Pilot Journey Forums

Hello, currently i am a considering to embark on the student pilot transition.  Currently i have 0 flight time.  I have checked into many things but i still have 1 concern.  I have poor vision.  As of right now my vision can be corrected to 20/20, but it seems every year i need a slightly stronger perscription.

My concern is, that i will invest all this money into flight training with the hopes of making a career out of it, then after i am thousands of dollars into debt, somewhere down the road i will not be able to obtain an a1c medical rating.  

what are the risks or benefits to laser corection surgery? does anyone have experience with bad vision problems? any advice would be appreciated. thanks for the help!

Deuce,

I, too, have poor vision.  The power for my contacts is -7.00.  I was worried at first as well.  I just started my private pilot trainning.  To make sure that I could pass the vision test, I made sure that I could see 20/20 with my vision corrected-I called my doc to make sure I could.  Then I went and took my flight physical for the first class and passed! I wasn't sure that I passed at first because I was not so sure that I read them correctly.  Call your doc and see if your glasses/contacts give you 20/20 vision, if so then go ahead and see if you can pass the vision before investing in trainning. Over the years my vision use to get worst as well.  It has greatly slowed down now.  I am 23 and they say that your eyes mature around mid 20s.  You can go to www.cami.jccbi.gov and click on Pilot Medical Certificate Q&A.  They have a little info on laser.  I haven't looked in dept at the surgery myself.  That's my advice.

Now, let's see if you can help me.  I plan on going to Delta Connection Academy around June/July.  They make the school sound so good.  Do you have any advice or information about this school?  Or do you know of any great schools that will help you get jobs with airlines?

About the laser eye surgery, I had it done about 1.5 years ago and it was the best money I have ever spent.  It cost about $1500 for both eyes and I am 20/20 with no corrective lenses or glasses.  I think your prescription has to be stable for year or two before you can have it done, but if you can afford it, its money well spent.  The younger you have it done the better.  Of course, your eyes will still age normally.  For me, when my vision starts to age and get worse, I will spend the money for a "touch up", another batch of laser eye surgery rather than getting contacts again.

hey thanks for the info, ive been looking into all the so called "first officer factories"

the brochure about delta connection academy does look good. lol i have the same one you do, and i have the dvd that came with it.  but remember this, they are salesmen, they are trying to sell you a product (their school).  they will make it sound as good as you can imagine because when it comes down to it they want your money.

i honestly do not know how it compares to similar schools or how well it prepares you for a job.  if you want to check it out, they will fly you and a companion down to their school for a free tour then fly you home free. that sounds like a pretty decent deal if nothing else.  i am going to be in florida in march visiting family, while i am there i am thinking about visiting delta connection and florida regional airline academy as well. those seem to be 2 of the better options

try to compare as many schools as you can.  count up how much total pilot time you will have, how many multi eng. hours? etc..  what type of ratings will you have when you graduate? will you graduate with an actual aircraft rating (ie. crj type rating)?  is housing included? what is the cost of housing? what are the financing options? does the school want/allow you to be an instructor? how many cross country flight hours?

i havent done this yet, but if i am serious about investing into a school, i will talk to current students and if possible graduates too. they will tell you what the school is really like and if they think it is a good program, they wont feed you a line of BS like an admissions counselor will.

i hope this helps, if you have any info let me know too because i would be interested, its hard to find people to talk about schools like this since not many people have been through them

I had Lasix done on both my eyes abut 8 years ago. Like BubarRedRocket, it was the bes money I have ever spent.  In my case I had it done when Lasix was in its infancy and I paid about $1500 per eye.  My vision is still 20/20 uncorrected.  However, I purchased by first pair of reading glasses last month.  I'm 46 and it is getting harder and harder to read the tiny print of the disclaimers on all the labels.

Just my $0.02 worth.

That's great news.  I'm going to have to wait on Lasik as my eyes haven't yet stabilized... just got some new specs.  However, wean yourselves off of contacts and go glasses prior to surgery.  As you get into your forties, my optometrist tells me EVERYONE will need bifocals; not sure if you get them done for the "one eye close and one eye far" type Lasik.  I'm just glad to hear there's hope!  :)

yea no kidding, i think i'm in the same boat as you are