Do you need perfect vision to become a pilot?

Question

ever since i was 7 years old and flew in a plane internationally i became very interested in becoming a pilot, but everyone tells me that you have to have perfect vision. is that true? i also was wondering if you have to be realy good at math? and what is a good flight school to go to in minneapolis minnesota?

Answer 1

sure, if you are blind then you would need a co pilot to assist you to land

Answer 2

For commercial aviation, perfect vision is not required, as long as it is correctable to 20/20. If you are only interested in getting a private airman's certificate, the minimum vision requirement is20/40, corrected or uncorrected.   All the physical requirements can be found in part 67 of the current FAR/AIM.

I can't speak to flight schools in the minneapolis area, but if you are looking for a university near you for a degree to go with your flight training, UND is very good, and the University of Minnesota at Crookston is also a great school.   I graduated from UMC.

Also, there is actually no such thing as "perfect vision".  20/20 is referred to as normal vision.  Some people have better than 20/20, some worse.

Answer 3

No, perfect vision is not required, and several others have already given the info you need about that. It used to be also true that the airlines required perfect vision for new-hires, but that has also gone by the wayside. Even someone like me, with uncorrected vision so bad I can barely read the 'E' at the top of the chart (my corrected vision with glasses is excellent), I have had a very good aviation career . Not with the major airlines, but then there's a lot more in aviation than just that, and often far more interesting and enjoyable if not always so lucrative from a financial standpoint.

As for your other questions, you don't have to be "really good" at math, you only need the basics and you can use a calculator for most of it. It's sometimes useful to be able to do relatively simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions and percentages in your head, as well as making good quick estimates when it comes to larger numbers, but that's a skill that improves with practice.

For example, you just dropped your only pencil out of reach under your seat. Your minumum fuel consumption is 500 lbs per hour, you have 1800 lbs aboard, and you need a 45 minute legal reserve of fuel when you land. Because of unforcast headwinds you are only doing 240 knots ground speed and you have 750 miles to go. Do a quick estimate in your head to see if you have enough fuel to get to your destination and still be legal. Hhmmm, lets see...thats 3.6 hours of fuel minus .75 hours reserve is about 2.8 hours endurance. Since 3 hours times 240 knots is only 720 nautical miles, the answer is NO, you can't do it legally, you'll have to land and refuel enroute.

See...pretty simple. Takes practice, but that's the sort of thing that can come in real handy sometimes.

Now, as for flight schools in your immediate area:

Academy Flight Operations

Crystal Airport

5800 Crystal Airport Rd

Crystal, MN 55429

[phone]

Thunderbird Aviation

Crystal Airport

5800 Crystal Airport Rd.,

Crystal, MN 55429

[phone]

Rush Aviation

Rush City Airport

51601 Forest Blvd.

Rush City, MN  55069

320-358-3665

There are dozens of others elsewhere in Minnesota and if you get away from the Twin Cities you might find them a little cheaper and the environment a bit more relaxing. Flying in the vacinity of MSP is good experience, but for beginners its stressful and somewhat more costly. Also, since you're in lake country, consider getting a float plane rating too, it's more fun than you can imagine.

Good luck and have FUN (that is the key)

Answer 4

I think so just because its necessary...if you dont have a perfect vision you wont have a chance to a pilot

Answer 5

you only need perfect vision to fly fighter aircraft in the military. you will need to disclose your impaired vision and you will need to provided corrective lenses(contacts or glasses) when you take your eye exam to get a pilots license. You need perfect vision in the military because you can't wear glasses in a fighter aircraft. and when doing high g-force manuevers your body shape actaulyl changes just a little and amazing as it sounds your contact could acutally pop out of your eye. If you want to be a commercial pilot or just have your own plane and fly you do not need perfect vision. As for pilot schools a google search and reading reviews about the schools is probably the best bet.

Answer 6

Only to read the tiny little numbers on your paycheck.

Answer 7

Vision needs to be correctable to 20/20 and not color blind. As for the math, anything you do in life as a profession you need to do good in school, even if you don't become a pilot do good in math,science,history, etc. These sites will give you some information about schools and what you can expect in learning to fly.

http://www.flighttraining.aopa.org

http://www.projectpilot.org

http://eaa.org  click on the young eagles tab on the top