RookieFlyer
New Member
Good Day All,
I hope this thread can be helpful to someone other that me. I am a private pilot who just recently had PRK surgery 16 March, this year. My motivation behind the surgery was to enable me to apply for Coast Guard OCS and become a pilot. Anyway, my eyes have healed beautifully since the surgery. I was 20/250 uncorrected before the surgery, and now I am 20/20 and 20/15 uncorrected. I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. My only concern is my night vision. It was awuful immedietely after the surgery. I mean I was nervous driving my pickup at night, let alone flying. I couldn't (and wouldn't) have flown an airplane to save my life. Starburst, halos, glare, etc... You name it, I had the works. Since the surgery, my night vision has progressively and consistently improved. I still wouldn't call it 100%, but I am at the point of being comfortable operating an aircraft at night (rest assured that my eye care professional has cleared me to fly again). I will let you know for sure after I go up with an instructor next week. So my real question is, can I expect my night vision to continue improving, or has it probably stabilized now being 6 months post-surgery? Also, is the military able to evaluate an applicants night vision during a flight physical? And if so, how exactly is that evaluated and what are the standards? Regardless of any replies I may recieve to this thread I will be applying next spring, but I would certainly appreciate any and all "heads ups" that I can get. Thanks in advance for any replies.
I hope this thread can be helpful to someone other that me. I am a private pilot who just recently had PRK surgery 16 March, this year. My motivation behind the surgery was to enable me to apply for Coast Guard OCS and become a pilot. Anyway, my eyes have healed beautifully since the surgery. I was 20/250 uncorrected before the surgery, and now I am 20/20 and 20/15 uncorrected. I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. My only concern is my night vision. It was awuful immedietely after the surgery. I mean I was nervous driving my pickup at night, let alone flying. I couldn't (and wouldn't) have flown an airplane to save my life. Starburst, halos, glare, etc... You name it, I had the works. Since the surgery, my night vision has progressively and consistently improved. I still wouldn't call it 100%, but I am at the point of being comfortable operating an aircraft at night (rest assured that my eye care professional has cleared me to fly again). I will let you know for sure after I go up with an instructor next week. So my real question is, can I expect my night vision to continue improving, or has it probably stabilized now being 6 months post-surgery? Also, is the military able to evaluate an applicants night vision during a flight physical? And if so, how exactly is that evaluated and what are the standards? Regardless of any replies I may recieve to this thread I will be applying next spring, but I would certainly appreciate any and all "heads ups" that I can get. Thanks in advance for any replies.
