AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2013 - 32

BRIEFING

PILOT PRODUCTS

Looking good
High-end accessories
SCHEYDEN MUSTANG
SUNGLASSES

SCHEYDEN MUSTANG SUNGLASSES

SCOTTEVEST FLEECE 7.0

FLYING EYES SUNGLASSES
FLYING EYES SUNGLASSES

One of the drawbacks to noise-canceling headsets is they require a nearly
perfect ear seal to work—and wearing
sunglasses can easily break that seal.
Flying Eyes Sunglasses are intended
to address that shortcoming, designed
for comfortable wear under headsets
on long flights. Flying Eyes’ solution is
to replace the rigid over-ear portion of
its glasses with a thin, adjustable head
strap, which can be tightened or loosened with a rear slide so that it fits
securely. And if the wearer wants to go
back to the traditional folding, overear frames for ground use, installing
them takes only a few seconds.
I flew with Flying Eyes sunglasses
on two stunningly sunny afternoons
and found them almost ideal for aviation. Designer Dean Siracusa is an
experienced GA pilot, and he optimized this product for cockpit use.
The glasses don’t interfere with noise
canceling headsets; the lenses are not
polarized, so glass-panel avionics
remain readable; they can be customized for bifocals; and the wraparound
form allows almost no peripheral light
to leak in and cause unwanted reflections. For pilots who fly in windy,
open-cockpit airplanes or especially
32 | AOPA PILOT April 2013

C O M P I L E D B Y I A N J. T W O M B LY

loud cockpits, Flying Eyes are just
about perfect.
The only thing I don’t like about
the head strap design is that it makes
putting the glasses on and taking them
off a bit cumbersome. Until wearing
the head strap, I didn’t realize how
often I put sunglasses on, take them
off, and lift them up to peek around
them. You can partially get around
this by leaving the strap slightly loose
and raising the glasses as necessary.
Also, at nearly $180, Flying Eyes
aren’t inexpensive. One possible way
to reduce the cost is to eliminate the
rigid, over-ear frames altogether. I
have a hard enough time keeping
track of my sunglasses that there’s
little chance of keeping a pair of sunglasses together with two over-ear
pieces and a head strap. Since the
head strap does so well in the cockpit, I’d just stick with it all the time.
Contact: www.flyingeyes.biz
Price: $179
—Dave Hirschman

Scheyden has long been known to make
great sunglasses for aviation, but the
Mustang, one of the company’s latest
models, is probably its best. Featuring a
titanium frame and mineral-glass lenses,
the Mustangs are light, strong,
and scratch resistant.
The style is reminiscent of the classic
square shape of Randolph Aviators, but
the Mustangs are much more comfortable. The design’s best feature is the
wire-thin stems, which fit beautifully
under a headset. We tested the Mustangs
on numerous flights and found them to
be incredibly comfortable. Instead of
constantly taking them on and off for
comfort and visibility, we just left them
on through sun, under clouds, and on
hazy days.
The Mustang model comes with bronze
or gray lenses, in either regular or polarized. Be prepared to pay for quality,
however. These horses aren’t cheap.
Contact: www.scheyden.com
Price: $309 to $349

SCOTTEVEST FLEECE 7.0
When Scottevest contacted us about a
review on the Fleece 7.0, we were skeptical. We figured the Skymall Catalog
regular was a bit of a gimmick. But as
soon as the fleece arrived, we knew we
were wrong.
The Scottevest Fleece 7.0 is what
James Bond would wear if he got a
chill. How it’s possible to engineer so
much madness into a vest, we’ll never
know—but the result is brilliant. There are
23 different pockets, everywhere from
the normal side pockets for hands to a
compartment in the front that can hold
an iPad. There are breast pockets for
cellphones or a wallet, integrated pockets
for earbuds, and elastic straps for a water
bottle. The sleeves are removable, and
there’s a clear pocket to access your cellphone without taking it out.
We wanted to know how the vest
would perform as a wearable flight bag.
Not surprisingly, it worked perfectly.
We easily carried an iPad, fuel tester,
flashlight, pens, paper, sunglasses, and
ID. It can’t carry a headset, but with so
much stuff hanging off your back and
shoulders, you’ll actually have a free hand
or two to take care of that. If you’re a
gadget-obsessed pilot, the Scottevest is
worth a look.
Contact: www.scottevest.com
Price: $160
http://www.scheyden.com http://www.flyingeyes.biz http://www.scottevest.com
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2013

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