I have been wearing glasses for a very long time. If you wear permanent eyeglasses do you automatically meet the FAA first class medical vision requirements?
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$\begingroup$ Do the downvoters care to explain? This looks like a perfectly legitimate question to me. +1 $\endgroup$– dalearnCommented Mar 10, 2020 at 16:34
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4 Answers
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Certainly not. Eyeglasses can't fix everything. Some people have very poor vision even after correction with glasses. One example out of many, would be someone suffering from macular degeneration.
answered Mar 9, 2020 at 1:04
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$\begingroup$ Right. Or, someone whose prescription has changed. But, they have not changed their glasses, yet. $\endgroup$– Dean F.Commented Mar 9, 2020 at 13:19
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The first class medical vision requirements are in 14 CFR 67.103 (emphasis mine):
Eye standards for a first-class airman medical certificate are:
(a) Distant visual acuity of 20/20 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. If corrective lenses (spectacles or contact lenses) are necessary for 20/20 vision, the person may be eligible only on the condition that corrective lenses are worn while exercising the privileges of an airman certificate.
(b) Near vision of 20/40 or better, Snellen equivalent, at 16 inches in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. If age 50 or older, near vision of 20/40 or better, Snellen equivalent, at both 16 inches and 32 inches in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses.
In other words, the FAA doesn't care if you wear glasses or not as long as you meet the vision standards. If you can't meet those standards even with glasses (or contact lenses), then you won't be able to get a first class medical.
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Your vision has to be corrected to 20/20 or something close to it with the glasses on. I believe you are also required to keep a spare set available.
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I am wearing glasses with significant difference between the eyes. With the difference serious enough, putting fully correcting glasses is not possible for both eyes, because it screws up the linearity perception. Straight curves look bent. Not very good for a pilot while you can close one eye and then another can do alone, just without ability to percept the distance that anyway does not reach much beyond the nose of the aircraft.
In any case, a compromise must be made because of this difference, and when I wear glasses, my vision is not fully corrected.
However contact lenses are worn much closer to the eye and do not have this problem. My eyes can be fully adjusted to the perfect vision with the help of two different contact lenses (-2.0 and -6.0).
Hence I think just glasses may not be sufficient (even if they could), but probably contact lenses would work for much wider range of cases. There are also other ways in these days to correct the vision.
I wanted to be a pilot in the past. I have never attempted, because I was deeply convinced my eyes will not permit. Talk seriously with the doctor. Do not repeat my mistake by deciding negatively on your own.
