Sun Protection While Soaring - UPF 50+ Clothing

This is a topic with multiple facets. If you are looking for more info on suncsreens, here's what appears to me to be a reasonable discussion on their effectiveness and some possible risks: https://www.choice.com.au/health-and...ides/sunscreen

From my reading, Acrylic, which I think most/all canopies are made of can be made to block UV with additives, but in its pure form it does not. So it depends on the specifications of the acrylic that was used in the manufacture of your canopy. I found one reference that suggests Mecaplex, who make canopies for many gliders, use an acrylic that "blocks 95% of UV": https://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/en/lib...nopy-dg-glider

If anyone has a spec sheet for the acrylic used in their canopy, that would be interesting data.

I started using a mineral type this season, which can be hard to find. It is white and stays that way making you look like a ghost.

The mineral suncreens are zinc oxide and titanium oxide nanoparticles, the "white" ingredients of white paint, and the oldest sunscreens. They scatter UV instead of absorbing it like the chemical ones do. So using this is basically painting your skin white. If you can see skin, it's not enough .. Or they add enough other ingredients (oils, etc) that absorb the rest of the UV, so you're back to chemical absorption.

On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 8:44:07 AM UTC-6, JDS wrote:
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.

I got a definitive answer by an aviation plexiglass manufacturer. I don't know how to post a picture here of the UV graph of two different colors with and without extra UV protection. It looks like they all block UVB. It is UVA where they differ, from blocking only under 377nm, to blocking up to 400nm. So you won't get sunburned under any canopy, but you will get various amount of deeper skin damage from UVA based on your particular canopy.

I got a definitive answer by an aviation plexiglass manufacturer. I don't know how to post a picture here of the UV graph of two different colors with and without extra UV protection. It looks like they all block UVB. It is UVA where they differ, from blocking only under 377nm, to blocking up to 400nm. So you won't get sunburned under any canopy, but you will get various amount of deeper skin damage from UVA based on your particular canopy.

Well, I guess I should have stated that this is data from one manufacturer..... Based on people getting tanned under their canopies, there maybe some that don't block UVB very well in addition to the UVA. Sorry about that.

On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 9:44:07 AM UTC-5, JDS wrote:
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.

You'd think by now the canopy would have a UV filter coating... most eyeglasses do.