American Optical (AO) - Original Pilot, Gold

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™ / 

• 100% UV Protection (Lens Filter Categorie 3)

• Conform to CE norms

• Sold with case and microfiber cloth

• Unisex Design

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.