I was quite intrigued when I came across news of a new model from the folks at Ocean7. It seems they’ve brought forth a new Pilot Chronograph, and it’s offering quite a great bang for your buck.
I first came across this Oris BC3 Sportsman Day Date model when I was perusing the various Black Friday deals that Amazon had posted. Not only was it quite a mark down (more on that later), but I thought it was an interesting watch. I do think it has a bit of an identity crisis, though.
Sure, you and Goose had a falling out and you were drummed out of Top Gun for being a loose cannon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sport this wildly ugly IWC double chrono under your flight suit. This split-second rattrapante chrono features the Top Gun flight school logo on the back and one of those horrible “triple date” windows on the front in case you can’t add and subtract. To add to the insult, the watch costs a hefty $12,000 so you probably can’t buy it on your Air Force salary.
Read more…
If you recall from my prior post on the Archer Aero II, you’ll know that I quickly became a fan of the watch, and the service that the owner, Al, offers. And, at first glance, you might wonder why I’m featuring this pilot watch, as it’s not displaying any of the uniqueness that Iwas so fond of with the Aero II.
Our post from two days ago on the Archer Aero II garnered a lot of comments, but there’s one in particular I’d like to draw your attention to. Most of the pilot watches we see are simply inspired by designs used by pilots. However, reader Flingwing DID actually use the Aero II in combat situations, so I thought it would be worthwhile to highlight his comments:
I’m one of the Pilots who has flown with this watch in Afghanistan. Loved it. The display is the right size for great visibility in the Cockpit without being obtrusive on the wrist. Hit the face with a flashlight beam for 10-15 seconds and it illuminates brilliantly throughout night missions without being distracting. The minute hand on the outside is what I have come to love from an operational standpoint as well as asthetically (sp?). About 90% of the flying was based on the Minute and this watch allowed an easy crosscheck to what had been planned and what the current actual was. For those missions that required landing times to the second I would use the Helicopters onboard GPS.
It held up very well. Did not lose any appreciatable time. Only point would be to make sure you tighten the wrist screws on the band with maybe a little loctite. Lost two of them but Al was kind enough to replace with a couple spares he had. Last, it is a great looking watch and have more comments about it than any other I’ve owned and one must love when someone picks up on the watch amongst the sea of Breitlings and Tissots at an Air Show.
As a Pilot in the RCAF it is nice to fly with a Canadian built watch.
So, you’re not just getting a good looking watch – you’re getting one that’s been flight-tested and mission approved!
It seems that there are no shortage of companies today turning out flieger-inspired watches – but I believe this is the first time that I’ve come across a Canadian company making them. Today’s example is brought to us by Archer Watches.
Don’t like to think about being part of the Swiss Army? Then how about flying planes? If so (and you’re not looking for an American-made option) the Archimede Pilot Chronograph may
be more to your liking. Right off the bat, you can easily see you’re getting a clean, easy-to-read watch. But it’s not just good looks that you get with this watch – you’re getting some award-winning craftsmanship as well.
So, yesterday’s post covered a remake of an original Swiss Army knife. Today, we’ll take a look at something from a company right here in the US of A -the Maratac Pilot by CountyComm.
CountyComm is not primarily a watch manufacturer. No, they are more known for suppying a variety of goods to law enforcement and government agencies, as well as the EDC community.
And those non-watch items seem to be very well received. But what does this watch bring to the table? Read more…
Debaufre announced their latest today, the GMT Nav-B. The Nav-B is an ETA 2893 sitting in a 44mm stainless steel case, covered with sapphire glass. Not a bad looking timepiece, and if you hurry, the first 10 orders will get a presentation box and a leather strap.
