Autavia 11630 Kenya Air Force

Here's my very special 'Kenya Air Force' Autavia.
As a child I was partly brought up in Africa and have spent a lot of time in Kenya.
I used to fly quite a bit too and back in 2002 had the great fortune to get some hours in a Cessna 150 Aerobat out of Nairobi's Wilson Airport with the great Vernon Collins at the Aero Club of East Africa.
Vernon handled the radio while I did the flying :-)
What an experience being able to see some of the most amazing landscape and craters from above.
Incredible too seeing the ground literally disappear far beneath the wheels  as we crossed the great rift.

 

I'm not sure of the history of this particular Autavia but it has the correct (and very rare) dial plus the 'KAF xxx' stamp on the case back :-)

Only restoration work was a new crystal to replace the very badly chipped original - I was just too worried that it might crumble all together and damage the dial. As for the rest of it, I like the fact it's had a life and bears a few bumps and scrapes to show for it.

A sad footnote to this story is that the aircraft that I flew in, Cessna 5Y-AZX, was destroyed in a crash 3 years later, killing both occupants :-(

Rolex 16800

Best of all worlds, plus the more bumps and scrapes, the better it looks :-)