Pilots, pilots here we come !

Having only recently ascended to Big Pilot owner status:

... pre-owned Big Pilot 5002 that I managed to snare at a price i could not resist, and with the Year of the Pilot right upon us and the new models to be presented in a matter of days, here are some left over pics with a pilot theme taken in recent months:

Flagship accessories:

Myself and Erwin having a bit of fun with wearable accessories:

Erwin and his own Top Gun jacket and watch:

Me and a borrowed pilot jacket - that is really thick and warm, perfect for winter :) no prizes for guessing which timepiece I am holding

Have a warm weekend gentlemen !

Flying high Shing!!!

Welcome to the 5002 Club Shing...... here is mine still with the fish crown. This is the one that starts it all, my collection of BPs. :)

Cheers and see you in Geneva,
sc

See you guys soon - although I will only be wearing a Small Pilot !

Hi Shing and hi to all out there

Thank you for the great pictures you posted and thanks for SCFONGs pictures too.
By the way Im new, Im swiss, grown up in Schaffhausen - the IWC-City and love IWC timepieces since I can read the time.

My absolute favorite is the watch you show here first - the one and only Big Pilot. I love them all, those IWC timepieces but no one is so masculine, plain and noble at the same time like this one.
I think it to be the mother of watches just showing the date, hour, minutes and seconds and let you know, how long it runs in reserve. For me it is THE WATCH of all the watches.

By the way also the leather-strap looks really great.
I always thought, if I ever give myself such a great BP, I should take it with the high-grade steel-strap available with the Mark XVI - but now as I see your picture with that noble black leather-strap I`ve got to admit it looks at least as good as the steel-strap.

So my congratulations to this great purchase. Many (me included) will envy you the one and only Big Pilot.

Greetings, Lutz

Shing,

Love your BP congratulations.

My pilot family below is waiting to see which new watch will be joining the family this year. See you soon.
Regards,
Kevin

Shing -

Welcome to the Big Pilot Club!

Hey - How many watches have you bought this year? (LOL)

• Tracy

Aloha Lutz -

You and I are apparently the only two people who would like to see IWC produce a stainless bracelet for the Big Pilot

Here is a gag WATCH magazine cover that I posted in 2008 with a stainless bracelet that I fitted to my Big Pilot.

• Tracy

Tracy,

Didn't you hear that it is going to be the 1st LE at the opening of the NYC boutique sometime in 2012? LOL Hope your planning to attend.
Regards,
Kevin

Hi Tracy
Hey thank you so much - I hardly can believe it. Oh yeah - it looks sooooo good that stainless bracelet on the Big Pilot - before I saw it with you I just imagined - but now Im sure of it and it really tops all and even looks much better than I thought of. Now I know that Ive been right and the wish for one with a stainless..... becomes strong and stronger :-)).

Love Lutz

Thanks very much guys -

Lutz - welcome to the forum.

SC - thanks. You are the clear leader of the Big Pilots, and must be endowed the emeritus rank of Captain or Commander, in the IWC universe at the very least ! :)

Tracy & Kevin: you crack me up. But you know what, your wish may just come through before SIHH since there is a new bracelet already for another series (I think) - but I'm just guessing here.

Hi Kevin

Whow, you got them all – each of them is looking great and really, you own them all? Great – Enviable!

I admire very much your UTC – the one beside is a top gun, isnt it? – then the spitfire, Big Pilot and, I suppose the 3254 handwinding – well you can be very proud of such a fine collection. Im far away......:-).

Kind regards
Lutz

No bracelet for the Big Pilot planned for this year or to my knowledge the future. And as a retro-grouch who believes in heritage and tradition for mechanical watches, I'm glad about that.

Welcome to the forum Lutz.

I am in the MF fan club wrt keeping leather on the Big pilot watch.

I'll join the R-G club ('retro grouch' club) regarding bracelets for the BP's.

And great to see you here, Lutz.

I know I'm getting very excited about the upcoming novelties from our favorite company at SIHH. The watches, and the people... lookout guys, here we come!

Nelson

Hi Andrew

Thanks for your welcome – thanks to the others too.

Do you mean Multifunction – and please what is wrt ?

And just to say – I never mind the black leather bracelet of the BP – not at all – it really looks great !!

It is just that I myself love stainless bracelets a great deal and as soon as I see a fine watch without stainless bracelet, I try to imagine how it would look like with a stainless bracelet.
And the stainless bracelet which is available with the Mark XVI looks absoltly magnificant -and as Tracy showed to us - it fits the BP very well too.

Imagine I even cutted out that stainless bracelet from a picture and layed it on a picture of a Portugieser Automatic in steel – and whow it looks great – believe in me.

Regards Lutz

wrt
with regard to

Shing, welcome to the BP 5002 club. It's an amazing IWC that gets significant wrist time. Welcome to to Lutz. Hope to see you someday in Schaffhausen.

The 5002 to me is the epitome of the BP line of great Pilot's watches. I hope the "9" reappears in 2012.

The fish crown was exchanged for the Probus upon a spa treatment, but I still have the original crown to enjoy sans a watch.

My 5002 is the original slow beat, beating 5 times per second:

Flying with the IWC Junker model:

On a Post (pun intended) in Zermatt:

Wrist shot:

I love the script International Watch Co. on the deployant:

Fortunately, the previous owners had the box and papers...it's a complete set. The original owners, two before me, are both Forum participants.

Happy New Year to all BP and All Forum Members. I am so excited about the new references we will see in just a few days. One or more, will be on my wrist in 2012.

Shing,
Congrats on your first pilot and welcome to the pilots club!

+1 Michael on keeping the leather strap.

Some old shots of my two pilots...I am hopeful of a ceramic addition this year.

My 5002 fish crown has been subsequently replaced.

Shing
Congratulations.I am sure this is not your last BP :-)

Regards from Hamburg
Arne

[QUOTE="Bill B. "]Shing, welcome to the BP 5002 club. It's an amazing IWC that gets significant wrist time. Welcome to to Lutz. Hope to see you someday in Schaffhausen.

The 5002 to me is the epitome of the BP line of great Pilot's watches. I hope the "9" reappears in 2012.

[QUOTE]

Hi Alan, hi Bill - thanks a lot.

Bill I love your 5002 – it ist the epitome indeed. I looks fantastic. I believe such a Big Pilot ist the dream of each man. Thank you too fo the super pictures.

Wrt the 9 on the dial – no question - the watch and with it the 9 is great looking.
When we have a look to a 500401/2 – without the 9 we can see, that there is now more symetric in the dial – the missing 9 corresponding to the missing 12 and 6 and 3. The newer model is very consequent in its composition, dont you think so? I dont think that this is better – it is just different and a question of taste of course. I think the dial of the new model ist very coherent in itself and the balance of the numbers is perfect. Or what think you?
I myself love both the older and the new one.
And I would love to take both :-).

And yes of course – hope too to see you someday in Schaffhausen.

Regards
Lutz

Congratulations Shing and a big forum welcome to Lutz! The 5002 is the one that has been intruding on my daydreams! Someday......

Welcome!

I love my pair! Someday a BP.