Sunglasses

[Farrell]

Hi

Am starting my training this month and, living in Lyon, am swamped with designer sunglasses shops, but when I ask my "What's good to fly with?" question, I get the famous French shrug of the shoulders.....

....what do you guys use? I had a pair of Serengheti Drivers for years and they were great, but I'm not sure about what is good on the flightdeck - my last pair of glasses made the screens disappear when I went to visit a glass cockpit!

Thanks

Wayne

[Touch'n'oops]

Ray Bans are the way to go!

Avoid the Polarized gasses, these are the ones that make the screens disappear and the windshields dark.

You wanna know why? The glass over the monitors are also Polarized!

What to know more? Read a book!:}

OH! T'n'O you are such a bad boy!!! :E

[Farrell]

That's great. I had heard that Ray Ban's were a tad on the heavy side after a while.

Hopefully they have a good light model, with brown lenses and then I'll be sorted!

Thanks for your help! :cool:

[Screwballs]

I recieved a pair of Ray Bans for my birthday recently and there are excellent. Naturally they are the Aviator type...;)

Everyone who has tried them on can't believe how clear and sharp they are. They even put my prescription in to them.

Screwballs

[redsnail]

Brown isn't the best colour for aviation sunnies. Grey is the best colour. You want a neutral density colour. There has been many many posts on this topic over the years. :D
Raybans are good but since they are made from glass (Zeiss lens) they will be heavier than ones made from polycarbonate.
Find a pair that is comfy and doesn't distort your vision. Note, the Bolle/Oakley styles can distort because they wrap around your head. Try them all and see how you go.

[Jinkster]

Redsnail,

Grey is the best colour. You want a neutral density colour. There has been many many posts on this topic over the years.

Is it you remember the posts or you remember the HPL questions :D


Jinkster :ok:

[redsnail]

Bit of both :D
Since I have worked in a rather bright glary country and need to wear specs I have had a bit of an interest in it. :ok:

[Farrell]

Redsnail

Thanks for the advice about the grey lenses.
I snowboard using Oakleys, and they distort quite a bit sometimes!

Wayne

[Artificial Horizon]

Serengetti's are the way to go, I have used them now for the last four years and find them to be excellent. They are designed for drivers/pilots and in my experience make everything crisp and bright. They are nice and light and have dozens of different styles.

Use to have the ray bans but found them a little on the dark side making life a little harder on the flight deck. (just my opionion)

A.H.

[papichulo]

my friend contact:www.pilotepomade.org
they got the most successful frimeur sunglass:cool: :mad:

[PaddyMcGinty]

Just while this thread is on the topic of sunglasses, how easy or difficuly is it to get your own prescription put into them? Can you say buy an ordinary pair of glasses and get an optician to put prescription lenses into them. I need sunglasses for flying but i also need a pair for just day to day. I want something that looks good also. I know ray bans are really great but they look a right state on me. i wanted a pair of oakleys or wrap around glasses but should i defo stay away from them? and could i get my prescription put into them? All answers appreciated. Thanks.

Stephen

[redsnail]

Not hard at all.
Firstly, stipulate the colour lens you want. (as stated, go for a neutral density colour, grey is a good one).
Then you have to pick your sunnies carefully. If they are too wrap around then the lens cutter/grinder can't do it's thing properly.
I picked an Adidas pair of mild wrap arounds. I had a prescription lens fitted. Laughing.
Also, if you prescription is a complicated one it may be a tad difficult in the more fashionable wrap frames.
So, it can be done.
Now, find some cash and head off to your optician. If your one can't do it, find another. I was lucky, I found a very good one who did a fantastic job. Downside, she's in Australia.

[skyrabbit]

Randolph's for me every time.....superior product to Ray-Ban (IMHO)

Rabbs :cool:

[Charlie Zulu]

A few years ago I had a letter of the month published in Flyer magazine.

Anyway the letter of the month back then won Randolph Aviator Sunglasses which, although I've only ever tried these, are an excellent choice for use whilst flying.

I would say they would be excellent choice for everything else, eg driving etc... but they aren't as you need a headset on to stop them from falling off. The arms on them don't have ear hooks so easily fall off if not held on by a headset, but I believe they are designed like that so they are comfortable to wear whilst flying... which, of course, they are.

Best wishes,

Charlie Zulu.

[minus273]

Hey there,

Has to me my Oakleys, A Wire 2.0 Spring Hinge. They give no distortion, extremely light, have straight thin arms for wearing under your headset 8hrs a day.

There was an article in Private Pilot Magazine last year, and the Oakleys wiped the floor with the competition.

I have owned a few pairs, different types and never suffered from distortion of the object viewed or alteration of colour. I am thinking that if you have then you got sold a fake pair.

Most people I know out here wear them and if they dont, once they try them alot of them change.

Things to look for in my opinion when buying:

UV protection.
Comfort.
Weight.
Fit on face.
No colour distortion.
Lack of polarisation.
No object distortion.

Remeber you only have one pair of eyes and if they get screwed no more medical.

But then again it is a personnal choice, and I like that I can wear mine out of work and not look like a pilot.

The data from the article is here:

http://www.avshop.com/productimages/products/privatepilottestresults.pdf

Have a good one and safe flying

-273

Oh Almost forgot they also do them with prescription lenses.

[Hawk]

FArrell.. It might be worth while posting in Medical Forum. Bad Medicine wrote a thread on this topic about a year ago.

[er82]

Whatever make u decide to go for, make sure the arms aren't too thick. Nothing worse than having a painful mark on the side of your head where your sunnies were pressed in by your headset for 8hrs!! I personally prefer Ray Bans for flying, and my Oakleys or Police ones for posing in out of work!

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

I think you'll find a lot of pilots have been through the Rayban/Oakley/Randolph/Bolle/Blah products and many have ended up with Serengetti - where they stay.

Look for the Drivers gradient lens which works well with EFIS. Personally I like the Lassen frame but whatever suits you. I think they are about £170 but the titanium frame and the engineering on the hinge means they will last a mighty long time.

http://www.lensware.net/Products/Sunglasses/Serengetti_Sunglasses/s-lassen

Cheers


WWW

[PaddyMcGinty]

Much appreciated guys. Thanks a mil for the info. Is it very expensive though to get prescription lenses put into other glasses. Just i not unlike other trainee pilots havent much dosh jingling about. Thanks

Steve

[Farrell]

Thanks to everyone for your help with all of this!

Wayne

[scroggs]

Most high-street opticians will put prescription lenses into any frame you bring along, but it's worth checking with Ray-Ban, Serengetti, Randolph, Oakley or whoever to see what their prices are for prescription lenses - I'd bet that all these manufacturers will offer such a service, and will probably claim that their own lenses are best! Alternatively, try Optilabs (www.optilabs.com) who make sport-specific prescription sunnies. Their Sprint cycling shades are excellent - but you'll need the non-polarised lenses.

Me? I use Specsavers!

Scroggs

[concorde002]

Fully agree with minus 273

The Oakley a-wire 2.0's are a seriously good pair of sunglasses, whilst not being too expensive!!

[NW3]

I think this is a really stupid post, but here goes :) - I assume you need to try on sunglasses first and can't just buy them from the internet.

If so, does anyone have any recommendations for places in or around London where I might be able to find some good advice and a good selection of the popular aviation models (oakley, ray-ban etc.).

Many thanks in advance,

NW3

[minus273]

You could always just go to a sunglass hut shop. They usually have a good selection of sunglasses.

If you are in London you could swing a cat and hit one of their stores.

-273

P.S. Why is it a silly post after your headset is probably the most important protective device you will buy. For Aviation anyways.

[NW3]

Hi -273 - thanks for the reply.

I commented that it may be stupid re the comment about trying them on. I buy loads of stuff off the web, but I would assume sunglasses are a bit of a no-no, as fit and feel are so important.

My only worry about somewhere like sunglasses hut are that they are going to be more concerned about selling you the pair of glasses with the most commission. Guessing that their salesperson of the month isn't going to have that good a grasp of the polarisation of an airliner's glass cockpit :)

NW3

[minus273]

Hey there sorry I misunderstood your post,

Well you can do what I do now. Which is look at the stuff in a real store, find what you like and then buy from the cheapest place online. Is going to be the same product.

Is funny in the US you can buy from a real store go back the next day with the internet site show it to them and they will match 110%.

Is great for buying electronics as you get the ability to take it back to the store and the cheapness of the internet.

So I would go to sunglass hut, see what you like and then order it of the net.

Happy shopping

-273

[silverknapper]

-273 makes a good point which may have gone unnoticed.
I love oakleys me, had em since was a bairn and think they are excellent for most sports, esp skiing, mountain biking etc. However watch out for thick legs!! My favourite eye jackets have a bad tendency to disturb the seal the headset makes with my head, increasing noise astronomically. Found it's not too bad with Peltors but with Clarks it was a nightmare. But I may just have a weird head!

SK

[jarjam]

I use a pair of Oakley A wires. I've had them for four years now they were £120 pounds new.
I've used them to death and they,re still going strong. Used them when I was an instructor and the thin metal arms fit well under a pair of Dave Clarks and dont leave a groove in your temple after a long day's flying.
Now I use them in my Q400 and have no trouble seeing the screens at all even in realy bright sunshine.
Oakleys are well made and also if you sit on them and break them as long as you dont trash the lenses they will repair the frames for free.

[mad_jock]

I know this might sound a bit boring but....

If yourjuststarting go for a pair of 10 quid jobs from tesco's.

Light aircraft are great at knackaring sunglasses and light fingers in the flying club etc etc.

I would wait a bit until you have passed your PPL and done a bit of flying before shelling out on a expensive pair.

MJ

[Cosmo]

On the subject of prescription sunnies, yes, they can be expensive.

After much positive word about Serengetties, I asked the local dealers if genuine Serengetti prescription lenses could be fitted into a frame with a base curve of 8. They said no, sorry can't be done etc. So I eventually decided to fit a pair of Skylet Fun lenses (made by Carl Zeiss) into my old frame. This is a lens recommended for glider pilots and golf players amongst others. I asked the optician (they make prescription sunnies for the air force and claim that they know what they're doing) several times about colour distortion and made it perfectly clear (pun intended) that I would be using them for flying. I also noted the problems with EFIS displays.

Come pick up day (two days ago) excitement turned into disappointment. The lenses are fantastic in other respects but distort cyan into green in some cases. So much for using them on an airbus then I suppose.

I guess it's a question of trial and error, but the errors are starting to get too expensive. :ugh:

To make a long story short, just found this site (http://www.opticsplanet.net/serengeti-prescription-sunglasses.html) in the US that does Serengetties with prescription lenses for curved frames (base curve 8). As that is what I was looking for in the first place but assured that it can’t be done, I feel especially miffed. :p

[razzele]

yeh i just got some new serengeti shades, i got the 6790 coupes, henna titanium frames with the driver lenses. i didnt get the drivers gradient lens as i like full sun protection.

the aviator styles with driver gradients are awesome for vis but look sooo bad ! sorry all u topgun shades fans

sunglasses can be found at certain online stores at such a huge discount compared to high street retailers! go look...

r

[The Greaser]

Just ordered my prescription serengeti's (Lassen frames) through opticsplanet. Very helpful people and very simple and efficient website. Payed $340, which being about £190 at current exchange makes them only slightly more than buying standard lenses in the UK.

[Luke SkyToddler]

Being a total pilot sunglass w@nker myself ... and having gone through a few pairs of Oakleys, Raybans, Randolphs, and Arnettes, I can say that Revo make the best pilot sunglasses known to mankind. Especially that greeny-brown lens tint they do. Not as yellow as Serengetis and not as green as Raybans, just a superb eye-relaxing lens tint that genuinely enhances contrast and depth perception. Can be had for quite cheap from Ebay (i.e. £40 instead of the £100 plus you'll pay for them in shops) but watch out you don't get the polarized ones cos they're useless with heated windshields.

I am also very very favourably impressed with a pair of Blinde design sunnies I got the other day, also off Ebay (Agent Smith from The Matrix sunglasses don't you know!). Very nice lens tint, sits nicely under the old 13.4's and looks as cool as f**k.

[scameron77]

I've read quite a bit on this thread and others regarding sunglasses, it goes on for ever and ever. It appears down to personal preference, go to your local high street store, try them on and then come home and find a cheap pair on a website or wait until you go to the US next.

I'm going to use Serengeti's as an example as they always crop up in these threads. The Polarmax offers maybe the best option to those just flying from A to B in perspex cockpits and not going for the whole shebang. However the Drivers lens is possibly the best option for those looking to fly as a career. However I've noted that a grey lens gets a good reputation because it doesn't distort anything.

POLARMAX LENS

Polarization
Spectral Control® Lens System
Photochromic Technology
Precision Optics
UV Protection
Blue Light Filters
Ultra-Lightweight Polycarbonate Lens

DRIVERS GRADIENT LENS

Spectral Control® Lens System
Photochromic Technology
Precision Optics
UV Protection
Blue Light Filters
Anti-Reflective Coating

I tired on the Oakley A Wire 2.0 in my local high street, they looked Gucci as *&!£ and got a good score in one of the pilot magazines. Might go for these initially and go for the Serengeti's upon gaining my CPL.