RAF G-Shock Watch

[wokkamate]

Anyone fancy one of these then? I am guessing that Flt Lt Nathan Jones is an FJ mate with a bit of time on his hands then.....(or a Puma mate)

G-Shock's £500 RAF Watch Lacks Shiny Hardware to Avoid Being Spotted by Enemies | Gizmodo UK (http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/03/g-shocks-500-raf-watch-lacks-shiny-hardware-to-avoid-being-spotted-by-enemies/)

Does look like a nice watch though, but at £500 = a bit steep for a G-Shock, no matter how non-shiney it is! :sad:

[Roadster280]

Well there's always the Citizen Skyhawk AT Red Arrows edition:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5082/5206857634_af7eb938a3.jpg

Or for those with an American bent, the Blue Angels version:

http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/500/218839425.jpg

Or you could of course just buy the normal one. Which is a damned fine instrument.

http://www.goldandtimes.co.uk/ekmps/shops/goldandtimes/images/mens-citizen-jy00005-50e-eco-drive-watch-skyhawk-a-t-862-p.jpg

[diginagain]

Doesn't Mickey Mouse wear an RAF watch?

:p

[Chris Griffin]

Wokkamate - he's a very capable VC10 mate, Skis for the RAF and plays rugby for the RAF - featured in the Help for Heroes televised rugby match a few months ago and is also, annoyingly, a bloody good bloke. This, I believe, is part of an arrangement that the RAF has with Casio for sports various.

Looks quite a nice addition to the collection.

[Pontius Navigator]

Roadster, I have #3 in silver and very good too. When the clocks changed it changed too, no fiddling.

[Roadster280]

PN - As do I. Need to send it off to have the bezel changed though, the markings are all scuffed. I never thought I'd be one to use a slide rule, but for quick back-of-fag-packet calculations, it's been far more useful than I had thought.

The "never needs a battery, never needs to be set" aspect is what appealed. Also the ease of changing the analogue hands between timezones. I use that quite a bit.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

http://www.vintagelcd.com/images/watchlibrary/cache/2801-400x500.jpg
Cost, about 20 quid.
Dual time zones (one always on zulu). Alarm & stopwatch and countdown.
Gains 1 second a day (reliably).
Used for diving to 40m and timing astro fixes as well as all the usual pilot stuff. Over a year at sea, racing and cruising.

A previous version broke at something above 50,000 feet when the glass popped out (intact), presumably due to pressure differential as there is no screwdown. Other than that, no problem.

Needs a new battery every 5 years and a new strap every 2.

Of course, one uses a genuine mickey mouse watch to time-hack big formation briefs, just to annoy the mud-movers.

[Pontius Navigator]

A previous version broke at something above 50,000 feet when the glass popped out (intact), presumably due to pressure differential as there is no screwdown. Other than that, no problem.

Pressure differential certainly but no because of lack of a screwdown but lack of a PRV.

[SwitchMonkey]

Pressure differential certainly but no because of lack of a screwdown but lack of a PVR.

Even our watches are wanting to leave early now?

[TheWizard]

Nice to see it was designed with just pilots in mind!
I guess the rest of us that fly can stick with the other "fiddly and expensive ones getting covered in dust and grit or knocking it on the side of things" :hmm:

[ACW418]

Bit sensitive aren't we?

ACW

[Courtney Mil]

Formed in 1918, the RAF isn’t just the oldest air force in the world, it’s also one of the most technologically-sophisticated.

Well, that's reassuring then. About time for a decent aircrew watch.

However, NO metal wrist bands. NOT waterproof. A make that even the loggies can FIND NEW BATTERIES FOR.

Only the pilot in command requires a Government-supplied watch.

[StopStart]

http://mothering-matters.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/its-not-fair-300x229.jpg

[Pontius Navigator]

CM,

The nav watches isued in the '60s were special. True they were not waterproof and you could reasonably expect not more that a couple of seconds error by the end of a trip. They had one special feature that was both hated by the wearer and a superb FS feature.

It had a special stainless steel bracelet that could be put on over the nav gloves. When wore with a shirt the bracelet ripped the cuff and dug in to the flesh. When worn over the glove then you couldn't take the glove off. As more navs worked in an office rather than a cockpit they used to take the gloves off once airborne.

Most of us pried the bracelet off - it had fixed rods on the watch - and put on nylon straps :) As it happened one strap was in the sqn colours so it was a no brainer.

Oddly enough H&S and FS were not that strong and we got away with it.

[VinRouge]

Issue watches are for friday night happy hour conkers arent they?

Mine was a three-er.

[A2QFI]

I have #3 as well - a fine robust bit of kit. I am too deaf for the alarm to be any use but the rest of it works as advertised. 15 minutes in direct sunlight runs it for 6 months.

[Melchett01]

It does look a nice watch - and in the grand scheme of things, if it's a decent well made piece of craftsmanship, then a monkey isn't completely out of order when you think that some people pay as much for a single watch as we get paid in a year.

That said, I am with Fox3 on this one. I normally wear a Tissot, but for ops I leave that at home and take a £10 casio digital job with me. Something I learnt very early on - never take anything on ops you wouldn't mind breaking, losing, having pinched or in extremis bartering with.

[NutLoose]

If you want a more traditional one, Lufthansa have a 747 limited edition Swiss movement pilots style. watch at 199 Euros
A bit like the seiko in style

https://www.worldshop.eu/medias/sys_master/genmedia_PIC1740417_RD_01.jpg

See

https://www.worldshop.eu/lws/product/wscatalog/1740417/detail.jsf

They do a couple of others too

https://www.worldshop.eu/lws/product/wscatalog/1738022/detail.jsf?

[Courtney Mil]

PN, so true. OK, so a steel bracelet version for desk-bound aircrew, nylon in sqn colours for airborne aircrew. Fair policy?

Nutloose, that is like a nice version of the old nav watch. Rather like it, but these days I'm looking for a good dive watch with very big numbers so I can see them.

Courtney

[glojo]

It looks like #3 watch is quite popular :ok:

[NutLoose]

Look on eBay Courtney, there are some erm interesting makes

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDgwWDUwNg==/$(KGrHqV,!rkE88hC+yYDBPevk8I0Yw~~60_3.JPG

They go down 330 ft

Home - Muff (http://www.muffwatches.com/)

[TheChitterneFlyer]

Everything else aside, you can bet that the cost of any replacement aircrew timepiece will be over-inflated. Why? Because they allways are!

My uncle was an ex wartime pilot and he offered some very sound advice... if it fly's, floats, or *ucks... don't buy it; rent it!

£500 for an aircrew timepiece... just buy two of 'em and leave them hanging on the yoke when the chocks are in... job done.

[NutLoose]

Aircrew are issued with a watch PortVale, there are several places that sell them on, evil bay for one and another site I have somewhere that has the RAF pulsars for about £220 brand new, I could dig up a link for you if wanted. The ones posted here are privately purchased items, as most aircrew like lots of flashing lights and a bit of bling :p

This will tell you all sbout them..

Seiko RAF and RN Chronographs (http://home.earthlink.net/~nederick/SeikoChronoRevuVulcF.htm)

Generally your average Airman or Soldier were not issued with watches as we were more savvy and a quick squint at the sun ( if it ever appeared) could calculate the time down to the nearest minute. :ok:

Here you go found the link

Military Watch Dept (http://www.trinitymarine.co.uk/sections/290/military_watch_dept/)

Welcome to the forums BTW

[Courtney Mil]

That's the one for me! Thanks, Nutloose. :ok:

[NutLoose]

Don't know is it a proper divers one though, see the chart on here

Water Resistant mark - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Resistant_mark)

[Union Jack]

15 minutes in direct sunlight runs it for 6 months.

A2QFI - You really must get out more!;)

Jack

[A2QFI]

If the battery is low 15 minutes in the sun will restore the charge such that it will run for 6 months. I can't see why that needs getting out - it can be put on a window-sill!

[NutLoose]

Or dangle your wrist out of the letterbox :p

[ShyTorque]

The only RAF aircrew watch I was issued with didn't need a battery change - ever!

It was clockwork...

Gosh, I feel old. :(

[Tankertrashnav]

I have to laugh when I see stupid money being asked on ebay, etc, for the old wind-up 1960's style RAF "pilots'" Omega watches (in the world of aviation wannabees, navigators don't exist, of course).

I had one of these Omegas and it was rubbish. It was quickly consigned to my sock-drawer and I reverted to my Hong Kong bought £10 Seiko automatic which gave me sterling service till I came out. Had to hand the Omega back in - pity, some mug would probably pay me several hundred quid for it now :(

I wear a service issue Pulsar now which is good as the Seiko. £50 new on ebay - was that cheap?

[NutLoose]

Link I put above has new Pulsars at 220 odd.

[LowObservable]

These are widely available, for those who don't want to deal with a dead battery at the least opportune moment, but don't want to spend $500:

seiko automatic military | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/sch/?_nkw=seiko%20automatic%20military&clk_rvr_id=332554995814)

They are real, as far as I know, but Seiko certainly does not sell them for retail in the US or Europe.

But if you do want the atomic spaceman watch and don't mind wearing Big Ben on your left wrist, here it is for $370...

Citizen Skyhawk A-T Eco Drive Mens Watch JY0005-50E (http://www.jomashop.com/citizen-eco-drive-mens-watch-jy0005-50e.html?gclid=CJ3chaTptq8CFcXc4AodLlUAjA)

Regards, LO in Personal Shopper mode.

[glojo]

when buying by post or on-line PLEASE be aware of counterfeit watches that will come with all the pretty documentation, instructions and sometimes even realistic looking guarantee certification.

during my travels I saw a large factory in Hong Kong which traded under the name of 'Swiss'. This charming location churned out watches all in very nice presentation boxes, and all appeared to be made by well known manufacturers but all of them were......'Swiss Made' This was many, many Moons ago and no doubt things may have changed. :O

[500N]

Glojo

Very true. I read something the other week that counterfeit high end watches
were the biggest problem and like you said, down to all the documentation as well.

In fact, they said that even down to the serial numbers.

The owners only ever found out if it went for service so the real
watch makers were saying only to buy from Authorized outlets.

[NutLoose]

True, but the link I posted are the surplus dealers, they I would imagine get all their stuff from service sales, unless someone is counterfeiting Phimats as well :}

[bosnich71]

Like a lot of blokes in 1960's RAFG I bought an Omega.. before it went to the Moon...and it's timekeeping wasn't crash hot to be honest.
Years later, when riding my motorcycle in Adelaide,Oz, it fell off my wrist,got run over by a truck but was still ticking when I rescued it.However the cost of a new wrist band meant that it was consigned to a drawer where it resides to this day ..... but ticking no longer.

[Willard Whyte]

Only the pilot in command requires a Government-supplied watch.

Only if he's such a git that the rest of the crew won't give him the time of day.

[Abbey Road]

.... I reverted to my Hong Kong bought £10 Seiko automatic which gave me sterling service till I came out.
You needed to replace your watch because you were gay? :eek:

[diginagain]

You needed to replace your watch because you were gay?Given TTN's location and seniority, I doubt he's even aware of the idiom. Good spot nonetheless.:D

[Alber Ratman]

One of the ex Jag mates was looking to get a run of Jag Breitling watches done.. The price? A cool £2400.. :E

[BEagle]

The Breitling Aerospace does seem to have become more expensive and altogether more bling-bling than the models sold earlier. I don't like any of the current models - far too gaudy.

Mine (identical to this):

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/F56062.jpg

started playing up after almost 17 years of no more attention than a few battery changes. So off it went to Switzerland for 3 months for a major overhau£.....:\

It is now better than new! A newer, more precise movement and the alignment of the new hands to the minute marks is now exact. Better still, it now keeps time to about 0.5 s per month.

[NutLoose]

Nice watch BEagle, is that the one with the ELT?

[BEagle]

No. The model with the embedded micro transmitter is the Breitling Professional 'Emergency'. Rather bulky though...

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/emergency.jpg

[Tankertrashnav]

Given TTN's location and seniority, I doubt he's even aware of the idiom. Good spot nonetheless.:D

I'm still confused diginagain :confused: Something to do with 'sterling service' ? Do tell.

[Dockers]

I suspect that its because you wrote ...I reverted to my Hong Kong bought £10 Seiko automatic which gave me sterling service till I came out. Coming out (of the Closet), is perhaps what diginagain and abbey road saw.

[bspatz]

Seems to me that the cheaper the watch the better, as 34 years of experience as a supplier showed that every time someone ejected they lost their watch!

[tonker]

The Breitling Aerospace uses a balk standard, un modified eta 988.333 movement. They cost £30 trade.

The Tissot PR50 is identical in every way(i had one for £70) including functions. It would do, it also uses exactly the same movement.

£2,400!!! SUCKERSSSSS

The Breitling Watch Source Forums • View topic - WTB ETA 988.333 movement or complete watch please (http://www.breitlingsource.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=32542)

[Evanelpus]

Needs a new battery every 5 years and a new strap every 2.

Yeah but those Casio straps cost a bloody fortune. I've got a G-Shock and was quoted just shy of 40 quid to replace the strap.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Absolutely. The last two replacements it has been cheaper for me to get a new $10 time only watch (on sale next to the $30 straps), and swap straps.
That's the current consumer society for you!

[D John]

Hi,

thought I'd jump in here, there adapters so that the nylon NATO type straps can be used on many G-Shock models for $12 per pair........

http://www.broadarrow.net/newstuff.htm (http://www.broadarrow.net/newstuff.htm)

(and some other suppliers)

cheers,

-John:ok:

[tonker]

It doesn't cost £2330 to thermocompensate what is still, a digital watch.

Oh hang on, oh my god its backlit. That explains it:ok:

ETA 988.333 Breitling Caliber 56 Movement (Can replace 988.332) | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/ETA-988-333-Breitling-Caliber-56-Movement-Can-replace-988-332-/200712138055)

This ones a classic, unless you've just bought one and wonder whats inside.

[Mmmmnice]

Back in 1990 the Queen gave me a nice little Casio digital to stick in my earpiece to remind me to change something every half hour or so. Since then it has had several batteries, several straps, and is used daily as an alarm and when I'm out running. I'm sure there has been a thread about the most useful item of kit one was ever given - this was it for me. I also have a Breitling B1 which I wear when I need something flash and heavy - it's also a lovely watch; but too bulky for everyday use. I also have a Seiko that reminds me of the watch they took off me when I left - keeps wonderful time (better than the B1)

[Biggus]

Didn't the ladies in Changi use to say something like....

"You must be pilot, big watch, small d*ck....."




Says it all really! ;)

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Despite owning a very small watch for decades, I have not experienced any growth in that department.:(

So I guess one may as well get whatever watch one likes, and it would be hard to fit a readable E6B and chronometer on something small.

[Abraham Zapruder]

http://static1.firstclasswatches.co.uk/thumbnails/images/products/product1453-0-4503.jpg.thumb_271x420_499cce8d70545a77ef63f3e78c584356.jpg

The above costs £63 from here (http://www.firstclasswatches.co.uk/pulsar-gents-pjn299x1-p-1453.html) and is Civvy version of this

http://www.trinitymarine.co.uk/productimages/gallery/display/SS-image-2011-08-18-4e4d55562b28f.jpg

Which will set you back a cool £220 from here (http://www.trinitymarine.co.uk/sections/304/raf_rn_fleet_air_arm_pilots_chronograph/).

The only difference (apart from price) which I can see is the slightly modified (pointy) ends on the hour and minute hands on the MoD version, the lack of a letter 'L' within a circle on the face of the Civvy version, which will of course lack the MoD "crow foot" and serial# on the rear casing.

Apart from these three minor differences, its the same beast.

[Cornish Jack]

Biggus - I seem to recall it was " I know you Air Force fellow in blue khaki - no money, all c**k, two watches!!" ... or so I am lead to believe.:)

[Pontius]

Back in 1990 the Queen gave me a nice little Casio digital to stick in my earpiece to remind me to change something every half hour or so.

Made my chuckle because I'd forgotten all about that. The Yanks had the fancy IFF that would change itself every half hour and we had a Casio, with a 30 minute alarm velcroed into our helmets to do the same thing. I'm now trying to recall what happened if you didn't launch on the hour or half hour. Maybe we adjusted it in the brief, I really can't remember. British ingenuity (cheapskates) at its best again :)

I'm always losing, smashing or otherwise disabling watches, so I stick to the cheapo Casios etc out of necessity. Always did like the Aerospace but couldn't justify the inevitable 900 notes (I found a good deal in Dubai quite a few years back) it would have cost when it went the way of all my other timepieces :(

[Farfrompuken]

AZ,

IIRC the Pulsar was withdrawn from Issue as the crown was prone to falling out and constituted a FOD hazard in cockpits.

I lost my Pulsar Chrono, however it wasnt worth a penny, let alone over £200. An awful watch.

[VinRouge]

Good for conkers though in Linton bar.

[BEagle]

....we had a Casio, with a 30 minute alarm velcroed into our helmets to do the same thing. I'm now trying to recall what happened if you didn't launch on the hour or half hour. Maybe we adjusted it in the brief, I really can't remember. British ingenuity (cheapskates) at its best again....

We had the same thing in Bahrain and KKIA. A cheapo Casio from the souk with a stretchy rubber strap which could be adjusted so that the back of the watch pressed against the headset earpiece - the half-hourly beeping was just the right volume level.

The switchology to turn the things off was a bit complex - press this, twiddle that etc., so most people just left them to keep beeping until a battery change was needed. Although a watch change was simpler. If you walked past the aircrew clothing area, it was like a Star Trek tribble nest every half hour as all the watched started peeping away in unison!

But, like the mythical Russian space pen, the little Casios did the trick very well indeed.

[Abraham Zapruder]

AZ,

IIRC the Pulsar was withdrawn from Issue as the crown was prone to falling out and constituted a FOD hazard in cockpits.

I lost my Pulsar Chrono, however it wasnt worth a penny, let alone over £200. An awful watch.

That'll be why CWC (http://www.cwcwatch.com/) now have the MoD contract; available at silly prices from here (http://www.silvermans.co.uk/Products/tabid/54/Department/Military/Category/WATCHES/id/1/Text/126/Default.aspx).

[Dundiggin']

What a pain in the arse. Not only did they cost a fortune if you lost one, but they were inadequate in the SH world by virtue of the fact that they didn't display the DAY as well as the DATE . If you spent days/weeks in the woods with your helicopter knowing the date was only half the requirement. I binned mine when I realised it didn't give me the whole picture and purchased a Casio - bloody marvelous and gives me all I want. I always cut off the rubber strap and thread a normal strap in its' place.
Anyone with an ounce of common sense would have bought Casios instead of those bloody awful so-called aircrew watches.

What a waste of money........I also understand that Omega used to blank out the DAY display because (totally unnecessary extra expense) some such blanket stacker or Navigator decided the aircrew didn't need to know what day it was!! Cocks!!

[Willard Whyte]

some such blanket stacker or Navigator decided the aircrew didn't need to know what day it was!! Cocks!!

I can assure you all the proper, i.e. non-career, navs I know of, including myself, would have traded a co-pilot for a watch that had a date function.

[LowObservable]

Why was the day so important? So that you'd be forewarned if you got back on Sunday and the t:mad:y bars were all closed?

[Basil]

Re the Casio half hour warning; when I left and went to fly BEA Viscounts, we had a kitchen timer glued to the panel to remind us to balance the fuel.
Simple and effective.

I've gone around the world for about 20 years using a Casio AQ-426
http://restime.pl/zegarki/AQ-426GL/AQ-426GL-7A2_a1.jpg

I think it was about £25. Just seen a French site asking €195 :eek:

[Abraham Zapruder]

I think I prefer yours Basil to the other piece mentioned by the thread's OP.

http://www.g-shockzone.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2311&d=1331568971&stc=1

http://media.gizmodo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IMG_2321.jpg

http://forums.watchuseek.com/attachments/f17/650977d1331649871-gw-a1000-officially-announced-raf-watch-img_2323.jpg

http://www.g-shockzone.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2310&d=1331568814&stc=1

http://www.g-shockzone.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2309&d=1331568621&stc=1

THE RAF AVIATOR G SHOCK PREMIUM WATCH GRAVITY DEFIER - YouTube

[Flymee 2 Da Moon]

As a serving member, when I went to the RAF Ski Champs, I came across a right bunch of fancy jersey wearing prima donnas who had absolutely no interest in anyone but themselves. They are work dodging, movie making, hill shaking, time taking willy wobblers who in this time and space ought to go and nab some f***in' terrorists and stop poncing with watches that they wouldn't really buy!

The video above shows it all.

[Clockwork Mouse]

I think I detect a chip on a shoulder.