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Dean Pichon

Well Known Member
It's about time to give up my reading glasses and accept correction for both near and far. Can anyone flying with bifocals or progressive lenses share their experiences and recommendations? Also, do "transistion" (auto darkening) lenses or polarized lenses work well in the RV cockpit?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Dean Pichon
RV-4
Bolton, MA
 
Dean,
I have not tried 'transition' lenses so can't help there.
I would think you would have to turn your head a lot
to use their narrow field of view.
I also have not tried progressive lenses as they didn't
go dark enough for me.

I have used trifocal lenses for flying for years. They
help to take the strain off your eyes. I love them.
Set the bottom for reading charts, the middle can
be set for the average distance to the instrument panel
and the top for looking outside. You might want to have
your needed average distances to give to the lens maker.
Tom
 
I wear trifocals and have no problems in the air while flying. Auto darkening and polarized lens are a no-no. I would think that progressives might drive you crazy as from what I have been told by some pilot that wear them the side vision is not the greatest. Good luck and happy flying.
 
eye doc responds

Dean Pichon said:
It's about time to give up my reading glasses and accept correction for both near and far. Can anyone flying with bifocals or progressive lenses share their experiences and recommendations? Also, do "transistion" (auto darkening) lenses or polarized lenses work well in the RV cockpit?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Dean Pichon
RV-4
Bolton, MA
Click to expand...

Dean,
Being an eye doc, bifocal/trifocal wearer for 20 years, and a RV-4 driver, I think I'm qualified to answer your questions. When you have your eyes examined, the doc will want to know the distance to your instrument panel and how high to set the segment for the bifocal. Measure the distance from your eyes to the edge of the instrument panel, and if you have radios or transponder in the lower center panel (like I do), provide that to. Even though we're tail draggers, you can sit in the cockpit with your reading glasses, and looking like you would be flying level flight (gaze up slightly), mark the lenses where the top of your instruments are located. Even though many have "learned" to use progressives, I don't recommend them at all since they have "sweet" spots, where a standard D-25 bifocal will have the same vision within it's field of view. Also the D shaped bifocals will give you distant correction on the outside lateral edges.
The photochromic lenses don't work in the RVs because the canopy blocks the UV rays that activate them. You have to be careful with polaroid lenses since the canopy can have stress patterns that can show uneven darkening. Also, if you have LCD displays like my radio, GPS and Dynon, they are polarized, and you may not be able to see them. I use clip on polarized lenses, but I cut holes where the trifocals are located and it's the best of both worlds.
When you get the glasses, wear them all the time except for love making the first week. That means walking, driving, etc. You'll hate them at first, but you'll learn quickly how to coordinate your head movements and avoid the line.
Good luck, and let us know how they turn out.
Bill McLean,
Research Optometrist
USAARL
 
progressive lenses - no

I wear progressive lens daily but switch to trifocals for flying. Progressive lenses don't work for me while flying. Especially in the landing flare...
 
eyeglasses?

Dean

Try this site -- www.hidalgos.com

I won't be too long in making this same decision and have been researching. This site is pretty informative (actually the catalog you have to order).


 
How about contacts?

I'm very near sighted (20-250 or so with no big E). I've been 20-20 with hard contacts since I was a teenager some 40 years ago. With the astigmatism I have, soft ones won't work. When I got to the trombone age of about 45, I had to use reading glasses to see up close. So with readers I could read the instruments and not the radios and had all the issues with sunglasses etc.

I'm 61 now and about 6 or 8 years ago, my eye guy suggested a new hard lens that corrects near and far. It's darn near magic now. Absolutely 20-20 all around. No glasses, no bifocals. All the readers went in the trash. :)

Don
 
Not so good in a -6

Your 4 may be different, but in my 6, with bi-focals, I find myself tipping my head back on landing to try to get a little more vision over the nose. At that point, I'm looking through the lower part of my glasses. Same thing goes with ground ops.

I've used regular glasses for taxi and t/o, then switched to the bi-focals in cruise. No real good answer that I've found.

Mark
 
It took me a while to get used to flying with progressive lenses. The brand also makes a difference. I first tried the expensive Varilux progressives but I could not fly with them. I kept trying different brands and found that the cheaper "Eyemasters" progressives work well for me and I have no problem flying with them. I do have to have the "bifocal" adjusted lower than normal.
IIRC Paul Dye had about the same experience with progressives that I did. I believe that he also flies with Eyemasters progressives.
Polarized are generally a no-no in the cockpit. Many of our displays are polarized and they will "disappear" with polarized shades.
 
Timely Thread

... having just been to my eye doc as well. Ugh... hair's falling out... eye's are failing... he he... isn't getting old grand? :rolleyes:

Thanks for the advice from the Posters... and once again to DR for a great web-site! DJ
 
Progressives and Photo Gray work for me....

I have been a glasses wearer since the 4th grade (for distance), and have never flown without them. I've used Photo Grays (transitions) on and off for years as well. When I turned about 45, it was time for a near vision correction, and the Doc gave me a demo pair of both bifocals and progressives in the office, and I decided I liked not having th line, and went with the progressives. I had some pilot friends that gave me dire warnings about not being able to fly with them (but I noticed that none of them wore glasses....), so on the fist flight with the new pair I carried my old single-visions as a backup. I approached the first landing with a little trepidation, only to find that I couldn't tell the difference - and I have never thought about it since.

Photo Gray (Transitions, self-darkening, whatever) have also been fine for me. They definitely do get dark in the RV cockpit (I have pictures), but nowhere near as dark as I like for real sunny use, so I also have prescription sunglasses for flying "on top" or on blue sky days.

AS Mel mentioned, I just go to Eye Masters for my glasses - I have never tried anything more expensive, so maybe I just don't know what I am missing!

At any rate - no trouble at all for me using Progressives.

Paul
 
progressives - yes

I have been wearing progressive lenses for 5 years or so and I fly corporate. I have never had any problems with them flying in any plane I have been in. I can't wear the polarized sunglasses magnetic clip on that came with them though. I guess it is just like anything else we do... you do what it takes to do things without thinking about it. ie: moving your head, etc. :)
 
Progressive? Work great for me

I mostly wear monovision contacts, but they don't qualify for flying. So, I always wear my progressive lenses while flying. Despite the dire warning some give, I have had no issues with transitioning to the progressives, either when I first started using them or when I put them on after a week of wearing contacts. I never notice the "limited" viewing area while flying (and very rarely otherwise) and didn't have to "learn" to use them. But, I suspect each of our brains are wired differently and I'm wired in a good way for progressives. My only problem (and I haven't found it a real issue) is on the take-off roll, before the tail comes up. I assume that bifocals have the same problem, but I've never used bi-focals. (They're for old people, aren't they?)

I use polarized "clip-ons" for sunglasses. They are a problem with the glass panel. If I'm co-pilot, I can't see the screens from the side as well with the polarized lenses. If the screens are dark (such as on start-up, using the internal battery), I some times have to remove the clip-ons until the power comes up.

I never gave my optometrist any special instructions, but my most recent one is a pilot and knew that I was one, so perhaps he made appropriate adjustments.
 
I have worn progressive lenses for hyperopia for almost 20 years. 90% of my flying is with Ray-Ban, polarized, progressive lens sunglasses. They are the most comforatble and functional glasses I've ever owned. Expensive, yes ... but worth every penny and PURfect for flying.
 
Progressives here

I fly with progressives because I can comfortably focus on every distance. (Yes, they are transition lenses that darken in bright light.)

Normally, I wear bi-focals, so I try to wear the progressives a day before I fly, just to re-equilibrate with them.

I'm quite interested in the eye doc's recommendation for trifocals, and I'm sure that that is a good solution for many as well.

Good question, good thread.
 
Eye masters?

Are "Eye Masters" a brand name or an outlet store?

I have top line progressives (don't remember the name). I don't care for them for anything but don't know what I'm gonna do yet. Very interesting thread here.



Bevan
 
No luck with progressives, but it's probably me.

I've tried progressives on two separate occasions...the second time with the help of a pilot-opthamolagist. No luck in my case, in the RV or the Boeing. I just found the sweet spot too small, and the head-moving to have a good scan uncomfortable. But I've talked with several pilot's for whom it worked well, and there may be two factors that might help you if you go this direction.

First, those that were succsessful said they wore their glasses pretty much all the time (much as the doc in the earlier post suggested). Since my corrections (far and near) are still somewhat small, I did not do that, and I probably made a successful transition a no-go from the git-go.

Second, it seemed to me that the succsessful transitions wearers had larger lenses, such as a Ray-Ban aviator style. I believe that provided a larger sweet spot for them, and perhaps allowed less head turning and a better acclimatization for them. I had/have smaller lenses and decided to go back to bifocals versus bigger lenses...just a personal preference.

Hope those lessons-learned help.

I ended up with bifocals that give me distance out the top, and panel focal-length out the bottom, and use them for night, though I lower them on my nose for tailwheel landings. For day (most of my RV flying) I use single vision sunglasses, and it works. As for polarized lenses, I found them a non-starter with glass, especially my LCD VM1000...it goes black. Sounds like some use them, so guess it depends on what's in your panel...only way to know is to test 'em.

Last rec, sorry to run on, is to find a doc that will take the time to listen to your specific needs and work with you...they are worth their weight!

Best of luck!

Cheers,

Bob Mills
"Rocket" RV-6
N600SS
4SD
 
I had an appointment at the eye doc on my 50th birthday. Bad news: "Happy birthday, you need bifocals." Worse news: I love them. It took no time to adapt to progressives. I can see the panel and charts clearly as well as distant stuff.
Pretty sad when you can get so much pleasure from new glasses. I only take them off for...
 
What is the brand/model of these contacts?

dhammer said:
I'm very near sighted (20-250 or so with no big E). I've been 20-20 with hard contacts since I was a teenager some 40 years ago. With the astigmatism I have, soft ones won't work. When I got to the trombone age of about 45, I had to use reading glasses to see up close. So with readers I could read the instruments and not the radios and had all the issues with sunglasses etc.

I'm 61 now and about 6 or 8 years ago, my eye guy suggested a new hard lens that corrects near and far. It's darn near magic now. Absolutely 20-20 all around. No glasses, no bifocals. All the readers went in the trash. :)

Don
Click to expand...

I'd like to learn more about this option. Can you share some more info on the type/brand/model of these hard lenses.

Thank you and thank everyone for all the great info. I'm constantly amazed at how useful this forum is for me.
 
To answer your question about transitions leneses. The canopy on the RVs I've been in blocks too much UV and the lenses don't darken. The same thing happens in cars. Basically transitions leneses only darken if you're actually outside and not in a vehicle.

Guy
 
Something I found kinda by accident that works for me. With my last prescription, I got the bifocals set for charts at 16", so I knew I wouldn't have any problem passing the eye exam. Since they were too strong to read the instruments comfortably, I got a second set of lenses (free, as I wasn't happy with the way the first set worked for me) with the bifocals set less strong. They worked fine, but I really needed a little more strength for some rare tasks. I popped out one of the lenses and put in the earlier prescription and everything was perfect! I have the best of both worlds without having to tilt my head as much as with trifocals. I will always order this combination on future prescriptions and even my AME likes the idea. YMMV.

An earlier thread gave www.zennioptical.com as a great place to order glasses. I haven't tried them and can't recommend them, but think I will give them a try. Anyone with any experience with them?

Bob Kelly
 
"Better" progressives

About a year ago an Optometrist from Canada (Paul Boyko - www.visionsofcanada.com) came to our EAA meeting at the request of one of our members to discuss vision correction and progressive lenses in particular. He sells progressive lenses made by high end lensmakers (like Nikon) that are significantly better than what is sold in the US. They are more expensive (and with today's exchange rate, even more so). When I got mine, the exchange rate was in my favor :cool:
I had tried progressive lenses before, and couldn't stand them. When I put on my Nikon lenses, I thought there was a mistake, because they felt just like my regular lenses. The difference is amazing. No feeling of 'tunnel vision' at all. I was so impressed I conviced my wife to give them a try and she loves them.
If you are having problems with glasses, it's definitely worth a call to see what can be done.
 
Dean Pichon said:
I'd like to learn more about this option. Can you share some more info on the type/brand/model of these hard lenses.

Thank you and thank everyone for all the great info. I'm constantly amazed at how useful this forum is for me.
Click to expand...

Dean,

Since it's been several years, I don't remember the brand, but what I have in a hard lens is called an aspheric multifocal type. Take a look at http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/bifocals.htm for some options. My eye doc gave me the Rx and I ordered them from Costco because he said they have the best price.

I have to wear hard lens because I have too much astigmatism for the soft ones. When I started, soft ones weren't invented yet, so I'm used to them anyway. One good thing with hard ( or gas perm) lenses is they shape the cornea so your vision doesn't change other than your lens getting stiff from old age, hence the over 45 stuff. It's been my experience that some eye docs won't suggest hard lens as they loose your business making changes all the time.

That may not be reality, but my reality is I wore the SAME set of contacts from age 16 to 45 and passed a First Class for years with regular checks by an ophthalmologist to make sure everything was OK. Since getting the ones I have now I can again with no glasses of any kind. Everything from 6 inches to infinity is in focus.

Don
 
My trifocals.

When it came time I tried progressives. Forget it. Too much eyeglass real estate taken up by the transition areas that are distorted. I have the intermediate lens made to 14mm from the normal 8mm. The reason for this is that with the 8mm tall intermediate I would only have either the ADI or the HSI in focus at a time and was constantly nodding my head to see them. With the 14mm tall intermediate both of the instruments were visible and in focus at one time and all that is necessary is eye movement. Now this is with an instrument panel an arms length or greater away (B-767), with the panel closer it might not be quite as much a problem but I sure do like them when looking a computer screen across the desk also. As to dark glasses, I recently started using a progressive tint, dark when looking through the upper to distance down to clear for reading. I don't know how I lasted all these years otherwise.
 
Well, lots of opinions here, probably too much conflicting info to really be helpful. And now I'll add my 2 cents:

I started wearing glasses when I was about 12 yrs. old and every couple years I needed a stronger prescription. Changes slowed down when I was in my 50's but by then the correction was about -6 diopters, which means you ask "What chart? What wall?"

Got Lasik. Got 20/20 in one eye, 20/15 in the other for distance, but still needed glasses to read. The Lasik was great by the way & I highly recommend it. For the first time in over 40 years, I could drive, fly, walk down the street without glasses.

Got progressives with photo gray. Took about 3 landings to get used to the progressives, but as others have said, the photo grays don't darken in the airplane or in the car.

If you don't need the distance correction, you can buy dark glasses with reading correction on the bottom and no correction on top. Get these at larger fly-ins. Maybe $15-20. I have seen some advertised also, but they cost a lot more. Work just fine.

We bought glasses from Zennioptical.com for my mother-in-law. Cost about $40 with semi fancy frames and lots of corrections. No problem except she lost them again. Their prices, with frames start somewhere around $20. A consumer guy on the radio turned me onto them.
 
Interesting thread just for general purposes. Several points I saw that are worth emphasizing.

Progressives and photogray are too iffy. Skip 'em.

Progressives and trifocals require aiming your head to a narrow field.

The doc above made very important points for bifocals: set the line considerably higher than "standard" and focus further out. Most of your near-vision activity is way beyond 16-18", more like 24 -30, and not in your lap. Set the line just below where you look straight ahead for distance, the measurement is critical and make sure the frames are where they should be. This is great for computers, hand gun front sights :eek:, instrument panels, etc., most of what you're doing. Night makes this even more important.

Polarized is definitely a no-no.

All the above also jives with my experience.

John Siebold
 
An added point (thanks for reminding me, John.) I have the bifocal in my right lens set for the longer distance, primarily because I have been known to aim and am right handed/right eyed. The left lens focuses closer. And I'll bet all you guys just thought I just shot from the hip!

You might consider different strengths for each eye; it really works for me. Much less moving of the head and I never realize which eye is really clearly focused. Most optometrists will give you different lenses if you aren't happy with the results, although some may balk at the idea to begin with.

Bob Kelly
 
RV7ator said:
Interesting thread just for general purposes. Several points I saw that are worth emphasizing.

Progressives and photogray are too iffy. Skip 'em.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm....I (and a bunch of others that use these every day) must really be foolish or two blind to notice.....:rolleyes:

What I take away from teh thread is that you need to try stuff with an open mind and see what works for you. I have experienced exactly ZERO problems flying with both progressives and photogray glasses for years.

Of course, YMMV....
 
One more response

Dean,

I wear Bi-focal. When I first got them I had a problem with night driving in that the 'line' would double the number of car headlights coming at me. I traded up to an anti reflective coating and that fixed that problem.
I use the self darkening lens and that work just fine for me, but then my eyes have never been that sensitive to sun light.

My correct is not that much for distance and only a little bit worse for close. When I am at home reading I used drug store cheaters 1.75 power.

The last couple of times that I got new glasses, I told the Dr. that I wanted the lower part to focus at the distance to the panel on my plane. This is not optimum for reading charts, but works OK for me.

I don't even notice the line when flying now.

Kent
 
The next chapter

dhammer said:
I'm very near sighted (20-250 or so with no big E). I've been 20-20 with hard contacts since I was a teenager some 40 years ago. With the astigmatism I have, soft ones won't work. When I got to the trombone age of about 45, I had to use reading glasses to see up close. So with readers I could read the instruments and not the radios and had all the issues with sunglasses etc.

I'm 61 now and about 6 or 8 years ago, my eye guy suggested a new hard lens that corrects near and far. It's darn near magic now. Absolutely 20-20 all around. No glasses, no bifocals. All the readers went in the trash. :)

Don
Click to expand...

Hi Don,

After reviewing all the options offered on this topic, I elected to try the bifocal contact thing. The idea of completely giving up glasses is just too enticing. This evening, I went to the eye doctor to be fit for contacts. He immediately suggested lens replacement surgery, then progressive lens glasses, then contacts for distance with glasses for reading. I held my ground and said "bifocal contacts". He said most people don't like them - less than a 50% success rate. I said, "I'll try them." He relented, I tried them and I love them. The sample pair he fit me with allowed me to have better than 20/20 near and far. I would never have believed the concept of a bifocal contact could be so successful. I can't wait to fly with them.

As soon as I am a little braver and a little richer, I will try lens replacement surgery, but in the meantime, I am thrilled (so far) with these contacts.

Thanks to all for the input. I am continuously amazed at the breadth and depth of experience of this group.

Dean Pichon
 
RScott said:
We bought glasses from Zennioptical.com for my mother-in-law. Cost about $40 with semi fancy frames and lots of corrections. No problem except she lost them again. Their prices, with frames start somewhere around $20. A consumer guy on the radio turned me onto them.
Click to expand...

x2 for Zenni!! - I was so impressed with my $40 pair we got my dad bifocals ($60) and he loves them. Nearly every engineer at the company I work at has also gone to them because of my positive experiences. Can't recommend them enough...
Never again $300 glasses.
 
I purchased a pair of, rimless, hingeless, pure titanium frame glasses, with progressive, auto darkening, anti-glare coated lenses from Zennioptic, cost: $114.95 including shipping. Quote from my eye doctor, $600.00 including a 20% discount. The glasses from Zeni are fine, but there is a slight difference in the progressive lenses. One lense switches to close-up vision at a slightly higher position than the other. They are certainly useable, but if I were ordering again, I would skip the progressive lenses and go to bi-focals. I would also skip the auto-darkening lenses, as others have mentioned, they are worthless in cars and airplanes.
I tried bi-focal contacts a number of years ago and they didn't work for me, it sounds like I may need to try them again. Mono vision contacts are working well for me, but of course the FAA says that's not allowed.
 
Dean Pichon said:
It's about time to give up my reading glasses and accept correction for both near and far. Can anyone flying with bifocals or progressive lenses share their experiences and recommendations? Also, do "transistion" (auto darkening) lenses or polarized lenses work well in the RV cockpit?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Dean Pichon
RV-4
Bolton, MA
Click to expand...

I found that it was very uncomfortable to look through the lower lens when reading or working on something close at hand; this having to tilt my head back was a pain. I had the optometrist set the top of the lower lens so it was just passing through the center of my eyeball when looking straight ahead. These work great when reading, using my computer, or working on stuff. They are uncomfortable, though, when driving or viewing TV.
 
Dean Pichon said:
Hi Don,

After reviewing all the options offered on this topic, I elected to try the bifocal contact thing. The idea of completely giving up glasses is just too enticing. This evening, I went to the eye doctor to be fit for contacts. He immediately suggested lens replacement surgery, then progressive lens glasses, then contacts for distance with glasses for reading. I held my ground and said "bifocal contacts". He said most people don't like them - less than a 50% success rate. I said, "I'll try them." He relented, I tried them and I love them. The sample pair he fit me with allowed me to have better than 20/20 near and far. I would never have believed the concept of a bifocal contact could be so successful. I can't wait to fly with them.

As soon as I am a little braver and a little richer, I will try lens replacement surgery, but in the meantime, I am thrilled (so far) with these contacts.

Thanks to all for the input. I am continuously amazed at the breadth and depth of experience of this group.

Dean Pichon
Click to expand...

Dean,
Thanks for the feedback. As for me I'll never bother with the surgery. Sounds like you have the soft ones as they don't have hard samples. I understand the success rate is less than perfect with those, but as long as you don't have much astigmatism they'll be fine. For that reason, soft ones won't work for me. Good luck with your experience.
Don
 
I've been wearing contacts since I was 18, I never wanted to wear glasses, only got the ones required to have when I was in the Air Force. I never had the need to consider anything else but a normal prescription of soft lenses for years until my late forties a couple years ago. I found I needed something for close-up work on circuit boards and went to my doctor to consider a prescription for reading glasses. He recommended the two lens contact system, one for close-up and one for distance. It took me about a day to get used to but I like the idea and it works good since I was having a problem with a normal prescription. My left eye is set for close-up and the right is for distance. The two eyes really do work together quite well. I was surprised. I feel I could still benefit from a glass prescription for my close-up 10-12" circuit board repair but I've been getting by ok, occasionally I will use a magnifying glass if necessary. I otherwise don't notice anything abnormal, the 2 eye system seems to adjust just fine for everyday vision, no problems in the airplane.

Dave Ford
RV6 flying 260 hours
 
Okay if it's 20/40 or better?

Mel said:
Unfortunately I don't believe FAA will accept this system for flying.
Click to expand...

I'm not an expert but my understanding is that you can use the monovision system if the undercorrected eye is at least 20/40 or better. I love monovision but, unfortunately, my undercorrected eye sees less than 20/40 and I can't use them. Younger folks with less far-sighted problems may have this system as an option.
 
maggiedad2 said:
They won't. What about the bifocal contacts? They're ok?
Click to expand...

The FAA does approve bifocal contacts as long as you can pass the medical eye tests for both eyes. They will not approve the monofocal contacts where one eye is corrected for near vision and the other far. They are concerned with the lack of depth perception. Strangely enough a one eyed pilot can demonstrate he can fly and get a waiver but someone with the monofocals cannot. Like many FAA regs, it doesn't make much sense .

I can pass a First Class with my hard bifocal contacts. Both eyes 20/20 near and far. Without contacts I can barely see the big E and need +4 diopter reading glasses.

Don
 
"Executive" Bifocals

That's what the store called them. The close up lens is relatively tall and wide, the idea being that it is to look at the gauges. That lens is set for viewing distance to the instrument panel, but works pretty good for reading in the cockpit for me.
The main lens for distance.

I have clip on shades, because not enough UV gets through the bubble to use sunlight activated shades.
 
DGlaeser said:
About a year ago an Optometrist from Canada (Paul Boyko - www.visionsofcanada.com) came to our EAA meeting at the request of one of our members to discuss vision correction and progressive lenses in particular. He sells progressive lenses made by high end lensmakers (like Nikon) that are significantly better than what is sold in the US. They are more expensive (and with today's exchange rate, even more so). When I got mine, the exchange rate was in my favor :cool:
I had tried progressive lenses before, and couldn't stand them. When I put on my Nikon lenses, I thought there was a mistake, because they felt just like my regular lenses. The difference is amazing. No feeling of 'tunnel vision' at all. I was so impressed I conviced my wife to give them a try and she loves them.
If you are having problems with glasses, it's definitely worth a call to see what can be done.
Click to expand...
Dennis and several others have hit on the secret to progressive lenses. The very first pair I got was a dream. I put them on and there was virtually NO adjustment to them. The second pair I got was a nightmare. I complained and pointed out that I should not need to adjust to the lenses that lenses should be adjusted to me! It took them three tries and once they figured out that I would not be satisfied with lenses that felt like vertigo was just an eye movement away they got it right. BINGO perfect again. I now have found an optometrist that can measure interpupillary distance correctly and has a lab that can grind the lenses correctly. With this doc three different pairs of progressives over several years that require no adjustment on my part convinces me that MOST people that "cannot" wear progressives have either the wrong doc, the wrong lab or both. Before I get flamed for that statement I will state that I am sure there are a few exceptions.:D
PS: The first two sets were when I was 20/400 with astigmatism. The last two sets are since cataract surgery where I am 20/20 in one eye close up and the other is set for "distant" vision (20/20 distant vision?).
 
Glasses and Flying

I recently flew a cross-country from the Memphis area to Lockhart, TX. Winds made my arrival time just as the sun was setting. I made a landing at "night" and flared a bit low....due to everything being different at night. I was wearing my progressive lenses which might have made my landing a bit hard. Seems like the edges were blurred due to the distortion of the progressive lenses. After the fact, I was asked about my glasses. My flying friends informed me that wearing progressives while making a landing after dark is not the best ideal. I am due for new eyewear and will consider the basic bi-focal type glass and will discuss with my eye doc.
 
Everyone is different

Personally I love my progressives day or night.
It also depends on the brand. I tried several before I found the right ones for me. Ironflight & I like the EyeMasters brand.
 
Ray Bans with stick ons

I wear contacts to see far, -2.00 and -2.5 diopters left and right. Trouble is, I built the panel "too close". And my 396 is even closer, tucked to the left side by the roll bar. I recently purchased a set of Optx stick-on bifocal lenses (+1.75) from ACS for my Ray Bans. For me, they work great. The division is right at the edge of the glare shield so whatever I see out the windscreen is through just the sunglasses and the panel is through the lenses. An inexpensive remedy using your favorite pair of shades.
 
Tri-focals...

Steve Brown said:
"Executive" Bifocals -That's what the store called them. The close up lens is relatively tall and wide, the idea being that it is to look at the gauges. That lens is set for viewing distance to the instrument panel, but works pretty good for reading in the cockpit for me.
The main lens for distance.

I have clip on shades, because not enough UV gets through the bubble to use sunlight activated shades.
Click to expand...

That's interesting... mine worked out just the same, but I got the lenses in tri-focals.... The "middle" lens works great on the dash with only a little eye movement, and I can look downwards for map reading.

The tri-focal bit made the inset lens taller just as you describe.

I also found there is no secret with the middle lens, it is just the average of the distance and reading prescriptions....;)
 
Polaroid & near corrections

Long post, but might be helpful to a few.
This seems to be one of the most popular threads and lots of opinions and suggestions. Could it be that our RV pilots don't have exactly perfect eyes when they get older?
Introduction: I'm a government research optometrist for 40 years with a RV-4.
Subject:
Polaroid- Many years ago, we looked at polaroid lens for aviation and found that many windscreens had stress patterns that showed up with color fringes or bifring patterns. Therefore, we still don't allow polarid for military aircraft. HOWEVER, if you've used polaroid sunglasses for driving, for example, you've probably notice a lot of subtle advantages such as reduced reflections from your glare shield. You'll also notice with modern dash and cockpits with LCD displays, the polaroids will reduce their visibility too. When I got a new car (happens about every 20 years), I couldn't see the LCD displays with my favorite clip-on polaroid sunglasses. I outlined the tri-focal from my glasses on the polaroid clip-on, and put the drimel tool to action to remove the near vision area. Here's the results:
http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt228/willymac104/Polaroidcut-outsunglasses-1.jpg
From the quality of the cut-out, you can see why I bought my RV-4 already built. On the ground, I checked my vision with the polaroid clip-ons through my RV-4 canopy before I used them for flying, and of course in my new car. There were no color fringes or visible stress pattern through the canopy in any direction. I could see my Dynon EFIS, GPS, and those things in the dark area between my legs such as radio frequencies and transponder better than with or without any sunglasses.
Other notes: The sky is slightly polarized with lines relative to the sun and more noticeable with increase sun elevation. This means clouds and aircraft can change contrast depending on where they are located relative to you and the sun (advantage/disadvantage?). In my RV-4, I've noticed that the front curved windshield (slider) induces a slightly different angle of polarization to the right and left eye. RV-8s should have the same characteristics. In one eye, I may see the reflections from a lake, but not in the other eye. Visually, this means which ever eye has the most contrast, you can see it (advantage). Clouds may have low contrast in in one eye, but will be very visible in the other eye (advantage).
Progressive/standard trifocal: If you get use to a progressive lens, fine. I use a standard trifocal and can walk and chew at the same time. I've had pilots tell me that they would quit flying if they ever had to wear glasses. Poor things. Then there was the story about the pilot with 20/20 unaided that wore corrective lenses to achieve 20/12. Yes, he was a mig killer in Korean war.

Bill McLean
RV-4
LA (lower Alabama)
 
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Bob Gordon said:
I wear contacts to see far, -2.00 and -2.5 diopters left and right. Trouble is, I built the panel "too close". And my 396 is even closer, tucked to the left side by the roll bar. I recently purchased a set of Optx stick-on bifocal lenses (+1.75) from ACS for my Ray Bans. For me, they work great. The division is right at the edge of the glare shield so whatever I see out the windscreen is through just the sunglasses and the panel is through the lenses. An inexpensive remedy using your favorite pair of shades.
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With this amount of myopia you have another excellent option. Several of the current style frame/lenses are rectangular and not very tall. Go try some of those styles. You will find some where it is very easy and natural to look under the lens for close and through the lens for far. Works very well for SOME amounts of myopia as presbyopia starts to set in. -2.00 and -2.5 is just about perfect for this strategy.

Mike
 
WillyEyeBall said:
On the ground, I checked my vision with the polaroid clip-ons through my RV-4 canopy before I used them for flying, and of course in my new car. There were no color fringes or visible stress pattern through the canopy in any direction. I could see my Dynon EFIS, GPS, and those things in the dark area between my legs such as radio frequencies and transponder better than with or without any sunglasses.
Other notes: The sky is slightly polarized with lines relative to the sun and more noticeable with increase sun elevation. This means clouds and aircraft can change contrast depending on where they are located relative to you and the sun (advantage/disadvantage?). In my RV-4, I've noticed that the front curved windshield (slider) induces a slightly different angle of polarization to the right and left eye.
Bill McLean
RV-4
LA (lower Alabama)
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The RV-4 Canopy is blown, nothing touches the plastic but air in the forming process (Except at the base). As a result the distortions are almost zero and there are slight variations from one canopy to the next. The RV-6 and I assume 7 were molded. This will probably introduce some of those issues using polarized lenses. I don't know about the 8, 9, 10, 12, etc.
 
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