Colour Blind

[PCav8or]

This is something that has puzzled me for a while. I always had the dream of being a pilot, & as luck would have it I turned out to be "totally" colour blind....at least that's what the M.O. said. I have never lost my passion for aviation & I know I'll never be able to do the best job in the world for a living. My question is, can I get any sort of lisence (sp?) with my condition? The report reads:

"Previous colour vision testing, with Ishihara Plates, revealed a possible colour vision deficiency. The D-15 test therefore was administered to further investigate, characterize & quantify colour vision perception.
The D-15 test shows a severe deutant colour vision deficiency. This indicates colour confusion with shades of green, grey, blue-green.
The colour vision deficiency is congenital in nature & is expected to remain stable over time".

That said, any opinions/views are welcome.
(Should I be posting this elsewhere?)

Thanks.

[rmmonteiro]

hi there PCav, have you triedjaa.nl (http://www.jaa.nl)
see the JAR´s (joint aviation requirments) for class 2 or 3 . maybe it´s possible for you;)

all the luck for you!!!!;)

sorry if my english is bad, i´m PORTUGESE:D :D ;)

[Evo7]

As far as I can tell, you will not get a Class 1 medical. However, the JAR Class 2 (Private Pilot) Visual Standards - Initial Examination says


Colour Vision

You will be tested for normal colour vision with Ishihara Test Plates. If you fail these you can still gain a Class 2 certificate, but it will be limited to flying in JAA airspace, by day only and under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). This limitation can be removed if you pass a colour lantern test, but this can only be done at the CAA Medical Division, Gatwick.


So you can get a PPL, although no IMC/IR. Better than nothing I guess. See more at http://www.caa.co.uk/srg/med/default.asp?page=538

This will almost certainly be moved to the medical forum, where you'll find a very long Colour Blindness thread.... :)

[cleartoland04]

Hello all,

PC, I'm a bit colour blind too and I had to do the lantern test which I passed. However, even without this further test I would have been able to fly as a private pilot although not at night where colours really are important.

The lantern test is much easier than the other one you did cause it only shows the 3 basic aeronautic colours which are white, red and green. If you're able to identify clearly those you should have no problem flying for fun.

Hope this helps

Clear

p.s: this was in Canada

[N2334M]

Dear PCav,

I suggest you to learn more about JAR regulations, you can browse them in the www.jaa.nl site, particularly focusing on JAR-FCL 3.225(a) and its appendixes.

You can learn that you can be tested with several other tests other than Ishihara and Holmes Wright lanterntest.

For example the least JAR discriminatory test is the Nagel Anomaloscope, or the Beyne Lanter test. You should find some clinic which can test you with those and determine if you are JAR compliant or not.

For example for the Nagel Anomaloscope the doctor should measure your matching range, and if that is within the four scale unit limit, you are considered JAR compliant.

Hope this helps,
Bye.
http://digilander.iol.it/cvdpilot/

[blackknight]

Hiya Guys, i might be able to shed a little bit of inspiration for all those people who are told they are colour blind, when according to JAA they are not.

When i was 17 I applied for a flying scholarship with the RAF, Passed all the interviews etc,then got told i had failed, on the grounds that i was colour blind, I was totally distraught and took it at face value. Having never needed an eye test before i decided to go for one a few years later and see if they had got it wrong, and guess what, they had, according to the doctor who examined me I have perfect colour perception, no problems.

So a few years down the track I think maybe i should try and get a commercial pilots medical just to see if i can actually pursue my dream, so i toddle off to gatwick and do the initial medical, and apparently struggle on the ishihara plates, however the optician then tells me that a lot of people do and i can take another test recognised by JAA to confirm it, so i ake the holmes-Wright lantern test and pass with flying colours.

So with my class 1 in hand, i am about to embark on a full time ATPL course in Spain next week

Moral of the story: if you fail one of the tests, always try another to be certain

BK

[Eagle 1]

Good to hear about your success blacknight, I was just wondering:

In the RAF, If you failed the ishihara plates, could you sit the lantern test?

Cheers

:) Eagle1 :)

[Legalapproach]

Eagle 1

Yes, it happened to me and I passed the lantern test although this was a number of years ago now.

Does anyone know whether any research has been carried out on whether Dyslexia is capable of affecting the results of the ishihara plates? One of the effects of dyslexia can be a difficulty in distinguishing shapes - hence the problems with reading/writing.

I wonder because my son has been diagnosed with dyslexia and also as being colour blind. If I remember rightly colour blindness is passed through the female line and there is no history of colour blindness in my wife's family.

Some of my sons symptoms resemble difficulties I had at school - although in those days it was put down to laziness - and whilst I have always had a problem with the plate tests I found the lantern test a piece of cake.

[STORMER]

Just wanting to add an update to Eagle 1's question. I was up for selection a couple of years ago with the RAF but unfortunatly I failed the Ishihara plates. Even though I held a JAA Class 1 medical, they did not offer the lantern test.
I am not wishing to contradict legalapproaches answer but things may have changed since he took them. The impression I had from the medical officer at cranwell was that sometimes the requirement changes depending upon supply and demand.

[cleartoland04]

This thread is full of hope for those, like me, who failed the ishihara test and thought there was no way out...as I said before I took the lantern test and passed it easily but I was wondering if you have to redo it each time you go for the class 1 renewal, as colour blindness is very likely to remain unchanged (in good or bad) over time?

As it is the only real obstacle to a flying career for me, I would feel unconfortable having to redo it each year....you never know.

Clear

[STORMER]

I was in the same position as yourself cleartoland04 several years ago. Since then I have never had to take a colour blind test for my JAA class 1 medical renewals, and have also been told that this wont happen unless you have a certain eye illness. Once your box is ticked Colour Safe on your initial medical then thats the last you should here of it. I will mention that most application forms i have seen all ask about colour blindness. Do you tick yes or no?? If you have a degree of colour blindness but hold an unrestriced Class 1 will this make a difference to an employer. Do airlines have higher standards for this sort of thing than the JAA medical? Any thoughts and responses are more than welcome.