FORTIS PC-7 TEAM AEROMASTER EDITION
To mark 30th anniversary of the Swiss Air Force aerobatic formation PC-7 TEAM, Swiss watch brand FORTIS has created a special edition watch collection: The collection is available in a chronograph and a three hand version.
Almost 15 years ago, FORTIS was selected as a partner of PC-7 TEAM and now has a very special edition up its sleeve for the 30th anniversary of the formation: The precise chronometers, limited to 300 pieces each, come with an elegant deep blue dial and applied numerals and indexes.
The aerobatic team and Swiss flagship PC-7 TEAM consists of 9 pilots and 3 other members, who under the leadership of Captain Cyril “Johnny” Johner put incredible precision work into the skies. With a distance of partly under 3 meters the most diverse maneuvers and formations are presented to the astonished public. The commitment of each team member is an additional task.
The pilots of the PC-7 TEAM fly full-time in one of the three F/A-18 squadrons of the Swiss Air Force in Payerne or Meiringen and fly about 110 hours a year on the Hornet. In this capacity, they contribute to the Air Force’s fulfilment of its mission. This includes maintaining air sovereignty and ensuring the air police service around the clock over Switzerland.
In order to get the best result, it is extremely important to survey the best for each field.
So the pilots of the PC-7 TEAM gave the essential input to the watches themselves. Topics like reading speed or precision were put in the foreground. Also the royal blue dial with the applied indexes and numerals reflects their wishes: Elegant but still a tool.
In addition to the pilots, various watch experts and enthusiasts were consulted in the same round, who brought improvements and detail finesse to the new Aeromaster with their cross-brand experience. Last but not least, FORTIS itself, under the new management, has of course incorporated some know-how and refinement into the two models and can therefore always surprise the wearer with product details.
The proven and extremely robust B-42 Aeromaster case is made of brushed stainless steel and offers exactly what is needed for the G-forces generated in aerobatics: protection. The fine brushing prevents possible sunlight reflections and thus contributes to quick readability – without losing the typical FORTIS tool elegance. As usual with FORTIS, the well-known double anti-reflective sapphire crystal with the special AR027 coating is of course used here.
Even if not so important for pilots, the company’s own “In-Crown Double-Gasket-System” made it possible to achieve a water resistance of 200 meters – without a screw-down crown, which would be counterproductive in flying.
The heart of the new PC-7 TEAM Aeromaster is the C.O.S.C. certified Swiss automatic chronometer movement, which offers the very best precision. The movement has undergone a special decoration and ticks well protected and invisible behind the case back specially embossed for this edition.
The grained base dial, grooved totalizers, a rehaut that precisely omits the indexes, numerals that are applied and filled with Superluminova® luminous material and, of course, the Pilatus PC-7 aircrafts in the famous diamond formation. The metallic frames of the hour and minute hands were formed to accommodate the indexes and numerals. A contrasting highlight is the central Swiss-red second hand. All these subtleties define the degree of passion that FORTIS has for its product, its partners and its wearers.
Whether the decision is made on the chronograph or the three-hand model – the watch is always delivered on stainless steel bracelet in a very special collector’s box with PC-7 TEAM patch, travel case, second dark blue Cordura performance strap and corresponding tools.
