Just as I suspected...

[Jay Honeck]

At my last medical, the AME in Corpus Christi determined that I was color blind, and revoked my right to fly at night. This despite my rather obvious ability to discern colors, and the fact that I never had any color deficiency until being tested on his equipment.

Today I had my eyes professionally tested for new glasses. There is no change in my prescription, and my eyes are corrected to 20/15. I am also NOT color blind, even though I have difficulty discerning the patterns on the computer version of the color vision test.

When given the test on paper, under incandescent light, I did just fine. The doctor's diagnosis for the recent change: Age-related slight yellowing of the lens inside my eye.

Which, BTW, she says is completely normal for anyone over 50. Otherwise, my vision is superior -- above average.

Now, I don't fly at night anyway, and -- if I need to -- my wife, Mary, can act as PIC, so I probably won't fight to get night privileges back, but what a crock of bull.

 

[Geico266]

I would send that new info in to OK City, and to your ME.

 

[poadeleted20]

It is what it is. You can either do nothing and live with the restriction or make an appointment with the FSDO for a Special Medical Flight Test (which may not even involve flying). Your choice.

BTW, you have no "right to fly at night," and never did -- all flying is a privilege, not a right.

 

[bbchien]

Jay, what color set did he use?

I find the Richmonds to be the easiest. Sometimes I go through five tests before I find one the a/m can groc. And we'll go out into direct sunlight (like the plate authors intended) if necessary.

You obviously are in the ranks of "honey, there's a bit too much pink in that white paint!" guys.
"Sure looks white to me.....okay honey...."

 

[jsstevens]

[snip]
You obviously are in the ranks of "honey, there's a bit too much pink in that white paint!" guys.
"Sure looks white to me.....okay honey...."

I think most guys are in those ranks. I know I am.

John

 

[Jay Honeck]

Jay, what color set did he use?

I find the Richmonds to be the easiest. Sometimes I go through five tests before I find one the a/m can groc. And we'll go out into direct sunlight (like the plate authors intended) if necessary.

You obviously are in the ranks of "honey, there's a bit too much pink in that white paint!" guys.
"Sure looks white to me.....okay honey...."

I don't know what she used, but it was an exact duplicate of what was presented on the computer screen.

The doc had an interesting observation: We've all seen "blue haired" old ladies. The reason their hair is blue, is because they have age/related yellowing of the lens in their eyes.

They simply can't see the color, so they keep adding dye until it looks "right" to them. Funny.

 

[steingar]

Doing the test at every medical is the most idiotic waste of time imaginable. Color blindness is genetic and permanent, you don't just develop it. And I've always had a hell of a time seeing those things myself.

 

[flyingron]

Doc, is a computer screen even one of the approved tests. I thought the FAA was stuck in the printed plate era. Unless this computer monitor was calibrated better than most (now being in the high performance intelligence and medical imaging market I can tell you a bit about both CRT and LCD display performance, dynamic range, and color balance). It's a real can of worms unless this "computer" was some godawful 501k approved medical device.

 

[steingar]

Doc, is a computer screen even one of the approved tests. I thought the FAA was stuck in the printed plate era. Unless this computer monitor was calibrated better than most (now being in the high performance intelligence and medical imaging market I can tell you a bit about both CRT and LCD display performance, dynamic range, and color balance). It's a real can of worms unless this "computer" was some godawful 501k approved medical device.

I can't ever remember doing it on a piece of paper. I must have for my first one, I used a doc who was older than Odin. But for the last few I look at a screen. And I can barely, barely discern those things. My vision may not be the best, but I ain't color blind.

 

[Jim_R]

Never done it on a computer screen. Maybe ophthalmologists routinely pay for properly-calibrated computer monitors that get the colors exactly right, but if they're just using any old display out of a box, how do they know what color gamut it's showing?

I have been tested using a book or using a mini-projector gizmo that looks like a professional version of the old ViewMaster things I had as a kid. Rear-lighted slides viewed through a binocular eyepiece.

 

[bbchien]

Never done it on a computer screen. Maybe ophthalmologists routinely pay for properly-calibrated computer monitors that get the colors exactly right, but if they're just using any old display out of a box, how do they know what color gamut it's showing?

I have been tested using a book or using a mini-projector gizmo that looks like a professional version of the old ViewMaster things I had as a kid. Rear-lighted slides viewed through a binocular eyepiece.

THIS!

 

[Jim Logajan]

I'm just glad the FAA didn't require a multiple choice test; they'd no doubt have done something like:

The airplane in Figure 1 is flying over what colored water:

(1) Green.
(2) Blue-green.
(3) Aquamarine.
(4) Black.

 

[bbchien]

A, B, and C.

 

[colojo]

None of the above. It's flying over sand!

 

[Palmpilot]

...all flying is a privilege, not a right.

That's a huge exaggeration. The Supreme Court has said that burdens or restrictions on the right to travel must not be unreasonable. In this day and age, restricting someone to ground travel without a valid reason would certainly be unreasonable, IMO.

"It's a privilege, not a right" is something tyrants (petty or otherwise) say when they want to deny someone's rights. A better motto would be "governing is a privilege, not a right."

 

[oldShar]

I don't know what she used, but it was an exact duplicate of what was presented on the computer screen.

The doc had an interesting observation: We've all seen "blue haired" old ladies. The reason their hair is blue, is because they have age/related yellowing of the lens in their eyes.

They simply can't see the color, so they keep adding dye until it looks "right" to them. Funny.

I always wondered about that? (And why same people criticized their teenagers for wanting purple. I figured: 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other....)