Mühle-Glashütte has been manufacturing technically interesting flieger watches for the German military for the past few years under the fifth-generation leadership of Thilo Mühle.
Thilo collaborated with the rescue helicopter pilots from the German Navy and The German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger – DGzRS), who is responsible for Search and Rescue in German territorial waters in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, including the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ is measured 200 nautical miles from the coast).
The result of the collaboration was the S.A.R. flieger chronograph with an easy-to- read display which included a function for calculating flight speeds. During their rescue operations, the Navy rescue pilots are dependent on very robust equipment. With a starting weight of 9.3 tons and 3,000 PS engine power, the Sea King MK 41, the German Navy’s rescue helicopter, can operate even in the most adverse weather conditions.
The SAR flieger chronograph has a 44mm stainless steel case with 2.5mm thick domed sapphire crystal to handle the rough conditions. The large dial also makes the watch display easier to read in combination with thick index markers. For easy differentiation between the time and chronograph functions, the chronograph pushers, the stop second hand, and the minute and hour hands are marked in orange. This SAR signal color is used for highlighting the 10-second scale between 12 and 2 o’clock.
The clearly marked 10-second scale is important to the crew members of the rescue helicopters because it allows time measurements for calculating the flight speed and the watch can be used as a back-up system to support the dashboard instruments.
The pilots can calculate their flight speed with the help of the “1 in 60 rule”. To calculate the flight speed, the chronograph pusher at 8 o’clock is engaged. As soon as the stop second hand has reached the end of the orange colored scale, the distance covered in the time is put in relation to it: for example, 0.2 NM in 10 seconds. The distance is then extrapolated for a flying time of one minute (= 1.2 NM), giving a speed of 72 knots (1 knot = 1NM/h = 1.853 km/h). This extremely simple process allows very quick calculation of the speed.
The SAR flieger chronograph is powered by base Valjoux 7750 movement with a traditional Glashütte three-quarter plate and a patented woodpecker neck regulation. “Thanks to the fine regulation we developed in 2003, our mechanisms have a real technical advantage over watches with traditional regulation systems” emphasizes Thilo Mühle. “And it is precisely in our S.A.R. models which have to withstand such harsh conditions that this advantage is most clearly obvious. “
The SAR flieger chronograph with rubber strap is just under $4,000, and $300 more for the steel bracelet.
Photo Credit: Mühle and Watchuseek forum members