Switzerland is best known for their watches and chocolates. They are also associated with the Swiss Army Knives that have become essential tools for adventurers and the military. But the Swiss also has their own Air Force. They call themselves the Lufttransport Staffel 7.
These military men are paratroopers that perform reconnaissance missions. Their mission entails them to take off from their base and jump off at the drop zone within 20 minutes. The get on their Pilatus PC-6 aircraft and jump off at the designated area. The plane then lands, waiting for the team to fulfil their mission, then take them back to base.
Oris developed a pilot’s watch that can help these paratroopers, and the pilot, accomplish their mission with precision. This watch is the Oris Paradropper LT Staffel 7 Limited Edition. The functionality of this watch relies heavily on the bidirectional rotating bezel. It contains arrowheads on the top and bottom of the bezel. When the pilot takes off, he aligns the arrow to the minute hand. He can rotate the bezel in any direction, using the closest arrow to align to the minute hand, thus saving precious seconds. When the minute hand points to the 17-minute mark, he informs the paratroopers to prepare to jump. At the 19-minute mark (represented by a red line), he then gives clearance to open the door. The 20-minute mark is represented by an icon of a parachute. This tells the pilot to give the troopers the Go signal to jump.
To wait for the troopers, the pilot needs to land his plane. The plane needs at least 250 meters of clearing in order to land, and take off, safely. When the pilot spots a patch of clear ground, he needs to fly over it to measure the distance. The chronograph function of the watch will help him measure the strip of land. As he approaches the potential landing area, he starts the chronograph. He then flies at exactly 100 knots from the “start” and “end” of the strip in both directions. If it takes him 10 seconds or more to cover the field, then he knows that he can land and take off safely from that clearing.
This 250-piece limited edition watch will be worn by the Lifttransport LT Staffel 7 pilots to aid them in their operations. To keep in theme with the military, the strap of the watch is presented in an olive textile strap with the Oris-patented stainless steel buckle rendered in black DLC, a strap that allows accurate length adjustment.
