Military aviation vision requirement / Corrective surgery
06-19-2011, 12:49 PM
#11
Super Moderator
Joined APC: Jul 2006
Posts: 5,545
Well first off what is your vision? When I went through my FC-1 the vision requirements were 20/70 w/o a waiver and up to 20/200 with a waiver. It actually has more to do with diopters. I think it was between +1.50 to -1.50 didn't require a waiver. Between -1.50 and -3.00 and +1.50 and +3.00 required a waiver.
Here is AFI 48-123 for the medical standards.
http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/share.../AFI48-123.pdf
Not sure if this is the most recent but, this is the Air Force waiver guide from 2007. I would read pages 427-444. It should have all you need to know about what you can and can't do.
http://aviationmedicine.com/resource...uide%20PDF.pdf
Here is AFI 48-123 for the medical standards.
http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/share.../AFI48-123.pdf
Not sure if this is the most recent but, this is the Air Force waiver guide from 2007. I would read pages 427-444. It should have all you need to know about what you can and can't do.
http://aviationmedicine.com/resource...uide%20PDF.pdf
06-20-2011, 05:00 PM
#12
On Reserve
Joined APC: Dec 2010
Position: C-17
Posts: 13
Whether you go through with the surgery is up to you, but there are other options. I am living proof that you can obtain a vision waiver, and I can tell you right now, your recruiter will never tell you this. They will tell you you only meet Navigator medical standards, and that you don't qualify to be a pilot.
The truth is, they have no idea what they are talking about. You can receive a permanent distant visual acuity (DVA) waiver, and as long as you can see 20/200 uncorrected and correctable to 20/20 (NAV or FC1a flight physical standards) with a not so crazy correction value (less than 4.00, or something) then you can be hired as a pilot.
When I applied to OTS, my recruiter tried to tell me I didn't qualify for a pilot slot. After speaking directly with a flight surgeon on Baseops.net, I informed him that he was mistaken. I explained to him that he just needed to submit my application, and once I was picked up, I would receive a DVA waiver when I completed my flight physical. That's what I did, and I've been flying for the Air Force for 3 years.
Whether or not you choose to do the surgery is up to you. We just paid a large sum of money for my wife to get it done, and now her night vision is complete crap. She doesn't quite see 20/20 in 1 eye, and her low light vision is terrible. That was the kind of risk I was not willing to take with my career. I'm fine wearing glasses/contacts when I fly.
The truth is, they have no idea what they are talking about. You can receive a permanent distant visual acuity (DVA) waiver, and as long as you can see 20/200 uncorrected and correctable to 20/20 (NAV or FC1a flight physical standards) with a not so crazy correction value (less than 4.00, or something) then you can be hired as a pilot.
When I applied to OTS, my recruiter tried to tell me I didn't qualify for a pilot slot. After speaking directly with a flight surgeon on Baseops.net, I informed him that he was mistaken. I explained to him that he just needed to submit my application, and once I was picked up, I would receive a DVA waiver when I completed my flight physical. That's what I did, and I've been flying for the Air Force for 3 years.
Whether or not you choose to do the surgery is up to you. We just paid a large sum of money for my wife to get it done, and now her night vision is complete crap. She doesn't quite see 20/20 in 1 eye, and her low light vision is terrible. That was the kind of risk I was not willing to take with my career. I'm fine wearing glasses/contacts when I fly.
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