A squadron of pilots' watches soars into the - Watchuseek, World's ...

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REVIEW Pilots’ Watches PROS: + Navigation function + Day/date + Screw-down crowns + Legibility during the day + Water-resistant to 10 bar + Rate results + Strap/extension piece + Sapphire crystals + Price CONS: - Legibility at night - Complexity of navigation function Hamilton Khaki X-Wind Automatic The Khaki X-Wind might make your head spin if you tried to understand all its numerals and scales at once. It houses an ingenious integrated navigation system that is used to calculate and log crosswinds. To do this you need the wind directions, speeds, a map and a control tower. Our pilot found this process overly complicated. “I had to get used to the yellow dial,” our pilot said, “but the black hands do show up well against it.” However, if you think the dial will show up brightly at night, think again. It’s impossible to read the time in the dark, since the only markers that glow, albeit weakly, are 12 small dots marking the hours. Something else to get used to: the chronograph pushers, which, along with the crown, are on the left side of the case, not the right. That side is instead used for two screw-down crowns with crown guards that adjust the rotating bezels for the navigation function. The Hamilton watch contains an ETA 7750 movement, which produced the good rates you’d expect from it. It showed steady rates in all positions at +4.8 seconds per day before the flight, +4.4 seconds immediately after landing, +3.8 seconds a few days later and +4.0 seconds while the chronograph was in operation. The amplitude also remained stable — at around 310 degrees in the dial positions and 285 degrees in the crown positions. The amplitude fell an average of 10 degrees immediately after the aerobatics flight and about 20 degrees when the chronograph was in operation. 90 WatchTime April 2008 Without luminous hands, you can’t read the time in the dark on the Khaki X-Wind; only small dots on the edge of the dial are visible. SPECS The yellow dial and the many scales of the Khaki X-Wind are eye-catching. The time display is clear, at least in good light. The watch has a sturdy riveted strap with an H-shaped double-pronged buckle. An extension piece on the strap makes it possible to wear the watch over a flight jacket. HAMILTON KHAKI X-WIND AUTOMATIC Manufacturer: Hamilton Reference number: H77666523 Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, day/date, chronograph Movement: ETA/Valjoux 7750, automatic; diameter = 30 mm; height = 7.9 mm; 25 jewels; 28,800 vph; 48-hour power reserve; gold-plated nickel balance; Nivarox balance spring; annular hairspring; Incabloc shock protection; two-part regulator fine adjustment; engraved rotor Case: Anti-rust steel with sapphire crystal, water-resistant to 10 ATM Strap and clasp: Leather with doubleprong clasp and extension piece Dimensions: Diameter = 44.5 mm, height = 15.7 mm, weight = 143.0 g Price: $1,395 Three adjustable bezels, two of which are located beneath the sapphire crystal, and an engraved monogram on the threaded caseback enable a pilot to navigate, though the system requires special expertise.
REVIEW Pilots’ Watches PROS: + Classic pilots’ watch design + Movement finishing + Protection against magnetic fields + Nonreflective sapphire crystal + Stable rate results + Water-resistant to 6 ATM + Sapphire crystal above dial + Screwable crown + High-quality crocodile strap CONS: - Date display is too small - High price The triangle glows in the dark, as do the three other main index strokes and the hour and minute hands. IWC Mark XVI Pilot’s Watch The Mark XVI is a classic model from Schaffhausen-based IWC, which has been making professional time-measuring instruments for pilots and travelers since the 1930s. The most famous of these watches is the Mark 11, launched in 1948. The Mark XVI, the successor of the Mark XV, is one millimeter larger than its predecessor. “It really shouldn’t be any smaller,” our test pilot remarked. As befits a pilot’s watch, the Mark XVI is “tidy, sleekly functional and very highly legible. Its hands have perfect lengths and clearly differ from one another.” They glow brightly in the dark, as do the indices at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock and the triangle at 12 o’clock. The other indices and the Arabic numerals remain dark, but this doesn’t detract from the overall legibility. The date display is a bit too small. The movement, Caliber 30110 (based on an ETA caliber), is protected against magnetic fields by a soft iron cage, and its rate is extraordinarily stable. It ran slightly ahead in all situations: on the timing machine, its daily gain measured 2.6 seconds before the test flight, 2.8 seconds immediately afterwards and 3.6 seconds several days after the flight. The amplitudes varied between 300 degrees in the dial positions and 270 degrees in the crown positions; they behaved similarly in all situations. The embellished caliber is hidden behind stainless steel and soft iron. The case is water-resistant to 60 meters (6 ATM). The domed, nonreflective pane of sapphire crystal guarantees good visibility and won’t easily pop off if the atmospheric pressure suddenly plunges. 92 WatchTime April 2008 SPECS The Mark XVI boasts a classic design and produces stable rate results. Its matte stainless-steel case contains a soft iron sheath that keeps magnetism from interfering with the performance of the movement. The grooved crown can be screwed shut. IWC MARK XVI PILOT’S WATCH Manufacturer: IWC Schaffhausen Reference number: IW 325501 Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date Movement: IWC 30110, based on ETA 2892-A2, automatic; diameter = 25.6 mm; height = 3.6 mm; 23 jewels; 28,800 vph; 42-hour power reserve; Glucydur balance; Nivarox balance spring; Incabloc shock protection; Etachron fine adjustment; waves and circular graining on movement Case: Stainless steel with nonreflective sapphire crystal, water-resistant to 6 ATM Strap and clasp: Crocodile leather strap with pronged buckle Dimensions: Diameter = 39.2 mm, height = 10.6 mm, weight = 66.5 grams Price: $3,400 Numerals and indices, neatly applied to the dial’s matte black background, combine with bold hands to ensure maximum legibility in all situations — even on the wrist of a stunt pilot.
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A squadron of pilots' watches soars into the - Watchuseek, World's ...

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