GMT II: doing what she was made to do....

[ayecarumba]

Hi All,

I've read some great posts on here and thought I'd give it a go. I'm new to Rolex, having only acquired my 50th annniv. GMT II in July. But I have always liked and admired the GMT II's history and usage by early Pan Am. I flew it across the Atlantic on my last trip to Italy...the brochure cover was my inspiration for the pics. I have a much greater appreciation for those who've posted such razor sharp pics here...can't say mine quite make that cut

From Tools excellent GMT reference section:
http://www.newturfers.com/mwf/attach/6/215806/GMT.htm
one day Juan Trippe, the mercurial head of Pan-Am glimpsed one of the watches on the wrist of an executive and wanted to know why it was not on the wrist of a pilot. The situation was explained to him; the pilots had everything, the gold braid, the titles, and the brand new Boeing jets and now they even got great watches. The executives felt shunned, they saw themselves as the basis of the company's success but were fed up of being treated as second class citizens. Trippe did not like the situation and ordered that all the GMT Masters in the building should be returned to the operation department for subsequent issue to flight crews.


Wish we had airline CEOs like Juan Trippe again!

If you look carefully at photos you'll see that I took them a little after 0100 EDT as we flew east across the Atlantic. In the 2nd photo you can see the moon rising above the horizon as sun begins doing the same while we speed eastward....the last few shots were taken well after sunrise as we flew across the french/italian alps (almost there!).

I've taken to setting my GMT II bezel to the local time at my destination (in this case, Italy or GMT +2). I then reference the dial markings and 24 hour hand for GMT. It takes some getting used to, but I'm adjusting without too much difficulty. I'm sure I'm not the first to do this as it facilitates 3 time zones.

A bit bummed as my Rolo seems to be losing about 7 secs/day....any advice?

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

[Rockrolex]

Welcome to TRF, Paul. Glad you joined our fun forum. And you picked a great watch for your first foray into Rolex world. My personal favorite.

Nice pics there. What are you driving? And who do you fly for?

[srl7741]

You did select a great watch. I'm interested in how you came to the 7 seconds a day loss?
Could it be from the time zone changes?

[ayecarumba]

Thanks!..I fly the Boeing 767ER (Extended Range, bigger fuel tanks) out of Atlanta with Delta....In reference to the -7secs/day, I set the watch by pulling the crown out to the #3 stop, which stops the second hand at zero and then set it via either the NIST atomic clock website:

http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Eastern/d/-5/java

or the USNO atomic clock website here:
http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/simpletime.html

I then check it every 24 hours....
I don't use the #2 crown position to reset the 12hr marker/hand. Rather, I leave my local home time displayed, set local time @ destination with the bezel, then use the face 12 hr markings and the 24 hr hand to tell GMT...

A bit bummed because COSC standards are -4/+6 per day...mine is running nearly 2x allowable COSC....If I had a choice I wish it ran +, it would help me be on time!

[Lowflight]

Awesome

[toph]

great pics!!! but for goodness sake put your watch the right way round!!
Thanks for posting

[redshirt1957]

Great pics and thanks for sharing. Funny how computers have changed things in aviation. I now fly an all electric glass panel avionics equipped G1000, PFD and MFD, with integrated two axis auto pilot in a light twin. Gone are the days of steam guages for me. No more circling NDP approaches at night. Oh the fun of yesterday.. Feel free to share more pictures.

Fly out of FFC and live just around the corner from the airport.

[sea-dweller]

Wonderful photos ! I travel to Asia regularly for business from SFO, and wear my GMT Master II frequently on these trips. When I am jet-lagged, I can easily determine the time in 2 time zones.

[ajfjunior]

great photos, thanks for sharing them

[eric23]

Great Photo's!

[fmalloy]

The last photo is amazing. We non-pilots never get to see the incredible sights from the cockpit; my view is usually a wing and an engine, thru a scratched up window...

[Widows Son]

OK guys, not to hijack the thread but...quick, give me the end numbers of the first plane you soloed. I'll start...N8135C, a PA28 161........Who's next????

[ayecarumba]

Glad all you like the pics....I wear my watch on the inside of my wrist for a couple of reasons (this may be a good thread topic!):

1. My older brother wears his watch like this and when I was a kid I had to copy everything he did. Now it's a kind of a salute to him.

2. From a practical standpoint with my military and airline stints, I find having a large watch on the inside of the wrist better protects the case/crystal from dings and scratches. I also find it slides more easily in/out of my pockets.

Cheers! --Paul

PS- I'm on the road but I'll look up my logbook to see the Serial# of my 1st solo...But it was in a Navy T-34C Turbomentor.

[JediRolex]

Great Pictures! Since you are a pilot, maybe you'll enjoy these cockpit shots of the company car.

[CBG]

Soloed in a C152 from EGLK in the UK. Don't remember the tail #. I am a Yak driver now (18T).

There seem to be quite a number of pilots on this forum.....

Mine is a GMTIIC.

[polex]

Excelent and great pictures Paul. And nice GMT

[BZA]

Great pictures! Keep em coming :-)

[stusrt]

awesome pictures!!!
the GMT doing what it's meant to do...

Now we just need someone to take a pic of the Deep Sea 10,000 ft. underwater !!!

[bradg]

Solo was in a Cessna 152, N 89175 back in 1982. Great photos guys

[miked10270]

Originally Posted by ayecarumba

A bit bummed as my Rolo seems to be losing about 7 secs/day....any advice?

Find an AD with an on-site technician or repairman. They should be able to adjust the rate on your watch while you wait! My local AD (Jessops, Glenrothes, UK -- Unashamed plug) takes about 20 minutes and it's a freebie... Then again, he does get the servicing on them.

Mike.

PS: I'm told that the "rate" of a chronometer is affected by the wearer, and the adjustment isn't calibrated so you could end up with, say, a 2"/24 gain after adjustment. This opens up a whole new debatge about "Rate" versus "Consistency".

Mike.

[mlw911]

Very cool photo's!

[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by toph

great pics!!! but for goodness sake put your watch the right way round!!
Thanks for posting

X2

Welcome to the show bro! Enjoy your time on TRF, it goes very quickly here, Tempus Fugit, and all that,

Your in good company, mine gains about 10 secs per day ish, pending on use. Not goodski, My auld relyable GMT II, bang on, couple of seconds a month..... so much for the new 3186!

[Duncan1]

Wow...great pictues.I am not a pilot but am intrigued with aircraft...have been in the right seat in a couple of different Citations and have a new GMT II C... more pictures if you have em...thanks

[joeychitwood]

I'm not a pilot, but I owned a fixed-wing air ambulance company in the past. We flew a Beech King Air 200 and a Piper Cheyenne as a back-up. We always operated with two pilots on runs, but during marketing, business or pleasure flights, we used one pilot. I was amazed at the sophistication of the avionics in this relatively small airplane.

The best part of owning the company was using the plane to fly to Indy Car races. We'd leave the track after the race and be back home by mid-evening.

[ayecarumba]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I'm not a pilot, but I owned a fixed-wing air ambulance company in the past. We flew a Beech King Air 200 and a Piper Cheyenne as a back-up. We always operated with two pilots on runs, but during marketing, business or pleasure flights, we used one pilot. I was amazed at the sophistication of the avionics in this relatively small airplane.

The best part of owning the company was using the plane to fly to Indy Car races. We'd leave the track after the race and be back home by mid-evening.

Hey Joey,

Sweet airplane and experiences!

Even sweeter? Being able to fly your own airplane to and from an IndyCar race!

Envy!

The only way I'll be consoled is if you take me with you next time or surrender your collection!


--Paul

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by ayecarumba

Hey Joey,

Sweet airplane and experiences!

Even sweeter? Being able to fly your own airplane to and from an IndyCar race!

Envy!

The only way I'll be consoled is if you take me with you next time or surrender your collection!


--Paul

We'd fly in to Detroit, for instance, Friday evening, watch qualifying on Belle Isle on Saturday and the race on Sunday. Our pilot, who was a good friend and a race fan, would call the FBO as we left the track, and the King Air would be fueled and ready to go by the time we arrived at the airport. We felt like Big Shots! We sold the operation a few years ago, and I really miss the perks of having the air-medical service.

We also owned the ground service, Great Plains EMS, and we designed the ambulance paint scheme based on race transporters we saw:





My business partner and I in the hanger with the King Air. (I'm wearing my first Rolex, a two-tone 16613:)





The cockpit of the King Air 200:

[ayecarumba]

[LordNinja]

That's exceptional! I get a real kick out of the style of photo. I have a GMT and I was just revewing the booklets and you've done a wonderful job capturing that spirit!

[Flyjet601]

Always love to see fellow aviators with a Rolex

[yachtblackdog]

Nice photos! Thanks for sharing them!