Every aircraft has its own handling characteristics — quirks a pilot learns to expect and work with. The First Flight's movement is no different. Here's what to know about the Miyota 9039 that powers your watch.

Hacking seconds

Pull the crown to the time-setting position and the seconds hand stops dead — allowing you to sync your watch to the second against a reference clock, just like setting an aircraft chronometer before takeoff.

Hand-winding

The 9039 can be wound manually via the crown, so if the watch has been resting and lost power, a few turns will bring it back to life without needing to wear it back up to a full charge.

No date window

The 9039 in your First Flight is a no-date movement — a deliberate choice to keep the dial clean and legible, in the spirit of classic pilot's watches.

Power reserve

Roughly 42 hours on a full wind. Set it down for a couple of days and it'll still be keeping time when you pick it back up.

Regulated accuracy

Every First Flight movement is individually regulated to ±10 seconds/day before casing — tighter than the movement's factory spec of -10 to +30 seconds/day.

Rotor noise

Give the watch a shake and you may hear (or feel) the rotor spinning inside — a normal characteristic of automatic movements, and if anything, a small reminder that there's a living mechanism on your wrist, not a battery.

Service interval

Like any mechanical movement, the 9039 benefits from a service every 3-5 years to keep it running at its best over the long haul.

Crazy horse leather (watch holster)

The leather on your First Flight packaging is crazy horse leather — a pull-up leather treated with waxes and oils that shift color when flexed, scuffed, or pressed. Lighter marks, scuffs, and color variation aren't defects; they're the leather doing exactly what it's designed to do. Buff a scuff gently with your fingers or a soft cloth and the natural oils in the leather will often work it back into the surrounding color. Over time, handling develops a rich, uneven patina — no two watch rolls will age quite the same way, and that's the point.