Bifocals

[vanNostrum]

Question for those that use bifocals for flying
What is the focal distance of the reading lenses? Do you make it the distance to the panel
or a little closer to read charts etc
Tnx

[Liquid Charlie]

Not sure why you are requiring glasses but if it's age related my advice is to bite the bullet and go directly to progressives -- if you start using bifocals you need to have the focal point set at where the instrument panel is and thus giving you very poor reading performance especially in low light -- you next logical step is to trifocals which become difficult to adjust the frame size of each different lens which brings you right back to the question "why didn't I just suck it up and go with progressives in the first place" -- that is the way it unfolded for me and after dicking around for several years the light finally went on -- that was about 15 years ago and the progressive technology just keeps getting better ---

[vanNostrum]

It is age related, been using readers from Costco but now my distance vision needs correction too hence the need for
bifocals. Regarding progressives for flying I did a search and found a lot of negative comments having to do with distortion when looking through the sides of the lenses, don't know how accurate this is.
Regards

[single_swine_herder]

I found that for my age related vision changes, progressives were a good idea in theory, but terrible in executon .... especially for IFR work because the small diameter of "the sweet spot" where things were in sharp focus only allowed me to read a single instrument at a time rather than taking in a wide area and read several simultaneously.

That meant I had to move my head to direct view each instrument in the usual "6 Pack" and even more so with respect to the avionics stack and settings. I found it to be exceptionally annoying and uncomfortable. Further, if I was reading a book, I had to move my head 3 or 4 times to read a sentence a few words at a time .... the rest were out of focus.

I struggled through with that situation for a couple of years, and then decided to try bifocals and it was an instantaneous great improvement. The first thing I noticed was looking down at my hands holding them side by side .... it had been years since I'd seen them both in perfect focus.

Working with my Optometrist, I split the difference between the distance for reading plates and the panel with both being at the edge of the focal length of the lens, then the look out the windscreen with the top of the bifocal to use for clear distance vision.

Telling the Optometrist your requirements, and presenting the distances in the cockpit, you can do a lot to get things right. Most optical centres will gladly work with you to get the prescription correct (be sure to discuss this aspect up front.)

For some, progressives are very workable ...... for me, I disliked them from square one but put a lot of effort into trying to accommodate to them. Going to bifocals was like an instant cure.

Because so many variables are involved, the expression "Your mileage may vary" applies.

Hope this info helps you, and anyone else in this situation.

[vanishing point]

I've worn glasses/contacts for years but when I hit 40 (13 years ago), the need for reading glasses arose.

I gave up the contacts and went with bifocals. Better but the instrument panel of the Dash 8 I fly was just out of focus. I switched to progressives and although it took some getting used to, they're fine now. My head swivels to find the "sweet spot" depending on what I'm looking at.

One issue is the overhead panel. With the "near vision" lens in the middle and bottom of the glasses, my head has to go way back to read the o/h panel. I usually just look over the top of the glasses. Ironically I can see the panel quite well without my glasses.

[Liquid Charlie]

As is coming out -- to each his own -- I do admit it took some getting use to the progressives you need to move your head more but in the last 15 years they have increased the field of vision greatly -- but likely expensive if you have been buying off the shelf -- I went with the light weight frames, 8 grams which requires holes drilled in lens -- kiss the better part of a grand if you go for all the bells and whistles -- but usually are good for up to 3 years - small price to pay for comfort --- I carried my trifocals for some time as my back ups -- tried to put them to use once and it was a terrible experience so now I have a progressive set as back up -- besides -- progressives have a far better "cool" factor -- lmfaoooooooooo

[Rockie]

Progressive reading glasses focused to the instrument panel plus a small distance correction work well for me. I only use them for flying though and don't care how nerdy I look so I got big lens which improves the field of vision. For straight reading I also carry Costco glasses because I tend to sit on them occasionally and they're cheap.