What is the best aviation watch (Zulu time)?

[PilotswifeII]

My husband wants a watch with Zulu time on it. I assume this is GMT? He is going to start a new job flying all over the world, and I wanted to get him a good (not too expensive) watch that will do the job for him. Does anyone have any suggestions fo a decent "starter" watch? Thanks.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

For around $50 bucks you can get a nice Timex Ironman Indiglo watch that has a digital readout with a 12 and 24 hr format. It also has a lot of the standard features like stopwatch and multiple laps too. I've had a couple over the last several years and are quite satisfied.

 

[sqwkvfr]

The Citizen Skyhawk seems to be the watch that is used by the vast majority of pilots that I've met. It is easy to switch the time shown by the main display to whatever zone you happen to find yourself and there is a digital readout on the face that you can leave on "zulu" time.

The only problem that I have with it is the lack of a light for reading it in the dark...but it's a small problem.

The price is around $300 for the one that I bought...that was the titanuim version....and I bought it through an online store at a pretty good discount.

It's in the price range to make a nice gift for Christmas, yet won't break the bank.

Here's the stainless steel version...if you google it, you'll find several different versions.

 

[CheapFlyer]

The titanium is available from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007OER0S


Right now its available for $300 from Amazons affiliates. A few months ago it was $250 direct from Amazon. So if you don't need it right away keep checking back, or call Amazon to see if they will be carrying it again.

Great watch!

-CF

 

[Swass]

Rolex GMT if you want to spend the coin. Pretty slick watch.

 

[dseagrav]

I wasn't aware you needed a special watch for GMT. Is this like those special $50 cross-platform mouse-pads that work with a PC and a Mac?

 

[PilotswifeII]

Sorry, but someone had to do it.

Thank you to everyone who gave me some good ideas. I'm looking into the Skyhawk. I am not a pilot, so I am unaware of certain terms and lingo, but my husband is a professional captain with over 6,000 hours of jet time. He told me what he wanted and mentioned both zulu & GMT and I wanted to get it for him. Thanks again.

************************
dseagrav: I noticed in reading posts on this message board that someone always feels the need to make a snide comment in an attempt to make the poster feel inferior--or to make themselves feel superior to everyone else. I don't know what Zulu time is, I just want to make my pilot husband happy. I don't know much about flying, but seeing as how you've only flown a C-152, I doubt you will be flying to Europe and I don't think you would need a watch like the one I'm looking for.

Come back when you've done some time in a Learjet 20 series--handflying all the approaches and takeoffs.

 

[Shiny Side Up]

I have nothing but good things to say about the Torgoen GMT watches. Mines taken an absolute beating, still looks great, and I get a lot of compliments on it from non flying people.

 

[cheyflyer]

I was thinking of getting one of these myself. In case the links dont work properly they are the Torgoen Zulu Watch from Sportys.com. Regular 12 hour time for one zone, and 24 hour time for the other (GMT).

$170 for the leather band, $199 for the metal band.



http://sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&did=19&product_id=10205

http://sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&did=19&product_id=10206


Merry Christmas,

cf

 

[I.P. Freley]

My husband wants a watch with Zulu time on it. I assume this is GMT? He is going to start a new job flying all over the world, and I wanted to get him a good (not too expensive) watch that will do the job for him. Does anyone have any suggestions fo a decent "starter" watch? Thanks.

How much are you looking to spend for this "starter" watch? All the watches mentioned so far are good candidates... The Torgoen, especially, is very nice if you prefer an analog watch and don't want to break the bank. Personally I'd take one of Torgoen's watches for under $200 over the Navihawk watches (over $200) because I don't like digitals.

I also prefer to not wear quartz watches, so here's another, pricier option:

http://www.westcoastime.com/m6gmtstylolw.html

Well-made, an honest-to-God Swiss ETA self-winding mechanical movement (an unmodified, off-the rack version of the movement found in all sorts of $2000 name-brand watches), a nearly scratch-proof sapphire crystal, and pretty accurate for a mechanical watch (+/- 5secs a day at worst, in my experience). I've had one of these (actually a nearly-identical model) for about three years and it's a great piece for the price (noone thinks that it's a Rolex, but that's a good thing if you're flying overseas). If you go this route, make sure you get the version with the sapphire crystal, it's worth the extra $$$ for someone who works in a very small office with lots of stuff to bash the crystal against. You'd practically need a belt sander to gouge that thing!