Originally Posted by
rickair7777
I have heard that Eagle dropped the all-day medical exam, they were the only regional still doing an exam that I know of.
Several majors do an exam, but most are just verifying that you meet FAA 1st. class medical standards. Many majors do not do an exam, notably SWA.
If you have trouble with the color vision, and can only pass with the help of a "sympathetic" AME, you would probably get denied at an airline medical... I suspect they are not going to bend over backwards to accommodate applicants.
I pass the FAA standards without any "help"... I don't ace the ishihara test, but I meet the FAA's standards... For instance: On the 14 plate edition ishihara test, the included documentation states that 10 or more correct on plates 1 to 11 is normal color vision, 7 or less correct is abnormal, 8 or 9 requires further testing. I fall into the 8 or 9 category on that test...
(And yes, the proper testing conditions DO help. Fluorescent lights make it much harder.) It's supposed to be a macbeth lamp, or natural daylight or something...
Heres the thing tho, the FAA says that "an applicant does not meet the color vision standard if the testing reveals: 6 or more errors on plates 1 to 11 on the 14 plate concise edition." In other words you need 6 or more correct to pass according to the FAA. Apparently they allow a mild degree of deficiency and if you can get 6 or more right, then your case is most likely mild...
So as long as they adhere to the FAA standards and didn't adopt their own, then I should be ok... Are they allowed to adopt their own when it comes to inherited things like that?
I've had AME assistant's fail me for not getting all of them correct before. So I started bringing the sheet with me as backup incase they fail me because they don't know the standards, seems like many of them don't.