What sunglasses are best for flying gliders?

[Jonathan Foster]

A couple of weeks ago I purchased a fairly cheap pair of sunglasses. When I put them on in my glider all of my instruments magically went black. Unbeknownst to me, the lenses are polarized.

Are there any sunglasses that seem to work really well for flying?

[benhir...@gmail.com]

I use wrap-around surf/sport style sunglasses. They block light well from all angles since they wrap around the sides of your head and generally fit close to your face. So-called aviator sunglasses aren't great for aviating, IMO. They only block light from the front. This is a potential safety issue. You want the best light-blocking coverage you can get so that your vision is never compromised by bright sunlight.

[Darryl Ramm]

On Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 11:27:58 AM UTC-7, Jonathan Foster wrote:
> A couple of weeks ago I purchased a fairly cheap pair of sunglasses. When I put them on in my glider all of my instruments magically went black. Unbeknownst to me, the lenses are polarized.
>
> Are there any sunglasses that seem to work really well for flying?

Mechanical instruments or LCD displays? If all your mechanical instruments went black then they have their glass installed incorrectly or you have the worlds worst pair of polarized glasses with the polarization 90 degrees from where it is supposed to be.

Some glider pilots, including me, prefer to fly with polarized sunglasses because of benefits in seeing cloud wisps and haze domes etc. How well they work usually comes down to LCD display and canopy distortion causing issues (Mecaplex canopies usually seem impressively distortion/stress free)). Lots of space on r.a.s. has been wasted already talking about sunglasses, you can search for those past threads.

[Richard Pfiffner]

http://sunglasspolarized.net/

Avian 515 Non-Polarized Lens many different styles of frames

Richard
www.craggyaero.com

[krasw]

Zeiss Skylet lenses, nothing else comes close.

[jpg...@gmail.com]

I find Zeiss Skyler "Fun" tint (in prescription lenses) excellent for gliding for all light levels from dull UK to strong South African.

BTW Zeiss advise pilots not to use polarised lenses mainly because their primary benefit is to reduce glare from polarised reflected light and that, they say, can make it difficult to see other aircraft that might otherwise have been picked up by the glint from the wings.

[Dan Marotta]

I use THESE.  They're inexpensive and they work great!  Bifocal, too!

On 10/26/2017 3:56 PM, jpg...@gmail.com wrote:

I find Zeiss Skyler "Fun" tint (in prescription lenses) excellent for gliding for all light levels from dull UK to strong South African.

BTW Zeiss advise pilots not to use polarised lenses mainly because their primary benefit is to reduce glare from polarised reflected light and that, they say, can make it difficult to see other aircraft that might otherwise have been picked up by the glint from the wings. 

--
Dan, 5J

[Bob Kuykendall]

On Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 11:27:58 AM UTC-7, Jonathan Foster wrote:

> A couple of weeks ago I purchased a fairly cheap pair of sunglasses.
> When I put them on in my glider all of my instruments magically went black.

I bought a few pair of those this summer for watching the eclipse.

[Jim Kellett]

On Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 2:27:58 PM UTC-4, Jonathan Foster wrote:
> Are there any sunglasses that seem to work really well for flying?

<snip>

Without a doubt, the Suntiger Aviator from Elton Optical in Las Vegas, the non-polarized version. Not only can you see the instruments, but the ultraviolet and blue-blocking tint actually makes it easier to see through haze AND makes the little "pre-cumulus" wisps visible! Been using them for two decades now. Perfect for the soaring pilot.

[OHM Ω http://aviation.derosaweb.net]

For those of us that need bifocals I take my favorite pair of sunglasses and trim a pair of these plastic reading lenses to fit at the bottom. An inexpensive way to get to bifocals without the custom work. They attach with just water and, magical, seem to never come off. Comes in many magnification levels. Depending on your eyes you may need two different levels. Enjoy, John

https://www.amazon.com/Optx-20-Stick-Bifocals-200/dp/B000W7HQCQ

[Tango Eight]

The deal breaker is: you lose all ability to distinguish shades of green. I can easily identify a cut hay field by color alone at 8 miles. But not with Sun Tigers.

You can capture most of the advantages being talked about with other, less radical tints that preserve enough color vision to be useful.


best,
Evan Ludeman / T8

[Dan Marotta]

Aviator Sunglasses = Sunglasses + more money.

Just like Aviator wristwatches.

Try out different glasses and get what work for you.  If they happen to
be "Aviator" then enjoy them, but don't be fooled by a label.

On 10/27/2017 8:34 AM, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:

> Which is why the Zeiss, Randolph Engineering, Serengeti's, Ray Ban's are all brownish. And all the aforementioned are great aviation glasses. Through the 30 years I have been flying I have used all the above, plus Suntigers. I would say for me, the Sun Tigers were just a step below the above mentioned, and apparently the market agrees.

--
Dan, 5J

[Charlie M. (UH & 002 owner/pilot)]

This is a, "ask 20 peeps, get 20 answers....".

Your polarization may have been off 90*.

I like, and use, Serengeti Strara glasses. The tint allows decent color rendition (as Tango8 stated) as well as seeing wispies forming.
I like them, you may not.

Find what YOU like, screw the rest. Use other suggestions as a guideline.

There is no "majic bullet", your eyes will give guidance.

[drbda...@aol.com]

Years ago I had Suntigers made to my prescription. It got pricey to change them every time my prescription changed. I contacted them and had a pair of clip-on’s made. Never looked back and never felt the need to change after that.
Barry

[Bojack J4]

How much $$$ for Zeiss sunglasses?....if it's anything like their binoculars.....zowee!! Expensive.

[WB]

Regardless of type of sunglasses you get, get ones with lenses that block blue light. Many bird species have colored oil droplets inside their retinal cells. Guess what color those oil droplets are? Yep, pretty much the same range of browns, oranges, copper colors that one finds in various "blue-blocking" sunglasses like Serengeti, Suntiger, etc. Those oil droplets do for birds what our blue blocking sunglasses do for us.

[krasw]

On Saturday, 28 October 2017 17:03:36 UTC+3, Bojack J4 wrote:
> How much $$$ for Zeiss sunglasses?....if it's anything like their binoculars.....zowee!! Expensive.

Zeiss Skylet is lens technology, there is no fixed price as that depend on what frame you put lenses on, do you need prescription, anti-glare surface, hardened surface etc.

I bought mine with prescription, all possible surface treatments, high-end sports frames (they weigh nothing and stay on no matter how sweaty you are), for around 600 eur. Very expensive, but I'm very happy with them. Flew 20 years with clip-ons, never again.

[Matt Herron Jr.]

On Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 11:27:58 AM UTC-7, Jonathan Foster wrote:

> A couple of weeks ago I purchased a fairly cheap pair of sunglasses. When I put them on in my glider all of my instruments magically went black. Unbeknownst to me, the lenses are polarized.
>
> Are there any sunglasses that seem to work really well for flying?

I like to replace my flying glasses each year, and therefor want something that is quality, but not outrageously priced. I also like polarized, as it makes other gliders much easier to see (as well as wisps, etc.). Finally, I am old enough that I need readers to see the instrument panel (I wear contacts for distance vision).

I have found that SunCloud meets all these criteria for me. I can get them off the shelf from Amazon for about $80 and the optics are great. Many styles available, but I prefer "Conductor" as they wrap around. See link below:

https://www.amazon.com/Suncloud-Conductor-2-00-Sunglasses-Polycarbonate/dp/B00AY41I9Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509290883&sr=8-1&keywords=suncloud+readers

[Mike C]

REI also sells Sun Clouds, but not readers. I have a pair and they are nice reasonably priced sun glasses.