Hello everyone,
This is my first post on that forum. As there doesn't seem to be a presentation thread, I'm going to introduce myself : I'm French ("oh no, not another one !!", yes you just said that out loud
) and BTW, please excuse me in advance if I unintentionally mistreat your language. I graduated from an engineering college last year and now I'm working as a consultant. Very interesting job from all points of view. Except one : I certainly like to deal with computer software and all that stuff, but I would so love to be an airliner pilot...
I had my first flying lesson when I was 14, on a Jodel D120. After that I passed the french Brevet de Base, then the TT licence (which was our national PPL). More recently I got my FI rating so it's now my turn to transmit my passion.
Now, as I didn't pick a random thread to do this presentation, guess what did prevent me to become professional ? Yeah, I'm short-sighted. -7 dioptres, which is outside the limits.
BTW I would have liked to create a new thread to expose what follows, but apparently I can't (maybe 'cause I'm a newbie here). This one seems quite appropriate, though.
Well, short version : I got my class-1 medical ! In France, furthermore.
Longer version : a few years ago, the visual requirements were -3/+3 (like anywhere else, I think). When I saw the JAA tended to relax them by explicitely allowing variations until -5 at the initial and until -8 at the renewal, I began to wonder what were the reasons of those limits.
I came with these two facts :
- the more refractive a corrective lens is, the more peripherical deformations there are;
- myopia is caused by a too long eyeball. The retina is prone to potentially serious problems.
So I think the first fact is the main reason of that obsolete -3/+3 limit. Actually, it was an ICAO requirement. Optical technology evoluted, and now you can either wear glasses with high-index corrective lenses (which is my case), either wear contact lenses (which eliminate totally the problem). Furthermore, it was proven by experience than using high refractive correction is not a liability for flight safety.
In 2000, the ICAO removed all kind of limits in dioptres.
Now, about the second fact, the JAA Manual of Civil Aviation Medicine (
JAA | Licensing: Manual of Civil Aviation Medicine) says that "the risk of chorio-retinal degeneration and retinal detachment rapidly increases if the myopia exceeds 5–6 dioptres", which motivates the current -6 limit.
I have the chance to have a ophtalmologist who proved, in spite of being constantly overbooked, to be dedicated and willingful to help me to get my medical certificate. According to him, even if many high refractive myopia are evolutive and will cause many serious problems (like the ones quoted), it's not my case (even if I have to undergo a comprehensive eye exam every two years, just to check).
My confidence grew considerably and I took an appointment to take the class-1 initial exam.
Now, please allow me to describe briefly the French aeromedical system, which is quite different from the UK one, I believe : there are five aeromedical centers (in which two of them are only allowed to do renewal exams). If you don't meet all the requirements, your medical folder is sent to the CMAC (Civil Aviation Medical Council) which, after studying it, decides whether to grant you a variation.
Well, back to my story : I went for the initial exam. Without surprise, I had to fill a variation request. A few weeks after, I learnt that not only I didn't get a class 1 variation, but that I no longer could do aerobatics (I never got to know for sure from where that limitation came).
Followed a quite crazy medico-administrative battle, involving a lot of letters, the French Ombudsman, the retirement of the CMAC president and finally an exam by an expert. I was notified of my class-1 variation (as well as the disappearance of that non-sense limitation on aerobatics) in January and I'm now studying the ATPL theorical knowledge by distance learning.
Now, it seems the attitude of the CMAC has changed considerably since the retirement of its former president. After reading that story, some nearsighted guys took the initial exam and got their class-1 too !
To conclude that post, I'm a bit surprised nobody here (or at least in that part of the forum, I didn't check the other ones) talks about the NPA on the future EASA medical regulation (NPA 2008-17, Part-Medical available here :
Rulemaking | Notices of Proposed Amendment (NPAs))
The main breakthrough is there will no longer be variations. There will no longer be dioptre limits other than as an AMC (Acceptable Mean of Compliance), which will not to be strictly enforced.
Anyway, I think you short-sighted people can let your hopes grow about a future nice class-1 medical certificate !
Have a nice week-end !