The Original PilotTM has been a favorite of U.S. military pilots since 1958 and continues to be AO’s best selling style.
Size : 52/55/57-20-140 mm
Frame Color : Gold
Temple Style : Bayonet with clear temple tip
Lens Type : Nylon Gray - AOLite True Color Gray /
AOLite is crafted from high-quality nylon for a lightweight, impact-resistant lens that offers increased comfort without sacrificing on optics.
Gray sun lenses recudes eye fatigue in bright light conditions and are the color of choice for many pilots. True Color Gray is chromatically tuned to optimize optics. Also available in polarized lenses
100% UVA/UVB Protection
Anti-reflective backside coating
Oleophobic smudge-resistant coating
Impact-resistant
Scratch-resistant material and hardcoat
Lightweight for comfort
It was in 1958 that “Flight Goggle 58″, now better known as the “Original Pilot” was produced for the US military to provide pilots with maximum protection, optical performance and comfort. This is the model that has been retained and made famous in movies like “Top Gun,” “Apocopalypse Now” and “Taxi Driver”.
Looking a bit back in time,
The AO heritage began in 1826, when William Beecher, a Connecticut farm boy, came to Southbridge, after an apprenticeship in Providence, Rhode Island, where he learned the jeweler's trade. This trade he practiced in Southbridge for seven years before his fateful encounter with a pair of typically crude imported spectacles.
"I can do it better," said William Beecher to himself and he went to work.
The American optical industry was born at that moment. William Beecher fostered an enduring precept for the company that was to grow into the American Optical Company.
American Optical (AO) - Original Pilot, Gold
