Do you have to have perfect eye sight in order to be a pilot?

Question

I'm very interested in becoming a pilot, private or commercial, and I've heard that you have to have perfect eye sight in order to get your license. I do not have perfect eyes, in fact I'm legally blind. I wear contacts and I'm debating on whether or not to get lasik surgery. Please help???

Answer 1

Wow, lots of posers on here pretending to know what they are talking about.  First, there is no such thing as "perfect vision".  20/20 is referred to as  normal vision.  What it means is that a person with 20/20 vision can see at 20 feet what a person with normal vision sees at 20 feet.  If a person has 20/50 vision, they can see at 20 feet what a person with normal vision could see at 50 feet.  If you have 20/15 vision, that person sees at 20 feet what a person with normal vision would have to move to 15 feet to see clearly.  Some people have vision worse than 20/20, some better.  

Secondly, and to answer your question, you do not need 20/20 uncorrected vision to fly.  All of the FAA requirements for medical standards can be found in part 67 of the current FAR, but the short answer is that for a third class medical (private certificate) you need 20/40 or better vision, either corrected or uncorrected.  For a second or first class medical (commercial and ATP) you will need to have 20/20 vision or better, either uncorrected or corrected with lenses.  There are other standards for vision and other physical requirements, but you only asked for the visual accuity aspect, so there's your answer.  It is the correct answer, and can be verified with a little research.

Answer 2

yeah, unfortunately you do, you also need to have a clean medical history, i.e no bone breaks,sprains or ligament tears etc

Answer 3

Commercial pilot yes you do. Private not realy. Which is great news for me as I want to learn to fly a powered hang glider.

Answer 4

i would believe so.  you might be able to get in with glasses though

Answer 5

No, for a private pilot's license you don't even need 20/20 corrected.  If you follow the link below and click on eyes then the class you seek (Third class - Private Pilot, Second class - Commercial, First Class - Airline Transport) you can see what the AME (Aviation Medical Examiner) is testing.  For a third class you simply need 20/40 for near and distant either corrected (with glasses/contacts) or without.  I would contact a local AME and schedule an exam.  If you have a state issued driver's license, you should be able to get a third class medical with no trouble (assuming you don't have any other medical issues).

Answer 6

Yes,you are not allowed to wear glasses or contacts either

Answer 7

Hey im in the RAF at school and we had a lecture about this whole thing and the deal is that:

1. You must have 20/20 vision

2.You cannot fly with any eye aids ie glasses/contacts

3.You cannot even fly with laser eye surgery

Thats what i learned but its worth finding out more information if your that interested

Answer 8

Yes your vision needs to be perfect

Answer 9

Well most people here do not know what they are talking about. NOO you do NOT need 20/20 vision to be a commercial pilot , but you do need 20/20 for military.

Answer 10

No you do not need perfect eyesight to be a pilot. Commercial pilots can fly without perfect vision. However their vision MUST BE CORRECTED by using either glasses, contacts or having received lazik surgery. (However if you are blind or partially blind this is not acceptable, or safe)  Just ensure that your eyesight can be fully corrected.

One thing that you cannot have as a pilot is colourblindness. This is somethign you can check as you go for your class one or two medical, which is required as you commence your flyign training.

Id say go commcercial if you wanna fly as a job, or fly privately if flying is just for pleasure.

Answer 11

lol really my eyes are okay but the thing is i wear glasses ^_^

Answer 12

in  the military...yes. a private pilot...no. To be a professional pilos aka commercial airline pilot, they prefer it, but it isnt required. You will have to wear corrective lenses though