Will my medical history be a barrier to a Class 1?

[mattjones17]

Hi,
I have lived with a number of (what I consider to be) 'minor' health complaints for most of my life, and they have never been an issue until I recently began to seriously consider a career in commercial aviation.

My eyesight is about 6/60 without glasses, and my current prescription is -3.75/-3.75, which gets me 6/6. With -4/-4 glasses my vision can be corrected to 7/6. I understand that as long as I pass my initial Class 1 whilst still within the limits of -6/-6, then should (God forbid) my eyesight become worse than that whilst on the job, under current regulations this would not result in my Class 1 being voided?

Secondly, I have suffered from an allergy to nuts since around age 3. My doctor prescribed an Epi Pen as a "standby" because he tends to do this in any case of nut allergy - however I have only had two reactions in my life - both of these after having inadvertantly consumed nuts (not just traces) - and both times these have resolved themselves without any medical assistance, and been (thankfully), very minor. Does the CAA have anything to say about food allergies ?

Thanks in advance for the help

Matt

[mattjones17]

I guess it's difficult for people to respond to individual medical queries....

I'll put this on here in case anyone else searches for the same thing, which is painfully difficult to find information on. I called the CAA at Gatwick today and asked them about my query. The (very friendly) lady on the phone told me that a nut allergy is not a barrier to Class 1 certification (there are other pilots in the UK registered as having a nut allergy), but it is a condition of the medical certificate that an EpiPen must be caarried on board at all times when flying.

My Asthma is also not considered a problem. And the eyesight will be fine provided there are no pathological conditions of the eye, and as long as my initial certification is done whilst my prescription is below -6/-6

[gingernut]

As regards your allergic reactions, I should imagine the CAA would be interested in the magnitude of the reactions you experienced.

I guess at one end of the scale, something like rash would not worry them too much. At the other end of the scale, something like collapse, wheeziness or anything concerning your breathing would, rightly, concern them more.

I'm not sure about the relevance of the epi pen prescription, is your GP being over cautious, or has he prescribed it on the basis of some empirical evidence, (eg advice of an allergy clinic, ige testing etc.)

Don't no much about the eyesight stuff I'm afraid.

[Loose rivets]

I'm a retired pilot with no medical qualifications.

One of my first officers had a severe reaction to peanuts. I assume he started his career with this condition.


eyesight become worse than that whilst on the job, under current regulations this would not result in my Class 1 being voided?

It's a question of degree - there has to be limits. Normally, you would expect to become more long-sighted with age, but I don't know if this follows with folk that need a large correction at a young age. Your eyes are very similar, and I feel that this gives a small advantage. What cyl. component, if any, is there in the final figure, and is this the same in both eyes?

Not wanting to put a dampener on your dreams, but have you done a careful analysis of the projected job market? Right now things look very shaky for the future, and if I were starting out, I'd try to work round light aircraft, probably in America, and get what flying I could as part of the deal. By the time you'd got some hours behind you, there might be a clearer indication of the job market.

[mattjones17]

Hi Loose Rivets - thanks for your reply and useful advice. If you don't mind me asking, what/where did you fly?,

The latest prescription I had from my optometrist simply read -3.75/-3.75. I think one of my previous prescriptions from an older eyetest did have something under AXIS (which I think is cyl), however this was not mentioned to me and this current prescription has nothing at all recorded for it. I have presumed, therefore, that either I do not have it, or it is negligible enough that it would be within the limits of Class-I certification.

The job market does look fairly shaky at the moment (both in aviation and elsewhere, tbh - although aviation probably stands out as a career which requires significant investment of time and money, and returns little job security) - so I'm not entirely sure how I would approach it. I had been tempted to consider an Integrated ATPL or MPL course, however these seem to receive a regular slating on this forum. The MPL sounds particularly poor because it only certifies you to fly multi-crew aircraft - again no doubt making it more difficult to find jobs.

America certainly seems a lot cheaper for building up hours than this country - so that would certainly be an option. The other option would be to go to university for 3 years (this is effectively state funded in the UK, with a small topup of around £3,000 each year. Obviously accomodation is extra), gain a degree, and keep a close eye on the aviation market. During this period I guess I would do what you suggested about working around light aircraft, allowing me to get hours/contacts/experience.

Whether to go into aviation or not is a difficult choice and I've only really recently started to consider it as a career. This is partly because I was brought up with the fairytale that "no pilots wear glasses". I always saw myself going into law or finance (probably because my school turns out a lot of economists and lawyers :suspect:), and left it very late to actually think extensively about careers. I guess most people were doing the sort of research legwork that I'm doing now, a few years ago.

I've read in a number of places that the aviation industry goes in a sort of sine wave of 10 year cycles, with hardly any vacancies and lots of unemployment at the bottom, and the reverse at the top. Do you think there is any truth to this theory? Did you enjoy working as a pilot, and given a second chance would you do the same?

Gingernut - My GP was being overcautious I suspect - as I've never had any IGE testing done. The CAA lady said that this wouldnt be a problem, but I would still have to carry the EpiPen on board whenver I was flying. Seems pretty reasonable - and even if they didnt mandate that I'd probably do it anyway.


Thanks for both of your replies,

Matt