Vision question

[Justin Moose]

Ok please bear with me cause Im new to flying, just had my first flight, and Im very ignorant on a lot of things. Here's what's going on:

When the CFI was in a holding pattern for landing, he was looking for traffic, and on the radio with other planes. He pointed out a plane in traffic and i finally saw it, but it took me a while. More time than I felt safe with.

My question is, through training, will I learn to look out the window in a different way than I do in my truck (further out and up and down, in addition to left and right) and should I go to an eye doctor for a check up and get glasses if I need them? So far, my eyes have been good enough for driving, but is that good enough for flying?

 

[Mason]

FAA Medical Standards

 

[bobmrg]

You will make visual contact with about ten percent of the planes called out as traffic. Little planes, especially those with a white base coat, are very hard to see unless the background is ideal. This is from AIM 4-4-14:

"d. Since the eye can focus only on a narrow viewing area, effective scanning is accomplished with a series of short, regularly spaced eye movements that bring successive areas of the sky into the central visual field. Each movement should not exceed ten degrees, and each area should be observed for at least one second to enable collision detection. Although many pilots seem to prefer the method of horizontal back-and-forth scanning every pilot should develop a scanning pattern that is not only comfortable but assures optimum effectiveness. Pilots should remember, however, that they have a regulatory responsibility (14 CFR Section 91.113(a)) to see and avoid other aircraft when weather conditions permit."

Bob Gardner

 

[Justin Moose]

You will make visual contact with about ten percent of the planes called out as traffic. Little planes, especially those with a white base coat, are very hard to see unless the background is ideal. This is from AIM 4-4-14:

The traffic in question was a white cessna, so now I dont feel too bad about not seeing it.

 

[AggieMike88]

One old aviators secret to this.... Bring some kids with you when you fly.....

I'll ask the Young Eagles I fly to help with traffic spotting... Every time they will find an airborne aircraft faster than I do and in a sector I had already looked at for a while.

But as Bob said, while practice helps, you will not see as many of the traffic being called out as you'd want to.