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-Moderators, I understand this might not be the best place to post this story, but given this area is probably the most visited I thought it was necessary. You will find out why…very very soon. Keep reading.
Several weeks ago I received a call from my AD. Actually it was a missed call. Wondering what he wanted, I returned his call. As he picked up the phone he said, “can you take week days from work off”. To which I replied, “it depends”. He continued, “well I got invited to an exclusive “Breitling Experience Day. My sales representative said to invite the deserving die hard Breitling customer”. Before he could mention any of the details, I said “I am in”!!! At this point the details were scarce. All he knew was that we were to travel to NYC, stay over night, and then fly with the Breitling Jet Team the next day. To which I screamed and shouted holy sh!t this is going to be the best day of my life.
A couple weeks went by, and I contacted my AD asking if he had heard anything to which he responded “nothing”. A few more days went by and I received another call. He said “figured I would call you and let you know what is going on. I just forwarded you our itinerary.” I was ecstatic. The event was to take place Tuesday (5/17) to Wednesday (5/18). Another week or so went by as I was counting down the days. Finally it was Tuesday.
We drove down around 2PM from Connecticut and checked into our hotel. The second I walked thru the doors, I knew this place was special. They put us up in Park Hyatt 153 West, 57th Street. The place was exquisite no expense spared. Due to traffic we arrived a little late so we didn’t have much time to spend in the city. A welcome dinner was planned for 7:30 at the Wayfarer.
Having changed into some nice clothes, I headed down to meet everyone in the lobby. From there we walked a couple blocks to the restaurant. It was there that we had a private room and the honor/privilege to meet Ted Schneider and the president of Breitling NA. There were about 20 people total in attendance including Breitling employees. Dinner was a fixed prix menu. I chose ravioli, NY strip, and chocolate moose. Everything was excellent. At the end of the meal the president gave a quick welcome speech and outlined the day ahead. After dinner everyone headed back as the next day was to start at 6:30AM.
The following day everyone met again down in the lobby for a light breakfast. At the conclusion we were then shuttled to the Seaplane Terminal on the Hudson River. At this point, I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous. We all packed into (3) sea planes destined for New Haven (Tweed Airport). The ride only lasted about 20 minutes. It was when we landed that I had to pinch myself because I thought I was dreaming. The first thing I noticed were these giant Breitling flags. As we proceeded I then saw (8) Breitling jets and a Breitling Bentley automobile. I looked at my AD, and said you have to be kidding me. What I experienced when I arrived is hard to put into words. Beyond the jets and car was a giant Breitling freestanding sign with a line of Breitling pilots as a meet and greet. The experience up until this point was insane.
Just past the sign and pilots was a giant hangar full of Breitling billboards, watches, tables, ejection seats, etc. I thought I was in heaven. Pictures will be uploaded in the coming days because words just don’t do it any justice.
As if we didn’t eat enough, there were hors devours, coffee, breakfast, and drinks. The event was fully catered all day with staff walking around serving appetizers on trays. Shortly after we arrived there was a briefing that laid out the events activities. At this point, I learned not only would we be flying with the Breitling Jet Team but we would also be able to go in a helicopter, Breitling acrobatic prop plane, and T-9 avenger. The jet team flying activity was comprised of 3 sessions throughout the day. I was slated to fly at 2PM. Knowing that we had to plan other events around our jet team experience.
At 10:00 we boarded the helicopter for a tour of New Haven flying over Yale University. It was incredible and my first time ever in a helicopter. A short while later at 11:00 I had the opportunity to fly in the Breitling Acrobatic prop plane. At which point I was allowed to take control and perform barrel rolls. The pilot even allowed me to help fly back to the airport. It was insane!!!!! We were up for about 15 minutes.
After climbing out of the acrobatic plane I have to admit I wasn’t feeling too good. At this point it was getting close to noon. After a short time of sitting I got my legs back. We then proceed to eat lunch. Lunch consisted of lobster rolls, filet mignon, fries, salad, and squash. Everything again was top notch and delicious. This is actually when I got to meet my pilot Paco.
He was wicked down to earth. We chatted for over an hour about watches, planes, family, and boats. Getting to know him made me feel a little more comfortable for our flight. About an hour later it was go time. We had to meet an hour before flying to go over safety precautions and get changed. It was arranged such that there were lockers with our names on it. Inside the locker contained our flight suit and a swag bag. I will get to back to the swag bag and flight suit later on. After signing a couple waivers and completed the training we were ready to go. Boarding the jet all (7) proceeded to the run way. The jets took off in sets of (3). Before you know it we were in the air climbing and getting into a triangle formation. At this point I wasn’t feeling too good but I said screw it, bite the bullet you are never going to get to do this ever again. We were on the far right of the formation. Looking to my left you could see all of the planes just feet off our wing. We continued flying as we did loops in formation. It was insane. Paco was always in constant communication asking how I was feeling. At several points the jet team even engaged the smoke streams. It was amazing to be up there with them. After a little bit more flying we broke formation to do barrel rolls and other maneuvers. We got back into formation and headed back to the airport. The total flight was about 20-25 minutes. Once we got back to ground we hopped out and told my pilot this had to be the best day of my life. I also told him that the G force was a lot more intense than I thought it would be. At one point we reached 4.5G’s. it was incredible but have to admit I wasn’t feeling too good. After relaxing for a little while my legs came back and was feeling a bit better.
At this point it had felt as if the day had just started. Unfortunately it was around 4PM and we had to head back. Sadly…Before I got back on the Sea Plane I made it a point to thank all of the Breitling employees and food staff for an incredible day and experience. The hospitality and service was second to none.
To commemorate the day Breitling sent us home with all kinds of goodies. They even allowed us to keep our flight jump suits. I was ecstatic!!!! The swag bag included a hat, t shirt, puzzle, stickers, patches, magazine, coin, and certificates.
Honestly it’s a day and experience I will never forget. Kudos to Breitling. Thank you for having us, I look forward to my next watch purchase and several more to come. Thanks again to the breitling employees, airport, wait staff, restarant, hotel, and pilots!!!!!! For a day I will never forget.
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