Hello All, Long time lurker here, first time poster. I have a couple of questions concerning the Omega Flightmaster watches. As I understand it, these time pieces were intended for busy airline pilots crossing time zones constantly, why in the world did Omega not produce them with an automatic movement? Having to remember to wind a watch daily is just something that a busy professional does not need. Also I recently held one (st145.013 / 910) and found the bracelet (1162/173) to be VERY light. I was planning on buying this Flightmaster but the weight of the bracelet is a deal breaker for me, it's heft just doesn't match the watch body imho. Is there a heavier Omega replacement for this watch? Thank You.
Astronauts had more on their minds, too. Speedmasters were only manual at that time frame. Reliability......Tradition.....Less is more. I find the bracelet that came with mine both comfortable and stylish. Not exactly sure of the style number. Has 172 endlinks and a 1159 buckle.
Here is a bit of my research on astronauts winding their Speedmasters if you are interested. From the Apollo 16 transcript and commentary post flight debriefing. 104:13:35 Duke: Go. My watch is set and wound. (Long Pause) 104:14:05 Young: It checks. 104:14:07 Duke: About a second off here. [Jones - "I assume that you were using the watches as backups to the Digital Event Timer (DET) and that you were making sure that the DET and the watches were running at the same speed. Is that right?"][Duke - "Yeah. It was that Omega Speedmaster that we wore. It had a stopwatch on it; and, every time we had a major burn event like that, I would use the stopwatch as a backup to our event timer. During training, you'd forget to wind your watch; and you'd look down about halfway through the burn and the thing had stopped. They were just wind-up watches in those days; they weren't quartz or anything like that, so we had to make sure we wound them. So I made it a practice that, (chuckling) every time we got to a major event like that, I was going to make sure my watch was wound up."] From a Moon walker.... Now you really have me laughing here. I vaguely recall having to make a note to myself to wind my watch during the mission because of our day and night schedule. You also know that was 40 some years ago and I'm now in my mid-eighties. I guess the other answer is. "I don't remember if it was something on a check list" Funny you ask about the watch today. Last evening my nephew asked to borrow one of my watches. I dug one out from the bottom of the closet and the first thing both of us mused over was whether it was a manual wind. So, your innocuous question is quite well-timed today. My personal recolection is that, if it was necessary to wind, the automatic routine of it would have been habitual. So, every night before retiring, or every morning when I first woke up I would wind the watch. Anyway, you asked about the "Speedmaster" watch. I've answered thousands of questions over the years but very rarely about my watches. I think most of us had Rolex watches too. So, John, all I can share with you is my vague memory regarding the watch. Sorry I couldn't give you a better answer. As always let me know if I can answer anything else. I'll do my best but it has been a long time and many things have been lost to time And my favorite answer from Apollo 7 CMP Walt Cunningham... In the "good old days" all watches needed winding and we were smart enough to wind them every day.
Here is my 910, bracelet is quite comfortable and durable. If you think the FM bracelets are light, you should look at Rolex GMT C&I, they weight nearly nothing. Here is my 910 w/1172 with paper, part of 3 FM in my collection....