I've heard that polarized sunglasses aren't good for flying...something to do with how they pick up something off the windshield. I tried on a pair once on the ground though and was able to spot birds in the sky that I couldn't see with my regular lenses. You'd think polarized would be great for picking up traffic easier.

What's the consensus?

Polarized sunglasses are bad if you have alot of glass displays in your panel or you have a heated windshield. It starts to look like a dang kaleidoscope. If you don't have any fancy shmancy LCD/plasma displays or heated copper mesh in your windshield, wear whatever you feel like, gosh!

I like my non-polarized Smith Mainline Sliders. I can use 'em at work or play, or on the slopes. I've got brown, amber, & yellow lenses. Lucky! Now I just need skills. I don't have any good skills!

Napoleon D.

punkin170b wrote:... Lucky! Now I just need skills. I don't have any good skills!

Napoleon D.

Hahahaha!

Zane, I bet you're the only one who knows what the heck I was even talking about! Yessssssss!


It was awesome. I was flying with an FO who is a ND fan. Not only is he a fan, he WAS Napoleon in a younger day. He doesn't even have to TRY to sound like ND. He had this short conversation with SLC Center one morning early as we were inbound from Cody,WY. It was an attempt to get a shortcut on the arrival to Salt Lake. Imagine if you will:

My FO: "Salt Lake, Any chance direct CARTR?"

SLC Center: "There's no chance of that this morning."

My FO: "That's pretty much the worst chance that I know of."

Hehehe.

M

I think that the reason for polarized sun glasses is to eliminate glare. Real good for fishing-not so good for flying. A closing contact with constant relative bearing is sometimes hard to spot. Remember that in this scenario, if somebody does not take evasive action then evensually there will be only one blip on the radar. Sometimes the first thing you see is the glare off of a shiny surface.

Tim

I ended up just breaking my good polarized sunglasses... I used them a lot while flying and didn't have too many problems however as mentioned above the GPS (our MFD) would be hard to read if not looking directly at it...like looking at a laptop screen from the side. The edges of the windshield would be rainbow like along with all the water down below....kind of odd and it made you sick sometimes if you had them on too long...I imagin they wouldn't be too good for float flying....perhaps.

When my brother was getting his rotorcraft rating, he told me his instructor had said NOT to wear polarized sunglasses b/c it made the power lines hard to see.

I LOVE polarized, but I don't wear them when I fly. I wear those cheapy Blublockers...cheesey, but they really help cut down on the glare.

Not so good for float flying, let you see through the surface. Good for fishing, bad for landing. Tim

Polarized sunglasses are NOT good for flying floats, as noted. Otherwise, they may interfere with some displays.

A far better solution, in my book, is the Serengeti line of sunglasses. The propriatery tint of these things is really magic in reducing glare, and cutting through the haze. They are also great UV blockers, which is a big deal if you care about your eyes.

Serengetis are not cheap sunglasses, as immortilized by ZZ Top, but they last forever. They're glass, not plastic, and the coating is hard.

Once I bought a pair of sunglasses that an optometrist assured me were "identical tints to the Serengetis" for less money, of course. Took em back within two days, and popped for another pair of Serengetis. Only reason I changed was my prescription changed.

Yes, Serengetis can be ordered in prescription. Really spendy, but well worth it, if you fly a lot.

I've worn em now for nigh on to twenty years (two pairs). I wouldn't use anything else.

MTV

MTV,
I wore Serengetti's for years, until my eyes went south, Age you know. I loved them. How can you get them prescription?

Here is a link from the Serengeti web-page about precription lenses:

http://www.serengeti-eyewear.com/support/rx_program.cfm

Any good optomitrist, or whatever those folks who sell eyeglasses call themselves, can order Serengeti prescriptions. If you already have a pair of non prescription, they can order lenses alone.

I will warn you that the price will make your eyes water, but the glasses will help, even with dry eyes.

I personally think they are worth the price and then some, and when next my prescription changes, I'll go there again.

A tip: their prescription bifocals only come in the "transition lens" or whatever it is that has no line for the bifocal. I personally don't like those at all. So, I bought and use the $25 stick on bifocals. They work great, and they are MUCH cheaper than the Serengeti bifocals, AND you can move them around.

If you haven't tried the stickons, and you wear bifocals, you are missing a bet.

MTV

I think my dad has been running the same pair of Serengetis for 17 years. No joke.

mtv wrote: They're glass, not plastic, and the coating is hard.

How hard is the coating? I don't know if I would want glass sunglasses in case of an incident or accident and a shoulder restraint failure (I know, a lot of what-ifs, but I sit closer to the panel than I would like) and the possibility of getting glass shards in your eyes. Of course, in case of an accident, that would be the least of your problems.

If you look at the back side of the Serengeti's lens it will have a multi color look to it like a rifle scope or a good pair of binoculars. I think this coating is what keeps glare from coming off the inside of the glasses. They will really enhance color very well and somehow seem to sharpen vision and enhance contrast.
cubchick,
On my little tour of Iraq several years ago I had a rock hit me in the glasses when a helicopter pulled pitch beside me, crack sound and instantly the lens was gone. It had been knocked out of the frame, but not broken. There was a visible chip where the rock had hit it though. Borrowed a little screwdriver and put the lens back in. I don't know what it would take to break one, but I expect it would be a really hard hit. On the plus side the plastic lensed glasses people had didn't last very long as they scratched easily from the sand, but the glass lenses survived.

You must be one of Pedro's cousins with all the sweet hookups.

You know I'm training to be a cage fighter.

Cubchick,

The glass lenses are incredibly tough. They are required to be safety glass. I wouldn't ever worry about one shattering, I dont think they can.

These things are not for the person who loses a pair of sunglasses per week. That said, they will last a LONNNNNG time, if even decently cared for. \

Absolutely right on colors and they really help in haze. Get in some forest fire smoke sometime, and try out a pair, then take em off--you'll be a believer.

MTV

Right, safety glass...I just thought that being in such close proximity to your eyes it might create a problem. I've seen how safety glass breaks...just wondering how the little pieces of safety glass might affect you. But actually, I'd be curious to see how plastic sunglasses react on impact. But from what a64 pilot said on the glass lenses (that the lens just popped out), I won't borrow demons. I bet they are great sunglasses! I've ruined some expensive shades, so I've learned how to "love" the cheap ones!

p.s. this thread just has me curious b/c I have to sit closer to the panel than others b/c of height.