Carrying glasses?

[Emily[_1_]]

Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective
lenses" restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to
carry a pair of regular glasses while flying. Is that true? And if so,
does anyone have a reference?

[Jose[_1_]]

> Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective lenses" restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to carry a pair of regular glasses while flying. Is that true? And if so, does anyone have a reference?

I believe it is not true, and I have an (old) medical certificate that
has "must wear corrective lenses and carry second pair in flight". The
latter part is not on my present medical.

Jose
--
The monkey turns the crank and thinks he's making the music.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Sylvain]

Jose wrote:

> I believe it is not true, and I have an (old) medical certificate that
> has "must wear corrective lenses and carry second pair in flight". The
> latter part is not on my present medical.

it was mentioned on my British and then JAR medical certificate; but
not on the FAA one.

--Sylvain

[Bob Noel]

In article >,
Emily > wrote:

> Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective
> lenses" restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to
> carry a pair of regular glasses while flying. Is that true? And if so,
> does anyone have a reference?

fwiw - my original medical certificate (1987) had words to the effect
of wearing corrective lenses and possess glasses to correct for near
vision or some such. My current medical has the limitation "Holder shall
wear correcting lenses while exercising the privileges of his airman
certificate."

I sure hope I don't need to also carry glasses. I think I've flown
exactly once wearing glasses in more than 19 years.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

[Jon Kraus]

Nope... not true.

Jon Kruas
'79 Mooney 201
4443H @ UMP

Emily wrote:
> Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective
> lenses" restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to
> carry a pair of regular glasses while flying. Is that true? And if so,
> does anyone have a reference?

[Andrew Sarangan[_1_]]

It is not true, but I carry one anyway. Contact lenses can dry out or a
foreign object can get stuck. If something like that happens, I will
take the lenses out, throw it away and wear the regular glasses. It
would be very difficult to attempt to wet the lens and put it back into
the eye while flying.



Emily wrote:
> Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective
> lenses" restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to
> carry a pair of regular glasses while flying. Is that true? And if so,
> does anyone have a reference?

[Emily[_1_]]

Andrew Sarangan wrote:
> It is not true, but I carry one anyway. Contact lenses can dry out or a
> foreign object can get stuck. If something like that happens, I will
> take the lenses out, throw it away and wear the regular glasses. It
> would be very difficult to attempt to wet the lens and put it back into
> the eye while flying.

I learned that it's even harder for me to land while wearing glasses.
Tried one night, and my depth perception was so bad I had to have my
friend land. I got to maybe fifty feet and simply couldn't judge height
anymore and was honestly didn't think I could land.

Guess I don't know what I'd do if I lost a contact.

[BTIZ]

You best put your glasses on and go do some night landing practice with
them.

BT

"Emily" > wrote in message
...
> Andrew Sarangan wrote:
>> It is not true, but I carry one anyway. Contact lenses can dry out or a
>> foreign object can get stuck. If something like that happens, I will
>> take the lenses out, throw it away and wear the regular glasses. It
>> would be very difficult to attempt to wet the lens and put it back into
>> the eye while flying.
>
> I learned that it's even harder for me to land while wearing glasses.
> Tried one night, and my depth perception was so bad I had to have my
> friend land. I got to maybe fifty feet and simply couldn't judge height
> anymore and was honestly didn't think I could land.
>
> Guess I don't know what I'd do if I lost a contact.

[Ron Natalie]

Emily wrote:
> Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective
> lenses" restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to
> carry a pair of regular glasses while flying. Is that true? And if so,
> does anyone have a reference?

Untrue. Might not be a bad idea.

If HOWEVER, you need close distance correction, you will also have an
endorsement that says "must possess corrective lenses..." You can't
use monovision contacts either.

[Jose[_1_]]

> I learned that it's even harder for me to land while wearing glasses.

I land with glasses all the time. I'd find it hard to land without
them. It's probably worth practicing.

Jose
--
The monkey turns the crank and thinks he's making the music.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Emily[_1_]]

BTIZ wrote:
> You best put your glasses on and go do some night landing practice with
> them.

Don't know anyone around here to sit in the other seat in case I can't
land again.

[Ben Jackson]

On 2006-09-04, Emily > wrote:
> Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective
> lenses" restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to
> carry a pair of regular glasses while flying. Is that true?

I've never heard that, but I do carry a pair of glasses. I lost a contact
lens once in flight and had to finish the flight with one. For a few
years my vision benefit was such that it didn't make sense to get contact
lenses through insurance, so one year I got a spare pair specifically
for the plane. Of course that won't work if your eyes are changing...

--
Ben Jackson AD7GD
>
http://www.ben.com/

[Emily[_1_]]

Jose wrote:
>> I learned that it's even harder for me to land while wearing glasses.
>
> I land with glasses all the time. I'd find it hard to land without
> them. It's probably worth practicing.
>
> Jose

How strong are yours? Mine are strong enough that my vision is very
distorted with large lenses, so I have them cut pretty small...problem
then is that my peripheral vision is non-existent. We're talking about
-7.5 in both eyes....I even have trouble driving in them.

[Jose[_1_]]

> Don't know anyone around here to sit in the other seat in case I can't land again.

No CFIs at all in your area?

> We're talking about -7.5 in both eyes.

You beat me. I'm two thirds of that. However I wear full size glasses
- I can't stand little ones - can't see out the sides. Let them be
thick, especially in the cockpit (where nobody cares, as long as they
can walk away from the airplane after landing!)

Jose
--
The monkey turns the crank and thinks he's making the music.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Dave Doe]

In article >, rachelp2037
@yahoo.com says...
> Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective
> lenses" restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to
> carry a pair of regular glasses while flying. Is that true? And if so,
> does anyone have a reference?

Yes, my New Zealand Class 2 Medical has on the back of it:

Restrictions Applicable:
001 Spectacles (distance vision) must be worn.
007 Spare spectacles must be readily available.

--
Duncan

[Emily[_1_]]

Jose wrote:
>> Don't know anyone around here to sit in the other seat in case I can't
>> land again.
>
> No CFIs at all in your area?

Well, yes, but I hate having to pay someone sit like a lump. Besides,
I'm really picky about who I fly with, and I've found a lot of CFI's are
just stupid. I don't have much patience for timebuilders, and less
patience for finding a good CFI. The guy that did most of my training
was good, but in another stage.

>> We're talking about -7.5 in both eyes.
>
> You beat me. I'm two thirds of that.

I beat most people in that respect. :-)

>However I wear full size glasses
> - I can't stand little ones - can't see out the sides.

Problem with full size glasses and a prescription like mine is the lens
is very distorted towards the edges (I have myopia). It's simply too
difficult to see through that distortion, so I wear small glasses. It's
either see through the distortion or have zero peripheral vision, both
of which are bad for flying.

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN[_2_]]

Jose wrote:
>> Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective lenses"
>> restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to carry a pair
>> of regular glasses while flying. Is that true? And if so, does anyone have
>> a reference?
>
> I believe it is not true, and I have an (old) medical certificate that
> has "must wear corrective lenses and carry second pair in flight". The
> latter part is not on my present medical.


I don't believe I've ever seen that on any of my medicals, and I even have a
waiver for my eyesight. As it is, I generally have a second set with me anyway,
as my sunglasses are also corrected.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

[Jose[_1_]]

> Well, yes, but I hate having to pay someone sit like a lump.

He's not sitting like a lump. He's saving your ass if you screw up when
you practice landing without being able to see well (enough). That's
worth money. And whether a CFI is a time builder or not won't really
matter in this application. He's not =teaching=, he's acting as a
safety backup. Maybe you'll learn something too, but that's not the
primary intent.

> It's either see through the distortion or have zero peripheral vision, both of which are bad for flying.

I posit that you need to be able to overcome this, so that you can
safely (and confidently) fly and land the plane under these conditions
should they arise. It's like instrument flight, or partial panel.

Jose
--
The monkey turns the crank and thinks he's making the music.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Gary Drescher]

"Emily" > wrote in message
. ..
> Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective
> lenses" restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to
> carry a pair of regular glasses while flying. Is that true? And if so,
> does anyone have a reference?

My most recent medical certificate explicitly requires spare corrective
lenses; the previous certificates didn't. I don't know why it changed, but
I'd always considered that to be an important safety precaution anyway, so I
didn't mind the new wording.

--Gary

[RST Engineering]

Squawk 7600 and maintain a listening watch on the last assigned channel?

{;-)

JIm



"Emily" > wrote in message
...
>
> Guess I don't know what I'd do if I lost a contact.

[RST Engineering]

Back in the early '60s, if you needed glasses, you had to have a spare pair
with you. That got dropped about the same time that wearing contacts
required a waiver (mid 60s). THen it all got dropped.

Jim

> Emily wrote:
>> Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective
>> lenses" restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to
>> carry a pair of regular glasses while flying. Is that true? And if so,
>> does anyone have a reference?

[Private]

"Emily" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> Problem with full size glasses and a prescription like mine is the lens is
> very distorted towards the edges (I have myopia). It's simply too
> difficult to see through that distortion, so I wear small glasses. It's
> either see through the distortion or have zero peripheral vision, both of
> which are bad for flying.

Style aside, I am a little surprised at your preference for small cut
glasses. IIRC you are an AME and I would have thought you would prefer
large glasses due to their increased coverage and greater effectiveness as
safety glasses to protect your eyes from small flying objects in the
workshop. I find the large glasses much more effective while grinding and
especially for falling grit and stuff when working over my head. I do not
need nearly as much correction as you and have no trouble with peripheral
vision with my standard full size aviator frames & lenses.

[Emily[_1_]]

Private wrote:
> "Emily" > wrote in message
> . ..
>> Problem with full size glasses and a prescription like mine is the lens is
>> very distorted towards the edges (I have myopia). It's simply too
>> difficult to see through that distortion, so I wear small glasses. It's
>> either see through the distortion or have zero peripheral vision, both of
>> which are bad for flying.
>
> Style aside, I am a little surprised at your preference for small cut
> glasses. IIRC you are an AME and I would have thought you would prefer
> large glasses due to their increased coverage and greater effectiveness as
> safety glasses to protect your eyes from small flying objects in the
> workshop. I find the large glasses much more effective while grinding and
> especially for falling grit and stuff when working over my head. I do not
> need nearly as much correction as you and have no trouble with peripheral
> vision with my standard full size aviator frames & lenses.
>
>
AME? No, I'm not a doctor.

As far as workshop safety, I very rarely enter a shop, and when I do,
it's contacts lenses and safety glasses.

And just try peripheral vision with my correction.

[Robert M. Gary]

I had a student that used monovision contacts for distance/near vision.
I'm not sure how but she managed to get an unrestricted medical that
allowed her to use them in flight. I guess I could have challenged it
but it didnt' seem to give her any problems and I figured if the ME
authorized it, it probably wasn't my place to second guess it. As CFIs
we tend to advocate for the students vs. the ME.

-Robert


Ron Natalie wrote:

> If HOWEVER, you need close distance correction, you will also have an
> endorsement that says "must possess corrective lenses..." You can't
> use monovision contacts either.

[Robert M. Gary]

On rare occasions I've had a contact pop out. Because of that I do
carry glasses in my flight bag. Since I wear disposible contacts it
would be no big deal for me to pop them out and let the drop on the
floor to their death since I have a case of them at home.

-Robert


Emily wrote:
> Someone told me a while ago that if you have a "must wear corrective
> lenses" restriction on your medical and wear contacts, that you have to
> carry a pair of regular glasses while flying. Is that true? And if so,
> does anyone have a reference?

[Sylvain]

Robert M. Gary wrote:

> On rare occasions I've had a contact pop out. Because of that I do
> carry glasses in my flight bag. Since I wear disposible contacts it
> would be no big deal for me to pop them out and let the drop on the
> floor to their death since I have a case of them at home.

something you may want to practice with an instructor or another
pilot on board, but have you tried to fly with the glasses off? I
mean, just in case; I was somewhat surprised to find out that I
can land the thing if I have to (if I happen to loose both glasses)

--Sylvain

[Emily[_1_]]

Sylvain wrote:
> Robert M. Gary wrote:
>
>> On rare occasions I've had a contact pop out. Because of that I do
>> carry glasses in my flight bag. Since I wear disposible contacts it
>> would be no big deal for me to pop them out and let the drop on the
>> floor to their death since I have a case of them at home.
>
> something you may want to practice with an instructor or another
> pilot on board, but have you tried to fly with the glasses off? I
> mean, just in case; I was somewhat surprised to find out that I
> can land the thing if I have to (if I happen to loose both glasses)

Me personally, I'm -7.5 in both eyes, I can't even read the instruments,
must less see anything outside. Runway markings? Forget it.

Of course, I've never lost a contact, ever, so I'm pretty blase about it.

[[email protected]]

On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 19:01:51 -0500, Emily >
wrote:

>Andrew Sarangan wrote:
>> It is not true, but I carry one anyway. Contact lenses can dry out or a
>> foreign object can get stuck. If something like that happens, I will
>> take the lenses out, throw it away and wear the regular glasses. It
>> would be very difficult to attempt to wet the lens and put it back into
>> the eye while flying.
>
>I learned that it's even harder for me to land while wearing glasses.
>Tried one night, and my depth perception was so bad I had to have my
>friend land. I got to maybe fifty feet and simply couldn't judge height
>anymore and was honestly didn't think I could land.
>
>Guess I don't know what I'd do if I lost a contact.

As for judging height I know exactly what you mean.
I'd started my PPL before getting the medical and had been flying
about a week and just started to get the landings right (ish..!).
Went for the medical found out after 48 years I had astigmatism and
required glasses. That absolutely ruined my landings. I first tried to
flare about 50ft and pages that have straight sides were not parallel.
When walking I felt as though I'd lost about 6 inches in height, all
very strange. What a shambles for a few days. After that I got used to
them.

Now I can put the glasses on or off and don't notice any distortion,
unless I'm specifically looking and then it's minimal. I don't notice
much change in vertical perspective either so I think if you persist
the brain will accommodate the changes given a little time.

My FAA certificate says:
"Must wear corrective lenses"

My UK CAA licence says:
"Must wear corrective lenses and carry a spare set of spectacles"

The only comment I would make is if you wear varifocals ensure your
glasses are set so you can read the map, instrument panel and distance
without tilting your head too much.

[Cubdriver]

On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 19:12:25 -0400, Bob Noel
> wrote:

>fwiw - my original medical certificate (1987) had words to the effect
>of wearing corrective lenses and possess glasses to correct for near
>vision or some such.

Yes, that's what mine says (again, more or less). The idea is that you
must wear the corrective lenses for distance vision, but you can
satisfy the near-vision requirement by carrying your reading glasses.

[Cubdriver]

On 4 Sep 2006 16:57:42 -0700, "Andrew Sarangan" >
wrote:

>It is not true, but I carry one anyway

Very wise. I carry my old glasses in my fishing vest (looks silly, I
know, but it's a great way to get all the miscellaneous stuff on my
person). The prescription is far from current, but good enough to get
the plane on the ground.

If you'd have trouble landing the plane without corrective lenses,
then a backup is surely in order.

[Cubdriver]

On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 10:08:31 +0100, wrote:

> pages that have straight sides were not parallel.

Interesting. The glasses presumably were correcting for a problem that
your mind had already corrected for.

I read long ago that if you wear lenses that invert the world, after a
few days it will turn right-side-up. Then, when you take the lenses
off, the world appears upside-down.

I surely had a lot of trouble learning to land the Cub. Could it have
been the glasses?

[[email protected]]

On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 06:24:58 -0400, Cubdriver <usenet AT danford.net>
wrote:

>On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 10:08:31 +0100, wrote:
>
>> pages that have straight sides were not parallel.
>
>Interesting. The glasses presumably were correcting for a problem that
>your mind had already corrected for.
>

I'm sure that's right. I discoverd after all those years that's why
binoculars were difficult to get properly focussed. It was die to
astigmatism. I had not found any problem until the perspective was
change with the glasses. What amazes me it I wear the glasses all the
time but apart from a change of focus I don't see the perspective
change with glasses off or on.

>I read long ago that if you wear lenses that invert the world, after a
>few days it will turn right-side-up. Then, when you take the lenses
>off, the world appears upside-down.
>

Yes I saw that demo on TV a number of years ago, amazing what the
brain can do.

>I surely had a lot of trouble learning to land the Cub. Could it have
>been the glasses?

I suspect if you wear glasses all the time you can't blame the glasses
- sorry :-)

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN[_2_]]

Sylvain wrote:
> something you may want to practice with an instructor or another
> pilot on board, but have you tried to fly with the glasses off? I
> mean, just in case; I was somewhat surprised to find out that I
> can land the thing if I have to (if I happen to loose both glasses)


I lost my glasses once while snorkling the Itchtucknee River in northern
Florida; didn't have any others with me either. Damn. One of the guys with me
was an airline captain but he hadn't flown a small airplane in some time. I see
well enough to fly instuments without the correction, I can see the runway, etc.
What I can't see is traffic. I had the corrective lenses that are epoxied into
my face mask but it would fog up if I used it out of the water. So.... I used
the airline pilot as my spare eyeballs for distance vision..

Worked out fine. I will say I never flew without backup glasses after that. I
also constructed a zip up pouch to go on my buoyancy compensator so I wouldn't
lose my glasses when I go in the water again. That's worked out fine also. And
my sunglasses are corrected now as well.

Better safe than sorry.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

[Jose[_1_]]

> So.... I used
> the airline pilot as my spare eyeballs for distance vision..

Did you log it as simulated instrument time?

Jose
--
The monkey turns the crank and thinks he's making the music.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[B A R R Y[_1_]]

Jose wrote:
>> So.... I used the airline pilot as my spare eyeballs for distance
>> vision..
>
> Did you log it as simulated instrument time?
>
> Jose


Poor eyesight _is_ a "view limiting device"! <G>

[Jim Macklin]

An airline senior captain went to the company doctor for his
regular 6 month First Class physical. There was a new
doctor on duty, seems the old doc had to go to the hospital
because of hip surgery.
Anyway, the captain filled out the forms and the young
doctor proceeded with the examination. Everything was fine
until they got to the eye exam. The captain could see just
fine close up, but could hardly even see the eye chart from
20 feet away.
The young doctor was shocked, he knew that the captain's
eyes had not gotten so bad in only 6 months. He asked the
captain, "How do you see to fly?"

To which then captain answered, "I'm the most senior pilot
with the company, I get my choice of routes and crew. I
always select the new co-pilots. I let them do a lot of the
work. I can see the instruments just fine and can nail an
ILS right down to 100 feet."
"But how do you land?" asked the doctor.
That's the easiest part, I just keep the ILS centered until
the co-pilot screams "Oh, my God!"


Then I flare.



"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" <mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com> wrote in
message
...
| Sylvain wrote:
| > something you may want to practice with an instructor or
another
| > pilot on board, but have you tried to fly with the
glasses off? I
| > mean, just in case; I was somewhat surprised to find
out that I
| > can land the thing if I have to (if I happen to loose
both glasses)
|
|
| I lost my glasses once while snorkling the Itchtucknee
River in northern
| Florida; didn't have any others with me either. Damn.
One of the guys with me
| was an airline captain but he hadn't flown a small
airplane in some time. I see
| well enough to fly instuments without the correction, I
can see the runway, etc.
| What I can't see is traffic. I had the corrective lenses
that are epoxied into
| my face mask but it would fog up if I used it out of the
water. So.... I used
| the airline pilot as my spare eyeballs for distance
vision..
|
| Worked out fine. I will say I never flew without backup
glasses after that. I
| also constructed a zip up pouch to go on my buoyancy
compensator so I wouldn't
| lose my glasses when I go in the water again. That's
worked out fine also. And
| my sunglasses are corrected now as well.
|
| Better safe than sorry.
|
|
|
| --
| Mortimer Schnerd, RN
| mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com
|
|

[Emily[_1_]]

B A R R Y wrote:
> Jose wrote:
>>> So.... I used the airline pilot as my spare eyeballs for distance
>>> vision..
>>
>> Did you log it as simulated instrument time?
>>
>> Jose
>
>
> Poor eyesight _is_ a "view limiting device"! <G>

Is that still the case if you can't see the instruments, either?

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN[_2_]]

Jose wrote:
>> So.... I used
>> the airline pilot as my spare eyeballs for distance vision..
>
> Did you log it as simulated instrument time?


No... I was able to see the horizon way off in the distance and used that for my
distance reference. <G> What I couldn't see was any aircraft between me and
it. That's why I had the ATP up front with me.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

[Sylvain]

Emily wrote:

>> Poor eyesight _is_ a "view limiting device"! <G>
>
> Is that still the case if you can't see the instruments, either?

so you log simulated instrument time AND partial panel training,
can't beat that ;-)

--Sylvain

[Ben Jackson]

On 2006-09-05, Robert M. Gary > wrote:
> I had a student that used monovision contacts for distance/near vision.
> I'm not sure how but she managed to get an unrestricted medical that
> allowed her to use them in flight.

At my first medical the AME gave me a vision test with my contacts in...
After he realized that, he just put down the 'corrective lenses' requirement.

--
Ben Jackson AD7GD
>
http://www.ben.com/

[Margy Natalie]

Emily wrote:
> BTIZ wrote:
>
>> You best put your glasses on and go do some night landing practice
>> with them.
>
>
> Don't know anyone around here to sit in the other seat in case I can't
> land again.
Hire an instructor. I used to have really bad vision (Lasik, ALL the
complications you read about, would do it again) and if I didn't have
some kind of correction I wouldn't have made the field. My AME, after
my exam, asked if I carried an extra pair of glasses (YES) suggested I
might want to carry 2 pairs. I think the idea of me in the air without
correction scared the willies out of him.

Margy

[Margy Natalie]

Emily wrote:
> Jose wrote:
>
>>> I learned that it's even harder for me to land while wearing glasses.
>>
>>
>> I land with glasses all the time. I'd find it hard to land without
>> them. It's probably worth practicing.
>>
>> Jose
>
>
> How strong are yours? Mine are strong enough that my vision is very
> distorted with large lenses, so I have them cut pretty small...problem
> then is that my peripheral vision is non-existent. We're talking about
> -7.5 in both eyes....I even have trouble driving in them.
My vision was bad (20/400) but my lenses were ground very flat and that
seemed to help with the distorsion problem. It made it awful when the
tried to grind lenses in the standard way.

Margy

[Margy Natalie]

Emily wrote:
> Sylvain wrote:
>
>> Robert M. Gary wrote:
>>
>>> On rare occasions I've had a contact pop out. Because of that I do
>>> carry glasses in my flight bag. Since I wear disposible contacts it
>>> would be no big deal for me to pop them out and let the drop on the
>>> floor to their death since I have a case of them at home.
>>
>>
>> something you may want to practice with an instructor or another
>> pilot on board, but have you tried to fly with the glasses off? I
>> mean, just in case; I was somewhat surprised to find out that I can
>> land the thing if I have to (if I happen to loose both glasses)
>
>
> Me personally, I'm -7.5 in both eyes, I can't even read the instruments,
> must less see anything outside. Runway markings? Forget it.
>
> Of course, I've never lost a contact, ever, so I'm pretty blase about it.
Runway MARKINGS? I don't think I could have found the runway, airport or
anything else!

Carry the glasses, they are better than nothing.

Margy

[Emily[_1_]]

Margy Natalie wrote:
> Emily wrote:
>> BTIZ wrote:
>>
>>> You best put your glasses on and go do some night landing practice
>>> with them.
>>
>>
>> Don't know anyone around here to sit in the other seat in case I can't
>> land again.
> Hire an instructor. I used to have really bad vision (Lasik, ALL the
> complications you read about, would do it again) and if I didn't have
> some kind of correction I wouldn't have made the field. My AME, after
> my exam, asked if I carried an extra pair of glasses (YES) suggested I
> might want to carry 2 pairs. I think the idea of me in the air without
> correction scared the willies out of him.
>
> Margy

So you had complications and would still do it again? I only know one
person who had problems, and he can't even drive at night now. That
scared me of ever wanting it done.

[Emily[_1_]]

Margy Natalie wrote:
> Emily wrote:
>> Jose wrote:
>>
>>>> I learned that it's even harder for me to land while wearing glasses.
>>>
>>>
>>> I land with glasses all the time. I'd find it hard to land without
>>> them. It's probably worth practicing.
>>>
>>> Jose
>>
>>
>> How strong are yours? Mine are strong enough that my vision is very
>> distorted with large lenses, so I have them cut pretty small...problem
>> then is that my peripheral vision is non-existent. We're talking
>> about -7.5 in both eyes....I even have trouble driving in them.
> My vision was bad (20/400) but my lenses were ground very flat and that
> seemed to help with the distorsion problem. It made it awful when the
> tried to grind lenses in the standard way.

How do they grind them flat? I've found the distortion is slightly
better with the featherweight type lenses, but still not good enough
that I'd be willing to drive in them.

God bless toric contact lenses.

[Grumman-581[_3_]]

"Emily" > wrote in message
...
> Guess I don't know what I'd do if I lost a contact.

Obviously, you would be stuck up there...

[Grumman-581[_3_]]

"Emily" > wrote in message
. ..
> Don't know anyone around here to sit in the other seat in case I can't
> land again.

Well, if you're in the Houston area, give me a shout...

[Grumman-581[_3_]]

"Private" > wrote in message
news:V16Lg.502524$Mn5.133696@pd7tw3no...
> Style aside, I am a little surprised at your preference for small cut
> glasses. IIRC you are an AME and I would have thought you would prefer
> large glasses due to their increased coverage and greater effectiveness as
> safety glasses to protect your eyes from small flying objects in the
> workshop.

The larger lenses also block more air when you're riding a motorcycle... I
learned that after I got my new glasses recently and had to switch back to
the old ones while riding my bike due to the wind drying my eyes out so
quickly that I'm having to keep them just barely cracked at any speed over
35 mph...

[Bob Noel]

In article >,
"Grumman-581" > wrote:

> The larger lenses also block more air when you're riding a motorcycle... I
> learned that after I got my new glasses recently and had to switch back to
> the old ones while riding my bike due to the wind drying my eyes out so
> quickly that I'm having to keep them just barely cracked at any speed over
> 35 mph...

unnecessary if you have a full face shield.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

[Emily[_1_]]

Grumman-581 wrote:
> "Private" > wrote in message
> news:V16Lg.502524$Mn5.133696@pd7tw3no...
>> Style aside, I am a little surprised at your preference for small cut
>> glasses. IIRC you are an AME and I would have thought you would prefer
>> large glasses due to their increased coverage and greater effectiveness as
>> safety glasses to protect your eyes from small flying objects in the
>> workshop.
>
> The larger lenses also block more air when you're riding a motorcycle... I
> learned that after I got my new glasses recently and had to switch back to
> the old ones while riding my bike due to the wind drying my eyes out so
> quickly that I'm having to keep them just barely cracked at any speed over
> 35 mph...
>
>
Wouldn't it be easier to just wear a helmet?

[Margy Natalie]

Emily wrote:
> Margy Natalie wrote:
>
>> Emily wrote:
>>
>>> BTIZ wrote:
>>>
>>>> You best put your glasses on and go do some night landing practice
>>>> with them.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Don't know anyone around here to sit in the other seat in case I
>>> can't land again.
>>
>> Hire an instructor. I used to have really bad vision (Lasik, ALL the
>> complications you read about, would do it again) and if I didn't have
>> some kind of correction I wouldn't have made the field. My AME, after
>> my exam, asked if I carried an extra pair of glasses (YES) suggested I
>> might want to carry 2 pairs. I think the idea of me in the air
>> without correction scared the willies out of him.
>>
>> Margy
>
>
> So you had complications and would still do it again? I only know one
> person who had problems, and he can't even drive at night now. That
> scared me of ever wanting it done.
>
My current vision is 20/20 (although I think the right eye might be
slipping to 20/25). With glasses I was always corrected to 20/15 so the
20/20 looked a bit blurry at first. I didn't get this result in the
right eye until after the second surgery. During the first surgery my
corneas doubled in size after they lifted the flap. My surgeon was
training another surgeon who got a bit upset when they were left with
way to much cornea to stuff back on the eye. They had to trim off the
excess and stuff it in as best they could. Then while healing it
flipped under (not real comfortable) so I had to go in and have them pry
that part up again and stick it down in a more appropriate fashion. I
have a bit of area outside the correction with astigmatism, but it's not
really too much of a bother. What I did notice is now I have to wait
for my night vision to kick in which I never did before. I really had
no idea why people worried about adapting to the dark etc. as I adapted
within 2 or 3 seconds. The surgeon waited a couple of years before the
second surgery as he wanted more research to be done before he opened my
eye up again, so I had 20/20 in one and 20/70 in the other for a while
(wearing glasses again), but I would have even been happy with that as I
no longer worried about breaking glasses, losing glasses, etc. as I
could find my way around. Before surgery if the cats knocked my glasses
off the night table I couldn't see to find them and had to crawl around
feeling for them.

Margy

[Margy Natalie]

Emily wrote:
> Margy Natalie wrote:
>
>> Emily wrote:
>>
>>> Jose wrote:
>>>
>>>>> I learned that it's even harder for me to land while wearing glasses.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I land with glasses all the time. I'd find it hard to land without
>>>> them. It's probably worth practicing.
>>>>
>>>> Jose
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> How strong are yours? Mine are strong enough that my vision is very
>>> distorted with large lenses, so I have them cut pretty
>>> small...problem then is that my peripheral vision is non-existent.
>>> We're talking about -7.5 in both eyes....I even have trouble driving
>>> in them.
>>
>> My vision was bad (20/400) but my lenses were ground very flat and
>> that seemed to help with the distorsion problem. It made it awful
>> when the tried to grind lenses in the standard way.
>
>
> How do they grind them flat? I've found the distortion is slightly
> better with the featherweight type lenses, but still not good enough
> that I'd be willing to drive in them.
>
> God bless toric contact lenses.

It's how they set the curve on the front of the lens or something. I
know ONCE they cut them in the "normal" way and I couldn't see for
beans! I went back in with my old ones and they copied the style and
grumbled about opticians who get people hooked on the flat ones (must be
more work to cut). I always found the featherweights to have chromatic
distortion that drove me crazy. I'm a bit on the picky side :-).

Margy

[Arnold Sten]

Emily wrote:
> Grumman-581 wrote:
>> "Private" > wrote in message
>> news:V16Lg.502524$Mn5.133696@pd7tw3no...
>>> Style aside, I am a little surprised at your preference for small cut
>>> glasses. IIRC you are an AME and I would have thought you would prefer
>>> large glasses due to their increased coverage and greater
>>> effectiveness as
>>> safety glasses to protect your eyes from small flying objects in the
>>> workshop.
>>
>> The larger lenses also block more air when you're riding a
>> motorcycle... I
>> learned that after I got my new glasses recently and had to switch
>> back to
>> the old ones while riding my bike due to the wind drying my eyes out so
>> quickly that I'm having to keep them just barely cracked at any speed
>> over
>> 35 mph...
>>
>>
> Wouldn't it be easier to just wear a helmet?
Why do that? That helmet might just save your life! Wouldn't want that
to happen, now would we?

[Emily[_1_]]

Margy Natalie wrote:
> Emily wrote:
>> Margy Natalie wrote:
>>
>>> Emily wrote:
>>>
>>>> Jose wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>> I learned that it's even harder for me to land while wearing glasses.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I land with glasses all the time. I'd find it hard to land without
>>>>> them. It's probably worth practicing.
>>>>>
>>>>> Jose
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> How strong are yours? Mine are strong enough that my vision is very
>>>> distorted with large lenses, so I have them cut pretty
>>>> small...problem then is that my peripheral vision is non-existent.
>>>> We're talking about -7.5 in both eyes....I even have trouble driving
>>>> in them.
>>>
>>> My vision was bad (20/400) but my lenses were ground very flat and
>>> that seemed to help with the distorsion problem. It made it awful
>>> when the tried to grind lenses in the standard way.
>>
>>
>> How do they grind them flat? I've found the distortion is slightly
>> better with the featherweight type lenses, but still not good enough
>> that I'd be willing to drive in them.
>>
>> God bless toric contact lenses.
>
> It's how they set the curve on the front of the lens or something. I
> know ONCE they cut them in the "normal" way and I couldn't see for
> beans! I went back in with my old ones and they copied the style and
> grumbled about opticians who get people hooked on the flat ones (must be
> more work to cut). I always found the featherweights to have chromatic
> distortion that drove me crazy. I'm a bit on the picky side :-).

That's why I don't wear glasses. It drives me insane to have any kind
of smear on them, so at night, I spend all my time cleaning them off. I
couldn't imagine doing that all day.

[Morgans[_2_]]

> > Wouldn't it be easier to just wear a helmet?
> Why do that? That helmet might just save your life! Wouldn't want that
> to happen, now would we?

You know, there are helmets that do not cover the face with a shield, also.

I know that you come out better with a full face shield in a crash, but I
think I will take the increase in safety by wearing any kind of a helmet,
and leave it at that.

I feel like I might as well be riding a car, as riding a bike with my face
totally covered up.
--
Jim in NC

[Grumman-581[_3_]]

"Bob Noel" > wrote in message
...
> unnecessary if you have a full face shield.

Agreed and *usually* I have a full coverage helmet... Sometimes if I'm just
taking a quick trip through the local neighborhood streets, I won't wear a
helmet though... Of course, it has a greater risk in the event of an
accident, but it's nice to at least have the choice of whether or not to
wear a helmet... If I'm on the highway, I nearly always wear a full coverage
helmet -- there's probably only been a couple of times when I didn't...

[Bob Noel]

In article >,
"Morgans" > wrote:

> I feel like I might as well be riding a car, as riding a bike with my face
> totally covered up.

I don't know about you, but riding my motorcycle with either my full-face
helmet or my 3/4 helmet with full-face shied definitely does NOT feel like
riding in my car.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

[Grumman-581[_3_]]

"Morgans" > wrote in message
...
> I feel like I might as well be riding a car, as riding a bike with my face
> totally covered up.

Depends upon how much you like the taste of the bugs that fly around near
dusk...

[Alan Gerber]

Cubdriver <usenet AT danford.net> wrote:
> If you'd have trouble landing the plane without corrective lenses,
> then a backup is surely in order.

No way *I'm* landing a plane without corrective lenses.

I wear contact lenses, and, until recently, didn't carry my glasses.
Then, a few weeks ago at the beach, I got something in my eyes (sand?
sweaty sunscreen?) that stung so badly I took out my lenses and let my
wife drive home. That's never happened to me, in many years of wearing
contacts, but one time was enough.

I always carry glasses in my flight bag now.

.... Alan

--
Alan Gerber
gerber AT panix DOT com