Flying with Spectacles

[Nigel Heather]

I have needed spectacles for distance sinceI was young. It is quite a mild prescription though it is getting worse with age (I’m now 57).

That on it’s own isn’t such a problem I have always worn single-vision lenses.

But with age my reading distance sight has also been degrading and has reached the point where I need spectacles to read - including the transmitter screen.

So at the moment I use single-vision to fly and can’t see anything on my transmitter screen while flying. That’s not much of an inconvenience but when in the pits I have to swap back to reading glasses.

It’s a bit of a faff and I wonder what other options there are.

Anyone here fly with bifocal, varifocal or occupational spectacles?

Cheers,

Nigel

[Denis Watkins]

I tried all those Nigel,

But these last 4 years I wear Varifocal.

Perfect, near far whatever

[Dwain Dibley.]

Varifocal is the way to go Nigel, took a while to get used to, but well worth it.

D.D.

[Caveman]

Nigel, like you I've worn glasses since I was 17 to correct short-sight.

I used to manage with single lenses but for the last 20 years or so I've had varifocals. I thinks they're brilliant.

I would say go for it, you can but try them.

GDB

[Outrunner]

Hi Nigel. I've been wearing varifocals for a few years now. They are a bit weird at first but persevere for a while and you get used to them. They are much better than bi-focals or even worse faffing about swapping glasses.

Most opticians will replace them if you really can't get on with them, so give them a try you will never give them back.

Phil

[Gary Manuel]

Laser surgery to give you perfect flying / walking / biking vision, then reading glasses for close-up work. Only problem is that you need a pair of (pound shop) readers in every room and a few extra strength ones in the workshop and bathroom.

[Nigel Heather]

Thanks for the info and advice.

I wondered about varifocals but wasn’t sure whether the reduced area for distance would be good enough flying.

Laser surgery scares me a little and I wonder whether my eyesight is changing too often to make it viable.

Cheers,

Nigel

[leccyflyer]

I've had varifocals for about 10-12 years now. Wouldn't use anything else for normal everyday use.

For flying I use prescription flying glasses, distance only. I've got a pair of orange Axis Ranger for everyday flying and a pair of much darker, polarised prescription sunglasses for when it is very bright.

I don't recall ever looking at, or needing to look at my transmitter screen whilst flying a model. For changing model memories the distance glasses are manageable. If I wanted to read the screen in great detail, whilst not flying,I would put my normal varifocals back on.

[Geoff S]

I used to use bi-focals for my age related eye problems (they were perfect when I was younger) and still do use an older pair for cycling but I've been using good quality vaifocals for some years for most things including flying and driving and they're fine.

In the workshop and for extended reading I have a pair of strong reading glasses in a safety glasses frame ie with safety glass lenses and tranparent side pieces. I jjust think they're safer from flying debris and swarf etc and I value my eyes a lot.

Geoff

[i12fly]

I've worn glasses since age 11, varifocals for last10+ years, and with quite a strong prescription which makes them more critical from aspects of field of view and distortion.

My advice is get the best lens type that you can afford (I use Specsavers and they have quite a range of different quality lens). There can be issues with distortion with the cheaper ones, I was very reluctant to go vari at first because I knew a few people who had struggled to get used to them, even giving up in one case, but these were cheap lens.

I had good quality lens (I think Hoya) and had no difficulty at all, half a day at most to get used to them and I've never looked back. (no pun intended!)

I had Occupational lens too as the 'free pair' as I was working with a pc at work, but these are not much good for flying as the reading part is moved further up the lens. I don't need occupational now as I'm retired so the 'free pair' are sun glasses but still varifocal so that vision is consistent and I can read in the garden in sunlight. Tell the optician that you fly models and they will take care with the positioning of the graduation between near and long distance.

I'd recommend you have the same frame for any second pair you have as different frames sit differently and are slightly different for your vision so you have to get used to the change, even if it is only half hour. Also in future if you need new lens you can use the same frames and get the lens upgraded one pair at a time.

[Ian Jones]

Varifocals for me, they take some getting used to but once you've "run them in", they are great. Consider options too, like anti glare, and light reactive lenses (instead having seperate sunglasses). They always seem expensive when you get the quote but then when you u consider the the cost of seperate sunglasses, and reading glasses and the value of the convenience it's not so bad.

[Peter Jenkins]

I've worn specs for short sight since I was 12. When I reached the age that I needed stronger lenses for reading than for distance I went the Varifocal route. As others have said, they are a bit strange at first as there is a lot of distortion off centre. However, the brain is quite remarkable and everything was fine after a week or two.

Interestingly, I have a pair of glasses with just the distance correction lenses in for night driving as I found that I could not glance down and read the sat nav or radio selection buttons at night as that fell into the reading range! So, for driving I prefer the single prescription for distance.

For flying, they are just the ticket. I use over glasses for sun protection even though my prescription includes the auto darkening feature. The main reason is to cut out the problem of eye watering on a cold and windy day! I have 3 pairs of overglasses. A yellow set for flying in low light, a normal pair for normal sun and a very dark polaroid set for if I have to fly with the Sun shining into my field of view.

The only problem with varifocals is that they need to be the other way up when I'm building stuff - a bit like that snooker player used to use. I usually have to take my specs off to do detail work that needs you to look upwards into a small opening! I have thought of getting a pair for close work only that would overcome that problem but it's cheaper to just take my specs off to deal with those few occasions when I get that problem.

[Geoff S]

Posted by i12fly on 09/01/2021 23:45:58:

My advice is get the best lens type that you can afford (I use Specsavers and they have quite a range of different quality lens). There can be issues with distortion with the cheaper ones, I was very reluctant to go vari at first because I knew a few people who had struggled to get used to them, even giving up in one case, but these were cheap lens.

I definitely endorse that. The first varifocals I had were awful and there was quite a lot of disortion at the sides. I found them very poor for flying and used bifocals so I could still see the transmitter display. So get the best you can afford.; they're worth it.

Geoff

[Peter Miller]

I have been short sighted since I was 16. When I started needing reading glasses I read inAeromodeller or RCM&E of someone who got varifocals and promptly chopped their hand up badly and never went back to them. I never tried them because of that.

On the poundshop readers. Only £3 to £5 each BUT they break far too easily. I have about 4 pairs with patched up arms.

I now buy my readers from Waitrose. About £30 each but they are strong and I have yet to break even the ones that live in the workshop.

[Nigel Heather]

Thanks for all the info. Going to try some varifocals and definitely the top lens type.

I have three real needs

Flying

Model Making

Computer Use (I use computers all day at work, also a lot at home).

I have single vision for driving - I find that I cannot read the dashboard with these - for all the main stuff it is okay because I know what I am expecting to see (speedometer for example) but for the radio, sat nav, info screen I have no chance with the glasses on. Will be interesting to see if varifocals fix that.

For model making, my optician said that glasses were not the answer - should stick with the optivsor.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Martin_K]

Posted by Nigel Heather on 10/01/2021 08:35:26:

For model making, my optician said that glasses were not the answer - should stick with the optivsor.

I think the optician is recognising the limitations of varifocals.

My experience of varifocals was that they did not give a single pair of glasses for all situations. They worked for distance vision but close up gave sharp images in only a tiny area. Outside that 'sweet spot' the distortion, reduced sharpness and depth of field made viewing plan drawings and computer screen horrible. Better with a dedicated pair of reading glasses to give a uniform view over the width of a 'page', or when looking down at your work bench.

I note the comments here on lens quality, and also recall the fitting process at the opticians. Measurements made by freehand drawing an ink dot on the lens of a dummy pair of glasses then reference from the dot using a ruler. I thought at the time there must be a better way.

[Shaun Walsh]

I've worn varifocals for quite a few years and they are great, Remember though that all lenses are not created equal, cheaper ones will have poorer transitions between near and far sections and the near vision section may be small.

My glasses have Zeiss high refractive index glass lenses. As part of a buy one get one free deal I once got a spare pair with cheaper high RI plastic lenses, they were so noticeably worse that I never wore them. Also, for the Zeiss lenses, the dispensing optician is required to take a lot more measurements of the relationship between your eyes and the glasses lens mount to customise each lens to your requirements.

The only disadvantage is cost, £250 to £300 per lens.

Wouldn't touch laser eye surgery, too many people have problems post surgery, mainly glare cause by bright lights which means it is almost impossible to drive safely at night. You can replace a duff pair of specs, you can't replace a damaged pair of eyes.

[Nigel Heather]

Laser surgery - must admit I’m a little nervous, I appreciate that there are millions of successful operations and very few problematic ones but I still don’t like the chance.

The other thing is that I have been advised that it is not really suitable if your prescription changes often. I get tested every year and my prescription has always been different. Small changes I take with a pinch of salt, I reckon if I had a test immediately followed by a second test the too results would not be the same - there is too much “is A better than B”, “what about C” which eventually ends up with it being hard to tell so flip a coin - heads will create one prescription and tails a second.

But in most cases there is a noticeable degradation with each test and I think that is less than ideal for laser surgery.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Keith Berriman]

I have been a varifocal lens wearer for over 20 years and not had any problems with model flying distance or quick check on tx timer reading. Maybe wearing varifocal regular then the eyes can settle down and hopefully less variation each year

[Ron Gray]

Good quality varifocals fitted by a good optician should give you good vision for model making, computer work, driving and model flying, well mine certainly do. The only time they need ‘help’ is when soldering on small circuit boards then I use headband type magnifying glasses plus lots of light!

[Cuban8]

I did find varifocals to be really excellent and wore them for many years, but about seven or eight years ago I began to have difficulty and was advised to revert to single vision. Just one of those things that happen with your eyes. Best advice with varifocals is to not bother with the cheaper versions, and if you can't stretch to the top quality ones then be prepared for problems. You might be lucky and get away with mid-range ones, it all depends on the individual.

If anyone's in the market for glasses, consider the on-line option. On the basis of complete satisfaction with the service and guarantees that they offer, I can recommend the on-line supplier Spex4less.

Edited By Cuban8 on 10/01/2021 10:02:40

[Geoff Copping]

Just a word on the side of bi-focals.

I do shooting, shotgun as well as rifle with telescopic and night sight, as well as model flying and playing in a band, where I need to look up at the audience then straight back down to music sheet.

For the shooting I need rapid transition from near to far and back and I pretty much forget I'm wearing them. I use flip-ups for bright conditions because, in woodland for example, the transition between light and dark can be slow.

I never notice any discernible distortion between distance and reading. When I got my first pair, when I needed them for distance as well as reading, then I found there was no need to get used to them. They were crystal clear straight away at all distances.

I'm not dismissing varifocals, just saying that bifocals work for me.

[Nick Cripps]

If you're myopic and wear single vision glasses, then a simple trick to help with reading is to move your glasses down your nose a bit.

Not recommended when flying but it might help on other occasions.

[Alan Hilton]

Cuban 8 is spot on re varifocals the basic lenses are lousy .They cause distortions around the change point, my first pair were mid range ,I used to teach maths and graph paper caused me terrible trouble which was fixed by getting the top range lenses .The distortion can cause problems when building as straight lines can appear curved .I did try bifocals which I found a nightmare .I kept falling over my feet (it did save money on gin though!!)

Alan

[Ray Wood 4]

Hi All,

Just a thought, Varifocals are great for everyday, driving, flying, modelling etc, but I'm on the screen all day for work and cheaper readers are better ! as with Varifocals you will find yourself tipping your head back and looking down your nose to focus on the screen

Regards Ray