Flying and wearing glasses
 

Right I really have to clear this up. What is the policy for wearing glasses and flying. My eyes are not the greatest nor the worst and I have meet tons of BA pilots who wear them, both young and old. Is there a criteria to meet? Also what is the policy for the RAF and glasses?? :confused:

To fly commercially, you need a Class One medical.

To get a class One medical, your eyesight must be of the following standard at the initial examination:


General Requirements

Your eyes and their adnexa (surrounding structures) must function normally.

Distant Vision

Your visual acuity (the ability to see letters on a chart at 6 metres) must be at least 6/9 in each eye separately and 6/6 using both eyes together, with or without glasses or contact lenses (correction). If you wear correction the refractive error must not exceed +3.00 to -3.00 dioptres in the most ametropic meridian (the worst axis - taking into account any astigmatism). Astigmatism must not exceed 2.00 dioptres. The difference in refractive error between each eye (anisometropia) must not be more than 2.00 dioptres.

However, if you are over 25 years old, or can show stability of refraction over the last 3 years (an unchanged glasses’ prescription), a refractive error between -3.00 and -5.00 dioptres in the most ametropic meridian is acceptable.

You may wear contact lenses as a professional pilot. If you do wear contact lenses, you should bring to your Class 1 examination a report from an optometrist, to include the following:

visual acuity with and without contact lenses and spectacles

contact lens and spectacle prescriptions;

confirmation that the contact lenses have been worn constantly and successfully for over eight hours a day over a period of at least one month.

Contact lenses should be removed at least 48 hours before the initial Class 1 medical examination. Bifocal contact lenses are not acceptable. You must bring your current glasses and contact lenses to the examination.

If you have had refractive surgery, Class 1 certification can be considered one year after surgery noting that:

the pre-operative refraction should not have exceeded -5.00 dioptres;

correction of long-sight is not acceptable;

an assessment by a specialist at Gatwick (Aeromedical Centre) will be required.

Near Vision

You must be able to read on the standard ophthalmology chart: N5 print at a distance between 30-50cms and N14 print at 100cms, with or without correction.

Colour Vision

You will be tested for normal colour vision with Ishihara Plates. If you fail the Ishihara test you will need to pass the Holmes Wright lantern test in order to gain a Class 1 certificate.

Eye Function

You must have normal fields of vision.

You must not suffer from double vision.

Any degree of heterophoria (eye muscle imbalance) in excess of:

8D exo, 6D eso or 1D hyperphoria - measured at 6m

and

12D exo, 6D eso or 1D hyperphoria - measured at 33cms

will require further evaluation by an aviation ophthalmologist at Gatwick.

CAA Class One eyesight requirements

and their home page for more licensing info

[ 19 August 2001: Message edited by: foghorn ]

However, BA has some extra requirements!!

Your visual acuity should not be worse than 6/24 unaided by spectacles or contacts.

Also, if you have contacts, they must have been used for at least 3 months.

Otherwise the requirements are as above.

Thank you very much foghorn I am rest assured I cacn meet that! Thast everything I needed to know.
Cheers! :cool:

Speedbird 2946,

I don't want to start an argument, but the medical info I have from BA (which came with the CEP info booklet) says unaided of 6/24 and contacts for 3 months.

Like I said, I don't want to argue, and may this info is out of date.

Cool, makes it less worrying that your eyes will can a small amount disqualifying you from flying!

Once you are in, as long as you can keep the
doc happy at your annual medical - no problem. There are a very great many pilots
who either wear glasses or contact lenses -
a fact of life that when you reach your
mid-forties the old eyes start to struggle
for most people especially looking at approach charts at night.

Incidentally I know of a least two RAF pilots
who flew with one eye - no of course they
had both when they joined but lost 50% of their vision through illness or accident -
only stipulation was that they were not allowed to fly together !

Actually, if it's the same two I knew at Lyneham, they did fly together at least once. Somewhat embarrassing, as it was the captain's left eye and the co-pilot's right that were u/s!

The RAF entry requirements for eyesight are that you have at least 20/20 vision unaided. RAF pilots can and do wear glasses as their eyesight deteriorates once they have joined the service and trained but the initital medical does not allow the wearing of specs or lenses.

That rules the RAF out then, better stick to commercial flying!