Originally Posted by
Search&Rescue
This picture is very interesting... even tough it is not from the accident flight...
Because I had my ”wake up call” with MauiJim sunglasses last summer when flying with R44 and looked at a Garmin display (combined ADI&HSI)... and noticed that from certain angles the display turned totally black! In other words the ADI was not readible at all! Very scary thoughts was crossing my mind even if I was flying in VMC.😳
And after that I realised for sure the general guidance:
Polarized lenses are not recommended for use in the aviation environment. While useful for blocking reflected light from horizontal surfaces such as water or snow, polarization can reduce or eliminate the visibility of instruments that incorporate anti- glare filters.
https://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pi...sunglasses.pdf
I hope that this was not a factor in this tragic accident!
I used polarized brown lenses for thirty-some odd years. Yes, they can be a problem with some displays, lcd types especially; and windshields, windows with heat elements laminated; and 'stress figures' where lexan, plexiglass are bent in installation. Never had an issue with led, oleds or more modern displays. Reflected glare is a huge issue in some environments, even where it's not obvious. Unless the windscreen in whatever I was flying that day presented huge issues (one aircraft in all those years) polarized brown every time.
My experience was that I got about an extra mile vis when operating in 2-3 mile visibility conditions, especially with precip. I'm gonna guess I've got 800, 1000 hours running in 2-3 mile vis and 3-500 foot ceilings over the decades. Not arguing anything in the FAA circular, in my mind the benefit outweighed the risk, especially in restricted vis where reflected flashes were less an issue and in a cockpit absent the other issues mentioned. All things considered, I would have been wearing mine up that canyon...