Eyesight

Kettlebell

Kettlebell

Well-Known Member
Has anyone here been picked up as an AD AF, Reserve, or Guard pilot or knows someone who was picked up for a pilot slot when they had less than 20/20 vision going in? I know the rule is that technically you can have 20/70 uncorrected and 20/20 corrected and still pass the FC1, but will guys who don't need vision correction at all have a much better shot?

The reason I ask is I can't recall ever seeing a picture of a military pilot wearing glasses. Are you allowed to wear contacts in the military or do you have to wear the standard issue glasses? I know that in basic training for the AF you have to wear glasses because of concerns that the contacts will get dirty and cause an eye infection.

I guess what I'm really asking is will my less than perfect eyesight (which is correctable to 20/20, my contact lens box says -4.50 but I still need to find out what my exact 20/xx is) make it even harder for me to get a pilot slot? I'm guessing yes, I've tried the search function but I'm curious as to whether anyone here has actually gotten in as a military pilot with less than 20/20.
 
Either you qualify for the physical mins or you don't. It isn't a sliding scale of "this candidate is more competitive because his vision is 20/20 uncorrected while the other guy isn't". I'm not intimately familiar with the AF requirements, but Navy side, as long as you are 20/40 correctable to 20/20 then you are eligible for flight training and any aircraft in the inventory.
 
Found this on the interwebs, if you are -4.5 you are way off....

Snellen 20/10
20/15
20/20
20/30
20/40
20/50
20/100
20/200



Estimated prescription Plano (zero)
Plano
Plano to -0.25
-0.50
-0.75
-1.00 to -1.25
-1.75 to -2.00
-2.00 to -2.50

Edit: they didn't line up on the copy/paste, but you can compare line by line
 
I'm in UPT and I have 20/40. There is a soft lens contact program, but you have to ground test it for 90 days. I'll be pimping the AF issue frames. Ballin'
 
frog_flyer said:
I'm in UPT and I have 20/40. There is a soft lens contact program, but you have to ground test it for 90 days. I'll be pimping the AF issue frames. Ballin'
Click to expand...

Are there waivers for uncorrected vision worse than 20/70 when applying to an airlift reserve unit? Assuming corrected is 20/20.
 
N826AW said:
Are there waivers for uncorrected vision worse than 20/70 when applying to an airlift reserve unit? Assuming corrected is 20/20.
Click to expand...

The mins for flyers are the mins, they're not different for type of aircraft.
 
Thanks for the info guys. Excuse me if this has been answered before, but has anyone heard of an eyesight waiver for someone way over the 20/70? I mean, from that chart that wjmiler posted, I guess I'm at about 20/400. But my eyes correct just fine with thin glasses or contact lenses, no color blindness or any of that stuff. Or is laser eye surgery my only option if I want to be a military pilot?
 
FWIW, I've was 20/200 and -5.50 in each eye and didn't have a problem after having corrective surgery.

To be honest, I would doubt they'd issue a wavier for you if you're 20/400 but you can always give it a shot.
 
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