What is the best aviation watch (Zulu time)?

[Amish RakeFight]

It depends on the indivdual and how they choose to spend their income. There are others in GVFlyer's financial bracket who opt to live more modestly. We all justify expensive purchases that we make to satisfy our inner selves. It sounds like he has taken care of the essentials in life and should reward himself with a nice watch if he deems it necessary for himself. Others like ASquared find it less practical which is fine too. Both A Squared and GVFlyer make equally convincing arguments. They just have opposing tastes and sensibilities and see things differently.

 

[NJAFracPilot]

One doesn't need to buy a $4500 watch to fly jets. $50 watches do just fine.

If one wants a Benz then go for it... but don't try and say it is necessary... GV flyer...tried to tell us that luxury watches were a requirement....

I think you're trying to put words in his mouth to make your argument. He said he gets a level of reliability from his Rolex that you don't get from the crap watches you wear.

You don't have to pay the $4500 for a new Rolex GMT Master, I got a perfect pre-owned Rolex with a warranty from an authorised dealer for $2500.

 

[dseagrav]

The story goes that NASA spent over a million dollars designing and engineering a writing device that would work in space....... The Russians used a pencil.

This is an urban legend. It's completely untrue.
http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

I think you're trying to put words in his mouth to make your argument. He said he gets a level of reliability from his Rolex that you don't get from the crap watches you wear.

You don't have to pay the $4500 for a new Rolex GMT Master, I got a perfect pre-owned Rolex with a warranty from an authorised dealer for $2500.

No, if you read his post he stated that a Rolox or Omega was needed becuase it was superior and more reliable than a quartz.....

$4500 to $2500 is still huge to $50.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

This is an urban legend. It's completely untrue.
http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp

That is a great website... I stand corrected.....

 

[HA25]

No, if you read his post he stated that a Rolox or Omega was needed becuase it was superior and more reliable than a quartz.....

$4500 to $2500 is still huge to $50.

I buy a lot of watches (It's an addiction!) .. if you're serious about a new GMT Master II, I can get you one for $4000.. with the 2 year warranty.

I'm more of an AP guy like I said, but the GMT is a solid watch for pilots, and the resale value is hard to beat.

 

[GEXDriver]

No, if you read his post he stated that a Rolox or Omega was needed becuase it was superior and more reliable than a quartz.....

The Rolex and Omega watches are more reliable than electric watches - they're been to the Moon, the bottom of the Challenger Deep, the top of Mount Everest and they never need a battery.

I don't see what the big deal is. The Rolex GMT Master is pretty much known as the standard pilot watch and a lot of pilots view them as required equipment for flight.

I've worn one for years, they're common in my flight department and I see a lot of pilots wearing them when I go to recurrent. I don't think the Rolex is the great extravagence some here are portraying them to be. Like GVFlyer said, they're a tool.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

A Squared.... back to...... square one

 

[Alamanach]

The Rolex and Omega watches are more reliable than electric watches - they're been to the Moon, the bottom of the Challenger Deep, the top of Mount Everest and they never need a battery.

Put me in with the cheap watch crowd. My wristwatches see action much more prosaic-- but much more damaging-- than the Moon or Everest. I lost my best watch to a piece of plywood that the table saw kicked back at me. (Darn near lost my hand with it!) Another suffered a shattered crystal when my arm bumped against a dumpster. A third was ruined by condensation (admittedly, a Rolex would be immune to that one).

If someone can identify for me the AK-47 of wristwatches-- run over it with a truck and it still runs-- I'll buy it. But I don't want to spend more than $30 on something I'm just going to break anyway.

 

[Muddauber]

Just an observation, it seems that pilots in high paying jobs flying aircraft like the B737, the Gulfstream V, the Global Express and the Falcon 2000 prefer watches like the Omega and the Rolex.

Pilots flying low paying equipment like the RJ, the DC-6 and student pilots don’t understand the necessity of owning a professional watch as it’s cost constitutes a much larger percentage of their pay or it isn’t central to their principal activities.

For the record, I have a Rolex GMT Master with the blue and red bezel, just as Juan Trippe envisioned the watch for his Pan Am pilots. My father gave it to me when I graduated from UPT.



Muddy