Le Bigleux

Hello,

I have written a post in the "Liberalizing medical requirements" thread and I just discovered the existence of this one which would have been more appropriate. I recently got in France the class 1 medical certificate with a -7 dioptres myopia. You can check the said post for the details.
Just to say shortsighted people can let their hope grew

lhoggett

hello,
i am at college studying for A-levels. my dream is (and has been for a long time) to become a plot although due to my eyesight i remain unsure whether this is a worthwhile career in pursuing.

having looked alot into vision requirements i have deduced that my eyesight is within the limits set out by the CAA and that visually i would pass the JAR class 1 medical.

although this is the case i havent heard of anyone being accepted onto programmes such as ctc, cabair, oaa etc. with any kind of visual impairment.
i would basically like to know if wearing glasses/contacts would put me at a disadvantage amongst other candidates at obtaining a place or if it would put me at a disadvantage in getting future employment.

if this was to be the case, would laser surgery solve any problems if i were to have my eyes corrected before applying

thanks

p.s. sorry if this has posted somewhere rediculous as i am new to pprune

Sagey

lhoggett,

The criteria for training to be a commercial pilot is a valid class one medical. Wearing glasses, contacts will put you at no disadvantage whatsoever.

S

NurseToPilot

AS LONG AS YOU FALL WITHIN THE LIMITS STATED

Go to Civil Aviation Authority Home Page and click medical and then visual standards

Have a good read of all the stuff then come back with questions on here

I FAILED my Class 1 Last year and passed it this year after having LASER CORRECTION - though complicated and not for everybody it worked for me...

thanks hope this helps

JON

ACIDO

How did you pass class 1 if you were outside the limits for laser surgery that are -5,00?

NurseToPilot

CAA dont actively encourage LASER SURGERY therefore there is no "limit for laser surgery"

I think what you mean is that the prescription cannot be more than -5.00 right?

Well my prescription was OK but i Had an astigmatism of -3.75 of which the CAA allow you only to be -2.00 for Initial and -3.00 for renewal....

I had my lasik done in march... and came to 0.00 prescription/astigmatism in LEFT eye and -0.50 astigmatism in Right eye which is 1.5 within limits

hope this clears it up

JON

ACIDO

From CAA website:
"The CAA does not recommend refractive surgery to gain a medical certificate to fly. The decision to have this type of treatment must be between you and your eye specialist. In fact the certification limits of eye correction with glasses and the limits of refraction before surgery are the same, so it is not possible to gain a medical certificate by having refractive surgery, that you would not have obtained by wearing glasses.
...
the pre-operative refraction should not have been more than + 5.00 to -6 dioptres"
So, before having surgery, you were outside the limits for your astighmatism (-3,75 instead of -2,00 max).
Did you get a special authorization from CAA or what else?

Thanx

Bye

ACIDO

NurseToPilot

As I said before I had already FAILED my class 1 therefore the decision to have lasik was one that was made as an I HAVE NOTHING MORE TO LOSE situations.

I did NOT get special authorisation from the CAA as they say in their own documentation....

"The decision to have this type of treatment must be between you and your eye specialist."

They also cite somewhere else in their documentation that people who've already had laser surgery (for example people who had not considered becoming pilots when they had the procedure done) would be considered for medical class 1 as long as their post operative results fall within limits and that they have NO PROBLEMS with GLARE/HALOS and have no pathalogical problems following on from it....

WOULD IT REALLY BE FAIR TO STOP PEOPLE AT THE DOOR AND SAY SORRY NO MEDICAL BECAUSE THEY'VE HAD LASIK - WITHOUT FIRST ASSESSING THEM?

THE CAA IS FAIR AND ASSESSES ALL CANDIDATES INDIVIDUALLY THIS IS WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO GET ALL THE ADVICE YOU CAN FROM CAA AND OTHERS WHO HAVE MADE DECISIONS LIKE MYSELF AND MAKE AN INFORMED CHOICE.


What I did was have the lasik and then ask the CAA please would they just review me again which they did - and because the results of MY LASIK were really good and had NO effect in relation to my ability to perform required functions to become a pilot - they had no reason NOT to grant me class 1....

I had the Visual acuity standard required (6/6) in fact I am 6/5.

I had NO GLARE or HALOS around lights (due to careful consideration when having the 'flap' cut (It was made bigger than my pupil could ever become in darkness) so that I would not see the scar at night and have light bounce on it/ refract on it.

As with ALL medical interventions the CAA have rules about all procedures and ground ANYBODY having any form of medical intervention - ONLY when they have assessed that you can maintain their strict standards do they then issue the person with a medical "fit to resume flying duties"

I hope this clears up any questions - if not send me a private message and I will explain further

PLEASE NOTE - I HAVE NOT POSTED TO ADVOCATE LASIK IN ANY WAY I HAVE SIMPLY SHARED MY VIEWS / EXPERIENCE IN THE HOPE IT HELPS OTHERS WHO ARE IN THE POSITION TO GAIN CONFIDENCE THAT ALL IS NOT LOST AND THAT THERE OFTEN IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL WHEN THINGS SEEM TO GO AGAINST THEM.


JJ

Mohit_C

Hi guys,

I have my Class 1 Medical renovation in less than two weeks and I'm getting really worried about my vision. I'm going to do the renovation at the Iberia Medical Centre in Barajas and I need some advice.

According to the website on Fomento, the limit is +3/-5 dioptres and/or 2 dioptres of astigmatism, however on my Class 1 Medical certificate is says "Refractive error +3 to +5 or -3 to -6". Recently, perhaps I have been studying too much, I felt the need to change my glasses and when I went to my optician in both eyes my vision had got worse exceeding slightly the limits.

Can someone please confirm me the limits on refractive and astigmatism errors for the Class 1 Medical renovation?

Are they really strict on these limits?

Right now I have the choice to either change my glasses to the stronger prescription (and hope for the best) or keep the older prescription (with which I did pass my Initial Class 1 Medical).

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

rick0

Mohit_C - if you've passed the initial already then i'm pretty sure (the CAA JAA C1) the minium becomes -8 dioptres for renewles etc.

Mohit_C

rick0 thanks for replying I just need someone out there who can confirm this so that I can relax a little before going for the medical test as the days keep on reducing...

captainyonder

What are the current regulations in the UK regarding Corrective Laser Eye Surgery? I currently hold a class 1 and have my renewal coming up in just over a month. I went to see my optician yesterday and I've had to increase my perscription, although it is still within limits I'm now considering LASIK to resolve the problem. Do the CAA still require a year off in between having the treatment done and regaining your class 1? This seems somewhat restrictive, I have several friends who have had it done and they've been back at work with perfect vision the next day, albeit in ground based jobs!

AMEandPPL

This is directly from the CAA Medical Department's web site :

Flag Track

Apologies if this has been mentioned earlier, believing my vision to be too poor for a class 2 med pass I thought NPPL standards would be less exacting, asking the optician if I would pass the minimum uncorrected DVLA professional driver requirements It was proved NO, Yet checking the CAA website you can fly with a prescription of up to -8 dioptres of correction with no uncorrected limit. Have I read this right? Thanks in advance for replies!

AMEandPPL

More directly from the CAA's own web site :



Just ask your optician if you meet these criteria ! Good luck !

Mohit_C

I have a little doubt regarding Class 1 Medical renovations. Suppose if, in the future when you fly for an airline and when you have to do your Class 1 Medical renovation something on the other turns wrong, let's say your vision gets worse and goes off the limits; i.e. according to JAR FCL 3 it must be between +5 / -8 with 3.0 dioptres of astigmatism.

My question is what exactly would happen? Would they make an allowance as you're already performing activities related to your licence, would they confiscate the medical certificate and you lose your licence or what would happen?

Thanks.

P.S. Vision deterioration is only an example; perhaps someone would, let's say, have a BP above the limit.

Bealzebub

There is no simple answer to this as it involves a human dynamic. As we all get older the acuity of our senses becomes less and less sharp. Eyesight and hearing ability naturally reduce. Weight gain may become more of a problem. Blood pressure may rise. Memory becomes less sharp. Susceptibility to age related illnesses and diseases increases. All of this is part of the natural ageing process.

There are certain conditions that can not be safely tolerated in aircrew and they would certainly result in the withdrawal of a medical certificate. On the other hand many conditions can be treated and tolerated, sometimes with the application of additional safeguards such as "multi-crew only" etc.

Many conditions result in slow deterioration and they can be treated in conjunction with the persons own G.P's. Hypertension is a common example. A condition that be seen to be controlled to the reasonable satisfaction of the authority wouldn't usually result in the permanent withdrawal of a medical certificate.

Sometimes on this forum people with conditions beyond the initial issue limits laid down, fail to appreciate that those limits are not simply random pass or fail obstacles, but are limits that may reflect the fact that further natural age related deterioration may result in the early termination of their certification. Clearly this is unfair on the candidate and unfair on any prospective employer, both of whom might expect a fair period of medical certification if they are to have any confidence in the system.

Once issued, the authorities (certainly in the UK) go to great lengths to try and ensure that an individual does keep their certification for as long a period as is reasonably possible. This is often reflected in the fact that renewal limits are more relaxed than issue limits, and the discretion that is often applied to individual cases for the purpose of maintaining medical validity.

At the end of the day the importance is attached to treating the individual, not the medical certificate.

Mickey Kaye

"I went to see my optician yesterday and I've had to increase my perscription, although it is still within limits I'm now considering LASIK to resolve the problem"

If your still within limits why have it done? You may have friends who have "perfect vision" but that is not always the case. I see loads of patients who have fair worse outcomes and in your case it could cost you your job.

littlehobo75

I have recently passed selection for a position as an ATCO with NATS. However I failed my medical as my eyesight was -6.5 in both eyes in 2006 before I had LASIK. I am now 6/6 in both eyes and have been since treatment.

I understand what the requirements are, but was told to go through selection anyway as it would be treated on a case by case basis. It turns out this was not the case and NATS actually have a more stringent requirement than the CAA and pre-LASIK vision must be greater than -3.5

Does anyone know why, clinically, pre-LASIK prescription is even a requirement where current treated vision is stable. I cannot see any medical justification for this. It is interesting that the FAA and Australia's CASA feel the same way. I appreciate that they may want to discourage people from having the procedure purely to pass the medical, although this is a matter of choice. Luckily my local MP and cabinet minister agrees and is taking my case to the CAA for an answer, but I would be interested to know others opinions.

Also, if there is anyone in the same positon, contact me, I think the more people that question this, the better!

AMEandPPL

Let's be clear at the outset, I'm NOT defending any form of officialdom . . . . . and it's true, most people would think that if you can read the 6/6 or the 6/5 line on a standard Snellen chart, then that should be that !

BUT . . . . . . . scientifically and medically there is absolutely no doubt that anyone with a HIGH degree of myopia ( say -5.00 or -6.00 or even worse) has a very significantly increased risk of retinal detachment in later life. I know this, it has happened to my own daughter. A detached retina, if deemed predictable, MIGHT be thought of as too much of a risk in someone on whom thousands of pounds of training is about to be lavished ( eg - as an ATCO or as an ATPL ).

The question I am not expert enough to answer ( there may be someone on here who is ) is : "If the VA is improved from 6/60 to 6/6 by Lasik surgery, is the risk of later retinal detachment decreased correspondingly ? "

Anyone know enough to enlighten us on that ?