Class 1 Deviations - my experience
I just got my JAA class 1 but it wasn't a straightforward ordeal as my visual correction for being short sighted was 0.50 over the limit (i.e. -6.5) and I initially failed the medical at Gatwick. A bad day!
I wasn't too happy that day last summer at Gatwick, especially since my optician said I was inside the limits and should have no problem with the medical. I have no other problems with my eyes, they just require correction and I have been waiting for the initial medical limits to rise for a good few years.
As soon as I failed the eye exam, both the optician and doctor explained the deviation route. They said that if I were to come to them with an ICAO CPL (eg. FAA) they could treat the medical as a renewal - since there are no renewal limits of correction - there should be no problem. I initially dismissed their help as I thought they were being too harsh not giving me the medical in the first place and I didn't want to go and train in another country and waste my money. However, after getting their advice in writing and after thinking about what they said for a while, I decided to quit my job, go to the USA and get the FAA CPL.
I went to the USA with a UK PPL with 75hrs for 4 months of intense training and came back last week with an FAA CPL/IFR (single/multi). I went to Gatwick 2 days after I got back and I passed the medical no problem!! I was pretty happy!
The deviation means that you can only fly 'G' reg aircraft on the medical and if you want to fly other European planes you would have to get a separate medical from that JAA state first. This was no problem to me as I want to fly G reg and be based in the UK (and with my FAA licence I can also fly N reg if required).
If you are in a similar position to me, my advice is to not give up if flying is your dream. I took a bit of a risk, but it was calculated and the advice was straight from the head doctor and optician at Gatwick. I had the best time flying in the USA with Europe-American Aviation (EAA) (amazing flying school), met some great people, had great experiences, and even managed to work out some back-up plans flying N reg aircrafts (one was flying in Indonesia...) in case I didn't get the class 1.
If you are in a similar position to me, I could not more highly recommend the route I took. If I was given the medical first time around and I had the choice to go to the USA to get my FAA licences I would do it without a doubt - the GA flying is amazing out there and EAA is the place to learn! Who wouldn't want to have Nassau as part of their CPL qualifying cross country... Good luck.
PS. When I went back to Gatwick last week, the doctor said that because I was only just outside the initial limit he was issuing a medical without a deviation?!?! I didn't actually ask what prescription they worked out I was, I just took the full class 1 and ran and have zero regrets of going to the USA!