Special Sunglasses
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Special Sunglasses
Recently needed glasses to fly for commercial ops for my class 1, just slightly shortsighted, -1 aside.
Does anyone know where I can get some tinted glasses for flying in WA or even better, those Flap-style glasses where you can shut the tinted lenses on top of the normal, clear lenses? Been looking online for them but haven't been able to find any.
Thanks
Captandy
Does anyone know where I can get some tinted glasses for flying in WA or even better, those Flap-style glasses where you can shut the tinted lenses on top of the normal, clear lenses? Been looking online for them but haven't been able to find any.
Thanks
Captandy
I use Product Information : Pilot Sunglasses : Great Sunglasses : Super Sunglasses : Glare Sunglasses : Best Sunglasses for Men : ExtremeGlareSunglasses.com
over my specs - optional headband doesn't interfere with headset.
over my specs - optional headband doesn't interfere with headset.
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I've seen some pilots with these glasses that have like a hinged flap so that they can interchange between their normal prescription glasses and then just lock in their shaded lens on top... then lock them back up when its not too bright..... what are they called?!
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Due a recent purchase of my 1st ANR headset, I became aware of Lightspeed making aviator sunglasses that would seem to meet your needs! The clear lenses can be made to your prescription needs, with a drop-down sunglass filter. Naturally they are designed for best performance in conjunction with a headset.
They're pricey -but worth a look!
They're pricey -but worth a look!
Last edited by RadioSaigon; 21st May 2012 at 11:56. Reason: corrected the link!
Hippopotomonstrosesquipidelian title
I had a pair with a magnetically-attached sunglass layer. I didn't really appreciate them at the time until I realised the sunglass layer could just as easily be retrofitted with reading glasses. Outstanding product until I sat on the whole kit and caboodle.
Clip-on or flip-up sunglasses? Clips on to the top of your glasses and flip up and down? Try your local pharmacy for this great looking fashion accessory 
: http://www.polarizedoptics.com/catal...-CL-Series.jpe
: http://www.polarizedoptics.com/catal...-CL-Series.jpe
Might be worth a visit to a CASA DAO, obviously more expensive but if you fly for a living the investment is worth it. They will know which types of lenses are suitable for pilots.
Originally Posted by penguin
Clips on to the top of your glasses and flip up and down? Try your local pharmacy for this great looking fashion accessory
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You need a spare set anyway. In my experience, clip-ons and flip-ups are uncomfortable compromises that don't work as well as you would tend to think. Get one regular, clear pair of prescription glasses and a pair of regular, prescription sunglasses. Cheaper in the long run, more flexible, more comfortable and with a HUGE range to choose from. And you'll get glasses that are designed to be used as glasses and sunglasses that are designed to be used as sunglasses.
You'll use the sunglasses 95% of the time while flying and the clear glasses most often at home and after hours. You won't be tied to obsolescence either; meaning when it comes to finding just a replacement clip-on section, you won't have to order a completely new set. You're going to sit on them or put your hoof on them anyway. The hinged sets don't stand up to abuse. You'll lose the clip-on types; you hope it's not down the fuel tank when you peer in to check the level, you don't need additional magnets in the cockpit, and they are very easily bent out of shape so that they no longer clip on.
Personal preference: I like the plastic framed sunglasses with a wrap-around frame (can't get that in flip-ups or clip-ons). They hold up to abuse, tolerate the sweat, provide better protection in the sun particularly around the sides and they can be worn for regular things like mowing the yard, messing about in the garage and a morning on the beach. I like small, wire framed clear glasses. They are compact enough to carry in a shirt pocket and can be worn in other environments like nights out, restaurants and kids' events without looking daggy on my ugly face. Both sets are lighter than the flip-ups/clip-ons and don't hurt the back of my ears after a long time of use.
And if you fly VFR, rose coloured sunglasses definitely make the weather look a lot better...seriously! Yellow, brown and green tints give a macabre look to crappy weather ahead of the nose. If the weather looks manacing in rose coloured sunglasses, then it probably is. (Disclaimer: I like a brown-green tint that I've been using for years.) I tried clip-ons and flip-ups and ditched them. They were just gimmicks I didn't need.
You'll use the sunglasses 95% of the time while flying and the clear glasses most often at home and after hours. You won't be tied to obsolescence either; meaning when it comes to finding just a replacement clip-on section, you won't have to order a completely new set. You're going to sit on them or put your hoof on them anyway. The hinged sets don't stand up to abuse. You'll lose the clip-on types; you hope it's not down the fuel tank when you peer in to check the level, you don't need additional magnets in the cockpit, and they are very easily bent out of shape so that they no longer clip on.
Personal preference: I like the plastic framed sunglasses with a wrap-around frame (can't get that in flip-ups or clip-ons). They hold up to abuse, tolerate the sweat, provide better protection in the sun particularly around the sides and they can be worn for regular things like mowing the yard, messing about in the garage and a morning on the beach. I like small, wire framed clear glasses. They are compact enough to carry in a shirt pocket and can be worn in other environments like nights out, restaurants and kids' events without looking daggy on my ugly face. Both sets are lighter than the flip-ups/clip-ons and don't hurt the back of my ears after a long time of use.
And if you fly VFR, rose coloured sunglasses definitely make the weather look a lot better...seriously! Yellow, brown and green tints give a macabre look to crappy weather ahead of the nose. If the weather looks manacing in rose coloured sunglasses, then it probably is. (Disclaimer: I like a brown-green tint that I've been using for years.) I tried clip-ons and flip-ups and ditched them. They were just gimmicks I didn't need.
Last edited by Lodown; 21st May 2012 at 15:03.
Nunc est bibendum
Clip ons are a compromise solution at best. Like lodown I've gone for two completely separate pairs of glasses. I survived with magnetic clip ons for a couple of years and it wasn't a bad option- easy to flip the sunnies attachment off and slide them into the top pocket when on descent and it was starting to get gloomy- but they were a compromise solution as a sunglass. Given that they went over the top of my normal prescription lenses, they weren't of a 'wrap around' style and thus let in lots of light around the side. There were days in cloud when I could barely see due to the glare coming in the side of my sunnies.
About 4 years ago now I went to a dedicated pair of prescription sunnies. I just find the pair of Rayban (or other) frames that I like and pay the obscene amount of money required to pop in some prescription lenses. I've found this to be the best sunglass option and my normal glasses just sit in the top of my shirt. Changing them over takes about 3 seconds. I don't ever put my glasses down anywhere so I've never left them on an aeroplane (yet). They either sit in my shirt of they're in my bag. Never, ever, anywhere else.
About 4 years ago now I went to a dedicated pair of prescription sunnies. I just find the pair of Rayban (or other) frames that I like and pay the obscene amount of money required to pop in some prescription lenses. I've found this to be the best sunglass option and my normal glasses just sit in the top of my shirt. Changing them over takes about 3 seconds. I don't ever put my glasses down anywhere so I've never left them on an aeroplane (yet). They either sit in my shirt of they're in my bag. Never, ever, anywhere else.
to a second pair of glasses - prescription sunnies. If you go to one of the cheaper glasses retailers, i.e. specsavers, you should be able to get them very cheap (if you have a Medicare care - even cheaper if you have health insurance!).From personal experience, don't get the sunnies with thick arms as you'll have problems with your headset. The smaller armed glasses keep more sound out. Also avoid paying for a $400 pair of Ray Bans because your optometrist will just have to yank out the lenses anyway and replace them with your prescription. Plus you're going to drop them at some stage anyway! We're not all on Qantas coin like Keg
Last edited by Aimpoint; 21st May 2012 at 23:17.
You could ask your opthamologist or your glasses supplier, for an opinion on those (photo chromatic ?) 'self-tinting' lenses.
I use them, and they do cut down the glare somewhat, without interfering with general vision.
And, if they're 'on ya face', then you probably won't sit on them / lose them....
Cheers
I use them, and they do cut down the glare somewhat, without interfering with general vision.
And, if they're 'on ya face', then you probably won't sit on them / lose them....
Cheers
Last edited by Ex FSO GRIFFO; 22nd May 2012 at 02:11.
Nunc est bibendum
Also avoid paying for a $400 pair of Ray Bans because your optometrist will just have to yank out the lenses anyway and replace them with your prescription.
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Agree with Keg and Lodown. Always flew with prescription sunnies and had the clear ones in a pouch in the flight bag.
These days I need bi focals and found that it was no problem for that either.
Always flew with prescription sunnies and had the clear ones in a pouch in the flight bag.These days I need bi focals and found that it was no problem for that either.
Guys and Girls,
Forget clip-ons, waste of time.
Also, you need a different light attenuation for flying, (think cataracts and macular degeneration from UV exposure) compared to ground level, and don't, under any circumstances, use glass lenses, polycarbonate only, which is actually more scratch resistant than optical glass.
Your local spectacle-maker is not much use to you, for any glasses, because the assumed focal lengths are NOT what you need flying, as the standard figures assume you are reading a book at less than arms length
.
THE experts for making vision corrected lenses for pilots are
they can tailor bifocals and tri-focals for the type of aircraft, and whether you are in the left or right seat ---- it makes a difference when looking at the overhead panel on aircraft.
This crowd have been making glasses for military ( both Australia and O/S, including USAF) and civil pilots for many years --- even supplied "sunglasses" to NASA for the early space programs.
Don't buy junk (including expensive fashion junk) for flying, get expert advice, and take it.
There are lots of things that can be missing and you can fly, but eyesight is not one of them.
I personally know of too many pilots who are no longer pilots, because they skimped on eye protection, including good sunglasses, and safety glasses when they should be worn, like mowing the lawn, or working around the garden or workshop/garage.
If you value your flying future, don't be a dumb twit, and skimp on eye protection.
Or skimp, as the case may be, and do the profession a favour by making an early exit for another pursuit, to which your critical mental faculties (or lack thereof) are more suited.
Tootle pip!!
Forget clip-ons, waste of time.
Also, you need a different light attenuation for flying, (think cataracts and macular degeneration from UV exposure) compared to ground level, and don't, under any circumstances, use glass lenses, polycarbonate only, which is actually more scratch resistant than optical glass.
Your local spectacle-maker is not much use to you, for any glasses, because the assumed focal lengths are NOT what you need flying, as the standard figures assume you are reading a book at less than arms length
.
THE experts for making vision corrected lenses for pilots are
Martin X Hogan, Collins St, Melbourne,
This crowd have been making glasses for military ( both Australia and O/S, including USAF) and civil pilots for many years --- even supplied "sunglasses" to NASA for the early space programs.
Don't buy junk (including expensive fashion junk) for flying, get expert advice, and take it.
There are lots of things that can be missing and you can fly, but eyesight is not one of them.
I personally know of too many pilots who are no longer pilots, because they skimped on eye protection, including good sunglasses, and safety glasses when they should be worn, like mowing the lawn, or working around the garden or workshop/garage.
If you value your flying future, don't be a dumb twit, and skimp on eye protection.
Or skimp, as the case may be, and do the profession a favour by making an early exit for another pursuit, to which your critical mental faculties (or lack thereof) are more suited.
Tootle pip!!
Last edited by LeadSled; 22nd May 2012 at 07:18.
4Greens,
None of those photochromatic lenses(including Serengeti) provide the degree of light attenuation required for flight, particularly at high altitude.
Right now, we seem to have a significant proportion of the present generation of pilots doing long term damage to their eyesight, by no longer knowing that something that works at ground level, doesn't fit the bill at altitude.
It ain't smart. In the "good old days", DCA and early successors used to run lectures around Australia, aimed at pilots preserving their eyesight.
Some of the older pilots will remember Dr.John Colvin, whose lectures on eye health (for the RAAF and Fleet Air Arm, as well as civil) for pilots were accompanied really 'orrible photographs of former pilots, and the damage they had done to themselves, that rendered them "former", by not taking simple precautions.
Another thing we have lost, with "the regulator" assuming the characteristics we see in CASA, where even what there is of education programs is all about "compliance".
Tootle pip!!
None of those photochromatic lenses(including Serengeti) provide the degree of light attenuation required for flight, particularly at high altitude.
Right now, we seem to have a significant proportion of the present generation of pilots doing long term damage to their eyesight, by no longer knowing that something that works at ground level, doesn't fit the bill at altitude.
It ain't smart. In the "good old days", DCA and early successors used to run lectures around Australia, aimed at pilots preserving their eyesight.
Some of the older pilots will remember Dr.John Colvin, whose lectures on eye health (for the RAAF and Fleet Air Arm, as well as civil) for pilots were accompanied really 'orrible photographs of former pilots, and the damage they had done to themselves, that rendered them "former", by not taking simple precautions.
Another thing we have lost, with "the regulator" assuming the characteristics we see in CASA, where even what there is of education programs is all about "compliance".
Tootle pip!!