TESTAF

TESTAF is an acronym for ‘Technischer Standard Fliegeruhren’ (technical standard for pilot watches), a list of requirements and the creation of a certification body for watches launched by the Department of Aerospace Technology at Aachen University of Applied Sciences together with Sinn Spezialuhren which is used in professional aviation operations.

The role of a watch as part of contemporary aviation is barely different from the role of the diving watch in diving when it comes to issues of safety. In both cases, diving computers or on-board instruments are the main means of measuring time. However, wristwatches are commonly used as backup devices which enable the execution of the flight or dive in accordance with prescribed procedure or emergency termination in the case of primary equipment failure. Despite these similarities, DIN 8306 does provide a standardisation of the term ‘diving watch’, but there is not yet a similar regulation of the term ‘pilot watch’. TESTAF is meant to close this loophole and set out all requirements a wristwatch should meet in modern aviation. TESTAF can be viewed or downloaded at http://www.sinn.de/en/TESTAF.htm