Reconsidering the role of pilot watches in the modern era, we have republished the special feature "Pilot Watch Praise" from Vol. 98 of Chronos Japan on webChronos. This time, we feature an interview with YK, who obtained his private pilot's license in 1978 and has been a pilot ever since, flying with his pilot watch for approximately 2000 hours.
Photographs by Yu Mitamura
Yoko Koizumi: Interview and writing
Text by Yoko Koizumi
[Article published in the July 2022 issue of Kronos Japan]
When pilot watches were still in use
YK obtained his private pilot's license at the age of 19 in 1978, when the number of regional flights from Haneda Airport was steadily increasing. From then until he finally stepped off a plane at the age of 25, he spent approximately 2000 hours flying, and his partner, a Pilot's Watch, supported him throughout all of his flights.
"Everyone was using their bodies to check the accuracy like professionals."
(Bottom right) The Bulova "96A245 Military" is a reproduction of the "A-15" manufactured for the US military.
(Left) The GSG9 limited edition Sinn 142, chosen for its ease of use as a pilot's watch. It has a 60-minute counter on the same axis as the chronograph hand.
YK-san owns and is knowledgeable about all kinds of watches, but it was during flight training at the age of 18 that he first experienced the true essence of watches.
"The training consisted of recovering from an abnormal attitude, which required going from level flight into a spin, dropping to a specified altitude, and then leveling off again. A chronograph was used to measure the height of this drop. But no matter how many times I did it, the examiner would say, 'The drop heights are all different.' I was puzzled by this, and then a senior colleague suggested, 'Maybe the watch is the problem.' So I borrowed his Omega Speedmaster and tried flying it, and the distances were correct. In other words, G (gravitational acceleration) was being applied to the watch, causing the second hand to stop."
Mr. Y realized that a watch approved by NASA is definitely different.
"Back then, my seniors would evaluate watches based on the movement, not the brand, saying things like Valjoux or Lemania. It was a time when wristwatches were not yet booming and chronographs were out of reach, and it was still the very small world of pilots flying small planes, but as professionals, everyone used their bodies to check the accuracy. That's why I think they trusted the watches they chose, and believed in them."
After successfully becoming a pilot at the age of 19, he flew all over the country for surveying, aerial photography, and transporting small parcels such as agricultural products. He was sometimes sent by his company to fly to various parts of Asia, including Singapore. During this time, he happened upon a deadstock Omega Speedmaster CK2998 on a stroll through Ameya Yokocho. The young Y-san didn't particularly like the design, but he still wanted a good watch. "I had no choice," he thought, and purchased it for 4 yen, which he continued to wear until he was forced to stop flying at the age of 25 due to a chronic illness.
"There were good pilot's watches back then, but they weren't an absolute must. Some of my seniors preferred Seiko diver's watches or Ulysse Nardin models equipped with sextants. Apparently the Seiko's luminous material was visible even under the red light of the cabin's night lights, and the sextant was used to check the angle of celestial bodies like the stars and the sun to determine flight position. I also used a Seiko digital-analog watch with an orange dial. The important thing during a flight is the elapsed time, and that bezel was very useful. Looking back, perhaps such an unconventional watch selection was possible because it was an era when wristwatches were still in use as measuring instruments."
