Polarized or not?

WDD

WDD

Final Approach
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Vintage Snazzy (so my adult children say)
Sunglasses - I’ve read where they need to be non polarized because of lcd displays - but that doesn’t seem to ring true. The black numbers on gray background Casio watch perhaps - But a color LCD screen as you have with a Garmin 430 ?
 
Yep.
 
yep..definite no to polarized sunglasses. and you're gonna want lighter colored sunglasses rather than darker.

i bought mine here:
http://www.av-sun.com/
 
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You want non-polarized.
 
Brown or light gray?
 
I have light grey. Non polarized. With a anti reflective back costing. Eye dr pilot friend of mine had them made this way.
 
Polarized lenses are the absolute pits with LCD and many LED displays, as they are based on materials that can polarize reflected or emitted light. (So polarized lenses will obscure displays when viewed from certain angles.) In addition, constant tint sunglasses are way too dark to see anything inside the cockpit. I have a set of prescription progressive refraction sunglasses that have variable tint from 20% transmissivity for distance vision to 80% for near vision. These are perfect for flying or driving.

I prefer a neutral gray tint that does not distort color perception. I despise brownish or bluish tints, but that is personal.
 
I’ll have to find a place that can do prescription non polarized light gray gradient with progressive bi focals
 
Chem geek - where did you get your sunglasses ?
 
WDD said:
Chem geek - where did you get your sunglasses ?
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At the optician. I need prescription glasses for mild nearsightedness (-2.5D) and and presbyopia. The optician can make them anyway you want them. So I asked for a variable tint and my usual progressive lens prescription in a stylish wrap-around frame. Love them.
 
chemgeek said:
At the optician. I need prescription glasses for mild nearsightedness (-2.5D) and and presbyopia. The optician can make them anyway you want them. So I asked for a variable tint and my usual progressive lens prescription in a stylish wrap-around frame. Love them.
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What optician did you use? Pearle, Lens Crafters, WalMart?
 
I accidentally bought some polarized sunglasses a little over a year ago - lost my old pair and was in a hurry and didn't look close enough at the new ones. I eventually realized they were polarized but thought, lemme go try them out for a flight and see what happens. Maybe this polarization thing is overblown:

IMG_4007.jpg


Yeah, I bought a new pair.
 
WDD said:
What optician did you use? Pearle, Lens Crafters, WalMart?
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They are a local shop associated with my ophthalmologist. I think they all use the same labs to make the lenses.
 
I've heard, but I don't have a reference for it, that light reflected off of a planar surface like an aircraft wing is slightly polarized, and so depending on the orientation can be harder to see with polarized glasses.
I've always bought non-polarized glasses in order to avoid compatibility issues with in-cockpit displays, but have always wondered if they also help with aircraft spotting.

I also like a tint gradient, darker at top where I'll be looking out of the cockpit, lighter at the bottom where I'll be looking inside the cockpit.
 
WDD said:
Sunglasses - I’ve read where they need to be non polarized because of lcd displays - but that doesn’t seem to ring true. The black numbers on gray background Casio watch perhaps - But a color LCD screen as you have with a Garmin 430 ?
Click to expand...
I never had a chance to try it on a 430/530. Word got around back in the 80's that they were a problem. We had center consoles and you had to turn 90 deg to look straight down at the displays. Word went out fast that the display went blank. I mean solid black. One had to remove specs and rotate them 90 deg and display was readable. A real PITA. Not being an avionics techy, I cant say what type of display we had in the 70's Teledyne LoranC or the early 80's Trimble 2101. There were no polaroids available to test them on the G 530 by the 90's.
 
WDD said:
I’ll have to find a place that can do prescription non polarized light gray gradient with progressive bi focals
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Literally anywhere unless you insist on Maui Jim. Prescription glasses are custom. Heck I got a pair like that on Zenni (well, I opted for brown ("driving") lenses because I think they are better resolution, but otherwise...)

Actually I don't wear them all the time when flying. Since out windows don't lock UV, my photosensitive everyday pair work pretty well, although my sunglasses do block a little more from the sides.
 
ktup-flyer said:
I have polarized glasses. No effect on any of the LCDs in my plane.
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Could be just luck between the orientation of your glasses and displays. Tip your head and see which ones turn black.

Jump to 03:04.

 
ktup-flyer said:
I have polarized glasses. No effect on any of the LCDs in my plane.
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Mine were fine as well -- 430, aspen, 496 - no problem...right up until I got a fancy color JPI engine monitor.
 
kayoh190 said:
I accidentally bought some polarized sunglasses a little over a year ago - lost my old pair and was in a hurry and didn't look close enough at the new ones. I eventually realized they were polarized but thought, lemme go try them out for a flight and see what happens. Maybe this polarization thing is overblown:

View attachment 88139


Yeah, I bought a new pair.
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What’s that thing in your left hand. Shouldn’t it be down by your left knee? How do you eat with that thing in your way?
 
Flying Eyes are my sunglasses of choice, especially the Kestrels.

https://flyingeyesoptics.com/

If you dig down the page, they have an option to make them in your lens prescription
 
Sometimes the glint of light reflected off a nearby aircraft will be the only warning you get. Polarized lenses can remove that glint.
 
smv said:
Sometimes the glint of light reflected off a nearby aircraft will be the only warning you get. Polarized lenses can remove that glint.
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This is by and large a MYTH. What enables you to see other aircraft is CONTRAST, not glints. The polarized lenses enhance the contrast.
 
flyingron said:
This is by and large a MYTH. What enables you to see other aircraft is CONTRAST, not glints. The polarized lenses enhance the contrast.
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You forgot to preface that with "IMO".
 
When I fly GA, I have to wear my non polarized glasses. In the CRJ, only the radio tuning units were blacked out and only at a certain angle. Although I never flew it, the instructors on the MD-88 said polarized lenses are useless in the cockpit and you won’t even be able to see out the windows.
 
Only polarized, for years now.

No effect on my 530 nor the four 750s I fly with.
The only way I get blackout on the screens is if I angle my head to an angle of 45°sideways - something I find very, very difficult to do.
 
flyingron said:
It is not my "opinion." Do some research on your own rather than relying on your old wive's tales.
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My wife is not that old. However, several decades of personal experience trumps your opinion every time.
 
I used to have an obsession with polarized glasses, but ultimately the slight reduction in glare was not worth the weird visuals when looking at windows and the overall shift in spectrum you notice any time you tip your head a little. And I didn't like how displays look funny, even if you can see them they just don't look quite right

I did recently wear an old pair of glasses that I probably hadn't worn in five years and I was amazed at how clear the water was! Went almost the whole day to realize that it was because the glasses were polarized!!

TLDR; no to polarized
 
Maxnr said:
I never had a chance to try it on a 430/530. Word got around back in the 80's that they were a problem. We had center consoles and you had to turn 90 deg to look straight down at the displays. Word went out fast that the display went blank. I mean solid black. One had to remove specs and rotate them 90 deg and display was readable. A real PITA. Not being an avionics techy, I cant say what type of display we had in the 70's Teledyne LoranC or the early 80's Trimble 2101. There were no polaroids available to test them on the G 530 by the 90's.
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The B&G displays still go completely black, which is odd because they are a high end electronics manufacturer for boats. People on the water still tend to prefer polarized for the reduction of glare but not being able to read depth, windspeed, heading, etc are a massive pain
 
On one hand, I think polarized is the way go, but on other occasions, I think otherwise.
I'm pretty polarized on the issue.
 
Tantalum said:
The B&G displays still go completely black, which is odd because they are a high end electronics manufacturer for boats. People on the water still tend to prefer polarized for the reduction of glare but not being able to read depth, windspeed, heading, etc are a massive pain
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Funny that you mention it, but just last weekend I was sailing with some people, and one woman didn't know where we were reading the depth. Finally we figured out it was her polarized sunglasses that turned the display black.
 
Everskyward said:
Funny that you mention it, but just last weekend I was sailing with some people, and one woman didn't know where we were reading the depth. Finally we figured out it was her polarized sunglasses that turned the display black.
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Incidentally that's exactly how I realized I was wearing polarized glasses!
 
Polarized worked just fine on the old 207s I used to fly in Alaska.


Of course they were all old steam gauges and radio(s) and barely had enough equipment to fly VFR....legally.
 
Forums crack me up. Polarized or non polarized? Pretty simple question eh? But it turns into arguments and disagreements. Imagine if it was a question of low wings vs high wings
 
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