Thoughts on Progressive Lenses For Flying

Fearless Tower

Fearless Tower

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Fearless Tower
Any of the post-40 POA crowd use progressive lenses while flying?

I've been using traditional bifocals for the last couple years based on what I've heard about potential distortion/blurring of peripheral vision.

BUT, I''m finding it very difficult to get decent prescription sunglasses for traditional bifocals. Many companies that do Rx sunglasses only offer single vision or progressives. Lenscrafters will do bifocal lenses, but the colors and lens thickness are extremely limited.

For those that use progressives, have you found any distortion issues?
 
No problem flying with mine. I cannot use my progressive sunglasses as the polarization blacks out the panels.
 
No problem when I did wear them. But after cataract surgery last year I am not wearing any prescription eyewear for first time in half century.
 
No problem with progressives. I use $8 Walmart flip-ups which add a lot of flexibility. You can see them in action in my avatar. I can position them so the sun and/or bright sky are filtered, but not the panel, which can also take care of polarization issues on screens.
 
dfw11411 said:
No problem flying with mine. I cannot use my progressive sunglasses as the polarization blacks out the panels.
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Tilt your head and the panels light back up.
 
Doc Holliday said:
I’ve used them for 20+ years with absolutely no problems.

Hint. Use a good name brand such as Varilux. Cheaper brands will cause problems.
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Same here. And concur with Varilux. Also was able to find a pair of clip ons that were not polarized.
 
Yep progressive regular and sunglasses (not polarized) for years. Pay for the best lenses.
 
Another progressive user here, first two weeks had some challenges getting used to it in general, but no problem after that.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Any of the post-40 POA crowd use progressive lenses while flying?

I've been using traditional bifocals for the last couple years based on what I've heard about potential distortion/blurring of peripheral vision.

BUT, I''m finding it very difficult to get decent prescription sunglasses for traditional bifocals. Many companies that do Rx sunglasses only offer single vision or progressives. Lenscrafters will do bifocal lenses, but the colors and lens thickness are extremely limited.

For those that use progressives, have you found any distortion issues?
Click to expand...

Not exactly progressive lenses, but I use the multifocal contact lenses. Works great.
 
I asked my optometrist for non-polarized, trifocal sunglasses, and regular glasses.
She said, "No problem". They were there in 3 days.
I asked if I could get the same glasses in progressives and she said "Hmmm, hawwww, Let me find out".
It took a LOT longer to get them for some reason. I never did find out why progressives took longer to fill.
Both sets work equally as well.
My optometrists office sits one block from the airport. She knows what pilots need.
 
I've been using progressive lenses for over 25 years. No problem at all with flying, other than when wearing foggles for instrument flying. Darned foggles wipe out the part of the lens that focuses on the radio stack, so I can't see the count-down timer on the 430W. Other than that, no problem at all.
 
Shepherd said:
I asked my optometrist for non-polarized, trifocal sunglasses, and regular glasses.
She said, "No problem". They were there in 3 days.
I asked if I could get the same glasses in progressives and she said "Hmmm, hawwww, Let me find out".
It took a LOT longer to get them for some reason. I never did find out why progressives took longer to fill.
Both sets work equally as well.
My optometrists office sits one block from the airport. She knows what pilots need.
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Interesting. I've had the exact opposite experience here. It's like all the eye shops here want to sell progressives with polarization and blue light filters
 
I am in the "been using them for over 25 years" crowd. I spent a ridiculous amount for progressive, darkening eyeglasses at my ophthalmologist. Then got Zenni progressive non-polarized sunglasses. They look like Ray-Bans, cost less than $120. They take about 2-3 weeks and you have to fit them yourself. I fly with them regularly.
 
Many opticians will tint clear lenses for you. Just get a pair of clear progressives you like and have them tinted however you like.

I fly with contacts for distance vision. I had my optometrist's office tint some zero power lenses for me and I put stick-on readers on the bottom third of the lenses. Works great. I have exactly the tint I want and when I someday need stronger mag I can just replace the stick-on lenses.
 
My only problem is the style they had a few years back was rectangular, smaller vertical dimension and so less room for the progression. It seems harder for me to find the right spot to look through, I guess because it’s a smaller target. I have the same prescription in an updated fashion which are the larger black framed type reminiscent of the 60s or 80s, where the glass comes down lower on your cheek. That one works a lot better, there is less distortion because they have more territory to progress the lens curvature if I’m saying that right.
 
midlifeflyer said:
Some love 'em. Some can't get used to them. I'm in the first group. Many others in the second.
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I am in the can't get used to them group. With the pair I had I needed to lean my head back too far to try to read something close to me. So when flying I had to lean my head back to look at the flight instruments, radios, etc... and lean my head forward to look outside. Just did not work for me.

Also that was the first time I had to get prescription glasses so I probably didn't know what I needed.
 
(Based on advice gleaned here on POA) I took a picture of my cockpit view and measured distance from eyes to the panel in front of me and to the furthest instrument on right side. I told the optometrist I was I pilot, "here is what I see; I want to focus on infinity here (top of view), and at 19" (or whatever is was) in front, and 27" (or whatever) to the side," and then showed her where I held my checklist and ipad below my sternum. I don't know if it changed how she actually wrote the prescription, but I never had any issues flying. My only issue was going up and down stairs for the first week or so. You don't know how much you subconsciously rely on your peripheral vision till it is not there (or changes). YMMV.
 
Flying with progressives for years. I will say the lens manufacturer does make a difference. I have Nikon progressive lenses now. I about **** myself when I got the bill, but if I'm honest they are worth every penny. Peripheral vision is far superior.

For sunglasses, I got a quality pair of clip-on non polarized that fit my frames so you can't even tell. If I could find the same quality slip-ups, I'd do that.
 
The pair I had worked well. I had the processive part on the top. They were a larger size lens. I work underground and wear a cap lamp. It made if better for me my cap lamp was more focused on what I was looking at
 
A larger lens minimizes the amount and precision required for head movement. The cool looking smaller lenses can be a problem. I tried the smaller lense and ended up going back to the geeky large lenses.

One weird thing about them is you can't focus on near things when looking up. For instance, if your sitting on the ground and try and look up into the engine at something, you can't see very well because of the design of the lens. Looking up at something close can be frustrating. My solution is to keep a pair of reading glasses around for these situations.

No problem flying with them, in fact they're the only solution that works for me.
 
Been using progressive lenses for over 10 years. Flying Eyes did my sunglasses and I have been using them for about 4 years or so with no problems. My current progressives are from Costco optical. I got 2 pair for less than the price of 1 pair from an optical shop. Haven’t detected any difference in vision quality but then …. I do wear progressive lenses.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Any of the post-40 POA crowd use progressive lenses while flying?

I've been using traditional bifocals for the last couple years based on what I've heard about potential distortion/blurring of peripheral vision.

BUT, I''m finding it very difficult to get decent prescription sunglasses for traditional bifocals. Many companies that do Rx sunglasses only offer single vision or progressives. Lenscrafters will do bifocal lenses, but the colors and lens thickness are extremely limited.

For those that use progressives, have you found any distortion issues?
Click to expand...
No issues for me.
 
I fly with Multifocal contacts - basically they are progressive lens contacts. They are fantastic. Much better than my progressive lens glasses (which are quite good).
 
I've been flying with progressives for over a decade now. No problems. I had bigger issues with the high RI plastic they insist on using (with it's chromatic aberrations) than with the progressive aspect.
 
JEB said:
I fly with Multifocal contacts - basically they are progressive lens contacts. They are fantastic. Much better than my progressive lens glasses (which are quite good).
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How does that work technically/physically?
 
Half Fast said:
Many opticians will tint clear lenses for you. Just get a pair of clear progressives you like and have them tinted however you like.

I fly with contacts for distance vision. I had my optometrist's office tint some zero power lenses for me and I put stick-on readers on the bottom third of the lenses. Works great. I have exactly the tint I want and when I someday need stronger mag I can just replace the stick-on lenses.
Click to expand...

I didn't even know this was a thing.
Thanks for sharing.
 
When I finally had to start wearing glasses it was initially just for reading. My distance vision still isn’t that bad, but I now need some correction to get back to the 20/15 that i have been fortunate to maintain. After a couple of years of losing or breaking readers, I finally told my optometrist to give me progressives so, one, they were always on my face so I didn’t break or lose them, but also I could always see what I needed to see, like I’d done for the previous 48 years of my life. I’d laugh at my coworkers who were wearing reader’s on the tip of their nose, while trying to maintain distant vision.

At first, I thought that I would never get used to them to the point that I googled “how to get used to progressive lenses”. The key is to just suck it up and wear them. If you just put them on for a little bit at a time, your brain will never adjust. At first they don’t seem right, but then all of a sudden you are focusing through the right part of the lens without even thinking about it.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
How does that work technically/physically?
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I’ve worn multi focals for years. Your eyes naturally find the part of the contact you need to use. As I’ve gotten older, I need “cheaters” at work to read in dim light, but otherwise they work great.
 
Van Johnston said:
(Based on advice gleaned here on POA) I took a picture of my cockpit view and measured distance from eyes to the panel in front of me and to the furthest instrument on right side. I told the optometrist I was I pilot, "here is what I see; I want to focus on infinity here (top of view), and at 19" (or whatever is was) in front, and 27" (or whatever) to the side," and then showed her where I held my checklist and ipad below my sternum. I don't know if it changed how she actually wrote the prescription, but I never had any issues flying. My only issue was going up and down stairs for the first week or so. You don't know how much you subconsciously rely on your peripheral vision till it is not there (or changes). YMMV.
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They can adjust. For one pair, I mentioned I was a pilot. The optometrist said, "Oh, we get a lot of pilots," and that they would adjust the changeover points for that. They were great. But the truth is, I don't know how much they really did because it was the only time I was "special" and I've been wearing progressives for about 30 years. I think I'm just one of those whose eyes easily adjust. Even when I switch to...

JEB said:
I fly with Multifocal contacts - basically they are progressive lens contacts. They are fantastic. Much better than my progressive lens glasses (which are quite good).
Click to expand...
Me too, although it took 4 tries over the course of 6 years to find a pair I didn't hate and quit using after the trial pair. Now, while I change back and forth between glasses and contacts, I like the contacts better. I actually see better with them than with my glasses. The only problem I've um...seen...is sunglasses. My multifocals like a lot of light and most sunglasses are too dark for reading in the cockpit. Outside and panel just fine but I found myself was pulling them on and off to read information on charts. My solution, which seem to work, took a page from my regular glasses - the transition darkening lenses seemed perfect. So I bought nonprescription light sensitive glasses. They seem to work well.

This really is an area where we are very much individuals.
 
No issues. I use both regular and sunglasses. I have effectively trifocals since I had them sharpen up my intermediate vision as well.
 
Same here. No problems.
I get em at Costco, their HD version with transions. Have not had any difficulty reading LCD.
 
Rppelleg said:
I’ve worn multi focals for years. Your eyes naturally find the part of the contact you need to use. As I’ve gotten older, I need “cheaters” at work to read in dim light, but otherwise they work great.
Click to expand...

Instead of a horizontal line where the lens transitions from one prescription to another, multifocal contacts have concentric circles with different prescriptions. Your eye just naturally uses what's best for a given situation. For me at least, there was absolutely no effort involved. They just worked for me immediately. At some point, I'm guessing that my eyes will age too much and that I won't be able to use multifocals. Until then - love em.
 
JEB said:
Instead of a horizontal line where the lens transitions from one prescription to another, multifocal contacts have concentric circles with different prescriptions. Your eye just naturally uses what's best for a given situation. For me at least, there was absolutely no effort involved. They just worked for me immediately. At some point, I'm guessing that my eyes will age too much and that I won't be able to use multifocals. Until then - love em.
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How old are you?
 
If you can tolerate progressives in daily life, you will likely be able to tolerate them for flying. I've had progressive lenses for over 20 years, and had absolutely no issues adjusting to them for everyday life or flying. (On the other hand, bifocals drove me crazy with limited vertical field of vision for close work.) There are many different kinds of progressive lens designs. Some maximize distance and close visual fields at the expense of mid-range visual field width, some have a wide mid-range visual field at the expense of distance and close visual fields, while others minimize lower visual field distortion. I've used several different designs, and they were not all that much different. A good optician will be able to provide excellent guidance about what might work best for you.

I do have one observation about progressives, having gone from -13D to -2D after intraocular lens replacements. Profound myopes will likely find progressive easier to adapt to that mild myopes. I suspect this has to do with the image minification of the lens correction for profound myopes which makes everything seem a bit sharper, which results in an apparent wider field of vision with progressives. After being corrected to -2D (can read without glasses) I have found that the same design progressive has an apparent smaller field of sharp vision than I was used to before. But it is still fine.

Some tricks to maximize adaptability of progressive lenses include (1) pointing your nose at what you want to see for maximum clarity, and (2) tilting charts and papers away from you to keep all parts in focus from near to far. This works really well to expand your near-to-mid range visual field in the vertical dimension, and is almost as natural as normal, pre-40s vision. #1 Sounds like a potential problem for IFR, but it really isn't. There is enough visual field to take in the basic instrument scan without moving your head. If you want to tune the GPS box, you will have to look at it. With dual G5s in my plane, virtually the whole scan in directly in front of me anyway.

I have a pair of wrap-around, gradient-tinted, non-polarized prescription (progressive) sunglasses for driving and flying. They are awesome. The gradient tint allows good vision of the panel (car or plane) and EFB/charts while providing good protection from bright sunlight out the window. (I especially hate the blinding glare inside the tops of clouds while IFR.) Being non-polarized, there is no darkening or color-fringing artifacts with LCD displays that are common now in cars and aircraft.

Good luck in your quest for vision correction.
 
Hi.
Fearless Tower said:
...use progressive lenses while flying?
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I've used both. It is easier to move from Lined type to Progressive which should help in your case.
A couple of things to keep in mind:
Make sure you get good prescription form a good Optometrist / Ophthalmologist that knows the difference between the two.
Get some frames that can easily allow for the different focal length, typically 3.
Last, and most important, make sure that the areas are placed correctly in the lens for your situation, if used to fly with the area around 24 in. should be low enough to see the instruments and Not interfere with the distance or close up area.
You can get some color if you want, but I prefer transitions, too much color can make it very difficult to see when Dusk, in the cockpit, darker areas, even with transitions it can be difficult to read your Instruments, Tablet... If you can get a good combo the Flippers are best but most of us, including myself, are too lazy to put up with and may find it inconvenient. You can add some overlay / flippers later if needed. Stay away from Polarized unless you know exactly what you will be flying, what instruments you may have.
It may take a little time to get used to it but they are better than Line type, just remember Blink when you look / adjust your focal distance, to have the brain adjust to it, which you should do regardless of the type.
 
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JEB said:
multifocal contacts … At some point, I'm guessing that my eyes will age too much and that I won't be able to use multifocals.
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Yes, after about 8 years, had to give up multifocal contacts. The compromise for not-the-best distance vision became too much as distant vision just wasn’t good enough anymore, and reading became difficult, with age.

Switched back to distance-only contacts, with readers for near-vision correction.
At night, progressive lense glasses work best (for me).

… very helpful thread, thanks.
 
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