What Is a Flyback Chronograph?

The historically handy complication is making a comeback.

black chronograph watch on a bund leather strap

Published August 8, 2023

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There are the sporty chronograph watches everyone loves, and then there are certain kinds of chronographs that are special. Often, you can’t even tell by looking at them that these watches are any different from chronographs offering the standard variety of stopwatch feature — and that’s because the difference lies in their internal mechanics and functionality. You’ve got the likes of the rattrapante and the monopusher, but one of the most historically interesting and increasingly popular varieties of these “exotic” chronographs is known as the flyback.

“The flyback function allowed pilots to swiftly reset the chronograph while maintaining continuous timing, making it ideal for recording multiple time intervals with speed and accuracy.”

From reissues of vintage military pilot’s watches from the likes of Breguet and Airain to modern designs from big players like TAG Heuer, Zenith, Longines and others, the flyback has been making a comeback.

The differences in the way a flyback operates compared to a “regular” chronograph might at first seem tiny, almost negligible. But they can make enthusiasts’ eyes light up and watch brands charge more. But if you’re not familiar with the history and complexity the flyback adds to a more standard chronograph, you might wonder what all the hoopla is about. You might even find yourself asking, “what is a flyback chronograph, anyway?”

black chronograph watch dial — The 2023 Longines Spirit Flyback ($4,450) references the brand’s history with aviation and the flyback complication in particular.

What Exactly Is a Flyback Chronograph?

The flyback feature adds the ability to immediately restart your chronograph without needing to first stop and reset it.

Say you need to time two events back-to-back, and you’ve got a standard chronograph on your wrist to help do so. You’d initially start the chronograph to time the first event, and then you’d need to stop, reset and then restart it to start timing the second. That’s four button pushes total, three of them simply to start timing the second event — and this is what the flyback aims to address.

Here’s how a chronograph watch normally works, if you need a refresher: 1) Push the button at 2 o’clock to start the stopwatch feature; 2) Use the same button to stop it (you can also restart it from its stopped time); 3) Push the button at 4 o’clock to reset the stopwatch to zero.

Now, imagine you’re equipped with a flyback for the same purpose as above. You’re timing an event, the stopwatch hands are in motion, and without stopping the chronograph you simply press the reset button. This causes the hands to snap back to zero and immediately begin timing again. You’ve doubled your button-pushing efficiency. It’s very handy functionality — for very specific circumstances.

vintage chronograph watch laid flat on a table — An example of the Longines 13ZN flyback chronograph, launched in 1936.

How Did Pilots Use the Flyback, Historically?

From a modern watch-wearer’s perspective, the convenience of two button pushes versus four seems almost negligible. And considering the cost and complexity the flyback adds, one is forced to ask: why bother? But, like most features of traditional watches that are mostly obsolete today, the flyback is rooted in real-world use and necessity.

Back before today’s computers, timing was a crucial component of navigation, especially on the open seas or in the open sky. Pilots would plan routes in stages based on distance and time, so being able change heading at a specific time and start timing the next stage could make a big difference in the accuracy of navigation. It had other uses for pilots, as well.

“In navigation, pilots often needed to time various segments of their flights, such as calculating the time taken to travel between waypoints, measure fuel consumption, or perform coordinated maneuvers,” says Longines CEO Matthias Breschan. “The flyback function allowed pilots to swiftly reset the chronograph while maintaining continuous timing, making it ideal for recording multiple time intervals with speed and accuracy.”

Longines is credited with pioneering the flyback way back in 1925, receiving a patent for the mechanism in 1936. Such watches by the likes of Hanhart in Germany and later Breguet in France (among others) had important military uses, but also found use in peacetime, according to Breschan: “The flyback function became valuable in the world of sports, particularly in timing sporting events that involved multiple laps, such as racing.”

chronograph watch on wrist with red seconds hand — Watches like the Zenith Pilot Big Date Flyback ($11,500) take the flyback in a fully contemporary direction.

Why Is the Flyback Popular Now?

As the vintage reissue craze has evolved and matured, brands have gone from offering simple vintage styles to adding complications and increasingly historically accurate remakes. Those are exactly the qualities that collectors and enthusiasts look for when spending the thousands of dollars such watches can cost.

Imagine a reissue of the famous Type 20 watches without a flyback feature. Sure, you could get that grammable retro look, but the flyback was precisely its raison d’être and part of what makes it interesting for today’s watchnerds. Its inclusion makes a modern Type 20 remake feel genuine and more substantive than merely a “style.” While the flyback adds cost and complexity, it’s often not too much beyond that of a standard chronograph, and this helps keep the prices of watches with the feature relatively down to earth.

Even though it’s not super useful for many day-to-day applications, the flyback is considered a pragmatic feature that fits well on tool and sport watches. And those are the watches people often get most excited about. As the flyback has long been associated with military and aviation, the boom in vintage reissues (along with the relative ease of incorporating the feature) has seen watchmakers increasingly choose the flyback as a way to offer more interest, legitimacy and uniqueness.