Glasses/vision requirements.

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I'm getting ready to apply for a student pilot certificate and am preparing for my class 3, just wondering about this...

I saw an optometrist for the first time in my life a couple of weeks ago just to get checked out. The doctor told me that I was 20/20 in my left eye and 20/40 in my right. He told me that I didn't really need glasses but he wrote me a prescription in case I wanted them anyway.

I haven't gotten the prescription filled yet. Partly out of laziness, partly because I've known other people who didn't "need" glasses but got them anyway and ended up dependent on them after they got used to them.

I'm also thinking in regards to flying maybe the extra sharpness of sight would be a good idea- but maybe with my eyes being pretty good without the glasses would be as much of a distraction/peripheral vision blocker that any advantage would be canceled out? I don't know, I've never worn glasses!

Anyway, bottom line question is what will the FAA say? I know I'm within the vision requirement but since I saw a doctor will I need to get the prescription filled and bring a pair of glasses to the medical?
 
Routine eye exams are not reportable, so they wouldn't know anything about the the prescription. If you take the exam "as is" and come out 20/40 or better in each eye, you'll get your Third Class without restriction. However, from a safety perspective, I would still strongly recommend getting the prescription filled and using the glasses while flying even if you don't bring them to the FAA medical exam -- that extra bit of sharpness could save your life.
 
You'll save a LOT of money in reduced flight training because you will relate to what your CFI says- he has binocular vision. You are suppressing the image in the 20/40 eye.

You'll pass either way. But what is cheap is not necessarily the best.
 
I had a similar issue. I recommend taking and passing the eye test without glasses first. If you take the test with glasses but they weren't needed, you'll have a restriction on your medical stating you are required to carry glasses with you or required to wear them when flying. Do the test without, and you obviously won't have a restriction. But as others have said, you should get them anyway for safety reasons.
 
HighFlyingA380 said:
I had a similar issue. I recommend taking and passing the eye test without glasses first. If you take the test with glasses but they weren't needed, you'll have a restriction on your medical stating you are required to carry glasses with you or required to wear them when flying. Do the test without, and you obviously won't have a restriction. But as others have said, you should get them anyway for safety reasons.
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That sounds like a pretty reasonable approach. Is it safe to go ahead and get the prescription filled and just not bring them along to the medical, or is it better to wait(medical is next week).

Also, how well do the transitions(the auto darkening) lenses work for a pilot? They seem like a good idea but I wonder if a slow change from dark to clear is an issue.



One other unrelated note on reporting... other than this visit the only other doctor visit I've had for several years is a yearly physical. Is the "correct" way to report this to list every visit or do I just enter the most recent... or is preventative stuff not reported?

Thanks a bunch, guys!
 
Bruce, is it true you can bring a letter from the eye doctor saying you're corrected or correctable to 20/40 and not have to test for the AME?
 
Unregistered said:
That sounds like a pretty reasonable approach. Is it safe to go ahead and get the prescription filled and just not bring them along to the medical, or is it better to wait(medical is next week).
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It makes absolutely no difference. You don't have to report the eye exam visit or the purchase of the glasses, so unless you blurt it out, the AME will never know. Just make darn sure if you choose not to get them and bring them with you that you can really pass the eye test without them. In that regard, a sure-win strategy might be to get them and bring them but not to pull them out unless you don't pass the uncorrected vision test.

One other unrelated note on reporting... other than this visit the only other doctor visit I've had for several years is a yearly physical. Is the "correct" way to report this to list every visit or do I just enter the most recent... or is preventative stuff not reported?
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Every visit to a health practitioner (except those specifically exempted in the instructions, like routine eye and dental visits) within the previous three years must be reported. Read the instructions if you aren't sure, but remember that it is way better to report something which need not be reported than to omit something that must be reported.
 
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EppyGA said:
Bruce, is it true you can bring a letter from the eye doctor saying you're corrected or correctable to 20/40 and not have to test for the AME?
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If the eye doc is known to the AME and the data are within 90 days prior the AME at his option can accept the testimonoy of the eye guy.

The "nervous OP": you wil be certified in whatever combination you need to make standards. Bring your glasses. Try without. If you fail, put 'em on and pass.
 
bbchien said:
Bring your glasses. Try without. If you fail, put 'em on and pass.
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That's exactly the advice my eye guy (also a pilot) gave my daughter when she got her driver's license. She passed fine without them, but does use them for driving anyway.
 
bbchien said:
If the eye doc is known to the AME and the data are within 90 days prior the AME at his option can accept the testimonoy of the eye guy.
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Doesn't that have to be reported formally by the eye doc to the AME on a Form 8500-7 Eye Evaluation?
 
Ron Levy said:
Doesn't that have to be reported formally by the eye doc to the AME on a Form 8500-7 Eye Evaluation?
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No. It can be in the form of a letter (typewritten, please) or a LEGIBLE medical record, the latter of which is problemmatic for I'd say 95% of opthalmologists out there.
 
Get the glasses and try wearing them while doing different activities. Definitely try them on at least once in the air. Chance are you will want to wear them for flying.

I have 20/20 one eye. The other eye changes depending on how tired I am from 20/20 to 20/40. (I have an eye chart at home.) I fly with glasses because I feel I can spot low contrast targets with glasses much better.
 
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