Brand new Student Pilot Medical questions

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alexl

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Alex
Hi there!

My name is Alex, and i just completed an intro flight and began ground school, and i am already hooked. I am planning on scheduling my 3rd class medical for next week. I am looking for some individuals with similar experience, or instructors who have had students with a similar situation to give me some peace of mind. First off, i am pretty certain i will fail my Left eye, it does not correct to 20/40 or better. However, my right eye does correct to better than 20/40. I understand that i will likely have to go through the process to get a SODA. Does anyone know if this must take place before my first solo or just before my certificate is issued?

Furthermore, after taking some rudimentary online tests, to my surprise, i believe i may also be color deficient. From what i have read, and please correct me if i am wrong, even if i fail all color blind tests and the light cannon test, my worst case scenario will be that i cannot fly at night or by color light control? I guess i am mostly concerned that these two issues together will disqualify me altogether.

I appreciate any replys
 
DesertNomad said:
You need a medical certificate to solo. Best to sort it out now.
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i am aware that i need a medical certificate to solo, and i do plan on taking care of it before i pursue any additional instruction. My question is if the SODA checkride is needed before i solo. With my poor vision in one eye, i can still get a medical "for student purpose only".
 
Alex, I went through the exact same issues when I started. I always had rock solid vision but knew that after a few DMV tests that my left eye was getting a bit less than perfect as I got older and didn't want to chance failing my medical. I went to a local eye center and got a full work up and test done to make sure that I did not need any correction.

Although not perfect, I was still within FAA tolerances and did not need correction and passed the medical. In five years may be a different story though.

Go get an eye test done then talk to a doctor about your options BEFORE you go take the medical. If you fail and you do not have your ducks in a row ahead of time it is gonna be a whole lot more complicated then knowing where you stand and going in with a plan.

Ad do that before you invest too much time and money in case there is a problem that would prevent you obtaining a PPL. Spening a few extra dollars ahead of time will be much cheaper than proving you are medically fit after a failure.

as a disclaimer, I am not a doctor but just pretend to play on on the internet!
 
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This may be over my level, which isn't very far, but do you wear glasses that will correct your vision? If you can pass an eye chart with glasses but not without you'll just get a limitation on your medical that says you must have glasses with you to fly.

I can't read anything out of one eye and mine says I must have reading glasses in the cockpit. It's not a big deal.
 
Shawn said:
Alex, I went through the exact same issues when I started. I always had rock solid vision but knew that after a few DMV tests that my left eye was getting a bit less than perfect as I got older and didn't want to chance failing my medical. I went to a local eye center and got a full work up and test done to make sure that I did not need any correction.

Although not perfect, I was still within FAA tolerances and did not need correction and passed the medical. In five years may be a different story though.

Go get an eye test done then talk to a doctor about your options BEFORE you go take the medical. If you fail and you do not have your ducks in a row ahead of time it is gonna be a whole lot more complicated then knowing where you stand and going in with a plan.

Ad do that before you invest too much time and money in case there is a problem that would prevent you obtaining a PPL.

as a disclaimer, I am not a doctor but just pretend to play on on the internet!
Click to expand...

Thanks!

I am young (23) and have always had poor vision in my left eye, even corrected it is a lame eye that my brain uses pretty much only for depth perception - i have adapted. My local AME happens to be an ophthalmologist, so that may work out well for me. I will likely just schedule a consultation in which he can let me know if i will pass the medical or not, before actually going down a road that is difficult to turn back from
 
alexl said:
My question is if the SODA checkride is needed before i solo.
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No, it is not required before solo, and the FAA doesn't normally do that. The standard procedure is, as you noted, for them to issue a Third Class medical "Valid for Student Pilot purposes only". Your instructor will then decide if/when you are safe and competent to solo. The Special Medical Flight Test with the FAA (what you called "the SODA checkride") is normally done along with the practical test after you've completed all your training and requirements. For more on getting that "Student Pilot only" medical certificate, I suggest contacting Dr. Bruce Chien either on AOPA Forums or via his web site.
 
Shawn said:
Alex, I went through the exact same issues when I started. I always had rock solid vision but knew that after a few DMV tests that my left eye was getting a bit less than perfect as I got older and didn't want to chance failing my medical. I went to a local eye center and got a full work up and test done to make sure that I did not need any correction.

Although not perfect, I was still within FAA tolerances and did not need correction and passed the medical. In five years may be a different story though.

Go get an eye test done then talk to a doctor about your options BEFORE you go take the medical. If you fail and you do not have your ducks in a row ahead of time it is gonna be a whole lot more complicated then knowing where you stand and going in with a plan.

Ad do that before you invest too much time and money in case there is a problem that would prevent you obtaining a PPL. Spening a few extra dollars ahead of time will be much cheaper than proving you are medically fit after a failure.

as a disclaimer, I am not a doctor but just pretend to play on on the internet!
Click to expand...
As an already-rated pilot, Shawn's situation was different than yours, and he was not eligible for a "Student Pilot only" medical. You do not already have a valid medical/pilot certificate. As I said, contact Dr. Chien for details on how to do it in your situation.
 
Timmer said:
This may be over my level, which isn't very far, but do you wear glasses that will correct your vision?
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Alexi said in post #1 "[his] left eye...does not correct to 20/40 or better". That puts him out of the realm of just getting regular medical certificate with "must wear corrective lenses" and drops him into a Special Issuance.
 
alexl said:
Thanks!

I am young (23) and have always had poor vision in my left eye, even corrected it is a lame eye that my brain uses pretty much only for depth perception - i have adapted. My local AME happens to be an ophthalmologist, so that may work out well for me. I will likely just schedule a consultation in which he can let me know if i will pass the medical or not, before actually going down a road that is difficult to turn back from
Click to expand...

That's good idea . If he tell you that you can't get your medical " off the record" then you can always go for sport .
Good luck and welcome .
 
Ron Levy said:
Alexi said in post #1 "[his] left eye...does not correct to 20/40 or better". That puts him out of the realm of just getting regular medical certificate with "must wear corrective lenses" and drops him into a Special Issuance.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I knew I was missing something. Words. :)
 
Ron Levy said:
As an already-rated pilot, Shawn's situation was different than yours, and he was not eligible for a "Student Pilot only" medical. You do not already have a valid medical/pilot certificate. As I said, contact Dr. Chien for details on how to do it in your situation.
Click to expand...

Nope...that was before getting my student pilot certificate not renewing...but I will be doing the same thing before renewing again. My only point being as others also said to get everything checked out and KNOW if you will pass or fail BEFORE you take the medical so you can plan accordingly.
 
thanks for all of the info guys.

I think ill be okay. Each situation alone i am not too nervous about: i am confident i could pass the SODA, and if i cannot fly at night due to my color deficiency, i am still one step ahead of sport pilot since i could fly a much larger range of aircraft and with more passengers.
I am only nervous that the two things together may create an issue.
 
Ron Levy said:
As an already-rated pilot, Shawn's situation was different than yours, and he was not eligible for a "Student Pilot only" medical. You do not already have a valid medical/pilot certificate. As I said, contact Dr. Chien for details on how to do it in your situation.
Click to expand...

thanks for the info about Dr. Chien, i shot him an email!
 
I am a student pilot scheduled to take my check ride in 2 weeks. I don't post much on discussions but still follow regularly. I can't help with the color vision part, but have the same issue with my left eye. I have a lazy left eye with poor vision. I didn't ask what the test showed in that eye, but the AME told me I passed by a very slim margin because of it though. He gave me a form to give my opthamologist if the FAA questioned it. I've had my medical for over a year now and have not heard anything from the FAA. I didn't get my medical until right before I soloed. I know others say you may waste money. From the very beginning, I reasoned that getting to fulfill a life long dream to learn how to fly a plane was worth it. Fortunately, I passed. However, if I had known I couldn't pass, I wouldn't have taken any lessons and probably always wonder what it would be like.
 
fozzie bear said:
I am a student pilot scheduled to take my check ride in 2 weeks. I don't post much on discussions but still follow regularly. I can't help with the color vision part, but have the same issue with my left eye. I have a lazy left eye with poor vision. I didn't ask what the test showed in that eye, but the AME told me I passed by a very slim margin because of it though. He gave me a form to give my opthamologist if the FAA questioned it. I've had my medical for over a year now and have not heard anything from the FAA. I didn't get my medical until right before I soloed. I know others say you may waste money. From the very beginning, I reasoned that getting to fulfill a life long dream to learn how to fly a plane was worth it. Fortunately, I passed. However, if I had known I couldn't pass, I wouldn't have taken any lessons and probably always wonder what it would be like.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! I think i will go with the method of printing out the medxpress form and cutting the code off, then only giving the code up if i passed the exam. I feel like i may have lucked out with my closest AME (literally a mile from my house) also being an opthamologist. I feel like he will be able to work with me a little better than a general practitioner.
 
I was able to speak to my AME this afternoon and he reassured me that based on our discussion he saw no major issues with my 3rd class. It is scheduled for Thursday!
 
Update! got my 3rd class free and clear except for a restriction for corrective lenses!(which i go nowhere without anyway). My vision is apparently better than i thought, doc said i tested 20/30 corrected in my left eye and 20/20 corrected in my right eye. I missed some of the cards in the color vision exam but i got "enough". It seams i was worried for nothing
 
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