Tinted canopies desirable?

[Itsaplane[_2_]]

I've wondered about the desirability of having a tinted canopy. Even
with the heat of flying in the desert, I'm concerned that if you made
the mistake of landing after sunset, near dark, you might wish your
canopy wasn't tinted...

Comments?

Eric
ER

[Darryl Ramm]

On Aug 7, 10:06*pm, Itsaplane > wrote:
> I've wondered about the desirability of having a tinted canopy. *Even
> with the heat of flying in the desert, I'm concerned that if you made
> the mistake of landing after sunset, near dark, you might wish your
> canopy wasn't tinted...
>
> Comments?
>
> Eric
> ER

A very darkly tinted canopy on a PW-5 also has the advantage that your
friends can't see you. (How's that Al?).

-

Seriously having faced evil hot heat, I'll take the tinting to cut
down on heat in the high desert and elsewhere. Both my gliders have
had the standard meccaplex dark blue tint and I'd order another with
that when I get the chance. It does not seem to be a problem late in
the day.


Darryl

[Al[_7_]]

On Aug 7, 10:22*pm, Darryl Ramm > wrote:
> On Aug 7, 10:06*pm, Itsaplane > wrote:
>
> > I've wondered about the desirability of having a tinted canopy. *Even
> > with the heat of flying in the desert, I'm concerned that if you made
> > the mistake of landing after sunset, near dark, you might wish your
> > canopy wasn't tinted...
>
> > Comments?
>
> > Eric
> > ER
>
> A very darkly tinted canopy on a PW-5 also has the advantage that your
> friends can't see you. (How's that Al?).
>
> -

Nice PW5 with a Limo tint job....

[Tuno]

I weighed the pros and cons carefully when I ordered my new tedsled in
2007, and went with the tinted. (I fly in the hot desert.)

I'm glad I did.

Cogito ergo volo

~ted/2NO

[Udo Rumpf[_2_]]

I have owned an ASW24 with a dark blue tinted canopy, and now an ASW27
with a clear canopy and the differance is remarable. The clear canopy is
much hotter everything being equal.
Udo

At 05:06 08 August 2009, Itsaplane wrote:
>I've wondered about the desirability of having a tinted canopy. Even
>with the heat of flying in the desert, I'm concerned that if you made
>the mistake of landing after sunset, near dark, you might wish your
>canopy wasn't tinted...
>
>Comments?
>
>Eric
>ER
>

[Wayne Paul]

Ray Poquette's company "ThermoTec" makes custom canopies in clear, blue and UV block gray. Here is the link to a graph on his website that may be of interest.
http://www.thermotecusa.com/ThermoTec%20UV%20Block%20Canopy%20Info.htm

Wayne
HP14 "6F"
http://www.soaridaho.com/

"Udo Rumpf" > wrote in message ...
>I have owned an ASW24 with a dark blue tinted canopy, and now an ASW27
> with a clear canopy and the differance is remarable. The clear canopy is
> much hotter everything being equal.
> Udo
>
> At 05:06 08 August 2009, Itsaplane wrote:
>>I've wondered about the desirability of having a tinted canopy. Even
>>with the heat of flying in the desert, I'm concerned that if you made
>>the mistake of landing after sunset, near dark, you might wish your
>>canopy wasn't tinted...
>>
>>Comments?
>>
>>Eric
>>ER
>>

[Gary Boggs]

I have a G 102 with a very dark canopy and I wish I had a clear one.
It's not usually very hot here, and quite often it's cloudy. It is
much cooler when the sun is shining, but most of the time we're trying
to keep warm! I've landed at legal dark a few times and you hardly
notice the tint. Anyone have a clear 102 canopy they want to trade?

Boggs



On Aug 8, 7:32*am, "Wayne Paul" > wrote:
> Ray Poquette's company "ThermoTec" makes custom canopies in clear, blue and UV block gray. *Here is the link to a graph on his website that may be of interest.http://www.thermotecusa.com/ThermoTec%20UV%20Block%20Canopy%20Info.htm
>
> Wayne
> HP14 "6F"http://www.soaridaho.com/
>
>
>
> "Udo Rumpf" > wrote in ...
> >I have owned an ASW24 with a dark blue tinted canopy, *and now an *ASW27
> > with a clear canopy and the differance is remarable. The clear canopy is
> > much hotter everything being equal.
> > Udo
>
> > At 05:06 08 August 2009, Itsaplane wrote:
> >>I've wondered about the desirability of having a tinted canopy. *Even
> >>with the heat of flying in the desert, I'm concerned that if you made
> >>the mistake of landing after sunset, near dark, you might wish your
> >>canopy wasn't tinted...
>
> >>Comments?
>
> >>Eric
> >>ER- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Andy[_10_]]

On Aug 7, 10:06*pm, Itsaplane > wrote:
> I've wondered about the desirability of having a tinted canopy. *Even
> with the heat of flying in the desert, I'm concerned that if you made
> the mistake of landing after sunset, near dark, you might wish your
> canopy wasn't tinted...
>
> Comments?
>
> Eric
> ER

If you fly in the desert you will have daily battles with heat from
May-September so I'd recommend a tinted canopy. I've had tinted
canopies on all my gliders, flying in AZ, NV, CA and UT, and have
never had visibility problems. The tinted canopies look a lot darker
when viewed from the outside because you are looking through two
layers of plastic. From the inside they considerably less dark. Go sit
in a glider with one at the end of a soaring day.

9B

[JS]

Believe most gliders have clear canopies because tinted ones weren't
even available until close to 1980? Only time I wished for a clear
canopy was landing in a tiny field in pouring rain off a Pennsylvania
ridge. If you fly where it's cool and cloudy, there's little
difference. In the Southwest, tinted is a lot more comfortable.
If you're planning a Venus out and return, get the gangster tint.
Jim

[Eric Greenwell]

Itsaplane wrote:
> I've wondered about the desirability of having a tinted canopy. Even
> with the heat of flying in the desert, I'm concerned that if you made
> the mistake of landing after sunset, near dark, you might wish your
> canopy wasn't tinted...

I'm curious about how well the typical digital camera handles the blue
tinting. Since they all (most?) have automatic white balance, perhaps
they avoid the color cast that often occurred with film cameras. Of
course, it's not an issue if all your pictures are through an open vent
window.

Most of my flying is in desert conditions, like eastern Washington and
Idaho states, Parowan, Ely, Minden, but I've also flown in other areas
across the country, including back east a number of times. I've always
had clear canopies, but rarely felt overheated, even though I always fly
in long pants and shirts, so I've stayed with the clear canopies for
photography (maybe not an issue anymore) and low light conditions.

I am curious about the use of a blue tint, which would seem to decrease
the contrast of clouds against the sky, instead of a gray or brownish tint.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* Sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

[Nyal Williams[_2_]]

One thing not mentioned is flying with orange tinted sunglasses; orange
tends to make blue look black -- the combination tends to cancel light.
Granted the blue is very light and not much will be lost, and you can
always take off the sunglasses unless they are prescription lenses. I
know this because I use Suntiger tri-focals and would not give them up.

At 19:19 08 August 2009, Eric Greenwell wrote:
>Itsaplane wrote:
>> I've wondered about the desirability of having a tinted canopy. Even
>> with the heat of flying in the desert, I'm concerned that if you made
>> the mistake of landing after sunset, near dark, you might wish your
>> canopy wasn't tinted...
>
>I'm curious about how well the typical digital camera handles the blue
>tinting. Since they all (most?) have automatic white balance, perhaps
>they avoid the color cast that often occurred with film cameras. Of
>course, it's not an issue if all your pictures are through an open vent

>window.
>
>Most of my flying is in desert conditions, like eastern Washington and
>Idaho states, Parowan, Ely, Minden, but I've also flown in other areas
>across the country, including back east a number of times. I've always
>had clear canopies, but rarely felt overheated, even though I always fly

>in long pants and shirts, so I've stayed with the clear canopies for
>photography (maybe not an issue anymore) and low light conditions.
>
>I am curious about the use of a blue tint, which would seem to decrease
>the contrast of clouds against the sky, instead of a gray or brownish
>tint.
>
>--
>Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
>* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
>
>* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
> * Sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more
>
>* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at
www.motorglider.org
>

[John Scott[_2_]]

I have a light blue tint on my canopy. From inside the glider you can't
really tell there is any tint. It does not seem to impact any photography.
I were amber sunglasses and they are not a problem. However, it does
significantly reduce the heat load.

Another friend in my club also has a light blue tint canopy, however, his
sliding window is clear. You can really tell the difference in the heating
if you let the light from the window fall on your arm. It is significant.

John Scott

[danlj]

The canopy on my '93 Ventus looks clear, but I don't use sunblock and
have never had a hint of sunburn in it, so it must block UV. Three
years ago, I gave a friend a 3-hour ride in a rented Grob and that
canopy *obviously* didn't block UV - I could feel the difference in my
skin immediately. Sunblock was obviously needed.

As others have noted, to block UV is not the same as blocking heat. If
it also blocks IR, it will look blue-ish.

On Aug 8, 12:06*am, Itsaplane > wrote:
> I've wondered about the desirability of having a tinted canopy. *Even
> with the heat of flying in the desert, I'm concerned that if you made
> the mistake of landing after sunset, near dark, you might wish your
> canopy wasn't tinted...
>
> Comments?

[Eric Greenwell]

danlj wrote:
> The canopy on my '93 Ventus looks clear, but I don't use sunblock and
> have never had a hint of sunburn in it, so it must block UV. Three
> years ago, I gave a friend a 3-hour ride in a rented Grob and that
> canopy *obviously* didn't block UV - I could feel the difference in my
> skin immediately. Sunblock was obviously needed.

Are you sure you can feel UV? Did you feel the UV before you got into
the glider, or only after you got into the glider? Any plastic used in a
glider canopy will block substantial amounts of UV; some will block all
of it. And that's with untinted plastic.
>
> As others have noted, to block UV is not the same as blocking heat. If
> it also blocks IR, it will look blue-ish.

Other tints will also block IR. The amount blocked will depend on the
particular tint material and the amount. Take a look at the different
tints used on car windows. You are not stuck with blue, unless that's
all the glider manufacturer offers. Thermotec offers gray, for example,
for replacement canopies.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* Sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

[Jim White[_3_]]

I have a blue tinted canopy on my 27. Love it. Also wear Zeiss sky tinted
glasses for the UV. Great.

Keeps things cool, improves definition of clouds, doesn't affect
visibility at dusk significantly. but then I am usually on the ground by
then.

Only problem I have noticed is that yellow things such as oil seed rape in
flower look like water! I always carry a spare pair of clear glasses in
case I need them.

Jim

[Robert Gaines[_2_]]

It seems that plexi expands and contracts at different rate than the
sailplane. Color for plexi makes the problem more intersting. It can be
difficult to close the canopy when on the ground if it has been in the
sun. A cover certainly is necessary.
Ideally, the fit would be perfect at cruising altitude. Pretty difficult
to do with some designs.
Bob