Color Vision

casey

casey

Well-Known Member
Quick question regarding color vision. I have no problems distinguishing color in real world situations. I can tell red from green from white, etc in nav lights (from a distance and up close), beacons, airport lights, traffic lights, etc. My only issue with it seems to be those ishiara (?) color plates. I can see the numbers but not extremely well. I can pass the test to hold an unrestricted medical, but just barely from what it seems.

I know there are options i can do to not have to do this test (lantern, light gun, etc) and i'm wondering what i need to do to go about one of them. Should i wait till the doc decides to fail me on color or pre-emptivly take one? What kind of paperwork do i need to make it good for the FAA? I would probably be looking at the farnsworth lantern if that matters.

Thanks for the reponse.
 
There are several color vision tests that are acceptable to the FAA. These include the pseudoisochromatic plates (there are 7 of these available. They include the Ishihara plates). Other options include one of the vision test machines (OPTEC, Keystone, Titmus) used by many AMEs. They have cards that look like pseudoisochromatic plates but are often easier to read. Then the last in-office test is the Farnsworth light which was the military’s standard until 1999. In our office, we use the Keystone and if there are problems we use a Farnsworth light. If your AME does not have a Farnsworth light, you can contact Dr. William Monaco at http://www.flightsight.com/ or PM me.

Certain diseases are associated with color vision deficiencies. These include inflammation of the optic nerve, glaucoma, cataracts, multiple sclerosis, central serous retinopathy, cataracts and toxicity from drugs or poisons. Yellowing of the lens of the eye with age may also alter color perception. Additionally, some medications can lead to disturbances in color vision, such as Viagra :( and some cardiac medications. Some antibiotics, malaria preventing drugs, diuretics and barbiturates may also alter color vision. Finally, laser "hits" on the retina may place pilots at risk for acquired loss of color vision. (See the link to laser eye injuries) http://www.myflightsurgeon.com/files/Laser_Eye_Injury.doc

If one fails the color vision test and has a restriction placed on their medical certificate, they can follow this procedure: Special Issuance of Medical Certificates. An applicant who holds a medical certificate bearing a color vision limitation may request a signal light test. This request should be in writing and should be directed to the Aeromedical Certification Division, AAM-300 or the Regional; Flight Surgeon. If the applicant passes the signal light test, the FAA will issue a medical certificate without the color vision limitation and provide the applicant with a “letter of evidence.” You can only fail this test once, so go practice before you take it. (Italics from FAA document)

Best advice:) Keep doing the color vision test at the AME’s until you fail, then the other options are open to you. Odds are you will never have enough loss to fail.
 
What is your opinion of the SODA route?

If I understand correctly, failure of the test for the SODA results in a permanent restriction. However, if it is passed, it results in a permanent SODA, and the airman need never test his color vision again.


Is there an informal, non-certificate threatening way to prepare for that test? It would seem to me that if the airman knew ahead of time that he would pass that test, using the SODA would be the easier route in the long run.





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TonyC said:
What is your opinion of the SODA route?

If I understand correctly, failure of the test for the SODA results in a permanent restriction. However, if it is passed, it results in a permanent SODA, and the airman need never test his color vision again.


Is there an informal, non-certificate threatening way to prepare for that test? It would seem to me that if the airman knew ahead of time that he would pass that test, using the SODA would be the easier route in the long run.





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I can answer that from my experience. I have a SODA for defective color vision. I practiced with my instructor, having the tower shoot the light gun signals at us while we were on the ramp.

Now, when I went to the Fargo FSDO for the test, the examiner made me sit in the car and crank head around to look out the passenger window. The guy shooting the gun was waiving it around so wildly that I would see the the white light as well as the colored light. The way the gun was setup, was there was a space between the color plate and the actually "lens" of the light. I didn't pass that one, but I raised such a stink about how they did it to the regional office, that I did it again at GFKs tower in the parking lot and passed no problem.

So now I have a SODA that I take with me to every medical exam and show it to the nurse before she starts the color test and no test for me. I haven't had a single problem with getting a job and I put it on my applications that I have a SODA for color blindness.
 
Thanks for the reply.

I've been wearing glasses most of my life and see an eye doc every year so i'm fairly certain my eyes are healthy.

I'm not sure my AME has anything but the color plates (which i hate), but he used to be an eye doc, so he might. I havent asked because i havent had to :)

I knew about the FSDO/light gun test, but i just dont like the idea of not being able to fail. Is this test the only one that is "permanant"?


TonyC: from what i've read/been told the way to prepare for it is head out to an FBO and call the tower and ask them to shoot the lightgun at you. Make sure to try it in various conditions (day, night, dusk, etc).
 
The FAA will either grant a SODA or a letter of exception. Both are permanent.

Also, as far as I know, they will not do one unless you fail the regular color vision test.
 
I see we have another fellow color defecient fella...that's ok, 10% of the male population is color defecient. Those damn Y chromosomes (or is it X)...but whatever the case. Do not get a SODA. Unfortunetly it is looked down upon by most operators (though this is changing). I was in a similar situation. I think the Ishihara tests are bull and unrealistic. Take an approved alternate color vision test. I took the Farnsworth Lantern (much easier than the Ishihara. Basically the same idea as the light gun test but with no SODA. You sit about 8 feet away from this machine that displays two colored dots right on top of each other and you have to distinguish them. I passed the test and have no SODA although I am red/green color defecient. My case is rather mild and I have had no problems thus far with flying (I'm going to be a CFI in a few weeks God willing).

What happens is you send the results to the FAA and they come back (after an "extended" period) with a LOA (Letter of Authorization). You take that to the AME and they have to issue whatever class you applied for. You never have to take an Ishihara test again.

Good luck. I went through this process before so if you have any questions, PM me. My advice is to not take the SODA test...it could be a negative toward your career.

JJ
 
Hey Dugie, where you pretty scared when you failed the first test? i really don't wanna risk failing the SODA test right now but i fear i may have to do it in the future.
 
flyTotheSky said:
Good luck. I went through this process before so if you have any questions, PM me. My advice is to not take the SODA test...it could be a negative toward your career.

JJ
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I know quite a few guys with SODAs at my employer. Strange.
 
Blue Side Up said:
Hey Dugie, where you pretty scared when you failed the first test? i really don't wanna risk failing the SODA test right now but i fear i may have to do it in the future.
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I wasn't scared, I was PISSSSED. I, like most reg/green color defficient peeps, can see red and green just fine, it is the shades of browns between red and green that give me a problem. The way this jackass was waiving the gun around, because he said "it was realistic to what you see in the airplane" made it impossible to see the color without getting a bright white flash, coupled with my neck and head cranked around in the car.

When I told the regional manager how the test had been conducted, his words "Are you •ting me?" Funny thing is, I had the same guy from the FAR FSDO give me the second test, EAT CROW DUDE!.

Find someone to do the Farnsworth Lantern test, I think RDR has one, or had one. Go where ever you need to and do it. No SODA to worry about, although, TECHNICALLY you do not have to report that you have one, at least so I was/been told by many AME.
 
Correct Dugie, it is not reported. We check the PASSED box on the form and do not indicate which test we did. If you want FAA records of the test, we can send them to the FAA so you can get a letter for the future.
 
I have the same issues as the original poster. I passed the test many times, but just barely. I was worried I would fail in the future. So, I contacted Virtual Flight Surgeons and they were able to get me a Letter of Evidence so I never have to take the color vision test again. I never failed a test to begin with. You don't have to. You can get this letter based on the fact you can pass one of the approved color vision tests, without having to fail one first. PM me if you need details.
 
That is right, they are a good place to go if your local AME does not have a Farnsworth light. Their link is www.aviationmedicine.com . The other place that can help is found at www.leftseat.com . Basically, anyone who has a Fernsworth can send the results to the FAA and request a letter.:) The link I posted originally is also found at the Virtual Flight Surgeon site.
 
I, too have a problem with color vision. I was given the test that consists of the book with pages that are filled with dots, and you have to read the number. My AME told me to see an optometrist to get a letter saying i can see red, green, and white. I plan to do that but I guess im trying to find out what the symptoms truly are. I have no problem seeing those colors in every day life, stop lights, or anything like that. Is that all the test will consist of??
 
Here Here are the color tests acceptable to the FAA. Take this to the optometrist with you. He/She may not agree with this but it is what the FAA accepts.

An applicant does not meet the color vision standard if testing reveals:
All Classes
1. Seven or more errors on plates 1-15 of the AOC (1965 edition) pseudoisochromatic plates.
2. AOC-HRR (second edition): Any error in test plates 7-11. Because the first 4 plates in the test book are for demonstration only, test plate 7 is actually the eleventh plate in the book. (See instruction booklet.)
3. Seven or more errors on plates 1-15 of Dvorine pseudoisochromatic plates (second edition, 15 plates.)
4. Six or more errors on plates 1-11 of the concise 14-plate edition of the Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plates. Seven or more errors on plates 1-15 of the 24-plate edition of Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plates. Nine or more errors on plates 1-21 of the 38-plate edition of Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plates.
5. Seven or more errors on plates 1-15 of the Richmond (1983 edition) pseudoisochromatic plates.
6. Farnsworth Lantern test: An average of more than one error per series of nine color pairs in series 2 and 3. (See instruction booklet.)
7. Any errors in the six plates of the Titmus Vision Tester, the Titmus II Vision Tester, the Titmus 2 Vision Tester, the OPTEC 2000 Vision Tester, the OPTEC 900 Vision Tester the Keystone Orthoscope, or Keystone Telebinocular.
8. LKC Technologies, Inc., APT-5 Color Vision Tester. The letter must be correctly identified in at least two of the three presentations of each test condition.

Color Vision Correcting Lens (e.g. X-Chrom). Such lens are unacceptable to the FAA as a means for correcting a pilot's color vision deficiencies.

Yarn Test. Yarn tests are not acceptable methods of testing for the FAA medical certificate.

If you cannot pass the tests with the optometrist abut you can see red, green, and white lights (go to an airport and ask the tower operator to show you the lights) then you have the following option:
Special Issuance of Medical Certificates. An applicant who holds a medical certificate bearing a color vision limitation may request a signal light test. This request should be in writing and should be directed to the Aeromedical Certification Division or your Regional Flight Surgeon (your AME has both addresses). If the applicant passes the signal light test, the FAA will issue a medical certificate without the color vision limitation and provide the applicant with a “letter of evidence.”

Items not in bold are from FAA documents.

Good luck!:)
 
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