MARZ Posted January 12, 2021 Report Posted January 12, 2021 On the subject of glasses - sunglasses to be exact, make sure to get the NON POLAIZED type. otherwise you'll experience the magical disappearing glass panel effect! 1 Quote
Nukemzzz Posted January 12, 2021 Author Report Posted January 12, 2021 Wow...there is more to this than I thought. I’m glad I asked. I have my third ever eye appt Thursday. I suspect they are going to give me blank stares when I tell them I need special glasses like described for flying. We shall see. Lol Maybe I’ll try the Benjamin Franklin style half height readers as that seems to be the cheapest and simplest option? Quote
Hank Posted January 12, 2021 Report Posted January 12, 2021 I buy my glasses online from Zenni. The prices are stupid cheap, but I've not tried customizing bifocal / trifocal line location, because I'm nearsighted and don't need readers (yet). Yes, $25 prescription sunglasses are possible, and the optics are good. Right now I have my everyday, transition lenses and 3 pair of sunglasses (one pair lives in each vehicle); my last order was $200 . . . for all of them. 1 Quote
0TreeLemur Posted January 12, 2021 Report Posted January 12, 2021 19 hours ago, Nukemzzz said: Wow...there is more to this than I thought. I’m glad I asked. I have my third ever eye appt Thursday. I suspect they are going to give me blank stares when I tell them I need special glasses like described for flying. We shall see. Lol Maybe I’ll try the Benjamin Franklin style half height readers as that seems to be the cheapest and simplest option? I had laser vision correction done 15 years ago and my far vision remains great. But I must use +1.5 readers to see up close. The thin Foster-Grant readers work great for me. The lenses are only 1-3/16" tall with very thin top frame. Since I wear over-the ear David Clamp's, I put the ear piece above the earseal which pushes the nose bridge down far on my nose yet they stay in place. If the going gets rough I jam them under the clamps, and lose a bit of noise cancelling. I can wear them like that all day and see far and near. Foster-Grant does sell non-polarized aviator style sunglasses that have stick-on bifocal-type lenses in the bottom portion that I wear during the day. 1 Quote
carusoam Posted January 13, 2021 Report Posted January 13, 2021 Now you have fancy... 1) lenses.. 2) gradient tinted 3) Throw back frame styles from the 90s... 4) A spare pair to go jogging with... 5) Additional knowledge to avoid making your panel disappear... 6) thin, light, and scratch resistant... Get a fancy in the ear headset, to keep from crushing the arms of the frames... Wearing glasses and over the ear headsets at the same time can be pretty disappointing... Best regards, -a- Quote
jaylw314 Posted January 13, 2021 Report Posted January 13, 2021 19 hours ago, Hank said: Red light insiide the cockpit (and car, too, dammit!) IS much better. So why are the automakers filling the cabins with unneeded white light? Bothers me to no end when I'm driving. No, I don't need a white light shining down under the center console illuminating the phone charging pad, which I rarely use, and i certainly don't want white lights shining into both front floorboards! At least my Mooney is filled with red light at night so I can see outside . . . . Dim red light will keep your rod cells more sensitive to night vision. However, bright light will kill that, and IIRC it takes 20-40 minutes of dim light again before you get that back. Given that it's hard to imagine driving for 20-40 minutes without getting nailed in the face by someone else's headlights, it's probably pointless to have only red light in the car cabin--there's never any night vision to preserve. Quote
jaylw314 Posted January 13, 2021 Report Posted January 13, 2021 19 hours ago, Hank said: Red light insiide the cockpit (and car, too, dammit!) IS much better. So why are the automakers filling the cabins with unneeded white light? Bothers me to no end when I'm driving. No, I don't need a white light shining down under the center console illuminating the phone charging pad, which I rarely use, and i certainly don't want white lights shining into both front floorboards! At least my Mooney is filled with red light at night so I can see outside . . . . Dim red light will keep your rod cells more sensitive to night vision. However, bright light will kill that, and IIRC it takes 20-40 minutes of dim light again before you get that back. Given that it's hard to imagine driving for 20-40 minutes without getting nailed in the face by someone else's headlights, it's probably pointless to have only red light in the car cabin--there's never any night vision to preserve. Quote
bradp Posted January 14, 2021 Report Posted January 14, 2021 I am high myopia with astigmatism. Noticed my accommodation was going to crap at at 38 or so. I found an excellent optometrist (some are good some are not) and finally got a decent refraction. She recommended eyezen lenses for computer work and light progressive properties. These are the best glasses/ prescription I’ve had since starting to wear them at age 4. I got a set of sunglasses with the same lenses. Very happy. Excellent for flying. I set the transition to be where the cockpit in/out line is. Keep that in mind versus what’s needed for daily tasks 1 1 Quote
Nukemzzz Posted January 15, 2021 Author Report Posted January 15, 2021 Update: I went to the optometrist yesterday and was offered multi focal contact lenses. Another pilot fiend of mine has them and swears by them. I guess you sacrifice a tiny bit of distance clarity for short range. Dr put them in and then I had perfect up close and still had 20-20 long. So it seemed perfect....except...I wasn’t able to take them out. I failed the contact lens training. I will try again Monday at another appointment but I’m not sure if I can wear contacts. Felt like dirt in my eyes, my eyes went bloodshot and became itchy fast, and rubbing your eyes is a good way to lose the lenses. Passing on this idea. I seriously could see just as well around me and my phone in my hand was in focus at the office, no need for messing with glasses in the cockpit. It’s about $500 a year to wear them each day. Quote
carusoam Posted January 16, 2021 Report Posted January 16, 2021 Contacts are really good for some people... Often, they get better as they equilibrate with the eye over a day... Having dry eyes can make them less comfortable... Lots of new technology lately... to help improve the wearing experience... Mine would dry out and the eyelids would toss them as far away as they could... We could tell the RH in the house if you couldn’t keep the contacts on the eyeball... When it happened.... I think I could hear the eyelid exclaim..... Rejected! PP thoughts only... Best regards, -a- Quote
Ross Statham Posted January 16, 2021 Report Posted January 16, 2021 Some superb suggestions I can’t improve upon other than to add, I got used to my vision issue fixes in the cockpit first by using my new reading glasses day, then dusk/dawn, then cruising at night, then approaches. Absolutely go find a good eye doc, and I suspect transition lenses will help. Did for me. Safe travels! Quote
cujet Posted January 16, 2021 Report Posted January 16, 2021 (edited) I use daily contacts that are about +1/4 diopter (or a touch more) too powerful. I wear them all the time. As we age, our focus accommodation reduces from 10 diopter to about 1 diopter at age 50. It’s possible to utilize optics to “bracket” the accommodation you still have and be able to see relatively near and far with good clarity. This is not for everybody and it does take about 2 to 3 weeks for the eyes to adjust to a different “distance” focus. But the end result has been 15 years of not needing reading glasses. (For all but the smallest of things) I’m 57 I’m finally getting to the point where I need a bit more help reading, but it’s been a glorious “glasses free” 15 years. To help understand what I’m saying, I’ve configured the optics so my eyes have to focus a little bit one way to read and a little bit the other way to see distance. Instead of not needing to focus to see distance. This puts my prime focus at about 4-5 feet. Also note, I’m a amateur astronomer and have a basic understanding of all things optical. Edited January 16, 2021 by cujet 1 Quote
carusoam Posted January 16, 2021 Report Posted January 16, 2021 +1 on transitions lenses... they automatically get darker and lighter with UV light... (?) My running glasses are really cool... Best regards, -a- Quote
Hank Posted January 17, 2021 Report Posted January 17, 2021 17 hours ago, carusoam said: +1 on transitions lenses... they automatically get darker and lighter with UV light... (?) My running glasses are really cool... Best regards, -a- I think they are talking about no-line bifocals here . . . . But what you described is what I wear every day. No readers, no bifocals, just very good, very inexpensive glasses from www.zennioptical.com 1 Quote
Oldguy Posted January 18, 2021 Report Posted January 18, 2021 My LASIK finally reached the end of its life when my cataracts became bad enough to warrant surgery. Had one eye done in February, and then the COVID shutdown hit. It was July before the right was done. The left is set for slightly longer distance than the right, and my pea-brain has adapted well to the difference. Have not tried them out flying at night, but just the improvement in driving at night was remarkable. The decrease in light and color degradation was so slow, it was surprising the difference. During the months I only had one done, I would amuse myself by noticing differences in what I thought a color was in my right (OEM) eye and the left (upgraded). Vision for the left is 20/15 and the right is 20/20, so I am happy with the results. For the first time since I was 13, I do not wear any prescription glasses. 1 1 Quote
flyboy0681 Posted January 18, 2021 Report Posted January 18, 2021 2 minutes ago, Oldguy said: My LASIK finally reached the end of its life when my cataracts became bad enough to warrant surgery. My LASIK reached its end of life four years ago after a 14 year run. While my Rx isn't all that bad and my lenses are wafer thin, I was disappointed that it didn't last longer. Nothing is forever. 1 Quote
Oldguy Posted January 18, 2021 Report Posted January 18, 2021 Just now, flyboy0681 said: My LASIK reached its end of life four years ago after a 14 year run. That is almost exactly the amount of time mine lasted. I was fortunate to not wear bifocals for more than a year when I had it done at age 51, so I have never really had to adjust to the variation in a pair of glasses with multiple focal lengths. And like someone else posted above, contacts and I never made a good connection. The best pair of glasses I had for flying before my cataract surgery had gradient colored lenses with 1.5 readers in the bottom. Clear on the bottom to see the panel and tinted on top to see outside. Loved them. Quote
carusoam Posted January 20, 2021 Report Posted January 20, 2021 Great shared details gents! I have no idea where I could ever get such details about glasses and instrument panels... Go MS! Best regards, -a- Quote
M20F-1968 Posted January 23, 2021 Report Posted January 23, 2021 Three words, Digital Progressive lenses. John Breda Quote
carusoam Posted January 24, 2021 Report Posted January 24, 2021 So I looked that one up, and shared it... https://www.lenscrafters.com/lc-us/vision-guide/hd-lenses -a- Quote
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