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# THE CARRY: American Optical Still Makes The Best Aviators
- URL: https://www.itsabouttime.email/the-carry-american-optical-still-makes-the-best-aviators/
- Published: 2026-10-24T15:50:37.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T15:50:37.000Z
- Author: Vuk Radic
- Tags: The Carry

Most aviators people buy are copies of the Ray-Ban, likely the most iconic pair of sunglasses ever made. And a pair of American Optical Original Pilot gets mistaken for one all the time. But it's so not a Ray-Ban Aviator... Sure, the differences are in the details, but the details here are what makes the perfect pair of glasses. Look at the arms. They go straight back with no curve behind the ear, because these were made for pilots who had to put them on and take them off under a helmet. That makes them better for everyday wear too.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/98/15/981552fd-1b67-4d3c-8ad7-fc38a52bf9fb/content/images/2026/10/ao-2.jpeg)

AO introduced them in 1958 as the FG-58, built to the Air Force’s new HGU-4/P standard. A pair went to the moon in the Apollo 11 crew’s personal kit, and Michael Collins’s is now in the National Air and Space Museum. Some will claim that Armstrong and Aldrin wore them on the surface of the Moon, but that's a bit too far in the storytelling arena. They didn't, but they are still extremely cool. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/98/15/981552fd-1b67-4d3c-8ad7-fc38a52bf9fb/content/images/2026/10/ao-3.jpeg)

Michael Collins’s pair in the National Air and Space Museum

The frame is thin wire, and the lenses are squarer at the bottom than a teardrop, so they look plainer. Glass lenses are heavier than nylon, but they’re clearer and hard to scratch. While the straight arms lack a bit of grip that curved ones have, unless you go running in them – which you most certainly could, if you're cool enough – you should be cool. They're perfect for cold weather sunny days because they are incredibly easy to slip under a cap, or under over-the-head headphones.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/98/15/981552fd-1b67-4d3c-8ad7-fc38a52bf9fb/content/images/2026/10/ao-4.jpeg)

New, they cost $250 to $345 depending on the lens. Until 2020 they were made in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and sold for under $50\. Then Europa Eyewear bought AO, moved production near Chicago, improved the details and raised the price. Vintage pairs stamped “1/10 12K GF” are gold-filled and hold up better than today’s plated frames. They go for $80 to $600 on eBay, usually with scratched lenses. A clean one under $200 is worth it. Otherwise buy new. But you really do want these to be vintage.

Get the 52mm in gold with Calobar Green glass, the spec AO says it supplied to Apollo astronauts. Go to 55mm if you have a wide face, and skip polarized because it makes phone screens hard to read. See the glasses [on the AO website](https://aoeyewear.com/product/original-pilot/?srsltid=AYCX9vJYFPz5RNNzE%5Fns7-af7Nj%5F2eSinKFGdfGdWJtp8aPZPqSs5k0K&ref=itsabouttime.email).