Best Aviation watch/timepiece
Horatio, unlike the new models the old Navihawk does not have a seperate 'knob' for adjusting the analogue display independant of digital.
It means all your analogue display is out of whack, but your analogue can be correct for local while still displaying UTC.
From your choices citizen are great, I had the same dilemma when my old casio threw in the towel. For something a little outside the square I bought an iPod nano and a watchband. Total cost about 190 - about cost of casio. Analogue face and you'll have no drama seeing it in the dark - you can adjust the brightness as required.
iWatchz Q Series watchband for iPod nano - Apple Store (U.S.)
iWatchz Q Series watchband for iPod nano - Apple Store (U.S.)
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Mate, 2 cents worth from a guy who loves watches as much as aircraft. Heck, at times I have judged people for the watch on their wrist! (I am gonna get verbal raping for that last statement).
Anyway, are you looking for a pilot watch to wear to work or to wear one while you are out?
I wear a Timex Ironman Indiglo. A cheap $100 dollar watch my parents gifted me when I was 15. It has been on my wrist ever since. Dual time zones, 100m water resistance, stop watch and countdown timer, this watch has been perfect for flying.
Casio g-shocks can be picked up on eBay for similar prices and are fantastic. Very popular with fighter pilots around the world. Seiko also make some really good watches. I would highly recommend any of these three brands, they are known to be reliable and can withstand some abuse.
If mechanical chronographs are your fancy but can not afford to at the moment, you can score the Russian ones for around $300-500. Poljot has some good reliable pieces that use movements which are Swiss 7750 replicas. Would not recommend for daily GA flying.
Tissot PRC200 and the Victorinox classic chrono range have some beautiful quartz chronographs. You can wear them to work and going out. Easily picked up at around $200 on eBay or watch forums.
Breitling, overpriced oversized 'bling bling' watches MOSTLY favored by wannabes and rap artists. Overpriced yes, they do not make their own movements (they have started to with the B01). You could call it the next dad to wear after a Rolex. Navitimer a beautiful watch that has lost all it's glory due to the number of fakes that everyone else has on their wrist after a trip to Thailand. There are way better watches out there with in-house movements for the price of a Breitling.
If you really want a proper aviation watch, Bremont is the name. If you really want a beautiful watch, look no further than a Patek.
You can visit www dot watch u seek dot com. Good watch forum.
Anyway, are you looking for a pilot watch to wear to work or to wear one while you are out?
I wear a Timex Ironman Indiglo. A cheap $100 dollar watch my parents gifted me when I was 15. It has been on my wrist ever since. Dual time zones, 100m water resistance, stop watch and countdown timer, this watch has been perfect for flying.
Casio g-shocks can be picked up on eBay for similar prices and are fantastic. Very popular with fighter pilots around the world. Seiko also make some really good watches. I would highly recommend any of these three brands, they are known to be reliable and can withstand some abuse.
If mechanical chronographs are your fancy but can not afford to at the moment, you can score the Russian ones for around $300-500. Poljot has some good reliable pieces that use movements which are Swiss 7750 replicas. Would not recommend for daily GA flying.
Tissot PRC200 and the Victorinox classic chrono range have some beautiful quartz chronographs. You can wear them to work and going out. Easily picked up at around $200 on eBay or watch forums.
Breitling, overpriced oversized 'bling bling' watches MOSTLY favored by wannabes and rap artists. Overpriced yes, they do not make their own movements (they have started to with the B01). You could call it the next dad to wear after a Rolex. Navitimer a beautiful watch that has lost all it's glory due to the number of fakes that everyone else has on their wrist after a trip to Thailand. There are way better watches out there with in-house movements for the price of a Breitling.
If you really want a proper aviation watch, Bremont is the name. If you really want a beautiful watch, look no further than a Patek.
You can visit www dot watch u seek dot com. Good watch forum.
Last edited by flyboy_nz; 31st Aug 2011 at 11:52.
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Best aviation watch = no watch at all and a iphone in your pocket ... it's got a clock on the front anyway and it's MUCH more useful at flight planning time than any poxy old watch
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Best aviation watch = no watch at all and a iphone in your pocket ...
Flyboy_nz, a few options for people to choose from there...! One of my best watches was a $50 watch with a clear analogue face and an independant digital display at the bottom with a 60 min bezel on the outside.
Having said that, my Citizen ain't just a pretty face, I have given it a hard life of everyday wear for almost 10 years now and despite some minor scratches on the crystal face and replacing a couple of strap pins and batteries it almost looks as good as new and has never let me down. Even when the battery goes flat it happens gradually over a few weeks with the digital display slowly fading so you know it's on the way out and don't get stuck suddenly with a dud watch.
Best aviation watch = no watch at all and a iphone in your pocket ...
...And what happens when your phone battery goes flat?
At least the iphone can be plugged into the cigarette lighter. If the battery on your Citizen goes flat you're stuffed.
I used to have a Citizen Wingman with the slide rule. It was fun for showing off with quick calculations in meetings. But with a calculator on the iPhone its not necessary. Indeed between the panel GPS calc functions and the electronic E6-B on the iPhone, there is no need for any calculation facility on a watch anymore.
On the few times I fly a reversal instrument approach (training / currency), I use the timer on the ADF or the aircraft chronometer.
That leaves the only real function left for my watch is to tell the time. So, I'm back to a plain faced - easy to read watch. I do like the second time zone for travelling, although the world clock function on the iphone is easier.
You can't beat the GMT version of Luminox for night use, although I prefer a more plain looking watch for day to day use. At the moment is a Wegner GMT. It might be a Poljot next for fun. One day going through Singapore it will become a classic mechanical Speedmaster.
At least the iphone can be plugged into the cigarette lighter. If the battery on your Citizen goes flat you're stuffed.
I used to have a Citizen Wingman with the slide rule. It was fun for showing off with quick calculations in meetings. But with a calculator on the iPhone its not necessary. Indeed between the panel GPS calc functions and the electronic E6-B on the iPhone, there is no need for any calculation facility on a watch anymore.
On the few times I fly a reversal instrument approach (training / currency), I use the timer on the ADF or the aircraft chronometer.
That leaves the only real function left for my watch is to tell the time. So, I'm back to a plain faced - easy to read watch. I do like the second time zone for travelling, although the world clock function on the iphone is easier.
You can't beat the GMT version of Luminox for night use, although I prefer a more plain looking watch for day to day use. At the moment is a Wegner GMT. It might be a Poljot next for fun. One day going through Singapore it will become a classic mechanical Speedmaster.
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Treat yourself to a Breitling Aerospace.
Bought mine in 1993. Still going strong. Expensive then but now cheap on a per annum basis!
BTW the "Aerospace" model is rarely faked as opposed to the chronometers.
Bought mine in 1993. Still going strong. Expensive then but now cheap on a per annum basis!
BTW the "Aerospace" model is rarely faked as opposed to the chronometers.
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Just had a quick look at CAO 20.18 which no longer requires the use of a timepiece with a sweep second hand. Seems like the CAO's have caught up to the digital age .. 
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At least the iphone can be plugged into the cigarette lighter
If the battery on your Citizen goes flat you're stuffed.
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I have a fancy Omega mechanical watch, just like they wore on Apollo 11 (or so says the marketing guff). It's a beautiful piece of artisanship and I wear it every day. Except when I need an accurate, easy-to-read timepiece like when flying or diving. Then the many small dials, the beautifully hand-etched but tiny graduation marks, and lovely domed Swiss glass, conspire to make it too hard to read.
I swap to a cheaper Seiko battery-powered watch when I need one for accuracy. It's much simpler and the electric operation is considerably more accurate and reliable, plus if it ****s itself (unlikely) or I lose it (highly likely), it's only a few hundred instead of six months' mortgage payments.
Pulsar have recently re-invented themselves as a Seiko-like competitor, and their stuff seems pretty good and reasonably priced. I'd look at them if the Seiko dies.
I swap to a cheaper Seiko battery-powered watch when I need one for accuracy. It's much simpler and the electric operation is considerably more accurate and reliable, plus if it ****s itself (unlikely) or I lose it (highly likely), it's only a few hundred instead of six months' mortgage payments.
Pulsar have recently re-invented themselves as a Seiko-like competitor, and their stuff seems pretty good and reasonably priced. I'd look at them if the Seiko dies.