How important are watches when flying?

[crowbar]

actually my CFI is great...

and nice icon there fruitcake, too bad that's the closest you will ever get to a babe like that...
get a life buddy!

I know you're wrong about the babe, and willing to bet your CFI ain't great, and I bet you'll have 50 hours before you solo, if you ever solo, hey good luck though.

 

[squale]

lol, it's all good guys..

I know they are probably stupid ass questions, but I was just curious, so I asked...

I actually need a new watch for regular use anyhow cause I don't want to be taking my nice expensive watch to the beach, etc. this summer. so I need something I can beat up on anyhow, and being a dumbass like I am, I need something digital so I can quick look down and read it..

you should see me give somebody the time with my current watch, it's pretty funny, only takes me like 15 seconds to figure it out.. lol... but it looks nice anyways.. haha

 

[Swass]

squale, I'm going back to my other avatar in honor of these last two threads. I hate to have to do it but you forced my hand.

 

[squale]

lol, that's great

 

[FN FAL]

The only watch I'm concerned with while flying is the Hobbs meter. Now if I can only find a way to make that stop in flight I'll be happy.

I'll bet when you are getting paid block to block time, you'll be changing your tune! The only way you'll get to take home more than a grand a month at the regionals will be if that hobbs meter is MOVING!

 

[avbug]

$9.00 at walmart; goes forever, never had a problem, easily replaced if I do. Two time zones, and it's a comfortable band that doesn't break.

Your watch is important for navigation. Yes, there's one in the airplane, and yes, in most trainers it works much like a rock...and tells time almost as well. You should always have a watch.

When I first started spraying, I was counseled to write my startup time on the back of my hand, so I could see it at a glance without taking my hand off the throttle. Good counsel; I could see my watch adjacent to it, and could follow fuel burn that way. I always do fuel burn by time, as well as any instrumentation. Same for any navigation, be it pilotage or FMS...I time everything and back it up with dead reckoning.

You can't do that without a watch, even a nine buck one from walmart.

Compass, clock, airspeed. It still works.

 

[FlyaGuppy]

This thread is pretty crazy. Just get a dang watch you like. It doesn't need squat on it, just as long as it tells the time. Come on folks, this is not rocket science. The watch I wear has simple hour, minute, and second hands, and tells the date too. How do I tell zulu time? Simple... just add the number of hours for my location to equal zulu. Done. Won't it be wonderful when you look at your wrist someday and say "I can't believe I dropped $400 on this dumb-ass looking thing, for all kinds of **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** I didn't need."

 

[crudeoilpilot]

I prefer the contractors type steel tape measurer. You know, the one you reel in.
How's that go now? No drinking within 50 feet and no smoking within 8??? Something like that...

 

[Airpiraterob]

someone earlier said its monday....mar i think?

its monday?

.......$hit.

 

[TonyC]

At my last PPL lesson, my instructor was telling me that he thought there were 3 things that every pilot should really get..

1.) good sunglasses to protect your eyes
2.) a good headset to protect your hearing
3.) a watch with certain functions on it (I don't remember what functions he said)

So that brings me to the question of, what kind of watch is needed (or useful) while flying? What certain functions do you need, etc? I just have a regular watch with and hour and minute hand and that's it.

I am not sure what a specific aviation watch does for you..

thanks

1.) I don't wear sunglasses... still 20/10

2.) A headset is useful in noisy cockpits - - good advice.

3.) The only function required on a watch is accurate time.

I went all out and sprang for the $18 model at K-Mart. It also has the date on it, which is nice but not necessary. With a Bachelor of Science degree, I'd like to think I can add 6 to Central time to come up with UTC. If your CFI can't do that, then maybe he needs to pay for a wrist contraption that will do that for him.

If I were you, I'd be more interested in finding a better CFI - - one that's concerned more about actually flying than about "looking the part."