View Full Version : Polarised Airbus displays?
Scylla
27th Oct 2006, 12:16
Does anyone use polarised sunglasses at work on the Airbus family and if so have you enountered any problems with polarisation of windscreen or LCD flight displays?
Iceman49
28th Oct 2006, 00:59
Polarized sunglasses do not work well with the windscreen unless you like seeing rainbows.
Correct, it's the windscreen that causes the problem, not the LCD. To my knowledge it's not because the glass is polarised but because it is coated and consist of several layers, which have different indices of light deflection. This is a very common phenomen in aircraft, so it's not an Airbus problem alone. Most airlines forbid wearing of polarized sun glasses.
I tested it myself and it looks really awful, like if you would have swallowed exotic mushrooms :eek:
Dani
Thridle Op Des
28th Oct 2006, 05:58
The Airbus has two types of FD screens, the original issue was a CRT vector drawn presentation. Now they have installed LCD screens on the later MSNs, which are much nicer to use. CRT will not cause problems with polarised sunglasses, however I seem to recollect that the liquid crystals work on the polarisation process. You are viewing the crystals which are electrically aligned through a polarising film, hence either black/white, or in the case of colour, the various primary colour phosphors are revealed or obscured by the liquid crystal polarisation process. I would suggest that this is another very good reason not to wear polarised sunglasses on the Airbus apart from the 'Purple Haze'.
TOD
stator vane
28th Oct 2006, 05:59
there's a huge thread on this subject.
i use pol-ies and i haven't hit any thing yet.
but they do take some getting used to. and one 737-800 will differ from another 737-800 at the same airline at the same base!
vapilot2004
28th Oct 2006, 08:28
Does anyone use polarised sunglasses at work on the Airbus family and if so have you enountered any problems with polarisation of windscreen or LCD flight displays?
FAA recommends against them. One reason is the glint of sun off of another aircraft at certain angles could be filtered out. Windscreen light interference is another as mentioned already.
DesiPilot
28th Oct 2006, 13:52
I agree with most of the replies. My problem is when ATC asks for squawk code and I look down at transponder and all I see with my polarised glass is black window. I have to take off my glasses to read the code !!!
No problems reading any other displays.
xetroV
28th Oct 2006, 19:28
Polarized glasses do not work well with 737 NG LCD displays. If you turn your head slightly, these displays will appear dimmed; if you turn your head further towards the pedestal they may appear entirely black like the window for your squawk code. You can witness the same phenomenon at home by looking at an LCD computer monitor, laptop, PDA, or the display of your mobile telephone: turn the telephone in front of a pair of polarized glasses (or your head in front of the display) to see what can happen.
I have switched to non-polarized glasses since I started flying the 737 NG.
cwatters
28th Oct 2006, 21:34
LCD displays use liquid crystals to twist the polarisation of light - that's the very essence of how they work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_crystal_display
I'm not at all surprised if people have problems using polarised sun glasses. I'd be surprised if plane makers didn't warn against using them.
vapilot2004 is also correct. Some of you might remember that when polarised sunglasses were first launched the TV ads made great play of the fact that they stopped the glare/reflection from water/puddles (and other horizontal surfaces). I recall they showed how much better you could see that blond in the pool :) I imagine they would indeed cut down on the glint you get off a planes wings.
HS125
28th Oct 2006, 22:04
I have experienced this problem with the Citation Encore, but only with the Meggit standby ADI and the Engine AMLCDs, other LCD displays like the UNS etc appear fine.
I have also had no problems (and cant seem to artificially create them) with others suvh as my phones or any of the displays in my VW cars,
I must confeess to having thought of the problem of LCDs having shelled out on the Ray Ban Ps :ugh: but dont get why its happening with some displays and not others.
AnEviltwinEr
29th Oct 2006, 01:03
I bellieve this problem occurs vith every new aircraft, as most new aircrafts uses muli-layered cockpit-glasses, and LCD/TFT displays. :)
cwatters
29th Oct 2006, 13:55
It may also depend which way around the polariser is on the instruments. Try holding the glasses in front of you and rotating them 90 degrees.
spleener
30th Oct 2006, 12:08
Polarised lenses? good for catching fish/ missing the reef. Only problem is reading the GPS/engine instruments on the old tub!
Flying? sorry guys... I use the serengettis like the grown-ups showed me
"Polarized" is not a brand, but a quality. You may confuse it with Polaroid. Your favorite brand is also producing polarized glasses btw. Go back to your Serengheti :\
spleener
31st Oct 2006, 09:53
Thanks for the info D. Do they still make Polaroids???, BTW:
1. S-E-R-E-N-G-E-T-I. Sorry.:\
2. Model = drivers, henna.
3. non -polarised/-polarized/-pasteurised, you choose.
4. favourite glasses = Lava. Polarised. Love boating.
5. For more, try a search on pprune, this has been covered at length before.
6. My personal opinion is that if you want to fly an aeroplane and think that seeing the instruments under prevailing ambient conditions is important, then choose your eyewear weapon[s] accordingly. Not many fashion models fly planes.:cool:
Craggenmore
1st Nov 2006, 18:07
Er.............under JAA, all polarised and photochromic sunglasses are not allowed; (With good reason considering some of you posters can't see the screens with 'em!!!)
Spleener, I agree with you that Serengetis (correct now?) offers one of the best sunglasses on this planet. But I repeat my statement here again that I don't like the straight frame of the Driver. Part of the sunrays are not coming through your lenses, but from behind, so you need protection from the side, too, which is best solved by the "wrap around" style frames. Alpine mountain climbers know this since half a century and had originally those leather caps on the side.
Dani
It may also depend which way around the polariser is on the instruments. Try holding the glasses in front of you and rotating them 90 degrees.
Yep you were right there! I had to turn the glasses almost upside down to blank either the clock odometer, navigation system, Trip Computer or the Sony Bluetooth display though. worrying though how Volkswagen saw that one coming and the attention to detail at Boeing, Airbus and Cessna at least didnt make the grade :eek:
spleener
4th Nov 2006, 09:57
Dani,
yep you're right about the Sere....i!, I modded mine a bit by bending but I'm still "blinkered" [:yuk: ]. I've tried the other lenses like rayban, randolf etc, and even my old airforce issues [RAAF] weren't that great, although I mostly wore them on the tarmac, or the bar...
I find that the light attenuation from outside to inside is too much on most of the 'lifestyle' lenses. I avoid the polari...d for obvious reasons.
spleener