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Old 21st Aug 2005, 20:30
  #48 (permalink)  
Fingersmac
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Canada
Age: 46
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Lots of praise for Serengeti's found in this thread.

Rather confusing though since i've read a few articles that say photochromic lenses are not suitable for flying.

From an article on Transport Canada's site:

Photochromic lenses that darken with increasing UV light are good for driving, but polycarbonate aircraft canopies shield out much of the ultraviolet rays and may interfere with their proper darkening. Additionally, going from bright sunlight into cloud the glasses may take several minutes to lighten
From an article by a FAA Vision Research specialist:

Glass photochromic lenses (PhotoGray(r) and PhotoBrown(r)) automatically darken when exposed to UV and become lighter in dim light. Most of the darkening takes place in the first 60 seconds, while lightening may take several minutes. Although most photochromic glass lenses can get as dark as regular sunglasses (approximately 20% light transmittance in direct sunlight), their darkened state may be lighter due to the reduced UV exposure through the windscreen. In addition, the faded state of photochromic glass lenses may not be clear enough to be useful when flying in cloud cover or at night.
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