1,935 Discussions and CommentsMember since Aug. 4, 2001
Rave Wrote:From a good friend of mine, who is now a retired BA pilot but started his career at BOAC, the Mark 11 was not highly regarded or looked after by pilots in the latter days of use. A Mark 11 would be thrown in the map bag collected by the captain before he boarded the plane. When my friend was flying in the 1970s, most pilots had bought their own new electric or quartz watches and the Mark 11 was rarely pulled out of the bag. He recalls examples being several minutes out on a long haul flight to Australia. South of the equator lacked the navigational beacons that allowed pilots to navigate north of the equator without recourse to sextant and watch. Sadly, my friend who has none of the emotional attachments that I have to the Mark 11, has any idea as to what happened to the watches after they were abandoned. They did not have the same level of servicing that the MOD watches had and were considered to be relics of a bye-gone age. A bit like the 747s that make up much of the long haul fleet today.
The Mark 11 was retired from active flight duty in the RAF in 1971, I think, and had a rigorous maintenance schedule program since 1949, having provided 23 years of accurate service. If by the 1970's the BOAC Mark 11s were considered unreliable by the pilots, it was not because it was a bad watch, but because BOAC failed to properly maintain them. I am sure that if BOAC had maintained their Mark 11s as it maintained their aircraft, the Mark 11s would keep much better time. The other way around is unthinkable. In any event, by the mid 70s, the quartz onslaught was ongoing, and there is no denying that for pure accuracy there is no competing with quartz. I was starting my airline career in the mid-70s and used a quartz watch. Left the Navitimer at home.
BTW, a while ago I took my Mark 11 from 1948 on a 10 hour flight (jump seat) to the Southern Hemisphere and she kept in sinc with the GPS clock all the flight. Not bad for an old lady. :-) I occasionally fly airplanes older than I and, although they are no longer cost effective for commercial operations, they still deliver the performance they did when they were new in 1945. It is all a matter of maintenance.
4,760 Discussions and CommentsMember since Dec. 18, 2006
Rave Wrote:From a good friend of mine, who is now a retired BA pilot but started his career at BOAC, the Mark 11 was not highly regarded or looked after by pilots in the latter days of use. A Mark 11 would be thrown in the map bag collected by the captain before he boarded the plane. When my friend was flying in the 1970s, most pilots had bought their own new electric or quartz watches and the Mark 11 was rarely pulled out of the bag. He recalls examples being several minutes out on a long haul flight to Australia. South of the equator lacked the navigational beacons that allowed pilots to navigate north of the equator without recourse to sextant and watch. Sadly, my friend who has none of the emotional attachments that I have to the Mark 11, has any idea as to what happened to the watches after they were abandoned. They did not have the same level of servicing that the MOD watches had and were considered to be relics of a bye-gone age. A bit like the 747s that make up much of the long haul fleet today.
Thanks Rave,
Too bad that these watches were treated with so little respect. I wonder if somewhere in an old addic, there is a box with dozens of Mk 11's lying around, just waiting to be found one day... I guess however it's easier to find a dozen of 747's nicely parked in a desert...
The Mark 11 was retired from active flight duty in the RAF in 1971, I think, and had a rigorous maintenance schedule program since 1949, having provided 23 years of accurate service.
If by the 1970's the BOAC Mark 11s were considered unreliable by the pilots, it was not because it was a bad watch, but because BOAC failed to properly maintain them. I am sure that if BOAC had maintained their Mark 11s as it maintained their aircraft, the Mark 11s would keep much better time. The other way around is unthinkable.
In any event, by the mid 70s, the quartz onslaught was ongoing, and there is no denying that for pure accuracy there is no competing with quartz. I was starting my airline career in the mid-70s and used a quartz watch. Left the Navitimer at home.
BTW, a while ago I took my Mark 11 from 1948 on a 10 hour flight (jump seat) to the Southern Hemisphere and she kept in sinc with the GPS clock all the flight. Not bad for an old lady. :-)
I occasionally fly airplanes older than I and, although they are no longer cost effective for commercial operations, they still deliver the performance they did when they were new in 1945. It is all a matter of maintenance.
clepsydra
ad fontes...
Last edited: 30 October, 2011 - 22:05
Kind regards,
Clemens
Last edited: 30 May, 2012 - 20:59
+1
Best regards,
Jim
"We are the other people, we are the other people...you're the other people too!"
Frank Zappa
Last edited: 13 March, 2012 - 15:03
Thanks Rave,
Too bad that these watches were treated with so little respect. I wonder if somewhere in an old addic, there is a box with dozens of Mk 11's lying around, just waiting to be found one day... I guess however it's easier to find a dozen of 747's nicely parked in a desert...
Kind regards,
Clemens
Last edited: 30 May, 2012 - 20:59