold you the wrong watch at the time. You DID have the 007 version. .

 

The only thing is that explosion was meant for the enemy.

 

 

[bushcaddy105]

I bought a Citizen WingMan pilot watch (with all the bells and whistles) in Singapore in 1994. Still use it daily and it keeps near perfect time. Goes about 3 years on a battery. I only really use the time, date and occasionally the stopwatch functions, so I agree that the rest is "fluff". UTC is on a cheap digital clock with large numerals mounted on the panel where it is easily read.

 

 

[facthunter]

I would rather have a panel mounted clock with UTC, trip time and stopwatch function. A metal watch with a metal band is a bit dangerous around basic aeroplanes. I shorted one out years ago and had to watch it sizzle my skin when down the back of a plane working on it in a cramped position. (Still got the scar). Nev

 

 

[eightyknots]

I would rather have a panel mounted clock with UTC, trip time and stopwatch function. A metal watch with a metal band is a bit dangerous around basic aeroplanes. I shorted one out years ago and had to watch it sizzle my skin when down the back of a plane working on it in a cramped position. (Still got the scar). Nev

:yikes:OuCh! I think that's what they used to call "the auto electrician's nightmare".

 

 

[facthunter]

Not fun.. Nev

 

 

[kgwilson]

Any old watch will do so long as it keeps good time and is easy to read. The rest is just your own vanity or desire for techy toys. I agree with Nev about the panel mount with basic functions.

 

 

[Flying Librarian]

This must sound a bit weird but i have given up on wrist watches especially the analogue types. All my life they have all stopped within a month or two of putting them on. Wind up or battery. Hadn't put one on until recently when i thought i'd wear my late brother's one. Put in a new battery and within 2 weeks it had stopped. Cheap plastic cased dive types have lasted the longest.Anyone else have this problem?

Ozzie

G'day Ozzie,

 

I've got the same issue but with digital watches instead. I have no idea why, but my analogue citizen work watch does the job.

 

Flying Librarian

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

I wear a Citizen Aqualand divers watch. A relic from the days when I did SCUBA dive. Given my trike does not have floats, it will come in handy to read the depth if I ever land in Lake Mulwala It's my time standard and is less that 30 seconds out if only corrected each DST change.

 

I seldom use it in the air, preferring to use the GPS for TOD, but for navs, I use a handy little timer that incorporates three count down timers, all with HH:MM:SS readout, and one count up timer (HH:MM:SS.ss), plus a clock, with HH:MM:SS readout. I have it mounted on a leg strap that also holds my PLB. Some people mount it on the aircraft. It isn't super accurate, needing to be corrected every couple of months, or whenever a set button gets depressed accidently while packed in my helmet bag. If it needs correcting, I do that while the engine is warming up, as part of my pre-flight checks.

 

 

[Mazda]

If you will excuse the bad pun, this is timely as I have been looking for a new watch.

 

A few points from my experience. I wouldn't recommend digital. If it gets hot enough, they can go blank, which is a bit of a problem. And yes, it has happened to me. I think the nav computers look pretty cool but realistically, you won't use it, especially in flight. You don't even need the real one in flight, let alone one with tiny numbers stuck to your wrist.

 

For VFR flight what do you need? Something easy to see. Big clear numbers, clear hands. I like to have two times, local time and UTC. Some pilot watches (Torgoen ones come to mind) have an extra hand on the dial which points to the UTC hour. That's a nice simple way to do it.

 

If you aim to do NVFR you will want something you can see at night. If you want to fly IFR you should have a stopwatch - although the aircraft is likely to have one.

 

My current watch is a Suunto digital, which does everything except make coffee, but it is way to ugly, digital and I'm only using since my g-shock died (it was an analogue one with a second time zone in digital). I've decided on a Torgoen T5 and have one on order. I find it very difficult to get watches which fit, most are way too big for me, so I was pretty limited in options.

 

 

[Dieselten]

I'm using a battered old Seiko Pilot's Watch from 1987, purchased duty-free during my previous career. It's on its last legs (no O-rings are available to seal it now) and when it dies I already have its replacement - another Seiko chronograph, the serial number of which happens to exactly match the last six digits of my mobile phone number!