It’s #FliegerFriday With The Lume-Dial Hanhart Night Pilot

And at under €3K, it's a retro-cool alternative to a blacked-out IWC

September 09, 2022

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I’m still big on vintage-inspired watches, and I have a particular fondness for the Steve McQueen connection of my Hanhart 417ES. It comes on a black leather Bund with an Alcantara lining and is very comfortable for a big, legible pilot’s watch. This has actually made me toy with the idea of trying a Bund strap on some more modern watches, but Hanhart seems to have beat me to it. The #FliegerFriday Night Pilot is future-proof retro and mission ready in an all-black case with a full-lume dial.

Hanhart is pure in its vision of avionic inspiration, but the brand’s forays into the world of more modern sports watches have perhaps been less than successful. This is all about to change. Marrying up the two genres is not easy, but in the new #FliegerFriday Night Pilot, it’s a dark case of the best of both worlds with a touch of stealth.

The Hanhart #Flieger Friday Night Pilot

We all love a good hashtag, and like our own #SpeedyTuesday, the #FliegerFriday tag has caught on. Hanhart is an enthusiastic supporter of this, having released the 100-piece #FliegerFriday Edition last year. The new #FliegerFriday Night Pilot riffs on all the details we loved about that watch but with a mono-pusher movement and a cool lume dial. Judging from the response to my two-part story about lume in which I interviewed Albert Zeller from RC Tritec (here and here), we love watches that light the way, and this has got what it takes. What makes it most interesting is the juxtaposition of a classic pilot’s chronograph dial complete with cathedral hands and the killer black DLC case reminiscent of the big ceramic IWCs.

Embrace the darkness

You can go down the retro route with the smooth embrace of Hanhart’s superb Bund strap, or you can make the design into a more contemporary, weaponized version of a pilot’s watch. All of the strap pieces come with luminous stitching to make the watch pop even more on your wrist in the dark. The fully luminescent C2 Super-LumiNova dial takes on an eerie green glow that makes the Night Pilot live up to its name. What I find dangerously tempting compared to my own 417ES is the studied contrast between traditional styling and the modern black case, underlined by the smooth bezel, unlike my 417’s coin edge. A 100m depth rating and convex AR-treated sapphire crystal make this a tough everyday sports watch as well.

Big-crown goals, check

The crown is absolutely huge, which certainly won’t make this 42mm pilot’s watch wear smaller. That said, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Add the single red HyCeram pusher at 2 o’clock, and the design has all the right details to set it apart. At a price of €2,490, it is strategically placed compared to alternatives from Sinn and, in my opinion, a class above small brands like Laco. I’d even go so far as to say that this is a quirky alternative to the big Top Gun editions from IWC. Granted, the Night Pilot doesn’t have a high-tech ceramic case, but then again, it also doesn’t cost close to €10K. La Joux-Perret has modified the Sellita SW500 caliber to work with a single pusher, and the automatic movement is well worth its 15mm thickness. The stealthy #FliegerFriday Night Pilot is available today directly from Hanhart.

Did this increase your appetite for a tough pilot’s watch, my Fratelli? Why not get a two-in-one with your first full-lume dial as well? I might just have to take my own advice…

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