Sunglasses to wear up there

[md-100]

Which one is the best for flying?

[pppants]

Any with a good lens ie not cheap ones and dont forget them on board.

[Piltdown Man]

I'll give the same answer as I did some time ago: Serengetti Drivers, "Velocity" frames because of the wraparound with the "gradient" lens. These are without a doubt the best glasses I've ever used.

PM

[Zeflo27]

I always go for graded lenses, you'll see why once you try.

[matthewgamm]

Ray Ban, Oakley,...

Hello fellow aviators,

I am in the market for a nice, professional looking pair of sunglasses. Any suggestions on the make and model?
I prefer ones that cover even the sides, which doesn't allow light to penetrate.

More importantly, what lens in particular, should I be looking for? I used to use one with a polarized lens, but I've been told to get one non-polarized. Is this true?

Thanks

[criticalmass]

Zeiss Dark Umbral. Optical glass, therefore soft. Use a good quality case. Don't drop them.

[JohnMcGhie]

Polarized sunnies used to be illegal

When I got my Student Pilots License in New Zealand in 1966, my instructor was emphatic on the subject: Polarized Lenses were illegal in aviation, he said.

He pointed out that at a critical angle to the sun, the wings of another aircraft become completely invisible if you are wearing polarized glasses.

We went out to the airfield and he demonstrated it by rotating my glasses while watching a light aircraft on approach. At a certain angle, the aircraft vanished. That convinced me...

[matthewgamm]

@John, thanks for that piece of info!

Does color of the lens (black/brown) matter?

If I were to get a Ray Ban or Oakley, any specific model/design you guys suggest? I read that the Oakley M-series make for pretty decent aviator glasses.

[Dani]

This has been discussed so many times here and elsewhere - please use the search function.

My personal opinion is, that you need sunglasses in the "wrap around" style, i.e. that they cover your eyes also from the side. Never use polarized, lenses which changing gradient or adjust their brightness.

I always prefered Oakleys, because they where the first to have optical abberations under control in curved lenses (especially important with corrected lenses), but Serengeti and others also seem to have caught up.

Always be aware for what you are using your lenses, and check the optical properties of your favorite: dark black for strong sun (tropics, deserts), yellow for haze or light sun. Oakleys always come with an extensive test protocol, so you can check how many percent of the light gets filtered. Don't forget to check the blue part of the sun light (that is the frequencies just above 400 micro). These tints are brownish.

Dani

[halas]

Same as Piltdown Man

Ten years with the Seringetti drivers and haven't had to try anything else. Just fantastic shades with the graded lenses. Even in dark cloud, the obvious grades of protection are obvious, as the cloud thins and then into bright daylight. May as well be a non-event.

Did use the Revo blue shades, but that just p!ssed off the other driver looking at themselves in blue!

halas

[R.Barry]

We were told that "G15" was the best shade/ strength

[Dave Clarke Fife]

Originally Posted by md-100

Which one is the best for flying?

Been covered quite extensively already...........hours of endless fun to be had here.

http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/220...ght=sunglasses

[slamer.]

Under certain lighting polarized will give an "oily film" appearance to windows and displays.

If using EFIS at certian angles some of the display may appear to momentarily blank.

Something that has a snug fit across the top and around the sides will help reduce momentary dazzel as you manoeuvre.

Oh and make sure they look cool....!

[toolowtoofast]

I've owned/used RayBan green lens exclusively. I prefer a narrow lens so I can see under the glasses into the cockpit when transitioning from outside to instruments (suits the flying I'm doing). I had Aviators but the teardrop shape didn't suit me. I have tried the Serengetti graduated lens and they were very good, but I wasn't a fan of the amber. Found Oakley were too dark - again when transitting from outside to inside the cockpit on a very sunny day

[overun]

Sun Tigers were the things to have for sailplane pilots in the mid eighties.
Developed by NASA. ( google it, seen on ebay soon !).

l prefer to keep my raybans off but handy.

[thunderjet01]

I've found the V: ONE sunglasses very good. The lenses are just the right tint and work really well on a hazy day. The arms fit well under headsets so not increasing the noise.

[D O Guerrero]

Whatever you get, make sure they fit comfortably under your headset. Oakleys are not usually that good in this respect, in my experience.
Personally, Serengeti titanium Velocity with the brown drivers' gradient lenses are the best I've ever had and I would find it hard to use anything else now.

[mixture]

If using EFIS at certian angles some of the display may appear to momentarily blank.

If you don't have ready access to an EFIS (e.g at the opticians where you are buying the sunglasses) and want to see the effect slamer is talking about, just ask to have a quick look at their TFT computer screen.

[Tasslehoff]

Randolph Engineering "AVIATORS" work very well for me (grey lens)

[gchangflyer]

I have a pair of Oakley Fives, great great lenses (dark gray tint), but they are SO uncomfortable over the nose bridge after an hour or so...which I couldnt pick up when I was trying them on before buying Make sure you buy ones that fit really comfortably!