ce650

Go ahead and get the watch. I will bet about a weeks pay you will have a $40 timex by the time you get your commerical ticket.

Cubdriver

Seiko SNJ017 has an E6B. I paid $250 if I recall. It has both digital and analog hands, it looks very good, and after 2 years I am still wearing it. I would have to say it is too darned heavy, weighs something like 130 grams. For the money it is clearly a solid value and I would look at SNJ's (and did) before buying a Citizen. The Citizen is probably equal or better, though.

I will also put in a word for the various aviator type Brietlings. I used to think of them as a waste for money for the rich, but after seeing several friends watches in person I have a different view now. I look at them more as fine furniture or something. They are a very high quality piece and the extra money pays for the extra quality. It takes a while to learn what makes a great watch great, so don't buy one just because they are popular, wait until you can appreciate the better quality. I have heard that Brietling sells direct at OshKosh and you can get a new Aerospace for under 2 large.

abelenky

I settled on a Citizen Skyhawk Blue Angels, which I picked up last night.

I'm not a huge fan of the Blue Angels label on the back (I'm not a wanna-be or a pretender), but I do like the blue and silver combination.

The E6B is very nice and crisp, even if the font is a bit small.
I'm learning the rest of the features.

My biggest gripe is the store I bought it at, which first gave me the wrong box and wrong instruction manual, and was not helpful about sorting it out. The watch may be great, but customer service in this country seems to be dying.

tomgoodman

Expensive watches can be stolen. A mugger took one look at my $15 Armitron and gave me a couple of bucks.

Cubdriver

Well Tom, that's the moment when you whip out your Bill Wilson Personal Custom Carry .45 ACP with the serrated black slide, G10 starburst grips, beavertail thumb safety, and complete bevel treatment over the entire gun made using precision machining techniques in order to bring it to match-level standards!

dspilot

Or your Glock that you got for one third the cost, and used the rest to buy a quality watch.

2StgTurbine

It depends on the pilot. I find myself using an E6B much more now in glass cockpits than I did when I was training in steam gauges. An E6B is good for what if scenarios. I usually put my ground speed (that I get from the GPS) or my fuel consumption (that I get from my EFIS) in the E6B. Then if I need to estimate time or fuel amounts for possible diversions or route changes, I can do so quickly. You can do all of that with modern avionics, but it usually involves changing pages and modifying your route, and that is always the moment when ATC wants to talk to you.

I use a Torgoen T1, Breitling Navitimer, and a Rolex GMT Master (no E6B, but does have a 24 hour hand). The Breitling and Rolex are great, but it makes me a little nervous to carry around that much money on my arm (they were inherited). The Torgeon on the other hand is my everyday watch. It is robust, accurate, easy to read, and cheap (relatively). Having a slide rule on your arm is much quicker than pulling one out of your pocket, getting a calculator, or pushing buttons on an FMS. The only downside is there is no 24 hour hand. The few I looked at that had an E6B and a 24 hour hand were difficult to read in an airplane. Compared to Citizen, the Torgoen felt better and seemed to be better quality. Plus, I have gotten more inquires about my Torgoen than the Rolex or Breitling.

PS. Stay away from Breitling. The E6B bezel wears out quickly if you use it and any servicing is extremely expensive. Quotes for a complete cleaning and new crystal for the Rolex is $750, for the Brietling $1100!

AZFlyer

I have a Citizen Skyhawk Blue Angel edition. Great looking watch and has all sorts of bells and whistles.

I fly with my $25 Timex Expedition digital watch with comfy velcro strap. INDIGLO baby!

AmericanEagleFO

Get it in titanium and this won't be a problem.

esa17

Actually, I did.

Amazon.com: Tissot Men's T34.7.481.61 T-Classic Desire Titanium Watch: Tissot: Watches

It looks good and weighs a bunch less than one of those useless "pilot" watches.