Good sunnies to wear for flying?
 

any recommendations? I'm thinking of getting light weight RayBans. are there any sunnies which are specifically for flying? don't really care about the "look good" factor. just need something to protect my eyes from uv and the like.

well any sunnies that block the sun from your eyes and your comfortable wearing should cover it. Some of those great big dame Edna ones with the glistening stonewear around the edges will definitely give you a recognized at 100 feet look though. :}

Julie: Ray Bans are good, if a little cliche'd :) they used to be suppliers to the US military I think -a role taken over by Randolph of late. I use Serengeti's. They're brilliant lenses, but the frames tend to be a little weak -you have to look after them: in a case when not wearing them, rather than a shirt pocket! The lenses are photocromatic also. They're expensive, but IMO the most bang for the buck.
Best to stay away from polarised lenses. They create optical illusions in-flight, especially as you pull your aircraft into the flare! Disconcerting!
Comfort is the biggie though -they tend to be worn for extended periods! Have a look at the temples too, make sure they're not too fat as they can destroy the passive noise retention of your headset.

I had a similar thought a few weeks back and searched the forums for "sunglasses". A very good thread which covered everything to do with avaiation glassess popped out (fit with headset, polarised lenses, weight, coverage etc etc) - well worth the time to do a similar search

Cheap ones!! I keep coming up with new ways to break them. Make sure they're uv filtering too, gotta look after those eyes.

I alternate between Oakleys GASCAN and Raybans PREDATOR.. Both good protection, and wrap around. Also if you are wearing a headset the Rayban fit under nicely without giving you a headache! The best part about Raybans, you break a lense they will replace it dirt cheap. Just bought two new lenses from Rayban, $25.00, free shipping! I live in the US though

Dont cheat your eyes, I know of number of old pilots including my old man who have had Cataracts due to long periods of exposure to the sun at altitude.. :sad: :eek: :sad: :eek: :sad: :eek:

Definately recommend Serengeti's. Remarkable lense but they do come at a price. You will have to search around for a good pair...not many outlets stock them unfortunately. Haven't experienced any visual illusions with the polarised lense since i've had them, and i flown in some extreme weather! The main problem arises when flying in glass cockpits where, at certain angles, the PFD's appear to black out. But if you aren't flying in glass cockpits, then there's no problem. :ok:

Just bought another pare of Serengeti's the other day as I broke my others. Excellent lense and are available with NON polarised lenses as I fly glass cockpit aircraft and polarised lense aren't compatable with efis and most windows that are heated.

Yeah, steer clear of polarised lenses. I second (third?) Serengetis. They are great and come in lots of fashionable as well as practical styles.
Try on the glasses you like outside too. You can't get a good idea of what they are like from a quick try-on in a shop or mall, and if you are going to spend several hundred bucks, you want to be sure.
A worthwhile shop will let you trial a pair, or exchange if they turn out to be unsuitable.
I like wrap-around ones that prevent reflections coming in from the side.

Sorry to hijack the thread but I'm also in the market for new sunnies. Does anyone know where you could try on these Serengeti's in the Brisbane area?

A fourth recommendation for Serengeti's...:ok:

definately try and find ones that protect your eyes from sunlight coming from the sides and below the frames. a lot of aviation-oriented sunnies (ie raybans) are designed like this. really good feature when flying above a layer of cloud in daytime.

i found it hard getting my latest pair of sunnies (even though it was 2 for $35, but all sunnies sold in Aus meet certain minimum 'safe' requirements) to sufficiently cover my eyes from the annoying light from below/side of the frame.
really the only ones that weren't aimed at aviation that stopped all the light coming from around the outside of the frames was those stupid bloody blowfly type ones you see all the uni fellas wearing trying to be in the lastest fasions and that look like EXACTLY the same ones as the women wear.... :yuk:

i had a really good pair that fitted me brilliantly for years. had them since before i began flying but unfortunately they broke. i then came to realise after having another pair (one of the 2 for $35's) broken in flight that whatever you buy, be prepared for them to break and you having to fork out for another pair, no matter how careful you are.

in short, buy what blocks light from the outside of the frames from creeping in, that fits you comfortably under a headset and which you can afford to replace easily!

as for which brand to reccommend, i cannot help sorry... shop around!

I am another Serengetti convert. After 20+ years of Raybans, I now swear by the 'S'. The photochromatic lenses are brilliant between cloud layers, and the titanium frames (velocity model) strong, light and look good too. They are available with brown or neutral-grey lenses. Cost over AU$300 but worth every cent. Sunglass Huts stock them in Aust/NZ. Only problem I have with them is, after a few months, I regularly have to retighten the frame screws to prevent lens fall. Found that out the hard/expensive way! :)

yep...serengettis for me...though i have been known to buy things at flea markets in florida that will work ( seeing through haze or mist )..

i would have to admit that i would worry about the benefit of otherwise to the eyes of cheap glasses.

they all do the job especially if the are orange or similar and this seems to me the best if trying to see through haze...but the serengettis will do this and i would think , protect the eyes too. they are glass remember and so need cleaning and careful looking after ( not the kind of thing i'm good at )

so try around. its often a matter of what you.....sorry lost you in the sun there for a moment...!!.:sad: .feel comfortable wearing and ( most important for VFR flying...) work in haze.

the dean.:8

http://www.zurichsunglasses.com/
Can get one to fit over presciption glasses - fit the sportstrap so it doesn't interfere with the headset. I've had one pair for 10 years now. A couple of years ago one of the lugs at the temple broke and they sent me a replacement for cost of postage - about $3.

I reckon rockin up to work in a pair of these would go down a treat! :cool:
http://www.devamarine.co.uk/images/o...overthetop.jpg
No it's not a bra.

I think. :}

Got a pair of Serengeti's from the Sunglass Clearance Warehouse last weekend. ( 275 Logan Road, Stones Corner)
Your best bet would be to surf the net and find a style that you want then give them a ring and see if they have them.


Regards.

ok, to hijack the thread again, this time in a diffrent direction


what would people recommend for those of us who vision is ... not quite so perfect ?

My presciption glasses do not cover full field, just most of it, so there is a carona of uncorrected around them visable. would "clip-ons" be able to correct for that, or is it a case of get another frame for flying?

Have to be "Serengeti"...:p :D :)

PRADA - Have used them for years, no problems, Used Ray Ban Serengetti etc and they are good but these work well in Low level light [gloom] and Bright sunny days.

A quick search of the word sunglasses yielded very good results.

Enjoy.

Some other factors to consider are steer clear of sunnies that affect your peripheral vision i.e. sunglasses with thick plastic arms.
Don't buy sunglasses that are tinted too dark (you want to be able to wear them in dim light as well to reduce glare).
Sunglasses with big thick arms or ones that jut out like some of the old Oakleys did just wont fit, or will be uncomfortable underneath a GA headset.
Serengeti's are great as the photo chromatic lens gets darker as the light intensity increases. But they are expensive ~$350. Sunglass Hut and Bright Eyes both stock Serengeti's last time I checked.

Thin side bands to fit under your headset, but also strong ones the number of time i've tried to wip off my sunnies and they snaped because i'm wearing my headset, don't go expensive you can get bloody good wrap arounds for 30-40 bucks I haven't had a problem with polorised I've heard its only a problem with tinted windows and newer instrument pannels they haven't been a problem for me.

I use the ones supplied by the mines I visit. great glasses and I get them free. they are wrap arounds as well. whenever they get a scratch, I just get a new pair from the storeman. alway got a spare pair in the glovebox.

If you are a QF employee try a search in Qrewroom for details on the cheapest way to get Serengetti sunglasses. If you are not try this link

http://www.sunglassclearancewarehous...u/Welcome.html

Randolph Engineering ( Aviator, three sizes, get the smallest/middle size )do a pretty good pair of sunnies, the have tinted glass lenses ( not polarised ) the arms are flat blades so you can easily slide them under your headset and your headset does not push on your ears.

MAKO also do awesome rap around sunnies, unfortunately they are Polarised.
Try to keep away from Polarised sunnies, they make it hard to see LCD displays.

DO NOT buy Ray Bans Aviators, does not matter how nice a guy/gal you maybe, if any respectable pilots was to see you in public wearing them they would be obligated to beat you up ;) .

if they are cheap style plastic lenses, use a product called Plexus on them. its a perspex/plastic polish and its brilliant stuff- not only for GA windows, but for cheapo sunnies and getting minor scratches out of CDs!!! its almost as useful as WD-40!

Hi, if you are keen on Serengetti's, once you have found out what model you like from within Oz, visit eyesave.com and compare the prices. They are based in the US and do Serengetti's for about half the price. I got Cascade's for $160 vrs >$300 in Oz.

That option would cost me far more than I pay for my sunny's. :D the cheapest option for me is to just get another pair. :D
The ones I get are pretty good quality, and quite scratch resistant........but I'm a real bully when it comes to glasses and can wreck the best of them pretty quick. :}

Girls Sunnies
 

Got heaps of advice myself from a range of ppl leaning towards Ray-bans or Serengeti's... was advised by optometrist ppl to look for non-polarised, grey/green lenses (don't get too dark when overcast nor brighten things up unrealistically)

I ended up picking up a pair of Arnette's.. thin metal frame so easy fit with headset, and can get away with wearing them when not flying too... so can't complain too much, after seeing how some of the alternatives looked on me they would have been be strictly cockpit only (although I know that we don't really worry about those types of things, do we?! :O )

At present I'm using Maui Jim hingeless titanium arms/frames. A few reasons why:
* The arms are flexible, flat and very slender, thus there is next to no noise able to penetrate the gel earseal where the arms of the sunnies sit against yer scone.
* Again because they have very flat and flexible arms, you don't get that annoying "my head's been in a vice" feeling after wearing them with your headset for a number of hours on end.
* The lenses fit the shape of my head well and there are no large open areas for stray light to enter my eyes.
* They are exceedingly light. You can be wearing them for hours and forget that you are wearing them. This is a double edged sword - see below.
* I have had no issues with heated/treated windscreens.

They do however, have a couple of drawbacks:
* When you look at some GPS's directly, they can occaisionally appear black/blank. Tilt/move your head ever so slightly - problem gone. I believe that this is more to do with there being a band of polarised material in the lens (which is quite easy to see when looking at the lenses from the front, they appear to have a horizontal band running across them).
* They can be blown off your head by a sudden gust of wind if you have them pushed up on top of said scone while not using them.
I have recently had my Maui's in getting a warranty repair for a cracked lens (they are covered by a very generous warranty - they were actually replaced FOC despite being over 12 months old), and had reverted temporarily back to an old pair of glass lensed Ray Bans that I used to wear before the Mauis. Talk about heavy sunnies!
Sunnies are like shoes in many ways. Each person needs different sizes/shapes etc etc. Choose what is best for you by begging/borrowing/stealing other peoples and "test driving" them in flight. You'll soon work out what works for you.

I like the bugs to think that it is just a larger cousin drivng the thing they smash into, so the last thing they see is me wearing a nice, big and fecking ugly pair that I got from Paris Hilton last time she was in getting her brain topped up (took a total of 20 IQ points to fill it, too!) :)
NO, I jest (really!) - I use a pair of grey, polarised Bolle's with nice flat arms that have not the slightest effect on the ANR (or passive) of my Bose X. I have not had any trouble with the polarised lens - indeed I think depth and color perception is greatly improved. Granted you can get blocking of the image from any LCD, but only if you rotate your head 90 degrees in the coronal plane, and not even Linda Blair could do that..
I know a CFI who has a neat solution to the problem of the arms in the earpeice - just sits them on the bridge of the nose as usual, then rests the arms ON TOP of the ear cuffs. Looks a bit funny, but you can't beat experience, and he owns that.

Thats exactly how I have been wearing mine for the last six or so years. Dunno if he owns it, but its a good plan. stops your head getting squashed and your headset leaking noise. I have to do it coz me nose is crooked. :}

I was suggesting that he is a very experienced pilot, not that he has the method patented!!!
Yep - I do it as well to ease the pressure behinhd the ears from time to time, especially on long trips.
CHeers

Serengeti's are available on EBAY, brand new for about 1/3 of what you would pay in a shop.

http://search.ebay.com.au/search/sea...ses&category0=

All the way from china no doubt. :} that would make them sewangetties. :}

Given the 'thread drift' apparent here, one would think the whole polarised lens issue with regards aviation was a recent thing related solely to glass cockpits... NOT SO.

As a student back in the late 70's (when polarised lenses were all the rage -waaaaay before the advent of a glass cockpit) we were advised not to accept a polarised lens for aviation use!!!

They CAN and DO create an optical illusion late in the flare (when your eye is looking more towards the bottom of the lens) that is at the very least disconcerting! I don't intend to detract from the fact of the problems asscociated with a polarised lens and a glass cockpit, but to be clear, stress there is more to it than just that.

Simply, polarised lenses and aviation are not a good mix.

Someone asked about prescriptions?
These are the ones I am using at present (no I do not need a prescription for eyesight I might add), you'll see they are available in prescription as well. Click Here
Kiwiblue wrote:
Much has changed, especially in the design of optical lenses (which might account for the distortion of the viewed image you spoke about in 1970's sunglasses).
Any float or floating hull driver might also disagree with you about that statement when operating around the water. I certainly have no issues with my pair in that regard.
Have a good'n!
Rgds,
OpsN;)

I'm with Kiwiblue. Just LUV my Serengeti's. Pax hate them, the landing is always very ordinary if you try to land with them. I always take them off when that funny voice goes "Five Hundred". They do take some looking after though. One major design fault is that when the arms close over, they rest on the lense and not on the frame, this tends to eventually leave significant marks on the lense itself. Best to have one of those glass cords like your nanna has if you arent good at keeping them in the case.

As a couple of others have pointed out there are BIG issues with polarised lenses in aircraft with window heating. You'll get a lovely but very significant rainbow effect when looking out the windows. It's hugely distracting and makes it impossible to operate effectively. It's also getting very hard to find glasses (particularly prescription glasses or clip ons) that aren't polarised so make sure you sus it out. Most guys I fly with recommend the serengetis.

Don't underestimate the issue of wearing sunnies with a head set. Even a light weight head set such as we use in QF can cause big head aches when worn in concert with sunnies (or normal glasses) that have thick arms on them.