unfazed,
Your bitterness is pointless directed towards me. My son did present this difficulty, and for a while there was a very real chance that it would thwart his ambitions in this regard. That was a possibility that we had sat down and discussed, and his mother and I had discussed at great length. No parent wants their children to be disappointed or have their ambitions dashed, however as children grow into adults the time for fairy tales draws to a close and the realities of life become more prevalant.
The AME who asessed the potential CVD explained the situation and made it clear that it would be necessary for a visit to the CAA at Gatwick for further testing as a common sense option if this was to be pursued as a career. We took his advice and followed that route and indeed as he himself suspected, those tests proved sufficient to have the CVD restriction removed. That was obviously an enormous relief to all of us and not least my son. This should enable him to now progress to all the other obstacles that will stand in his way.
It is not a case of me being "keen to defend a system", it is a case of understanding why such a system and the standards it encompases exists. If you do not want to accept the reasons that is up to you. I did
not "tell my son to forget it", and I am somewhat confused as to how you came to such a conclusion ? My son didn't ignore my advice, which was in keeping with his AME's advice and to make an appointment with the CAA for further tests. I am sure he is now glad he did, although any other course of action would have been fairly redundant.
It may well be that the testing system will progress, and it might happen that the standard will change, however it is unlikely that a serious degree of CVD will be accepted for the issue of a UK/ JAA class 1 medical in the forseeable future.
Finally it doesn't matter what the first UK astronauts eyesight standard was, since it might well have been Ok for an astronaut, but clearly it was not for the RAF, and I doubt his father being a pilot had much to do anything in any event ?
In summary and to repeat the point. If you have a problem in this regard then go to the CAA for either guidance or for the definitive response if one can be given. They will try to help, however they are charged with maintaining a standard. It doesn't matter how much you whinge and bleat on internet forums, since such action will achieve nothing tangible. It might well be the case that you can wholly or in part achieve your ambition with these deficiencies in another forum.
The rules , standards, regulations, and conventions pervade every aspect of aviation, and like it or not, you are required to work within them. Many people will have little or no problem, some will have problems that can be overcome with further investigation, and some will be debarred or prevented from pursuing a career. That is the truth of the matter and however much you want to bang your head against the wall, common sense dictates you investigate the subject, listen to the advice that is offered and come to a sensible conclusion.
