Freshly Minted Private Pilot! (And the watch I wore)
I just completed my checkride a few hours ago and am officially a private pilot! It took 47.5 hours of total flight time (5.2 of PIC time) and I loved every second!
Along with earning my private pilot certificate, I cemented this neovintage Hamilton 9415a into my collection forever.
Here’s a little backstory on the watch:
I previously owned a Hamilton Khaki Field Auto in 38mm. It was a fantastic watch, but I fell out of love with it. The movement beatrate was pretty low, and the power reserve made it so you basically never interacted with the watch. I also really didn’t care for the size anymore. I’ve been completely converted to smaller watches.
I sold that watch locally, and started on the hunt for something in the 33mm - 36mm range with a manual wind movement. Eventually, I came across this watch, the Hamilton 9415a, on WindyCityWatchCollector.com. What a beautiful piece! It’s the first watch I’ve ever seen that’s in true New Old Stock condition. Not a scratch on the acrylic crystal, not a scuff on the case, absolutely zero wear on any component.
The watch measures about 33mm across and 9mm thick (including the crystal) with an 18mm lug width. Inside is the fantastic ETA 2801-2, 4hz with about 38 hours of power.
I was already going to keep this watch, especially given the incredible condition (the watch is over 20 years old!) but now, it can never leave my collection!
Welcome to my WatchCrunch profile.
Congratulations! Wow.😎
Blue skies. Blue heaven always!
Hamilton Khaki King is my GADA.🥰 Nice for you to have that vintage Khaki.👑👑
Congratulations! Wow.😎
Blue skies. Blue heaven always!
Hamilton Khaki King is my GADA.🥰 Nice for you to have that vintage Khaki.👑👑
Thank you! Wear that Khaki King in good health!
Congratulations, it's a brilliant achievement in any amount of time, but getting your PPL in under 50 hours is particularly impressive.
Nice watch too.
Congrats, man. It's gonna be a day (and a watch) to remember, for sure.
Congratulations!🎉
Yes! This is my favorite reference as well! Solid choice.
I just wrote about it a couple days ago on why I think this is the best one!
Congratulations, it's a brilliant achievement in any amount of time, but getting your PPL in under 50 hours is particularly impressive.
Nice watch too.
Much appreciated!
Yes! This is my favorite reference as well! Solid choice.
I just wrote about it a couple days ago on why I think this is the best one!
I’m gonna have to check out that post. I gotta say, I’m particularly biased towards this reference as well!
Congratulations for picking a great watch. The patina looks awesome.
Congratulations for picking a great watch. The patina looks awesome.
Definitely one of my favorites!
Congrats! That vintage Khaki will definitely be a fixture in your watch box. What a great memory to attach to it.
Congratulations!
Congrats! That vintage Khaki will definitely be a fixture in your watch box. What a great memory to attach to it.
My first watch with a serious memory attached, I was subconsciously looking forward to that!
Congratulations! That's one hell of an accomplishment 👏
Cool story enjoyed reading it! Congrats on your pilots license!
Congrats!! Really cool story and watch!
Serious congratulations. It's a respectable accomplishment (among other things, my late dad was a career RCAF flight instructor/pilot) Good on ya.
And I understand about smaller watches.
Congratulations 🎊 👏
Serious congratulations. It's a respectable accomplishment (among other things, my late dad was a career RCAF flight instructor/pilot) Good on ya.
And I understand about smaller watches.
What did your dad fly?
Congratulations 🎊 👏
Thank you!
What did your dad fly?
Everything from Tiger Moths, Expeditors and Ansons through T-33s to CF-100s, He flew from 1938 to 1958. His final at the stick flight was in a glider at 80.