Sun Protection While Soaring - UPF 50+ Clothing

While looking at the UV damage done to the gelcoat on my glider, it reminds me how much UV radiation we are exposed to while soaring. Particularly out west!

Coolibar (no affilation) is in the Sun Protection Clothing business. Take a look at their website. They are making some great products with innovative materials.

I particularly like their Andros Shirt and fingerless long gloves.
Both with UPF50+ protection.

Good to see a one-stop shop in USA for skin protection.
Much like what you'd find at Cancer Council shops in Australia.
Jim

OK, thanks will do....
On the subject.....experiencing multiple mohs surgeries....I was curious and purchased a UV meter to check levels under canopies. The meters are made by a physics professor/engineer who does consulting work on light transmissions. He educated me that UV does not transits mediums to any concerning levels.
His meter proved him correct after checking levels under new thru 40 year old canopies. I found another source with numbers and his meters seem to be correct.
So, watch out when in direct sunlight. No worries under cover. The heat you feel is IR, both UV and IR reflects. I was surprised how much leaves block..
I would be interested in reading any info that counters my understanding.
Lets see what’s new in Colibre fashions.
Cheers,

R

Coolibar offers a wide range of garment types and fashions.

A narrower range of SPF 50 garments are available from Orvis, REI, L.L.Bean, EMS at the like. In some cases, the prices are much lower.

I just picked up a SPF 50 collared shirt at Columbia Outlet store for $35.

Best option, though expensive, would be a canopy with the UV screen built in.

Earlier in this thread someone reported that he'd used a UV meter to
check various canopies and found that they blocked UV radiation.Â* He
also stated that other tests showed the same results.

My guess is that the most sun exposure occurs before flying, you know,
all that time spent standing around in the sun.Â* All of that sunscreen
and those solar protective garments are really great protection while
you're standing around or working in the sun.Â* I doubt they cause any
harm during flight, either.

On 4/19/2019 12:40 PM, wrote:
Best option, though expensive, would be a canopy with the UV screen built in.

The following info has been obtained from various, readily available sources.
1) Skin Cancer rates among the Pilot Population are 50% higher than the general population.
2) Our exposure to UV Radiation, a leading cause of Skin Cancer, increases by 3% to 5% for each 1,000 ft of altitude gain. Just wonderful news for high altitude work.

My Dad, who flew from 1942 to 2015, died from Melanoma which first developed on his chest. Dad was never one to go around without a shirt on but did typically wear very thin shirts while flying and soaring. Draw your own conclusions. In early 2016 I had all of the glass in my 172 replaced with green tint with the built-in UV screen. The cabin is more comfortable and safer as well.

--
Dan, 5J

Sierra Trading Post is the cheapest place I've found to go get SPF (usually built for fishing) clothing.

On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 3:30:55 PM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
Earlier in this thread someone reported that he'd used a UV meter to
check various canopies and found that they blocked UV radiation.Â* He
also stated that other tests showed the same results.

My guess is that the most sun exposure occurs before flying, you know,
all that time spent standing around in the sun.Â* All of that sunscreen
and those solar protective garments are really great protection while
you're standing around or working in the sun.Â* I doubt they cause any
harm during flight, either.

On 4/19/2019 12:40 PM, wrote:
Best option, though expensive, would be a canopy with the UV screen built in.

The following info has been obtained from various, readily available sources.
1) Skin Cancer rates among the Pilot Population are 50% higher than the general population.
2) Our exposure to UV Radiation, a leading cause of Skin Cancer, increases by 3% to 5% for each 1,000 ft of altitude gain. Just wonderful news for high altitude work.

My Dad, who flew from 1942 to 2015, died from Melanoma which first developed on his chest. Dad was never one to go around without a shirt on but did typically wear very thin shirts while flying and soaring. Draw your own conclusions. In early 2016 I had all of the glass in my 172 replaced with green tint with the built-in UV screen. The cabin is more comfortable and safer as well.

--
Dan, 5J

Isn't there a time component too. The amount of UV under a canopy might be pretty low but you are continuously exposed to it for hours upon hours. That to me seems like it will make the impact on your skin from what would normally be considered a low exposure much higher. Personally I use 70+ sunscreen, I've heard that anything over ~35 is overkill but I like to be safe and don't want to reapply it every couple of hours. I would love to wear long sleeves but I am in the Southwest US and it gets HOT, even at reasonably high altitudes.

On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 11:10:53 AM UTC-5, wrote:
OK, thanks will do....
On the subject.....experiencing multiple mohs surgeries....I was curious and purchased a UV meter to check levels under canopies. The meters are made by a physics professor/engineer who does consulting work on light transmissions. He educated me that UV does not transits mediums to any concerning levels.
His meter proved him correct after checking levels under new thru 40 year old canopies. I found another source with numbers and his meters seem to be correct.
So, watch out when in direct sunlight. No worries under cover. The heat you feel is IR, both UV and IR reflects. I was surprised how much leaves block.
I would be interested in reading any info that counters my understanding.
Lets see what’s new in Colibre fashions.
Cheers,

R

Do you know if the meter measured both UVA and UVB?

The meter was designed to check the intensity in the Ulta Violet range of the spectrum. The professor gave me a rather detail lesson of radiation energy in the IR thru UV section of the ‘spectrum’ and it’s ability to transit a medium. He stated that the UV amount was insignificant in the hundreths (sp) of a percent and the meter confirmed it. I could differentiate no difference in value between canopies. UV is very reflective, even off concrete. Angle of sun , time of day, winter/ summer made a big difference.
No harm in doing your own research, but can anyone recall landing with a sunburn. I wonder if standing out on the grid waiting allows one to be expose to high level of reflected UV from all the polish wings. A hat may not be enough. I need to do some more sampling.

R