I've been wearing contacts for a few years but they're getting to be a hassle... especially flying... looking for some good lenses. Should I get plain ones or polarized? What do you guys use? I was thinking of getting sized up at a store, picking out a frame, buying it online, and having it shipped to a lense maker to get the best deal... any advice?

 

DON'T get polarized, they make some efis and fms displays "disappear".

 

You might want to have your eyeglasses sent back to where you got them sized. Sometimes the glasses need a few final adjustments so they fit just right.

If you can afford them, try and get the glasses made from the flexible metal. I think they're called Flexon frames. They're almost indestructible, plus they're light as air.

 

Well maybe you just don't have the right kind of contact lenses. There are two way you can buy contacts. One just get the ones most people uses or you can get the expensive good kind thats right for you. Last time I went my doctor and said I want one that gives me the best vision and doesn't irritate/dry my eyes and I can wear it for a long time. He than gave me this cotacts that cost about $500 for a year. Believe me once you wear those you will be glad you got it. You will for sure be able to tell the difference. Another things you might wanna mention to you doctor that you want the best vision possible. The contacts I use gives me 20/10 vision which is the best you can have as a human. If you want more info about call (254-766-2282)this number and ask for Dr. Gerdes. You don't have to go to him, but he can tell you what you need. He is a pilot too, so knows a pilots need real good. So my suggestion to you would that you might just wanna figure out exactly which type of contacts you need rathet than just a generic one for everybody.

 

stick with the contacts! They are so much easier!!!!

I had a trip a few months ago where one of my lenses became torn... and I had to wear my glasses the rest of the trip. Biggest pain in the @$$.

 

I used to wear contacts, (about 20 yrs ) couldnt wear them anymore , eye doc said it happens to some people, where thier eyes just start rejecting the lenses. I got the flexible framed glasses, called silloutte , made in Austria and expensive. i think my pair were just under 500 2 years ago. I love them , industructable ,, the first pair of clip ons I got were polarized and I couldnt see the FMS , got regular ones after that.

 

You can get Serengeti's customized with a prescription. They make a nice lens. And, I concur, don't get polarized.

 

I used to work with an airshow team.. our lead pilot had polarized glasses that worked when he was seated in the cockpit. Aerobatic planes = tiny cockpits for the most part.. He'd flown for almost a year with those lenses, then one year at Fair St. Louis, he had the lenses on, and leaned into the cockpit to fire up the radios so he could check with the airboss to see that the show was on schedule. He never put his helmet on, so he couldn't hear the radio, just saw nothing on the faceplate. Long story short: he sure felt sheepish when the avionics tech told him there was nothing wrong with the radio at all.

So, agreed.. no polarized lenses unless you're flying around looking for marijuana fields.

 

I'll be in the Saab 340... probably wearing a full size DC headset... only problem I've had before with glasses was that the headsets have made them dig into my head to the point where I had headaches... so probably the thinner the frames the better.

 

I concur on the Serengetti's.... you can get them with prescription lenses and they dont effect your view of the EFIS and glass panels.