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A small ladder is placed against the cabin. In a few steps, I’ll be there! Sitting with the stick between my legs and the throttle next to me! I have only one wish that the plane to come to life. For the tools to light up, for the frames to activate and for the aerobatics to begin. If I close my eyes, I become Tom Cruise. Despite my youth at the time and the years that have passed since, that first memory with the French Air Force remains intact.
What a freedom it is to be able to fly. Not many people are so lucky, but many of us dream of being in the clouds.
The place of dreams in our lives is essential. They allow us to keep hope alive, to escape for a moment by letting our imagination run free.
This dimension of our lives has become the stock-in-trade of the film studios. Adventure novels, comic books and films have been a big part of my life. Buck Danny, Tanguy Laverdure, Top Gun and Knights of the Sky have all contributed to my desire to be close to the clouds.
I remember it like it was yesterday. There was a big crowd. Stands on both sides of the road, and then, at a bend in the road, I saw it! Majestic, the fuselage sharpened and the cockpit open, it’s calling me! When it was finally my turn to sit down, it was love at first sight. Outside the cockpit, life has no meaning. Unfortunately, this ecstasy had to come to an end, as I was not the only one who wanted to finally experience the workplace of his idols.
When we were notified of this new collection, my childhood memories came flooding back. For a brief moment, I saw myself treading the pavement in full gear towards a fighter aircraft.
Our adult constraints did not allow this dream to become reality. But we don’t despair because nothing is impossible.
Since I couldn’t fly away, we decided to go and meet history, with the watch on our wrist of course.
Come with us! We’re heading to the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, because without these mad inventors whose work is on display there, our lives would be quite quiet.
Birds, the only examples available to man, their skeletons, their movements… everything was scrutinised in an attempt to replicate them and adapt them to the constraints of man. Four constraints had to be respected: lightness and flexibility on the one hand, strength and power on the other. Not a single gram of superfluous metal remained. Breaking the sound barrier was not even imaginable. Their greatest wish: to leave the ground for a moment.
Can you imagine the first time it happened? The author of this feat must have been mixed between fright and elation.
When I look at this timepiece, this is what I see. The Yema Flygraf Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace is for me the gateway to an unattainable universe.
Cohesion and solidarity are two values and pillars of the French Air and Space Force. These values must have guided Yema and the Army during the development of the collection. For Yema, its codes had to remain intact, while the Army’s values had to permeate the collection.
From the shape of the aviation-style hands to the grooved and brushed dial reminiscent of aircraft fuselages and the roundel on the crown, this is how, in part, this watch connects to the Air Force.
This new collection consists of two GMT models limited to 500 pieces, two mega-quartz chronograph models and the first women’s military watch of the Air Force.
How does it look on the wrist?
In fact, when it comes to the GMT, the feel on the wrist is perfect. Its 39 mm diameter and its steel bracelet blend perfectly with your wrist; it knows how to make itself forgotten by slipping under your sleeve and appearing when you need it. The same goes for the mega-quartz chronograph.
The most impressive thing about this is that the watches were jointly designed. The brand didn’t just come up with a design that was then approved by a senior officer who has to manage this “thing” between two classified files.
The watch, a real work tool, must serve the military. It is with this in mind that the chronograph and the GMT have been chosen. Both represent useful functions in the daily life of these men and women of action.
Aware of the aura of the Air and Space Force, it has been decided that the watches will be made available to Army personnel as well as to the general public. This way you will be able to taste a part of this universe that seems so inaccessible. Who knows, the common ground you will have with a pilot may be what you wear on your wrist.
Not limiting this collection to Army personnel can be seen as a way to make more money for the brand. Using the image of such an institution is a good way to sell. But don’t forget the values of cohesion and solidarity that animate the Army. They are also reflected in this project.
Indeed, 12.5% of the purchase price will be donated to the FOSA. The Fondation des Œuvres Sociales de l’Air. Its mission: to provide assistance to the personnel of the Air Force and Space, the Direction Générale de l’Aviation Civile, Météo France and their families who are in difficulty following an “accident of life” that has happened to one of their own.
Let’s keep dreaming, because one day our dreams may come true. In the meantime, we’ll still try to get back into a cockpit.
Now, it’s your turn to share your flying adventures with us!
