Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of attending a kickoff event for the Breitling Jet Team’s U.S. Tour at their signature store on the corner of 57th Street and 5th Avenue in New York City. It was a night to celebrate the talented pilots, meet with Breitling executives, rub shoulders with a few celebrities including former NFL All-Star Boomer Esiason and NASA Space Shuttle Pilot Mark Kelly, as well as see their new commemorative timepiece up close and personal.
This is the first time the Breitling Jet Team has brought their precision aerobatic show to the skies of North America. It’s an incredible demonstration of aviation skill, timing and sheer guts. And it’s one that should not be missed. The team flies L-39C Albatross Military jets that are capable of reaching a speed of 565 miles per hour. It’s not unusual to see the planes flying well over 500 miles per hour within just a few yards of each other and the effect is nothing short of spectacular.
To commemorate the tour, Breitling has created a ruggedly handsome version of its pilot’s Chronomat. Limited to just 500 watches, this Chronomat 44 Breitling Jet Team American Tour Limited Edition looks every bit the part with its black steel case, caseback engraved with the official logo of the American Tour, black dial with the team logo and rotating dial with yellow rubber-inlaid numerals, reprising one of the team’s colors.
In addition to Breitling’s commemorative product, their automotive partner Bentley, also released a limited edition Continental GT Speed, with a paint scheme, accessories and interior design inspired by the Breitling Jets. Designed by their Mulliner division, the colors exactly match those of the jets and each car is individually numbered to correspond to one of the seven Breitling Jets. The dashboard’s carbon fibre fascia panel displays an image of the seven planes in their signature flight formation.
Similarly, Mulliner has matched the hide and thread to Breitling’s signature yellow and designed a series of logos and graphics for the headrests that highlight the number of each car and the jet that inspired it. The tread plate plaques are also individually numbered.
The Bentleys will make their first public appearance at the Boeing Seafair Airshow on 31st July in Seattle, where the Breitling Jet Team is performing. The key for each car will be handed over to its owner by the corresponding plane’s pilot after each owner experiences a flight in the jet that inspired his or her car.
Breitling Jet Team 2015 U.S. Tour Schedule:
THE LAKEFRONT MILWAUKEE AIR & WATER SHOW WEBSITE
July 25 & 26, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
BOEING SEAFAIR AIRSHOW WEBSITE
August 1 & 2, Seattle, Washington, USA
ABBOTSFORD INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW WEBSITE
August 8 & 9, Abbottsford, British Columbia, Canada
CHICAGO AIR & WATER SHOW WEBSITE
August 15 & 16, Chicago, Illinois, USA
CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW WEBSITE
September 5 – 7, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
FORT WORTH ALLIANCE AIRSHOW WEBSITE
September 12 & 13, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES WEBSITE
September 16 – 20, Reno, Nevada, USA
NAVAL BASE VENTURA COUNTY AIRSHOW
September 26 & 27, Ventura, California, USA
MCAS MIRAMAR AIRSHOW WEBSITE
October 03 & 04, San Diego, California, USA
WINGS OVER HOUSTON AIRSHOW WEBSITE
October 17 & 18, Houston, Texas, USA