Simviation Forums

Despite the poor Skyhawk's bounce;

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2 ... 1173748401

Sunday was a great flying day. Our club's trusty 177RG has been sold, so I took her up to Ann Arbor, MI to say good-bye.. and visit a friend.



It's really a great plane for traveling..

It's hard to say good-bye to a trusted friend.  

 But the memories will always be there!!

I see you were flying without sunglasses, also... do you generally do that, or did you leave them in a rental car like I did?  :-[

Too bad about your friend... as opposed to a 172RG, that's a proper RG Cessna.

It's a give/take for me. I can't spot traffic with sunglasses on; and it's uncomfy without them. I need to be a grown-up and get prescription aviation shades

I dunno about the "grownup" stuff, sounds like a bad idea...
But yes, shades are a must if there's glare. I do OK spotting traffic with my (now departed) non-polarizing Ray-Bans... I may replace them with Randolphs, just to see what the fuss is about.

I got lucky yesterday: the sun was low, but the overcast cut the glare significantly. I was spotting starlings left and right, and had Casper in view whenever it was out of my blind spot.

Reminds me: Casper was being flown by a student with the school's owner and head CFI...when I was about to take off and they were taxiing,, he asked me on the radio if I knew I had the strobes, nav lights and landing light on... I said "Yeah, I like to do that."  :D
He said nothing in reply, but must have groaned...

If I were paying for the bulbs, I'd probably not be so keen on using  all the lights, but  in the pattern, I like to be highly visible. I usually turn the landing light off when I leave the pattern, or when I'm taxiing.

I take the no thinking man's approach to lighting.. When in doubt, turn it on. I'm lit up light a Christmas tree by the time I'm cleared for take-off.. Same after my first, inbound contact with tower/CTAF  

Nice shots Brett, I've always like the look of those Cardinals, they alway look fast (for a cessna that is ).


A bit off topic, I heard that polarized sunglasses were discouraged for flying because the polarization doesn't allow you to see LCD displays.  Does anyone know if this is true?  I'm looking into getting a new pair of sunglasses, and I'm debating on whether or not I should get polarized lenses or not.  I would want them for fishing, but if they affected flying, I wouldn't get them.  I've also heard that they are not building LCDs that are polarized at 45

Strange innit... ...!

Whenever I am near an airfield, or taking off, or landing at one, I switch on all my external lights in the flight simulator with the thought that I will become more visible, even in daylight!.... ...!

Its something which I do automatically, and a trick which all we British Motorcyclists do for exactly the same reason....Being visible at all times... 8-)...!

Paul.... 8-)

Let there be light, saith the Lord. And low and behold there was light. And you could see for bleedin' miles!.... ... ... ...!

So how did you get back down?

Thanks, and sorry to momentarily hijack the thread Brett.  

Hijack away ..that's when these threads get informative  ;)

Yes, it's true that polarized sunglasses and glass cockpits don't get along (so I've been told.. even by the dingy girl fitting my frames when she found out I was a pilot). I've yet to fly by glass and I'm REALLY curious to see what happens.

[quote]It's hard to say good-bye to a trusted friend.

It's hard to say good-bye to a trusted friend.  

 But the memories will always be there!!

I know the feeling. A couple years ago, a friend of mine flew my trainer into a mountain. He and his other passenger survived, but the aircraft was hauled away in pieces. Just a couple months ago, another student pilot was flying the other aircraft I finished my training in, and while landing, hit an ice patch on the runway, going out of controll and damaging the aircraft bad. I don't know if it was totaled or not...

That sucks... I know the feeling: Never forget the time I saw one of my favorite school Skyhawks sitting on its crumpled nose in the hangar (new student pranged it on a solo flight). It wasn't totaled, but it hurt, like seeing an injured friend.  :'(

[quote]Nice shots Brett, I've always like the look of those Cardinals, they alway look fast (for a cessna that is ).


A bit off topic, I heard that polarized sunglasses were discouraged for flying because the polarization doesn't allow you to see LCD displays.  Does anyone know if this is true?  I'm looking into getting a new pair of sunglasses, and I'm debating on whether or not I should get polarized lenses or not.  I would want them for fishing, but if they affected flying, I wouldn't get them.  I've also heard that they are not building LCDs that are polarized at 45

I know that polarized glasses can caue LCD screens to look weird, my dad has polarized sunglasses and an XM radio in his car and it is really difficult to read the radio screen with the glasses on.  I don't know about the 45 and 90 degree thing, never heard about that  :-/

It has to do with the way light is reflected off a surface, or emitted from something.  It's rather complicated, and I don't really want to go through explaining it, so I'll let Wikipedia do it if you're interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarized_ ... ized_light  The thing about it though is the light that is used in LCDs is polarized in one direction, which is usually the direction that polarized sunglasses block, so they've started making LCDs that polarize the light at an angle that isn't at a right angle to the light that is blocked by polarized sunglasses, which allows some of the LCD light to pass through the glasses.  Blah, blah, blah, I've had too many physics classes...

found this on a site,

Important Notice to Pilots:
The FAA strongly recommends that you do not use polarized lenses for flying for the following reasons:

1.  Polarization works too well in reducing reflected glare.  Sometimes the only hint a pilot has that another aircraft is in the area is the reflection of the sun off the other aircrafts' surfaces.  Polarized lenses are very good at eliminating reflected glare, which can be hazardous while flying in heavy air traffic areas.  In effect, polarized lenses reduce the probability of seeing another aircraft in the area.

2. Canopies and windshields on a number of aircraft are no longer glass.  Striations on plastic canopies or windshields caused by dust and wind as the aircraft ages can cause blind spots when viewed through polarized lenses, therefore decreasing the probablility of picking up visuals of other aircraft in the area.

3. Some windshields and canopies may be treated with processes or films to reduce glare or ultra-violet rays which could interfere with visibility by creating blind spots when viewed through polarized sunglasses.

4. Some military and commerical aircraft pilots have reported blind spots are created when viewing through windshields that are de-iced using heating elements sandwiched in between layers of the windshield.

5. Polarized lenses can cause distortion when reading electronic panel displays, most notably LCD displays and possibly some LED panel displays.  In some instances it is so severe, it requires removal of polarized glasses in order to read the instruments properly.

Our recommendation is simple, do not fly with polarized lenses.  What was good eyeglass technology fifty years ago with analog instrumentation and glass canopies or windshields is no longer valid in today's modern aircraft, so please follow the FAA's recommendations in this area.  The FAA finds that standard neutral slate gray or AGX (SmokeGreen combination) tints provides enough clarity with little or no color distortion to be perfectly acceptable for piloting an aircraft.

Other FAA recommendations for pilots using corrective eyewear:
The FAA strongly recommends that you allow for an adjustment period with your new glasses prior to flying, even if they are the same prescription or strength of your previous glasses.  The fact is, your eyes need to adjust to your new glasses regardless of whether a change was made in power or prescription.  The changes in curvature of the lens, distance of the lenses from your eyes, and the angle of the lenses relative to your eyes of your new glasses require an adjustment period on the ground.  Once you feel comfortable with your new glasses, the FAA strongly recommends the first flight with your new glasses be done in conjunction with another licensed pilot to make sure they work well for you while piloting the aircraft.

The FAA has many incident and accident reports on file caused by pilots who have "lost" their glasses in the cockpit while flying.  A violent weather situation or maneuver can send glasses flying not only from where you placed them temporarily while flying, but becoming dislodged from your head as well, compromising your ability to fly the aircraft safely.  It is recommended that you tether your glasses with an adjustable leash so they are readily available when not being worn, and secure on your head while flying.