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Airfrm

Filing Flight Plan
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Airfrm
Hello all, I am due for my medical, but before I do that I need to get my eye checked. I do use reading glasses for close up but no issues farther away. My question, I have never had eye issues when getting a flight physical, what are some restrictions/limitations with glasses if any?
 
The restriction is that you will have to wear your glasses when flying.
 
If you need the glasses to pass the near vision test, then you will get the "must possess glasses" restriction. My old AME used to just give me a card with some fine print on and I was allowed to hold it at any length and I would pass. My current AME uses one of those blasted machines and I have a harder time. Since I need the distance correction anyhow, all my glasses are bifocals (well progressives) anyhow. For a long time, the "reading correction" on them just canceled out the distance correction.


The one thing you DO need to be aware of is if you wear contacts. The FAA has a burr up their ass about people wearing both near and distant vision correction contacts together. This stems from a single crash a few years back I believe. Monovision corrected LASIK (and other surgeries) is OK, because they figure that since you experience that 24/7 your brain has adapted.
 
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Your restriction will be, as already noted, "must wear corrective lenses for xxx (near or distance)" or "must posses corrective lenses for xxx".

Get your eye exam, get whatever glasses you need. At the AME do the best you can without the glasses first. You might just find that you can pass the near vision tests without the cheaters. I can actually do better on the near vision without my glasses, his machine is one of those DMV-style things that I can never seem to figure out when I am wearing my glasses.

If this is your first medical, make sure your regular eye-guy tests you for color vision. No sense in getting surprised at the AME by finding out you have color blindness.
 
Doug Reid said:
In a past medical, I was required to have glasses in my possession while flying...go figure. It did not say I had to wear them ! I think my distant vision was good, but I needed them for small print...close up vision.
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This^^^ was my first experience.

Later I had to wear glasses while flying, and my medical changed to ''Must wear corrective lenses for near and distance vision.'' No big deal.

Funny part is I passed the vision test for my drivers license without a problem.
 
Doug Reid said:
You have to press your forehead against the machine in order to light up the display, and in the process you move your glasses out of position, then you can not read the chart.

“ is that an F or maybe a P “, next: “ is that an O or a Q “. Congrats...you passed the freaking eye machine test !
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LOL. I have come to grips with that. Sometimes it’s a challenge with progressive lenses.
 
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