Best Aviator Sunglasses | VedaloHD | Review

(Top Photo: VedaloHD Azzurro2 Aviator

Bottom Photo: World Advanced Aerobatic Champion Rob Holland is sponsored by and wears VedaloHD's... Used with permission)

While wandering around Sun n Fun this year, one of my colleagues introduced me to Rob Holland and Chris Pederson, marketing director for VedaloHD sunglasses. Chris asked if I'd be interested in an interview with Holland to see how he likes the sunglasses. He also mentioned that other pilots like Sean Tucker and Reno racer Kevin Eldredge wear Vedalo's.

Holland seemed quite impressed with his glasses, but I couldn't help but think, "Of course you're going to say great things about them in front of your sponsor!"

Pederson then lead me to his booth and allowed me to try on a few pairs of glasses to see which ones fit best. I chose a pair of Azzuro2's, and he said to try them out and let him know what I thought. I asked when I should bring them back, and he said, "They're yours." Whoa! All I could think was, "Man I hope I don't hate them!"

Well, I put the glasses on, and the first thing I noticed was that the reds, greens and blues were highly enhanced. It was like they became fluorescent, and at first, I wasn't sure I was going to like it. You grow use to it quickly, and the value of the color enhancement really comes into its own once airborne. In order to avoid interference with some flat panel displays in aircraft, VedaloHD aviator sunglasses are not polarized. I thought this would be a disadvantage, but I was in for a surprise.

Flying in the hazy air of Florida, your ability to see traffic is diminished, and polarized glasses can cut the glare. The first day I went up, I was wearing no sunglasses, and it was quite difficult to make out traffic while we were flying out to the Gulf Coast. The next time I went up, I was in the front seat of a Pitts S-2C wearing the Azzuro's, and from the moment we lifted off, I knew there was something different. In the busy airspace surrounding Lakeland, Florida, I was able to easily locate every target in the vicinity. It was an uncanny feeling, because the glasses literally make the haze disappear and traffic sticks out like a sore thumb.

Leaving Tampa on a commercial flight, I was in a window seat on the Airbus A-319. As we flew out over the Gulf of Mexico at 30,000 feet, I was enjoying all of the underwater features, including a channel that had been dredged from the shore so boats could make it to deeper water. It was then I realized I was wearing my glasses, and decided to take them off. I was shocked! The underwater features completely disappeared, and all I could see was the green water. I put them back on, and it was like I had X-ray vision. They were that good.

I've been flying for over 17 years. In all of that time, I've seen just about every gimmick and gizmo there is claiming to enhance vision while flying an airplane. The VedaloHD sunglasses are the first ones I've ever tried that actually made me say, "Wow!"

I can honestly say that I think these glasses can help enhance your ability to see-and-avoid, and therefore should be a serious consideration for daytime flight safety.

Visit VedaloHD to find your pair...

Video | Falling Out of The Sky | Mooney Acclaim

This is an emergency descent in a Mooney Acclaim from 25,000 feet to 15,000 feet. At 4600 feet per minute, we were falling the equivalent of 52 miles per hour straight down! Our forward speed was 222 Knots True Airspeed. Not a true emergency, but fun to rehearse, nonetheless.