Which is better for R/C Polarized or Non Polarized sunglasses for flying? Also which lens color is best Amber or Grey? Thanks

I prefer polarized lenses. When it comes to lens color you should ask yourself what kind of light you fly in most. If you fly in bright sunlight, blue skies most of the time, go with grey lenses. If you find yourself flying in cloudy, overcast skies with flat light, go with amber. I'm kind of a sunglass junkie, so I have all kinds of lenses for all kinds of conditions.

Hope this helps!!
Marian

The answer to your question may vary with flyers. I prefer the rose color lenses for best all around flying conditions. The grey does not seem to work unless it is a very bright sunny day. Grey seems to wash our colors to a degree. They do not work well on cloudy days. I read some where that polarized lenses effect depth perception so I do not use the polarized sunglasses I use for boating.

About a month ago I purchased glasses from a co. in England. modelglasses.com They were $80.00 and have the three different lenses for different situations. Their polarized and I like them so far having used two of the lenses. UV protection and light. They also don't squeeze the side of your head....

I tried polarized glasses (Costa Del Mar) for contest flying and went back to non-polarized. I found that on clear blue skies, depending on the day, the polarized lenses can make the sky appear either light blue or very deep dark blue (rotate the glasses 90 degrees and it switches). Obviously you have to hold your head more-or-less straight while flying, so on days when the sky appears very dark when the glasses are level, I found it sometimes difficult to see the plane clearly. Of course it depends on a lot of factors, and I dealt with it for some time and kept using them, but eventually got fed up with it and went back to my trusty light rose Zurichs. I prefer the rose lenses because it maintains a lot of color contrast, where gray lenses tend to flatten the colors as Hoosier06 said. Hope this helps...

-Baron

I am polarized all the way. I love flying in them. I usually watch the plane and not the sky when I fly.

polarized are the way to go, seems to not be as much glare with them

The only issue I have with polarized is when you look down at your transmitter's LED screen and you can't see your timer well. Same on a boat when looking down at the screen of your GPS. Wal-Mart cheapos are about all I find for non-polarized except for some Oakleys which I hate (scratch easily).

I just don't look at my plane until it comes out of the sun and see if I can pick it up before it terminates it's flight.

My optometrist recommended that I get polarized sunglasses and I did right around Christmas. About a month later I didn’t know they fell out of the car as I was getting in and ran them over. So I never had a chance to fly with them. Can’t find another pair that I’m willing to spend the good money on so I bought some semi chepo’s polarized glasses for the interim.

Almost lost a plane due to those suckers. I was coming in on short final when the plane became back dropped by a tree and I completely lost visual. Fortunately the plane moved out of the frame of that tree after a second or two and I could see it again.

My point is, avoid the chepo’s.

I think that the polarized lenses are the best, you do not see any glare and sparkle with them, when i go to the sea with my polarized lenses the water do not radiant my eyes.
Now when i fly, some times the plane is dazzling because of the reflective sun and it makes you blinded for a blink of a second, i don't need that when i fly very close to the ground.
Use the polarized lenses.
If you never use one before, it will look very odd to you at first, you need to get use to them.
When i put them first time on my eyes it made my eyes tearful, but after a few seconds it was OK.

Polarized all the way. I have a pair of Revos that cost an arm and a leg, but they are absolutely amazing. Mine are a reflective blue color, and they really do the trick when flying. They do take a little bit to get used to.

for RC i would say go with polarized. I use a good pair of non polarized for full scale flying though as to not block out the glint of other aircraft around you. Also polarized shades will sometimes black-out and instrument if it has an anti glare coating on it, and they almost always make gps/mfd screens impossible to see. But you dont have to deal with any of that in RC and you are constantly looking in the general direction of the sun so polarized glasses should be fine.

If you decide to go non polarized, the best, IMHO are made by a company called ColorEyes. They use a special HDL-3C lens that is crystal clear, boosts colors, and blocks out the bright sunlight without drowning out darker objects. I have a pair of Rosso's from them that I use when flying fullscale.
http://www.coloreyes.com/customer/index.php?cat=2

As far as lens color, it depends on your personal preference and the time of day/weather you are flying. If conditions are providing low light (morning, evening, or overcast) use an amber lens to brighten things up. If its sunny out your going to want a gray lens. Generally, a grey lens is more useful than an amber lens, but i know people that wear nothing but amber lens's so its all up to what you prefer.

Originally Posted by 3DFreak576

for RC i would say go with polarized. I use a good pair of non polarized for full scale flying though as to not block out the glint of other aircraft around you. Also polarized shades will sometimes black-out and instrument if it has an anti glare coating on it, and they almost always make gps/mfd screens impossible to see. But you dont have to deal with any of that in RC and you are constantly looking in the general direction of the sun so polarized glasses should be fine.

If you decide to go non polarized, the best, IMHO are made by a company called ColorEyes. They use a special HDL-3C lens that is crystal clear, boosts colors, and blocks out the bright sunlight without drowning out darker objects. I have a pair of Rosso's from them that I use when flying fullscale.
http://www.coloreyes.com/customer/index.php?cat=2

As far as lens color, it depends on your personal preference and the time of day/weather you are flying. If conditions are providing low light (morning, evening, or overcast) use an amber lens to brighten things up. If its sunny out your going to want a gray lens. Generally, a grey lens is more useful than an amber lens, but i know people that wear nothing but amber lens's so its all up to what you prefer.

Well, I tried polarized lenses and had similar experiences as several guys abuve mentioned. The polarized lenses also severely affected my depth perception. I eventually settled on a set of prescription lenses by American Optical (AO) and AO patented neutral gray color. They are not dark but they don't have to be because they really, really cut the glare! These are the same lenses that the USAF issued to pilots during the Vietnam era. I like the AO neutral gray better than Ray-Ban green.

TDD (aka Bobby)

I wear prescription lenses so (being the cheap-skate that I am) opted for some over-glasses, the horrible things that you see "old people" wearing a lot.

They're ugly but they work *really* well and have saved me a mint over buying a special prescription set of sunglasses.

They *are* polarized and I like how they work.

No problems with depth perception here and the fact that, by slightly angling my head, I can go from bright sky to dark sky is actually a bonus. If your plane is a light color, you can get *really* good contrast by darkening the sky with a twist of the head. If it's a dark color the same is true when you lighten the sky by twisting the other way. It's cool!

But most of the time they just do a great job of eliminating the glare and stopping me from squinting.

I do look dorky with them on though (what do you mean I look dorky with them off too?)

I have been flying for several years now with a prescription set of Ray-Bans which have their own unique polarized lenses (greenish tint) and have found them to be exceptional in all weather conditions.