Hi. I'm at a major crossroads and I need some help. Like a lot of people, my dream is to be paid to fly. I suppose I'm a professional pilot wannabee rather than an airline pilot wannabee because I'd be very happy to fly
anything for a living.
I have a problem though. I can't get a CAA class 1 medical because of the 4.0 diopters of astigmatism in my left eye exceeds the CAA limit (2.0 diopters).
I've been to aviation house for an 'eyes only' medical, which is the eyesight portion of the initial class 1 medical examination. Although advising against having LASIK (like they always will do) they did confirm, in writing, that if I had successful LASIK to reduce the astigmatism to less than 2.0 diopters then they would issue a class 1 medical.
Unfortunately, they also spotted an abnormality in the
endothelium (layer of cells at back of cornea) that does not affect me now and is unlikely to affect me in the future - but that
may be affected by having LASIK. One eye doctor that I have seen is of the opinion that LASIK can cause the rate of degeneration of the cells in the endothelium to accelerate and will not perform the LASIK procedure for that reason. This is also the opinion of Adrian Chorley at Gatwick AMD.
So I'm faced with a tough decision. Do I have LASIK so that I can be issued a class 1 medical and run the risk of losing my medical (and cornea) permanently at some indeterminate time in the future or do I give up on ever getting a JAA CPL/IR fATPL?
In order to make this decision, I really need some advice from the people who know about flying for a living....
I believe that I can get an FAA class 1 medical right now with no LASIK procedure needed. I've read in Clive Hughes book that some corporate and charter work is available in the UK to FAA CPL/IR holders. Do you think that getting an FAA CPL/IR and hoping to find some of this work in the UK as a new pilot is a realistic option? I'd even be willing to do trans atlantic ferry flying
.
What do you think? Also how employable are inexperienced FAA CPL/IR holders around the world generally?
I hope someone out there will be able to help me with this because I have a tough decision to make and I want to make it an informed one.