Best Aviation watch/timepiece
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Enroute from Dagobah to Tatooine...!
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Another vote for Citizen. I have a Citizen Promaster Navihawk but I don't think it is available anymore - taken over by the EcoDrive models. What I like about mine compared to the new ones is that it is less bulky and you can actually read the digital display (it is bigger).
Downsides: doesn't have a backlight (not really a loss in my opinion), doesn't do half-penny timezones (not good if you live in SA - that is the only timezone it doesn't do), doesn't have a second hand but seconds are constantly displayed digitally so no loss for me, still has a battery which needs to be replaced by a watchmaker but that only happens every three or four years (and it is a tax deduction)!
For the quality and the price I would find it very hard to replace - besides, you get attached to these things...
Downsides: doesn't have a backlight (not really a loss in my opinion), doesn't do half-penny timezones (not good if you live in SA - that is the only timezone it doesn't do), doesn't have a second hand but seconds are constantly displayed digitally so no loss for me, still has a battery which needs to be replaced by a watchmaker but that only happens every three or four years (and it is a tax deduction)!
For the quality and the price I would find it very hard to replace - besides, you get attached to these things...
Join Date: Sep 2003
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Wenger Watches get my vote.
I have the Wenger Military watch which is fantastic for day/night flying. Black background and a red second hand , with whitish/green hour/minute hands and large numerals that really glow at night; and also the glow lasts all night. The presentation is simple and uncluttered. I require glasses to read charts etc in the cockpit but I don't need my glasses on to read my watch at night. Great!
My model doesn't have the second time zone but there are other Wenger models that do offer this facility.
Costs generally around the AUD 300-500 mark. Well worth a look.
I have the Wenger Military watch which is fantastic for day/night flying. Black background and a red second hand , with whitish/green hour/minute hands and large numerals that really glow at night; and also the glow lasts all night. The presentation is simple and uncluttered. I require glasses to read charts etc in the cockpit but I don't need my glasses on to read my watch at night. Great!
My model doesn't have the second time zone but there are other Wenger models that do offer this facility.
Costs generally around the AUD 300-500 mark. Well worth a look.
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Live in Taupiri, Waikato, work in the big smoke, New Zealand
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Yeah... can't go past a Citizen Navihawk... had one for about 6 years... bought if off eBay for about US$150... not one of the newer EcoDrive ones, but does everything you need it to. The navcomputer bezel is a little fiddly to use and a bit small for aging eyes, but it's all there!
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Sydney
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ive had this watch for over a year now and its great worth over $850
Watch Details for Skyhawk A-T | Citizen Eco-Drive
I would get the titanium one so much lighter i got myn on ebay for about $450 delivered with 5 years warranty!!!
Watch Details for Skyhawk A-T | Citizen Eco-Drive
I would get the titanium one so much lighter i got myn on ebay for about $450 delivered with 5 years warranty!!!
Sprucegoose
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hughes Point, where life is great! Was also resident on page 13, but now I'm lost in Cyberspace....
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Lovely, is it yours?
Maybe a little impractical for everyday use though?
Last edited by Howard Hughes; 25th Aug 2011 at 09:17.
It's possible to put the hands 30 minutes out of whack on the Citizens, but it's not tidy.
Work well for people living in the real world though
Work well for people living in the real world though
Join Date: Mar 2011
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Pilot skill and aptitude is measured almost exclusively by watch diameter, so of course biggest is best! Preferably a model that makes mention of being a pilot's watch also. Now this usually leads to Breitling, but ze Germans do a top job also.
This one is nice, though a little on the small side:
Sinn Uhren: Modell 900 PILOT
This one is nice, though a little on the small side:
Sinn Uhren: Modell 900 PILOT
Join Date: Jan 2007
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This is mine
Scorpio Distributors Ltd - Suppliers of Inflight & Travel Retail products
Can't complain... tells the time and date
Had/have a 100 buck lorus watch that is still a great time piece.
Some dudes wear earings, rings, necklace etc..... personally I dig watches.
One day when i'm a rich pilot i'll spend a few K on something with some major bling, until then i'll stick with the cheapies.
Knox.
Scorpio Distributors Ltd - Suppliers of Inflight & Travel Retail products
Can't complain... tells the time and date
Had/have a 100 buck lorus watch that is still a great time piece.
Some dudes wear earings, rings, necklace etc..... personally I dig watches.
One day when i'm a rich pilot
i'll spend a few K on something with some major bling, until then i'll stick with the cheapies.Knox.
Join Date: Jun 2001
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Horatio, unlike the new models the old Navihawk does not have a seperate 'knob' for adjusting the analogue display independant of digital. The ONLY way I could get Central Aus time on my watch would be to set UTC 30min out of whack which would then automatically set all the other time zones accordingly - fine if Central Aus time is all you want, but every other time zone would then be off...
Join Date: Aug 2011
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My Citizen Eco Drive has served me well for five years now. Another vote for this one.
Like most others here, I long for the day when I can justify wearing a Breitling. But for now those things cost more than some of the aircraft I fly
Like most others here, I long for the day when I can justify wearing a Breitling. But for now those things cost more than some of the aircraft I fly
Join Date: May 2009
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I got this about a year ago from eBay for about $250 from memory. Had no troubles with it and the best part is no batteries!
Citizen Watch Model Number BJ7010-59E
Citizen Watch Model Number BJ7010-59E
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I switched to a Traser about 6 months ago because I was tired of having to press a button to illuminate a screen in the dark, knowing I am shortening the battery a bit more every time I do it ...
Another thing is if you wake up in total darkness while overnighting in some remote 2-star hotel, all you need is to glance at your watch to see how many more minutes' rest you'll get before the driver from your budget airline bangs down your door before dawn ...
Another thing is if you wake up in total darkness while overnighting in some remote 2-star hotel, all you need is to glance at your watch to see how many more minutes' rest you'll get before the driver from your budget airline bangs down your door before dawn ...
Sprucegoose
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hughes Point, where life is great! Was also resident on page 13, but now I'm lost in Cyberspace....
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Pro-master - 42 cities World time (including Adelaide).