fau1994 Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Hello. My name is Richard. I'm 17 years old and will be attending an Army ROTC program at my college starting this fall. Since I was little I had always wanted to be a pilot and fly helicopters, especially the AH-64. That is my dream. I plan on working my hardest and being at the top of my class, doing every extra curricular activity I can do to get me there. There is only one problem though. I read that Army pilots can not have any worse than 20/50 vision in either eye. I have 20/20 in my left and 20/170 in my right. I would surely get it corrected by PRK or LASIK, but I also read that you can not have any eye correctional surgery done if you want to fly. I am very worried in all honesty. If someone can clear things up for me I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zVo Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 Yes, you can have PRK or LASIK performed. I had PRK done + waivered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridethisbike Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 as zVo said, yes you can. When they say 20/50 uncorrected they mean glasses. As in, if you wear glasses, your vision cannot be worse than 20/50 when you take them off. From my understanding you can't wear glasses while flying (not sure), but I know for a fact you can't wear contacts. Too much of a risk when it comes to dirt/dust entering your eye and getting between the contact and your eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d10 Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 I would surely get it corrected by PRK or LASIK, but I also read that you can not have any eye correctional surgery done if you want to fly. You might have read that because that's what the regulation says officially. But if you have no issues 6 months after surgery you'll have no problem getting a waiver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d10 Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 From my understanding you can't wear glasses while flying (not sure)Â You can, and unless your vision is 20/20 uncorrected it's mandatory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wopilot Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 as zVo said, yes you can. When they say 20/50 uncorrected they mean glasses. As in, if you wear glasses, your vision cannot be worse than 20/50 when you take them off. From my understanding you can't wear glasses while flying (not sure), but I know for a fact you can't wear contacts. Too much of a risk when it comes to dirt/dust entering your eye and getting between the contact and your eye. Incorrect, as an Apache pilot, you can wear contacts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akscott60 Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 I have had PRK performed and I fly 58Ds 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridethisbike Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 You can, and unless your vision is 20/20 uncorrected it's mandatory.Incorrect, as an Apache pilot, you can wear contacts. Well I'm just full of bad information aren't I? The glasses thing, after having reread what I wrote... well that was just dumb... I'm going to chalk it up to me having a bad day. The contacts thing I've heard from pilots before. Maybe something changed or was a unit standard, who knows. What I do know is the soldiers on the ground were not allowed to wear contacts at ranges, in the field, or during missions for the very reason I mentioned. I don't see why it would be different for anyone else, but I stayed in the same unit for the 8 years I was in... So again, that may have been a unit standard as well (as in Brigade wide) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBuzzkill Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 I believe you can wear contacts if you talk to your flight surgeon about it and they put it on your up slip. I know that there is a way for you to be able to wear contacts while you fly because I went through flight school with a guy who did it. Either way, flying with glasses isn't a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloidaho Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 The waiver process for LASIK is pretty easy, too. Just save all your paperwork from when you get your vision corrected. Alright Richard, you can stop worrying now. Good luck in college, in ROTC, and with your dreams. By the time you get to flight school they might even be flying AH-64D Block IIIs at Fort Rucker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wopilot Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 Â Â Â Well I'm just full of bad information aren't I? The glasses thing, after having reread what I wrote... well that was just dumb... I'm going to chalk it up to me having a bad day. The contacts thing I've heard from pilots before. Maybe something changed or was a unit standard, who knows. What I do know is the soldiers on the ground were not allowed to wear contacts at ranges, in the field, or during missions for the very reason I mentioned. I don't see why it would be different for anyone else, but I stayed in the same unit for the 8 years I was in... So again, that may have been a unit standard as well (as in Brigade wide)Â It's because we have an HMD that rests on your eye... Glasses can interfere.... We are also in a contained environment while we fly, no doors off, no cargo doors swinging open et al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridethisbike Posted July 1, 2012 Report Share Posted July 1, 2012 No doors off depends on the bird you fly or the unit you're in I suppose. I've ridden in blackhawks plenty of times that had the sliding passenger doors off or left open. Even with them on/closed, The door gunner obviously has a big window open for him. Chinooks had a gunner on the back ramp (so it was down) and I want to say mid sections of the bird as well, can't remember. Â The other birds.... well... If you've been deployed you know how the moon dust laughs in the face of door seals lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBuzzkill Posted July 1, 2012 Report Share Posted July 1, 2012 He's talking about Apaches... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridethisbike Posted July 1, 2012 Report Share Posted July 1, 2012 I figured as much. Just wanted to clarify for anyone who might read it and not know what he was talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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