Glasses as a Pilot / In Training

[JacobB]

Hello everyone. I was selected earlier this year and am set to attend WOCS 11 MAR 2020.

I had a quick vision question: My eye sight is 20/30 correctable to 20/15 but my left eye is barely correctable to 20/20 and is 20/40 on bad days. Are wearing glasses a pain while in training? Can we get prescription sunglasses? Is this even really an issue? Thanks in advance!

[Thedude]

You'll have no problems wearing glasses in WOCS. There is no intense physical activity at all that would be an issue. You can wear contacts for pretty much everything at Rucker other than SERE. 

[jkray]

Also it’s no problem wearing glasses in the cockpit. I just wouldn’t recommend sunglasses with your helmet. Just use the visor

[JacobB]

Thanks! My eyesight is at that annoying place where I get used to seeing very well with glasses and I feel like I'm blind without them so I was hoping it wasn't a big deal.

I love this community, it's one of the best things recommended to me!

[amp]

I wear glasses. It's a total non issue. Some days I wear the clear lenses, some days I wear the prescription sunglasses they issue. They are the same frame and are actually quite comfortable.

[KennyO]

On 12/23/2019 at 10:13 AM, jkray said:

Also it’s no problem wearing glasses in the cockpit. I just wouldn’t recommend sunglasses with your helmet. Just use the visor

Why not? Just wondering

[jkray]

So if the sunglasses are polarized then you won’t be able to see the Garmin GPS screen.  Also the flight helmet has a tinted sun visor so you would be wearing sunglasses under the sun visor. You're allowed to wear sunglasses (as long as they aren’t polarized) but you look funny with both on. 
 

 

[Wally]

6 hours ago, jkray said:

So if the sunglasses are polarized then you won’t be able to see the Garmin GPS screen.  Also the flight helmet has a tinted sun visor so you would be wearing sunglasses under the sun visor. You're allowed to wear sunglasses (as long as they aren’t polarized) but you look funny with both on. 
 

 

I've worn polarized sunglasses for the last 35 years of my career, the last 10 exclusively with Garmins in the panel. The Garmins are LED displays, very different than LCD displays.  The only issues I ever had were long ago with an obscure nav that had the b&w lcd screen and another instance with an aircraft with a contracter-installed front windscreen that was stressed in the install resulting in 'rainbows' on the flex lines where the plexi/lexan had been forced into the frame.

Why sunglasses with a visor?  First, the helmets had only single visors, so I opted for clear and eye protection day and night.  Next, I prefer a brown polarized lens with at least 20% transmissivity, last couple years with Oakly Bottle Rockets.  The brown and polarized increase contrast while being useful in a more lighting situations than standard visors.  Especially advantageous in precip.

Not flown a lot of glass cockpits and no military in 50 years, so actual mileage may vary.

[jkray]

3 hours ago, Wally said:

I've worn polarized sunglasses for the last 35 years of my career, the last 10 exclusively with Garmins in the panel. The Garmins are LED displays, very different than LCD displays.  The only issues I ever had were long ago with an obscure nav that had the b&w lcd screen and another instance with an aircraft with a contracter-installed front windscreen that was stressed in the install resulting in 'rainbows' on the flex lines where the plexi/lexan had been forced into the frame.

Why sunglasses with a visor?  First, the helmets had only single visors, so I opted for clear and eye protection day and night.  Next, I prefer a brown polarized lens with at least 20% transmissivity, last couple years with Oakly Bottle Rockets.  The brown and polarized increase contrast while being useful in a more lighting situations than standard visors.  Especially advantageous in precip.

Not flown a lot of glass cockpits and no military in 50 years, so actual mileage may vary.

I would tend to listen more to this guy, he has WAY more experience than me. I was simply stating what we are told here at Rucker for the polarized lenses. I have also never seen anyone wear any sunglasses with their helmet/visor tinted or clear.