Tinted glider canopies are usually blue or blue/green
to reduce IR transmission (to reduce the direct sunlight
heat onto the pilot) rather than brown to cut the blue/UV
end of the spectrum (like pilot spectacles).







At 20:06 16 December 2006, Eric Greenwell wrote:
wrote:
The 2 seat Lark that I did cross-country instruction
in last year had a
brown/gold tinted canopy. It was fantastic. It was
not quite as dark
as my brown/rose sunglasses. It significantly enhanced
vis in all sky
conditions (never flew at night however). It probably
lowered cockpit
temps but I don't know.

The first time I flew it I thought the altimeter was
malfunctioning
because the ground looked so much closer than what
I was accustomed to.
Other pilots noticed the same illusion. Perhaps
it's a 'blue blocker'
effect.

It's important to understand that the brown, rose,
and gold tints
produce a very different result than gray. I would
never want a gray
canopy unless it could be varied as needed. That's
a ways off
technolgically I imagine, and brown would still be
better.

Everyone who flew that Lark loved that canopy. I
have no idea how to
tint an existing canopy but I'd sure like to know!

Was it better than wearing sunglasses tinted the same
way? Or simply
more convenient than having that type of sunglasses?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change 'netto' to 'net' to email me directly
* 'Transponders in Sailplanes' http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* 'A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation' at
www.motorglider.org