Binoculars?

[jackc]

OK, I need  a compact set for looking at airstrips and surrounding landscape.  One of my principal needs is to check Windsock direction too.

Not knowing anything about them, I call on the collective wisdom.

Would some kind of Telescope do the job? 

[mkennard]

I have a monocular with me but honestly I've never used it. Seemed like a good idea. Much less fiddly and smaller than binoculars. I think I got it from Aus Geographic.

[Blueadventures]

19 minutes ago, jackc said:

OK, I need  a compact set for looking at airstrips and surrounding landscape.  One of my principal needs is to check Windsock direction too.

Not knowing anything about them, I call on the collective wisdom.

Would some kind of Telescope do the job? 

Won’t a set of long distance glasses do the job.  All you will need.

[jackc]

Experience to date……tells me that I need something.  If I don’t need for some circumstances all OK but IF I do need and don’t have then things can get harder to see, especially when there are merging colours.  had trouble finding airstrip a few weeks ago…..too many green crops near it. Now they are harvested can see the strip easily, but not the yellow windsock:-) 

[facthunter]

The movement of the aircraft will ruin the telescope idea. Have you had your eyes checked for cataracts?  Are you suffering from GLARE? I put my opp off for too long. ALL good afterwards and only need cheap magnifiers for close up. 1.5-2.0.  Nev

[jackc]

Glare COULD be a problem?  Never worn Sunglasses in my life, ever.  Sun visors have been OK, none on plane…..

[facthunter]

ALL pilots should wear Good wrap around sunglasses for eye protection, not just to look like Tom Cruze..See an opthalmologist sooner rather than later. Eyesight is precious.  Nev

[Blueadventures]

5 minutes ago, jackc said:

Glare COULD be a problem?  Never worn Sunglasses in my life, ever.  Sun visors have been OK, none on plane…..

Have a sight check and maybe get a set of transitional lens that adjust for sunlight.  You will need to best long distance sight for better flying anyway.  Also ask them to do a colour vision test.  In the wetter seasons grass airstrips are harder to identify.  Just book in for at vision tests and hope all will be a pass and then the sighting of airfields will be the same for you as all of us.  

[facthunter]

Good advice, to a point but eye health is a matter of keeping eyesight good for longer.  Colour blindness is permanent but Macular degeneration will affect colour recognition if it's getting extensive..  Nev 

[onetrack]

Your eyesight really starts to go downhill once you reach 70. Your eyes take much longer to adjust to rapid light level changes, and the amount of light entering your eyes can be down by 50%, meaning you need much more light to be able to see things properly. A lightweight small pair of binoculars works well enough, but bouncing around in thermals close to the ground might make holding them steady, pretty difficult.

 

Don't go too big on the magnification, 8 power would be adequate, higher power magnification means you need to hold them very steady to see anything. I have a pair of 10x50 Tasco's, they require a good steady rest point to see things clearly at sizeable distances.

 

If you've never worn sunglasses in your life, and you're over 65, your eyes will definitely be suffering from sun damage, particularly if you live in the North of Australia.

[facthunter]

If you are in clear skies at altitude I don't think the latitude makes a lot of difference. The direct sun above  doesn't get into your field of vision. IF you do sailing you have the reflection off the water as well.   Nev

[jackc]

Well, will see what happens……have eye appt in 2 hours to get a verdict…….

I will report back 🙂 

[jackc]

6 hours ago, jackc said:

Well, will see what happens……have eye appt in 2 hours to get a verdict…….

I will report back 🙂 

Some experience that was, left eye needs slight correction and right eye good so I told the Optometrist I wanted bifocal lenses for reading instrument panel etc and that saved me perching a $9 pair of magnifiers on the end of my nose! and having to look over them when looking outside. 

Big problem now is what shade/colour of tint to use for the second pair as Sunglasses?   He knows nothing of the best solution for an Aviator?  So in the end I will end up with 2 pairs and a haemorrhaging health fund 🙂  I will end up with 1 clear set and one tinted set.  So, any suggested colour of tint for flying, please?

[Jabiru7252]

Try to get 'peril sensitive sun glasses'. They are terrific. 

 

The Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses have been designed to help people develop a relaxed attitude to danger. They follow the principle "what you don't know can't hurt you" and turn completely dark and opaque at the first sign of danger. This prevents you from seeing anything that might alarm you. This does, however, mean that you see absolutely nothing, including where you're going.

 

 

[facthunter]

You have to stop U/V and be WRAP AROUND for flying. If less light goes to the eye the cornea will open wider and let more light in from the sides.  Nev

[RossK]

Back to Jacks question on lenses for flying.

Can I add to the question, Polarised lenses or not? I've seen pros and cons for both.

[sfGnome]

An optician told me some years back (on what basis, I don’t know) that brown is better than grey for aviation. He also suggested not having polarised in case the distortions in the windscreen or instrument faceplates cause problems. I much prefer polarised over non, so I think it would be worth finding someone you know who has polarised glasses and checking out whether there are issues with your aircraft. 

[pmccarthy]

 Have never been able to wear sunglasses driving or flying. They upset my depth perception. I feel like I am not in the real world when I am wearing them. Wish I could, because glare often bothers me.

[BrendAn]

On 14/12/2022 at 8:34 PM, jackc said:

Some experience that was, left eye needs slight correction and right eye good so I told the Optometrist I wanted bifocal lenses for reading instrument panel etc and that saved me perching a $9 pair of magnifiers on the end of my nose! and having to look over them when looking outside. 

Big problem now is what shade/colour of tint to use for the second pair as Sunglasses?   He knows nothing of the best solution for an Aviator?  So in the end I will end up with 2 pairs and a haemorrhaging health fund 🙂  I will end up with 1 clear set and one tinted set.  So, any suggested colour of tint for flying, please?

Well you did better than my visit to the optometrist. Mine just took me outside and said can you see the sun ,I said yes and he replied well how bloody far so you want to see.😁

[onetrack]

BrendAn, did that optometrist just also happen to have a piece of cardboard, with handwritten certificate of qualifications, in a frame on the wall? I think if an optometrist did that to me, it would be my first and only visit to that "optometrist".

[Carbon Canary]

On 15/12/2022 at 12:08 PM, RossK said:

Back to Jacks question on lenses for flying.

Can I add to the question, Polarised lenses or not? I've seen pros and cons for both.

My greyish polarising prescription sunglasses reduce glare and by doing so increase clarity substantially.  I couldn't drive or fly without them !

There are some electronic screens that become completely blank with my polarising glasses, and hence in some circumstances could be dangerous if you didn't know beforehand.

Fortunately I'm flying a steam gauge only aircraft at present.  Someday, I'll stick my head into an aircraft with a G1000 and see if its readable with polarised lenses.

[jackc]

Thanks,

 

Maybe I go for Grey non polarised because I will installing one of these to replace the AH I have, which won’t cage anymore and would not know IF I was upside down 🙂 

 

https://www.flightstore.com.au/avmap-ultra-efis

[Carbon Canary]

This may help.............

 

Why Do Polarized Sunglasses Make It Difficult to See LCD Screens? (allaboutvision.com)

[Geoff_H]

My heads up display in my car is invisible with polarised sunglasses.  I have two sets of sun glasses, one for driving, one for out of vehicle activities.

[pluessy]

I invested $800 in a pair of precription sunglasses (brown tint, 1.5-2.0 reading insert at the bottom, slight correction for straight ahead) a few years ago and I wear them all the time (driving, flying and outside). It is expensive but is worth every cent. Beats having a small pair of reading glasses on the tip of the nose and a normal set of sunglasses behind.

 

Most electronic displays are more difficult (or impossible) to read with polarised lenses. Polarised are great on the water and in the snow.

 

I tried a set of small binoculars but they are pretty much a waste of time. As passenger, having a large pair and being able to concentrate might be ok. Using binoculars as PIC means you are becoming focussed (tunnel vision!) on looking for your target and will forget to fly.

Edited December 16, 2022 by pluessy