Hands-On With The New Blancpain Air Command Flyback Chronograph

Back in the 1950s, Blancpain produced about a dozen chronographs for the United States Air Force. While these were never commercially produced, they are now highly sought-after collector’s pieces. In fact, I don’t think there has been one offered on the market since 2019 when one went at auction for about $150,000. It’s hard to guess what it would fetch in today’s market, but considering hammer prices for limited-run pieces with this kind of historical provenance, I would venture to say it would be quite a bit more. So, with such an attractive and storied Flyback Chronograph in its archives, it was no surprise 2019 also saw the release of Blancpain's limited-edition Air Command Flyback Chronograph reissue, followed by a titanium iteration done in blue/back in 2021.

This was followed by the introduction of a 36mm case joining the existing 42.5mm model which—while less true to the 42mm of the original— made a splash with collectors who have found themselves fatigued with beefier cases. Now Blancpain has released a limited-edition pair of these titanium Air Command watches in an excellent camouflage green with options in both smaller and larger case size.

While I was only able to get my hands on the smaller Blancpain Air Command in the 36.2mm wide case, I have actually tried on the previous blue model in the larger case and found myself preferring this more compact size. It’s been a while since I checked my wrist circumference (yes, watch nerds sound crazy to normal people), so I went ahead and measured it to be right between the 6.75- and 7-inch notch (a hair over 17cm). While I could probably just barely pull off the 42.5mm model, I do find myself gravitating to smaller pieces these days. As for precise measurements, the compact 36.2mm wide and 11.5mm thick case comes in at about 38.5mm wide when including the crown, with a lug-to-lug measurement of 41mm. For comparison, the larger model is 42.5mm wide and 13.77mm thick with a 51.4mm lug-to-lug measurement. Both models have 30-meter water resistance.

Of course, everything comes down to taste and obviously not everyone is going to see the smaller iteration as a unisex piece the way I do. In a perfect world there would be a magical 38mm model that lands in the Goldilocks “just right” sweet spot. My one major complaint here is that the strap is just too short, as I found myself just one notch down from the final hole. Oh, and before I forget: lug widths are 18mm and 22mm, respectively.

I do like the blue iteration of the Air Command but I think the design elements of these green models is better and more in line with the military history. Where the blue model has a glossy sunburst dial, with a matching blue ceramic bezel, this new version has a matte green dial with beige accents and a bidirectional black ceramic bezel. The classic syringe-style hands are highly legible underneath the glass-box crystal and are lumed along with both the hour and bezel numerals.

Blancpain calls the case material “titanium grade 23” which I am fairly certain is essentially grade 5 titanium. Considering the brand and price point, it is nicely finished with a satin-brushed case band and those classic squared off lugs with some nice polished beveling for a little added flair. The chronograph pushers have brushed sides and and polished surfaces, as well. If you’re not entirely familiar with titanium, look out for this kind of polishing because it’s simply not doable on lower quality titanium.

The one major difference between the two models is the choice of movement used. The 42.5mm Air Command has the Calibre F388B which has some advantages like a 50-hour power reserve and a 5Hz operating frequency that allows 1/10th second accuracy. This is actually reflected on the thoughtfully done seconds track on the inner side of the tachymeter scale which is accurate to a less precise 1/6 second on the smaller model. The 36.2mm model has the Calibre F188B which has a lower 40-hour power reserve and operates at 3 Hz. Still, both of these are column wheel vertical clutch flyback chronographs with silicon hairspring. Finally, the gold rotor is done in a neat propeller shape to tie together that vintage aviation aesthetic.

For anyone unfamiliar with a  flyback chronograph, this simply allows you to reset the chronograph with a single push rather than the three pushes it takes with a standard chronograph. You can imagine how much easier this made the lives of pilots who relied on these instruments. The bi-compax layout has a 12-hour sub-dial at 9 o’clock and 30-minute sub-dial at 3 o’clock with no running seconds hand at all which might bother some people. That said, you can technically run the chronograph as a seconds hand if desperately needed without damaging the movement thanks to the vertical clutch. A keen eye might be puzzled by the three lines on the 30-minute counter at 3, 6, and 9 minutes. These hearken back to the old days of payphone with three minute long calls, hence the watch would let you know when it’s time to add another quarter.

The Blancpain Air Command Flyback Chronograph in 42.5mm (Ref. AC02-12B53-63B) is limited to 200 pieces with a price of $21,800 while the 36.2mm (Ref. AC03-12B53-63B) is limited to 100 pieces with a price of $20,500.