Woah Sunglare

[HeathrowAirport]

Hello Guys,

I flew yesterday for my first NPPL lesson and the sun glare was terrible, on my way back to the airfield I had the sun in my eyes for a majority of the flight, and I could not concentrate to the best of my ability because someone decided to circle over us being a right plonka, forcing me to look directly into the sun glare so I did not hit him. And I believe a pair of prescription sunglasses would be good as my spare pair.

I was reading on google, however I've come across this - "Prescription sunglasses with N.D.15 lenses can be obtained"?

Does anyone know any recommendations for stores in London that I can get the exact prescriptions of my glasses for a pair of sunglasses and any specifics I should mention that meet the CAA requirements?

I'm not looking at paying £100+, I just want a cheap pair of sunglasses that meet the requirements for the CAA/NPPL flying?

Kindest Regards.

[gpn01]

If you're looking at prescription sunglasses then I guess you're wearing normal glasses already? If that's the case then I'd recommend trying clip-on sunglasses. You can get them from most opticians for £10-£20. No need to mess around the additional prescriptions and when they become scratched you just buy more of them. They're also great in difficult light conditions as you can flip them up/down as needed.

[Miroku]

I was flying yesterday and I agree that the glare was particularly difficult. I use bifocal photochromic glasses (two pairs for the price of one at Tesco so a reasonable price). These work very well for me.

[Maoraigh1]

When I get new bifocals, I get two pairs, one sunglasses, one clear, from whatever optician supplies them. I've used discount chain opticians quite happily.
You may find sunglasses make little difference, if you have a badly scratched windscreen.

[squidie]

I was flying in the Vale of York this afternoon and the sun was just about setting so it was directly in my eyes coming back into Leeds, sometimes I’ve got to use my hand or my chart as a sun visor to block the sun. Normally I wear sunglasses but that doesn’t always do the trick.

[HeathrowAirport]

It really is particularly annoying, because when people act the fool, when your trying to learn by doing aerobatics over your head, and your face has to go directly into the sun it can be rather distracting.

Were can I get these clip ons? As I guess they are cheaper and what spec should they be?

[cats_five]

Clip-ons need to fit your specs, cover the lenses, not dig into your face, and they must give UV protection. If you wear dark glasses that don't, your pupils dilate because of the darkness and then the UV goes into your eye - ouch.

Personally I wear single-use soft contact lenses for flying, when it's more than the odd half-hour. My peripheral vision is better with them, and they are never dirty scratched or uncomfortable. I put sunglasses on as necessary - I have them on a string so I can take them off without having to stow them.

[englishal]

I could not concentrate to the best of my ability because someone decided to circle over us being a right plonka

That's not what I heard. I heard that someone was carrying out upper air work, and some plonka decided to fly right under them, so they could not concentrate properly !

[1800ed]

I echo what cats five says. I wear disposable contact lenses while flying, that way I can wear non-prescription sunglasses. Works well for skiing too!

[gpn01]

Originally Posted by HeathrowAirport

It really is particularly annoying, because when people act the fool, when your trying to learn by doing aerobatics over your head, and your face has to go directly into the sun it can be rather distracting.

Were can I get these clip ons? As I guess they are cheaper and what spec should they be?

If they're doing aerobatics then in all probability they've done a series of clearing turns before starting. Might be worth checking with your instructor why he/she didn't see the aerobatic sortie starting and stay clear of them! If the Sun is directly into your eyes then I guess you could always do something radical...like change your heading :-)

For the sunglass/clipon spec. just go into a decent opticians and ask for their advice. AFAIK there's no such thing as an 'aviation spec' for sunglasses/clipons. Just avoid polarized and make sure that they do offer UV protection.

[Arclite01]

Tesco opticians doing wrap arounds now (prescription) for 40 quid - Bargain - mine are great.

Arc

[colins247]

Whats wrong with polarized?

[modelman]

Polarised

Try looking at an LCD/TFT display through polarised............

[englishal]

My oakley's are polarized, and they are fine, even in a glass cockpit, unless I turn my head on the side - then the screens go black.

[gpn01]

LCD screens often use polarized filters. Mixing this with polarized unglasses can indeed make the screen appear to black out. Depends on the orientation (I think having vertically polarized sunglasses and vertically polarized instruments causes problems, whereas if one is horizontal and one vertical you're ok until you tilt your head too far and then it all goes black...but that's probably because you've cut off your blood supply via the carotid artery!).

[stevelup]

In my car there are four LCD displays all with the polarising filters installed in a different way.

So as I rotate my head round, they each go blank in turn - there isn't a single position where I can see more than one display at once.

I guess you could be similarly unlucky in an aircraft!

[carldudley]

This is not a plug in anyway but i got some ray ban aviators from Sunglasses Shop UK. Designer sunglasses including Oakley and Ray-Ban sunglasses, cheap sunglasses for £103 all in, incl. prescription lenses.

Also try Vision Express or Sunglass Hut at most large shopping centres. Vision Express were probably the best but the most expensive.

I wore mine on late Sunday afternoon and they were great!

[Gertrude the Wombat]

It's only a problem for an hour or so on each of a few days per year. You could just decide not to go flying on those days.

Most fun is when the runway is directly into the sun and you can't see to land ... which has a simple answer, just fly around for fifteen minutes until the sun is below the horizon.

[StickFlyer]

Hello all, this reminds me of a question which probably reveals me as a bit of a newbie but - what about icing up of the window?
the heater on my vehicle is really a not very funny joke and driving in certain conditions has completely iced up and obscured my vision presumably as the moisture re-freezes on the glass.. can this happen in flight and are there any workarounds?? (be prepared and all that!)

[rmac]

Or just fit some Rosen visors which work like a huge pair of sunglasses