The New Hanhart #FliegerFridayNight Pilot Pierces The Night Sky

The world of social media can be a powerful thing. So much so that entire communities revolve around a single theme, cited with a hashtag. Of course, there’s the #SpeedyTuesday fanbase that pretty much leads the pack, but #FliegerFriday is not far off! This hashtag is entirely devoted to watches with a direct link to aviation. So-called Flieger or pilot’s watches have always enjoyed a strong following, primarily due to the purposeful tool-like properties often found in pilot’s watches, and bonded together on Instagram through that specific hashtag. Inspired by the #FliegerFriday movement, Hanhart presented the first #FliegerFriday limited edition last year and now returns for more. This is the sky-piercing Hanhart #FliegerFridayNight Pilot Limited Edition.

Hanhart can be considered one of the pioneers in aviation watchmaking, with a history dating back to 1882. Originally based in Switzerland, the company moved to Schwenningen, Germany, in 1902. What put Hanhart on the map was the decision to counteract the costly Swiss-made stopwatches with a product as good, if not better, at a more affordable price. The company’s reputation was consolidated even further with its high-quality chronographs, wristwatches, professional gauges and instruments. In 1938 Hanhart introduced the Calibre.40 Chronograph, the spiritual predecessor of the watch we have before us today. This would be one of the go-to chronograph watches for the German Luftwaffe for years. Even today, single- or double-pusher chronographs are renowned for their practicality as flight instruments, even though they’ve been relegated to luxury items in our digital age.

The Hanhart #FliegerFridayNight Pilot L.E. is based on the Pioneer Monocontrol and comes in a 42mm wide stainless steel case with a black DLC coating. This stealth look continues the theme set by the first limited edition dedicated to the hashtag from last year. The sloped bezel rises up to meet a convex sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating, which gives the watch its 15mm height. The large crown screw-downs to improve water-resistance and the single red pusher for the chronograph, a signature Hanhart element, is made from HyCeram. The caseback is screwed in place and is also coated with black DLC.

The dial of the Hanhart #FliegerFridayNight Pilot L.E. literally glows. Finished in white, the entire dial is coated with Super-LumiNova C3 that radiates a strong green glow at night. The hour indices, minute track and other markings are printed in deep black. The central cathedral hour and minute hands are skeletonised to reveal as much of the dial as possible. The bicompax chronograph layout displays the small seconds on the left and the chronograph 30-minute counter on the right. A rectangular aperture at the bottom of the dial reveals the date indication.

Powering this limited edition is the Hanhart Calibre HAN3911, based on the Sellita SW 500 (with similar architecture to the ETA/Valjoux 7750). This has been modified by La Joux-Perret and is made into a single-pusher chronograph by Hanhart. With 28 jewels, a frequency of 28,800vph and 42 hours of power reserve, it’s nothing groundbreaking but will serve you well when worn regularly. It displays central hours and minutes, small seconds, chronograph central seconds, chronograph 30-minutes and the date. It’s hidden from view by the solid caseback, with a special engraving (although Hanhart hasn’t provided an image of it).

The Hanhart #FliegerFridayNight Pilot Limited Edition is worn on a black leather strap with a removable Bund-style pad. The contrasting white stitching glows in the dark, and the watch is secured to the wrist with a black DLC-coated stainless steel pin buckle. Presented as a limited edition of 100 pieces, this not-so-stealthy Flieger retails for EUR 2,490 (incl. taxes).

For more information, please visit Hanhart.com.