Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Here's a question from a viewer that's a commercial pilot and wonders if there are
special sunglasses that he or she should be wearing when they are 30,000 feet up. There
are special considerations that you should take when you are wearing sunglasses as a
pilot.
One of the things that is not as much of a concern is how much protection you are going
to receive from the ultraviolet light levels when you are at that height. The windshield
itself, of the cockpit, is usually made out of polycarbonate which the same sort of sunglass
lenses that completely block out UVA and UVB light. So, the protection from UV exposure
is not as critical as it would be if you were outside of the airplane.
The other thing to consider is how much light is getting through the lenses. You don't
want less that 15% light getting through the tint. So, there used to be some lenses that
were called G15 sun lenses and those, the 15 stood for how much light was getting through.
So 85% of the light was being blocked and you don't want more than that being blocked.
So, one of the things you can do is talk to your eye care provider and find out which
tint is really the best for you. Most prefer a grey, neutral tint. Because that way the
colors on the cockpit instrument panel won't be changed. Grey is the most neutral color
as far as looking at tints outside.
The other thing to consider is antireflective
lenses. That will cut down the glare that can be associated at those bright light levels.
The other is to avoid polarized lenses because polarization of the lenses can interfere with
what you see on the instrumentation in the cockpit.
So, those are some of the things to consider but the best thing to do as far as the tint
is concerned and how dark the tint should be is to talk to your eye care professional
and find out what the best thing is for you.