Watch for IFR

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mryan75

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mryan75
Hi guys,

So you see a lot of "aviator" watches available that are clearly not for aviators. Do you have recommendations for a good watch? It's for flying IFR. The first thing it obviously needs is a stopwatch. And I prefer digital, just because I think that would be easier.

I kind of like this one:

https://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/g-shock-altimeter-watch.html

Barometer, compass, altimeter, easy stopwatch function. But I'm open to suggestion, having no experience with such a watch

Any recommendations would be appreciated!
 
An EFB with ForeFlight has all of those functions.
 
Do you really need all the functions of the watch or do you mostly just want a timer? Most of that other stuff is just gimmicky. If you do want a watch with those functions maybe check out the Garmin D2 watch.
 
For what it is worth, I use my cell phone for a watch.

And when I did wear a watch, it was $19.95 special from Walmart that had 24 hour face, day and date. I preferred an analog watch, no special reason other than that is what I like.

A guy I worked with had a watch that had many aviation functions and would give the temperature. Funny, everywhere he went the temp was 98.6.....
 
Anything that keeps time in a way you find easy to use. Nothing else on a watch has ever come in any more useful than that in IFR flying.

If ForeFlight’s Apple Watch integration included turn warnings and missed approach point warnings it might be worth the mega-bucks for it, but it doesn’t.

So, Mr. $5 Casio it is.
 
Timex Casio el cheapo.... big watch wearing folk are not interested in telling time. They want to you see their watch and think they are important.

Half a pound of gold, brass, stainless silver on your wrist doesn’t tell time any better than a $5 Walmart special.
 
You can get an aviation themed watch, no worries. I guess a Zulu time secondary may be somewhat helpful, other than that I can see much how a watch would help, besides regular time.

As posted, flight apps have Zulu time, countdown timers & the like. The watch is more for being on time to meet cousin Eddy after the flight.
 
If you're thinking about jumping into a smart watch, I'd just recommend one with physical buttons you can assign as hotkeys. My Fossil Gen 4 has two of them, one of which is the stopwatch "app".
 
Before I replaced it with my Apple Watch, I liked my Casio G-shock with atomic clock updates. The only real features that a pilot watch should have is a quick glance at Zulu time and timer.

I found the pilot watches with circular slide rules to be unnecessary for flying (although they are helpful for quick currency conversions overseas).
 
I kind of like this one

51odazNzM7L._SL500_AC_SS350_.jpg
 
Anything with a sweep hand - It can be a stopwatch but leave it running when flying so with your hands full you can glance at it to start your timing for a procedure turn or whatever. I'm a visual guy and find it much easier to look at the hand, see it at 20 seconds and think 360 degrees of rotation.

But, I wear an Omega Speedmaster so I also get to play like I'm timing a lunar orbit burn and not a holding turn. :p

I always think about starting the digital clock in the plane, I just never seem to get to it!:D
 
I have a Citizen Ecodrive Nighthawk with a cool bezel...that I never use. Just go all around classy, like an Omega Speedmaster, and use other easy to see tools for actual flying.
 
Check out these inexpensive, simple Timex watches. They pretty much alike, including UTC on upper right button, and a front button for stopwatch with lap timer. This is deceptively useful, because you can invert the display to have the lap time in a larger font, on top of the total time. They're ideal for timing non-precision approaches, elapsed time for crude navigation, or procedure turns. Price is right, too.

I tried the Casios but none of them have a similar timer function, strangely.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YTYFN28/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_i_c_oBbvDb84PZ25C

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006K6PISW/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_i_c_BObvDbWW3VK4X
 
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The best watch tells time and does little else. You can get a quartz or solid state movement with a seconds indicator that will be accurate so long as it has power, that's what you should use to flying. Watches with all sorts of dials and gizmos are just confusing in a pinch.
 
Here's a good IFR watch: https://www.rolex.com/watches/gmt-master-ii.html

I flew many years with an older GMT. Kept the bezel on Zulu which was handy. Used that great big second hand to time procedure turns. Popular watch for aviation unit commanders in Vietnam. They would buy them in Hong Kong on R&R, usually a couple hundred bucks. Now you can barely get one serviced for an AMU.
 
Piperonca said:
Check out these inexpensive, simple Timex watches. They pretty much alike, including UTC on upper right button, and a front button for stopwatch with lap timer. This is deceptively useful, because you can invert the display to have the lap time in a larger font, on top of the total time. They're ideal for timing non-precision approaches, elapsed time for crude navigation, or procedure turns. Price is right, too.

I tried the Casios but none of them have a similar timer function, strangely.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YTYFN28/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_i_c_oBbvDb84PZ25C

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006K6PISW/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_i_c_BObvDbWW3VK4X
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Absolutely PERFECT. Thank you! I should have been more "pacific", guys. I have my IR ride coming up and I want a watch so that I don't have to mess with a kitchen timer, or deal with it if he "fails" my ipad/iphone, etc. I just want a simple solution for timing holds, VOR approaches, etc.

Thanks everyone for taking the time.
 
Get a Casio retro calculator watch...just like all us cool gun guys did in the 80's...we could figure out weight and balance when we took on fuel and ammo...also you must wear it in the inside of the wrist so when you look at it on your left hand you don't roll off the throttle...
 
mryan75 said:
Wound up going with this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F8V3T1C/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Same as the ones shown above, but newer model, and Prime shipping. Dual time zone feature, easy stopwatch, and light up button. A few of the 1,500 reviews were by pilots. Looks perfect for my needs.
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Even better. I misspoke earlier about the dual time zone button location. Slightly different arrangement on the new ones from my vintage Timex. But you should be able to set Zulu to default just by holding down a particular button.

You will like that large display. Most readable of all watches, IMHO. Still moderately priced so you can't lose.
 
mryan75 said:
Mir zu teuer. Passt auch nicht für dass, was ich will.
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Ja, genau. Aber es ist sehr schön, oder? Meine Frau kauft mir einen Uhr dieses Jahr für unser Jubiläum. Ich habe suchen gewesen.
 
Egg timer and Velcro for the approaches and holds .Do you really want to look at your wrist while flying an approach ?
The watch on your wrist should display local and Zulu. I used to have a 'Timex expedition Pioneer combo' for that purpose. The analog hand on local and the digital on Zulu.
 
I have a plain old mechanical windup stop watch that I velcro to the panel. Big button, hard to miss it in turb. Big dial, easy to read. Always works, never needs batteries.

As for watches, I like the Citizen Eco-Drive line. Runs on light, never needs a battery, works for me. I like plain watch styles, I like this one when I fly:

https://www.jomashop.com/citizen-bm...MXpQzX6Lai1QesunosNGjUO0XopOJGpBoC8JMQAvD_BwE
 
A kitchen timer mounted somewhere in your scan will be much more practical than something on your wrist that you need to remove your hand from the yoke and change your focus to see. If you are looking for a reason to justify buying a nerdy pilot watch, just go ahead and buy it cause I really don't see their function aside from people trying to be cool.
 
Groundpounder said:
A kitchen timer mounted somewhere in your scan will be much more practical than something on your wrist that you need to remove your hand from the yoke and change your focus to see
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Except for us lefty's that wear our watch on our right wrist. :D Every plane I fly has a digital clock on the panel but mentally I just deal better with a sweep hand for timing procedure turns and such.
 
Pugs said:
Except for us lefty's that wear our watch on our right wrist. :D Every plane I fly has a digital clock on the panel but mentally I just deal better with a sweep hand for timing procedure turns and such.
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Then you need a Blue Angel Timer. Part of the conversion process to make a standard F-18 into a BA F-18 is to put that big ass stop watch top dead center in the cockpit. image-1.jpg
 
My first wife bought me a Breitling as a present for getting my PPL. About five years later my second wife bought me a Hanhart Admiral just to get the Breitling off my wrist.

Funny thing - they both have the same movement internally!

They are both jewelry, not tools for pilots. IMO.

42011366265_e2ddc8117b_b.jpg
 
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