FORTIS: PC-7 Team Aeromaster Editions

The pilots of the Swiss Air Force PC-7 TEAM rely on robust FORTIS tool-pilot watches.

September 30, 2019

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Dynamics. Precision. Elegance.

The motto of the Swiss Air Force aerobatic formation PC-7 TEAM is clear. True to this motto, the new AEROMASTER models from the traditional and still independent pilot’s watch manufacturer FORTIS are presented. Almost 15 years ago, FORTIS was selected as a partner 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 royal blue dial and applied numerals and indices. Available in a chronograph and a three-hand version.

Made for men who don’t lean back in business class.

The PC-7 TEAM consists of 9 pilots, 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.

All the best comes from above.

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. Things like reading speed or precision were put in the foreground. Also, the royal blue dial with the applied indices and numerals reflects their wishes: Elegant but still a tool. 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.

Robust outside – inside too.

FORTIS does not experiment – or even compromise – with the choice of the case. 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 which has been specially embossed for this edition.

For the love of detail.

It is the fine, barely noticeable components and considerations that make the difference. The art of giving a timepiece a face intended for eternity – not fashion, not trend – but rather functional and timeless. This is the only way to create icons and preserve value. No ifs, ands or buts. The grained base dial, grooved totalizers, a rehaut that precisely omits the indexes, numerals that are applied and filled with Superluminova® 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 indices 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.