Timing complication
What is a flyback chronograph?
A chronograph that resets to zero and starts timing again with a single press, without stopping first.
How it works
On a normal chronograph, timing a new interval takes three presses: stop, reset, start. On a flyback, pressing the reset pusher while the chronograph is running sends the hands back to zero and restarts them instantly.
That made it valuable for pilots timing successive legs of a flight, where a lost second at each turn would add up.
History
Longines's 13ZN calibre of 1936 is often cited as the first flyback chronograph movement, and flybacks became standard on military pilots' chronographs from the 1930s to the 1950s. The Breguet Type XX and Blancpain Air Command are famous examples.
Before you buy
Flybacks cost more than ordinary chronographs because the reset mechanism is more complex. If you'll only ever time one thing at a time, a standard chronograph does the same job.
Questions
- What does flyback mean on a watch?
- That the chronograph hands 'fly back' to zero and restart with a single push of the reset button, while the chronograph is still running.