Sunglasses...trivial?

Serengeti makes a polarized version of their driver lens. I own a pair, they're great. I only wish they were the gradient lens; although they look super cheesy, they make sense in the cockpit.
 
mhcasey said:
Hey guys,

I lost my beloved pair of regular old Ray-Ban sunglasses the other day...non-aviator style. Since cheap sunglasses 9/10 distort vision and generally tick me off, I want to get a quality pair that will last a while. Do you guys have any words of wisdom? Stay away from polarized? Aviator style is a must? Anything else?

Maybe a trivial post, but I don't want to spend 100 bucks towards crappy sunglasses when I could apply that towards flying airplanes.
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If you liked your old Ray Bans why not just get another pair? Ray Ban makes excellent quality lenses and who cares if they aren't "Aviator style"?

As far as discussions of polarized vs. non polarized, folks who've spent a lot of your tax dollars researching the matter say non-polarized are the better choice for flying. That said, I've flown with both and believe there may be some trade-offs where in certain situations polarized lens would have the advantage. Still I'll tend to take the advice of those that did the in depth research and I chose non-polarized lenses for flying.

As far as places to shop, if you don't have to have the absolute latest style you can get top quality brands like Ray ban, Serengeti, and even Maui Jim (if you want polarized) at online places or at your local Costco for less than $100. I got a pair of Serengeti Hurikanu's for about $75 at my local Costco and the last time I was in, they actually had Randolph’s (or maybe they were AO's) for less than that.

There seems to be a bottom line of about $70 to get what I consider a really good pair of suitable aviation sunglasses. For that amount, you can get Randolph’s or American Optical "Military Issue" types with great optics but maybe less stylish than some would prefer, however if you shop around you can find more stylish Ray Bans or Serengeti’s for less than $100. Most anything you pay over the $70 range should be considered "vanity dollars" since you are not getting any better quality when you buy those $200 Oakley’s.
 
Sounds like there is no definitive answer, but all of your responses have been helpful. My Dad apparently has some Serengeti's that he's not using anymore that I'm going to borrow for now. If they don't work out, I'll probably either see what Costco has, or try some of those fancy Rudolph's.

One last question: Are grey lenses really not ideal for contrast? Grey lenses keep colors as true as can be with all objects, whereas a brown lense will distort brown, red red, etc., or so I thought? Being a mountain biker, I've heard all sorts of people say that yellow heightens contrast most, but in my experience, they just make everything look yellow, which is altogether uncomfortable. Does anyone want to try to explain this one scientifically, with reference to cones and millions of chemical reactions? ; )

Also, congrats to all of you guys that found good cheap sunglasses. My experience has been more dissapointing in the walmart optical department...
 
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http://www.adventuresportsonline.com/sunglasscolor.htm Here's another good explanation...

Also... Here's the FAA specific document.

http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/sunglasses.pdf#search='sunglasses%20polarized%20faa.gov'

It's not that they've spent ton's of out tax dollars to determine if polarized lenses are good or not. It's just a simple recommendation because "of their possible interaction with displays or other materials in the cockpit environment." If you are fully aware of that issue and have compensated of do not have any displays that are an issue... then...


Bob
 
/shrug

I refuse to wear sunglasses. There are shades in the plane to block the sun's glare if I need it and I can't stand it when things aren't the proper color.
 
I'm not a big fan of sunglasses either. But latelly i have been getting some pretty bad headaches due to glare and constant squinting.

I gotta save some $$$ to get some decent prescription sunglasses.
 
I've trained myself not to squint. Basically, I just mostly close my eyes and use my eyelashes to block out any sun. I can still see perfectly fine and I won't have wrinkles/headaches. :P
 
khysanth said:
I've trained myself not to squint. Basically, I just mostly close my eyes and use my eyelashes to block out any sun. I can still see perfectly fine and I won't have wrinkles/headaches. :P
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Ummmkaaayyyy.... :confused:

David... you are really not doing yourself a favor here. You want all your vision working for you. Look at what you just wrote: "...I just mostly close my eyes..." That would interfere with your peripheral vision as well and limit your overall vision.

You really should read the FAA document I posted earlier... at the very least read the first paragraph:
Sunglasses help safeguard a pilot’s most important sensory asset — vision. A quality pair
of sunglasses is essential in the cockpit environment to optimize visual performance.
Sunglasses reduce the effects of harsh sunlight, decrease eye fatigue, and protect ocular
tissues from exposure to harmful solar radiation. Additionally, they protect the pilot’s
eyes from impact with objects (i.e., flying debris from a bird strike, sudden decompression,
or aerobatic maneuvers).​
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Full doument here: http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/sunglasses.pdf

In other words... to answer mhcasey's original question, (the topic of this forum)...

Sunglasses... Trivial? No...

Good luck, and congrats on your recent solo... :)

Bob
 
wow...that is one of the most rediculous things i have ever seen posted on the internet. Thats one of the quickest egos to inflate ever, with only 17 hours.
 
From safety.com
Eye Damage and Blindness
UV light can wreak havoc on the tissue of the eye. Prolonged exposure can cause many eye diseases including cataracts. Cataracts cause the lens of the eye to become cloudy, making vision more difficult. As cataracts progress, they can lead to permanent blindness.


Another potential effect of UV radiation is a "burning" of the eye surface. This causes patches of blindness. The effects usually disappear within a couple of days, but may lead to further complications later in life.
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mhcasey said:
Also, congrats to all of you guys that found good cheap sunglasses. My experience has been more dissapointing in the walmart optical department...
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Ditto. The only reason I buy Wal-Mart sunglasses is because I ALWAYS end up breaking my glasses somehow, all the time, it's a trend with me. However, the other day I was flying along with my sunglasses on and noticed that I couldn't see the panel as clear as I though I should be able to. I took off the Wal-Mart cheapies and bam, the panel was "severe clear" so to speak. I could see everything very clearly. I put the sunglasses back on, and things are not nearly as clear, which got me thinking, I probably need to try some better sunglasses and do my best to keep from breaking them. I do have some Maui Jim's somewhere that someone gave to me, I think I'm going to try them out next time I fly.
 
I've spent about a month with polarized lenses in the airplane. You can't see certain displays at all with the lenses on and depending on the polarization of the windows, it's difficult to look for traffic:

Without polarized lenses:

8425.jpg


WITH polarized lenses:

8415.jpg


But they're fantastic for glare.

If you understand the limitations of polarized lenses and how to use them, I think they're more effective than non-polarized lenses.
 
I wear perscription glasses and the pair I currently wear came with polarized clip ons. I find that in the piston airplanes that polarized sunglasses work fine, but in turbine equipment with the thick laminated windshields that polarized are not comfortable to wear for the reason Doug indicated.
 
wow...that is one of the most rediculous things i have ever seen posted on the internet. Thats one of the quickest egos to inflate ever, with only 17 hours.
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Wow, you must not have read many posts on the internet. Yeah, it doesn't make much sense and I think Bob clarified that.

Thats one of the quickest egos to inflate ever, with only 17 hours
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:confused: What are you talking about? I didn't get that at all from his post and I can almost guarantee that's not how he meant it.

Sorry, I think I'm just particularly annoyed by your comments most of the time. In fact, I get way more of a "EGO" sense from your posts than just about anyone else. Aren't you a Citation III FO? No offense, that sounds like a nice position and you're probably a sharp pilot, but you often sound like you got it all figured out much of the time. Based on most of the posts I've read from you, you don't. If fact, none of us do. A little humility goes on forever.:)

SORRY FOR THE HIJACK
 
Not wearing sunglasses has nothing to do with my ego. I refuse to wear them ANYWHERE, not just for flying, because I can't stand the way they alter my natural vision.

And if you would be so kind as to not partial quote ... "I can still see perfectly fine..." I believe I know my own vision better than any of you do and am well aware of my own limitations.

You found what works for you - specific sunglasses. They don't work for me. They NEVER have. I know what works for me.
 
khysanth said:
Not wearing sunglasses has nothing to do with my ego. I refuse to wear them ANYWHERE, not just for flying, because I can't stand the way they alter my natural vision.

And if you would be so kind as to not partial quote ... "I can still see perfectly fine..." I believe I know my own vision better than any of you do and am well aware of my own limitations.

You found what works for you - specific sunglasses. They don't work for me. They NEVER have. I know what works for me.
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What about ultraviolet radiation causing long term damage to one's eyes?
 
aloft said:
Serengeti makes a polarized version of their driver lens. I own a pair, they're great. I only wish they were the gradient lens; although they look super cheesy, they make sense in the cockpit.
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Thanks for calling my glasses cheesy...

I think cheesy should be reserved for the guys wearing the mirrored sunglasses and wearing driving gloves to fly. Since when is flying a fasion show. We are all wearing bus driver uniforms.
 
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