Alpina is calling upon their heritage as a supplier to various air forces throughout the 20th century for their latest release, the Startimer Pilot Heritage Automatic. On the surface, it?s a fairly ordinary pilot?s watch with the requisite Alpina details, but there?s a secret around back in the form of the rarely seen and incredibly charming hunter case-back functionality, which allows you to view the movement with the flip of the hinged caseback. That makes the Startimer Pilot Heritage Automatic something of a traditional pilot?s watch, and a convincing throwback that should appeal to fans of aviation watches. Let?s take a closer look. 

The new Startimer checks in at 44mm, which is a big watch by any standard, but downsized compared to the 50mm Startimer Pilot Heritage which was released by the brand in 2015. That watch, limited to 1,883 pieces, was manually wound and also featured the hunter case-back seen on this new reference. This watch, with an automatic movement and more wearable diameter, is quite a bit more practical than the original, which was more of a curiosity for collectors than a watch meant to be worn on a regular basis. The Startimer Pilot Heritage Automatic has a matte black dial, large hands filled with lume, and big easy to read Arabic numerals that make it a practical choice for pilot?s watch enthusiasts. 
Little Alpina details abound throughout the watch?s design. The Alpina logo, we?re told, uses the original font that the brand us...