Do you know what AOPA is? It is an acronym that stands for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the international non-profit organisation representing the interests of general aviation pilots. When Willy Breitling developed a wristwatch instrument in 1952 that would allow pilots to perform all the necessary flight calculations (such as average speed, distance travelled, fuel consumption and rate of climb) using a patented circular slide rule positioned on the bezel and flange, he certainly could not have imagined that only two years later the AOPA would select it as its official timepiece. And yet that is exactly what happened: thanks to this partnership, the Navitimer was born, the original version of which displayed the AOPA logo at 12 o'clock. Recently, Breitling and the AOPA itself announced the creation of a scholarship for young pilots (the deadline to apply is 11 February 2022), the first of several collaborations intended to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Navitimer's launch. "At the time, neither Breitling nor AOPA could have imagined the significance of this collaboration," said Breitling CEO Georges Kern. Who added: "But a watch was born from it... Which is much more than just a watch: it is an icon." Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Navitimer continued to be the watch of choice for military and civilian pilots. However, this watch was also appreciated by celebrities of the time, including Miles Davis, Serge Gainsbourg and Formula 1 champions Jim Clark and Graham Hill. Finally, a curiosity: the name 'Navitimer' is derived from a combination of the words 'navigation' and 'timer'.
