Just to be clear for people considering laser surgery...
- You don't need "perfect" eyesight to attend FSP. In other words, no need to consider laser surgery until after FSP.
- Regarding eyesight, discuss it with medical staff. Don't listen to other ADF/DFR personnel in DFR offices.
- When I went through, there was a pre-surgery limit of -5.00 diopters which you had to be above, eg: I was okay, since I had -3.75 before surgery.
- After laser surgery, you'll need to obtain post-op reports for a 3 month period before they'll progress your application. Plan accordingly.
I was told in no uncertain terms, by ADF personnel at three different DFR offices, that;
- I needed to have 20/20 (6/6) vision before applying for pilot (ie: before YOU session)
- I could have any type of laser surgery
Both points were
very incorrect. Medical staff were extremely unhappy when they found out I'd been given that information. Apparently I could've asked to speak to medical staff at the DFR office and they would've given me the correct information... if only I'd known to ask... at that point I believed if someone in a DFR office told be something, it had to be correct. And yes, I do feel like a complete idiot now.
As someone else pointed out, AVMED has the authority to issue waivers for FSP attendance. I don't know about the post-FSP testing/waiver process.