Rolex and The Flyboys

Pete Knight, wrote the following to Rolex after his pioneering flight. "I finally flew on October 3, 1967 to a speed of 4,534 mph and all systems functioned properly with the exception of some local heating damage on the lower ventral. I have been wearing my Rolex GMT-Master for a period of months now and have calibrated it to within a few seconds a day". The pilot had just completed a flight that set the world speed record and remember that he was able to return safely even after his plane was damaged during the flight. Hot air was blowing into the bottom of the plane and ruined the fuel dumping mechanism meaning that Knight eventually had to land the plane 680 kilograms heavier than planned because he could not jettison the residual fuel. If the extreme temperatures did anymore damage the plane could not have landed and Knight would have parachuted to safety. Fortunately, that did not happen.

The pilot was able to land the plane back at his headquarters even though it looked cooked. It was a miracle that both survived and just as amazing was that despite the speed and heat his Rolex GMT was still telling time. The other X-15 pilots also wrote to Rolex about their watches but the story of Pete Knight's final flight is perhaps the most interesting.

It is worth noting that while Knight wore a Rolex GMT Master on his world record flight he was following in the grand tradition at Edwards Air Force Base, for it was there in 1947 that Chuck Yeager first broke the Sound Barrier in a Bell X-1 and did so wearing a Rolex Oyster; the same one he had worn all through World War II.