norton2005

Waterpau, is there a website that i can go to for more information on these procedures?

waterpau

Try a search for 'orthokeratology' on Wikipedia and Google. The wikipedia article gives a good background on what the treatment is.

I can't argue for or against it as I only had a consultation, but I gathered that Ortho-K is only good for correcting vision that is within the CAA limits, thereby making it no good for obtaining a class 1. My consultation was in May 2006, so there might have been some change since then...

waterpau

BOMB-DOCTOR

I had a similar problem, initialy started with a 2.0 cyl then over time and going thru the ground school i started wearing glasses more and more.

Mainly because i couldn't deal with the diffrence between glasses on then off.

After three or so years my eyes got worse until they reached 3.0 cyl and I couldn't live without glasses for anything. So trundled off to a laser sugery chap and got the eyes blasted and very happy with the result and threw the glasses out!

I suspect in your case you may need time to adjust initialy. But it is also possible that perhaps the amount of correction givenmay be too much for your brain to tolerate. If so get back to the optician explain the problem and ask for less of a coreection.

Best of luck

vapilot2004

I have a very slight astigmatism in my left eye and while there was definately an adjustment time, it wasn't too bad really after we got the prescription sorted out.

I highly recommend a Toric lens (contact astigmatism correction) over glasses. The glasses did make me dizzy, while a contact lens only made feel slightly disorientated at first.

Your optician may recommend constant use to get your eyes adjusted to the difference between wearing them and not. I would also ask for only a 20/20 prescription as I had found the 20/15 correction I was given at first made reading difficult.

world

I also have astigmatism (-1,5D cyl) and I adjusted in a week.
P.S I know its off-topic, but does anybody have goggles for swimming (with astigmatism)?

Ww/W

Simple question. If I were to obtain a CASA Class 1 med with a colour vision deficiency, would any Australian airlines accept it, or would they have more stringent requirements? Thanks for any help.

Loose rivets

I'm at the other end of the age spectrum, but I wrote a lot about my problems coming to terms with an eye defect after 60 years of near perfect eyesight.

Following surgery for PVD, I made a full recovery only to find that a nuclear cataract kicked in. Statistically this was likely to happen, but I had hoped that I was one of the lucky ones.

If you can search for this you will understand just how much the brain has to work to adjust to totally new datums. Some people just seem to adapt, others have a really bad time.

You would be described as an astute observer, and folk like you are often the ones that have the worst time. Having said this, I'm not totally convinced that the effects you describe should all be there. You have the right to question the prescription. My pal did, and his was wildly in error.

Let us know the results.

Wazzoo

Appreciate the replys and advice guys..all very helpful.

Been trying to use them as much as I can this last few days and think I'm seeing some progress. I notice them less and can go for ten/fifteen minutes before thinking 'hey, whats these things perched on my nose'!

Loose Rivets is probably right in that I do become a bit preoccupied with the changes to my vision thus making it more difficult to adjust. I've been making an effort to ignore the impulse to look for problems and that has helped a lot. In fact if I just act normally and do everything as I would normally I notice them very little.

The diverging horizontal lines are still there but I'm beginnning to think thats improving and only notice it with things that are a foot or two away like a piece of paper or a computer screen. It can still be tiring whering the glasses for long periods but that is improving as well. The whole thing of straight lines shifting if I tilt my head is definately still there, but then as I think about it..its not a movement I would normally do even without glasses and I think I do it more because I know that it causes a problem than anything else!

Throught a bit of deductive reasoning and reading around the subject I also think the shifting when I tilt my head has a lot to do with seeing through the outer areas of the glasses rather than just looking through the middle, which is the part that has the correction for the astigmatism. I've read of a number of people like vapilot2004 who have found contacts helped a lot in this area.

The dream would be to have laser surgery, but that will definately have to wait for a few more years until the cash is available!

I will keep going with these glasses for the rest of the week which is what the optician said to do (don't want to go back just for him to say go away and wait some more!), and if I'm still not seeing a real improvement I'll go back and ask about a re-test or possibly lowering the prescription so my eyes don't have to make such a big correction.

Probably the best advice I could give with hindsight (no pun intended!) on the whole matter is at least for that first prescription, use a proper/dedicated opticians rather than one of the high street chains. Not that the high street chains give bad glasses, just I could have done with some more info from them and someone who maybe knew a bit more about corrective lenses in relation to flying and adjusting to them, especially when your livelyhood depends on it. I did get the feeling of being just another customer to push through the sausage machine than anything else. You can even get your prescription done at somewhere like that and once you know you have the right one, take that down to the highstreet chains with their offers to get the specs.

Will keep you posted if I get any improvements or anything more from the opticians!

Loose rivets

You could take your specs, along with a copy of the script, to another optician. They have a machine that will assess your lenses and print out a copy of the actual curvatures... i.e. a comparative script. I think I would do this under the circumstances. I'm still uneasy about what you are seeing.

whitelabel

No not unless you pass a lantern or pratical test.
In Australia it is possible to fly commercial if you are colour deficient (colour unsafe) Thanks to Dr. A. Pape.

Airlines (regionals) who opperate only in Austrailia will accept this because you are permitted to fly above Australian soil without any restriction. On the other hand you are not allowed to fly anywhere else because you failed the lantern.

Kind regards

JUZ777

Ww/W.... I have an Australian CPL and have been flying for about 5 years. I am colour deficient and have held a class 1 with the restriction being valid up to and including CPL in Australian airspace only.. On that you can get a job with an Australian airline after completing your ATPL subjects but will never upgrade to captain as you need to hold a Full Atpl.... In saying that i just completed the practical lantern test and have had the restriction removed....SWEEEET

Ww/W

Thanks chaps, that's cleared things up for me. And congrats JUZ777! What and who do you fly for?

I'd now be keen to know whether the same exists in the USA? So if anyone knows then that would be helpful.

TelBoy

Ww/W In the USA you must pass colour vision tests to get an unrestricted medical. For a CPL you need a class 2 medical and you can have the colour vision test done practically with an FAA official on an airfield. If you can tell the tower signal gun lights at 1000 and 1500 yards you get a SODA waiver (Statment of Demonstrated Ability) this acts as the colour vision part of your medical exam and gives an unrestricted medical. For an ATP you need a class 1 medical and will have to do a medical flight test at night with an FAA guy to be able to distinguish the runway lights, taxiway, other aircraft nav lights , beacon etc. This will give a SODA for a class 1 Med.

It is apparentley harder to get work though with SODA waiver. The FAA will also use lantern tests and if you pass these gives an unrestricted medical same as in the UK.

Have you done the City Uni test to see exactley where you stand?

Good luck with your flying and all the best.

leftseatview

Six months ago i was diagnosed with Central serous retinopathy(CSR) of the right eye.
it healed in about 6 weeks and my Class 1 was renewed.(after an OCT and FFA)
Six weeks ago i had a relapse .
i have now undergone laser photocoagulation,and my vision is improving.
is there any cooling period after this procedure?
Would the relapse(same spot as original) show up on a normal Class 1 medical?
Thanks in advance

Lord Flashart

I am trying to contact people who have converted a non-UK JAA class 1 medical to a UK issued JAA medical certificate.

The CAA are refusing to convert my Dutch medical, on the argument that I was assessed as CVD at Gatwick (failed both lanterns), however I later passed a Beyne lantern in The Netherlands and have been assessed as colour safe and granted an unrestricted JAA class 1. (Incidentally, as some of you will already be aware, I did not fail a UK medical - as I chose not to continue after the colour vision tests - therefore I was entitled to go and do another medical elsewhere). I wish to eventually end up with a UK issued licence, so I want to convert my medical to a UK issued one.

This is particularly irritating since the CAA advised me before I went to get the foreign class 1 (I spoke to the chief medical examiner) that there would be no problem converting it - silly me for not getting this in writing, also, oddly enough (but understandably I suppose if this is a contentious issue internally at the CAA) there is no record on their system of this conversation.

They also tried to imply that since the protocol used for administering the Beyne lantern test in The Netherlands may (or may not) be different to that used in the UK, that the tests would not be acceptable to them - this seems entirely contrary to the spirit of the JAA, and extremely illogical since they would surely convert a foreign medical without further testing for an applicant who had not previously failed the UK colour vision tests - I guess I've rubbed them up the wrong way by getting a second opinion.

As a final rubbing of salt into the wound they then said that they were not even willing to commit to saying that if the protocol used *was* the same, then they would accept my medical for conversion.

I guess it's not the end of the world - I can always get a licence elsewhere in Europe - but it would be preferable to get a UK issued licence. I certainly intend to pursue this a good deal further before resorting to getting a foreign licence.

(Incidentally, does anyone know if there are other European states in which you can take the ATPL exams in English - and also whether or not a UK based ATPL groundschool qualifies to take the exams elsewhere - don't really want to have to learn a foreign language on top of the ATPL study).

The CAA, although polite, seem determined to make this process difficult for me - I was even told there was no procedure for converting a non-uk medical, and that SOLI changes were only done on licences - despite the fact that on their own website they publish the procedure for doing a SOLI change on a medical (http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/49/SRG_MED...%5B2577%5D.pdf) and I know of people on here who have done just that.

I have corresponded with Blinkz on here who did convert a German JAA medical but, and I quite understand why, he does not want his name or reference number used in my correspondance with the CAA, so I'm trying to find out if anyone else who's done this would be willing to have their details used to establish precedent for this.

If anyone can help out I'd be enormously grateful - please drop me a PM.

Blinkz

Lord Flashart,
I really am very surprised about the CAA taking this standpoint. Who is that you have talked to about it? Is it just an advisor who has said that they will not accept it? You should speak again to Dr Evans (Cheif medical officer) and get her to actually give the definitive answer. One thing that I have found with the CAA medical department is that the advisors, helpful as they are, can give different answers on different occasions. Keep putting on the pressure, there is no reason that they cannot accept your medical, so just keep writing calling etc and keep the pressure on, threaten legal action if need be (altho as a last resort!) Hope it all works out!

Lord Flashart

Thanks for the reply Blinkz, I certainly will be keeping the pressure on. I spoke to Dr. Paul Collins who handles day to day enquiries, but if this continues I will start speaking to Dr. Evans directly. I am, as you can appreciate, pretty horrified that one JAA state should take this unilateral view, when the whole medical process is standardised and therefore any JAA medical is as good as any other.

In the first instance, I am having the AMC that conducted my medical write to the CAA advising them of the protocol used in the colour vision testing, but I consider this to be unnecessary too since it is a given that any JAA medical is conducted to a common high standard.

The CAA also told me that if, for example, someone with a non-UK CPL who had needed a lantern test to establish they were colour safe, and then wanted to convert their licence to a UK issued JAA CPL, that the CAA would require repeat colour vision testing - I find that pretty hard to believe. Does anyone have experience of this?

I don't really think the CAA have a leg to stand on here, but that doesn't stop them making the process unnecessarily awkward for me. As you've said, the individuals involved are invariably polite and (within certain limits) helpful, and on that front I've no problem with the CAA, but I find it pretty ridiculous that a member states CAA would so blatantly go against the principle of common standards and mutual recognition of licences and medicals.


Cheers

Flash

unfazed

Lord Flashhart

Regarding your question about where else you can get the medical validated (English speaking preferred) - What about Ireland ? English speaking , JAR and may be happier to accept JAR Medical from partner JAR state.

Just an idea

Good luck but stay cool and talk to the right people !

Blinkz

I recommend that you go straight to Dr Evans now. Although my story is slightly different to yours, in that I tried to get the CAA to accept just a lantern pass from Germany. They said no to this, as they have you since it was a different protocol. I kept on the pressure and wrote a number of letters to the Chief medical officer, this was a Dr Evans, but not the same Dr Evans that is currently head of the medical department. The Doctor I delt with is now head of ICAO medical department. After keeping the pressure on for the CAA to accept the lantern test (at this point I didn't have a medical at all) the CAA wrote back and said that they would accept a full medical from Germany and would convert it as usual. I hadn't actually mentioned doing this so it was them who suggested me to get a full class 1 else where.

Try actually writing to Dr Evans, mention that she had already said to you in a previous conversation that they would accept another medical. She will have to write back and so you will have proof of whatever she says. In my experience of Dr Evans (the current chief, lol getting abit confusing) she is very friendly and will do whatever she can to help.

As for Ireland, I asked them 4 years ago to accept my lantern test results but the AMC there said they would not, but I don't know if they would accept a full medical since I never asked that. Good luck!

norton2005

Now that the deviation process has been stopped in the UK, if an applicant is over the limit of -6, say -7 for example, is there any way for this applicant to obtain a class 1?