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I'm surprised that so many of them were wearing watches at all. It's not something that I've seen people wearing for a long time - even in the settings were the
by RugnirViking 7y ago
I'm surprised that so many of them were wearing watches at all. It's not something that I've seen people wearing for a long time - even in the settings were they were previously ubiqutous, such as when I'm at sailing races or at meetings.
Obviously the smartphone has taken a lot of the utility of them away, but for fighter pilots I'd have thought that would go doubly. They presumably all wear pagers on the ground, and while they aren't going to be checking the time in the air, the cockpit must have readouts of anything their watch is likely to show them.
- smacktoward 7y agoPilots have been famous for wearing big, complex watches for as long as there have been pilots. In the old days, an accurate timepiece was critical for things like dead reckoning navigation. Tools for those tasks eventually got built into the planes themselves, but by that point the watch had become a part of the image of being an aviator, in the same way that leather jackets (originally worn for warmth at high altitude) and mirrored sunglasses (originally worn to improve visibility when flying sunward) did.
- heelix 7y agoThe larger size does make it easier to read at night. Mine's got an analog dial and also a digital screen. Nice to have a stopwatch as well as a clock in zulu time, as most people you talk to will want time in that zone. The pure software based smart watches give some interesting options. I keep meaning to pick one up just to code with. There are certainly gimmicks. I can't think of anyone who has actually used an E6B flight computer watch to do any real calculation -- just a prop. :)