Expert: Ismar Avdic, Eng. - 11/17/2008

Question
Hi, I'm a 16 year old girl who wants to make a career as a jet pilot. However, my eyesight isn't 100 %. I use contact lenses (-1.50 and -1.75 if that makes any sense to you). In some other answer it was written that laser surgery is accepted in some cases. What are the criteria for getting such a surgery accepted?

I am from Norway, but Norwegian aviation students are sent to schools in the US. The rumor has it that the US Air Force are considering to make laser surgery accepted, because they now know that laser surgery actually gives long term effect. Do you know anything about this? The reason why I ask is that I've been told that if the US Air Force accepts this, then the Norwegian Air Force will probably do so too. So, do you you know ANYTHING about this? OR is there somebody else I can ask?

Thank you in advance,
Anne

Answer
Hi Anne,
Having an contacts is no big deal for civilian Airline Pilot License in USA in reference to FAA regulations. I do have wear glasses too as metter of fact. For USA standards as long as your vision is corrected with glasses or contacts for seeing 20/20 you are apsolutelly elegible for getting an first class medical exam.
However military standards are little bit more different in USA as well as in the rest of world. In USA air force, as my understanding when you are applying for training as new recruit you can not have any vision deficiency, however that is changed once you graduate from aviation military flight training. Now once the goverment pays for your trainig, you can have deficiency in vision and you can wear glasses. For Norway, unfortunatelly I do not have any info.
Laser eyesigh correction is recently accepted as an approved corrective operation for civilian world and it is on the way to be accepted by military too.

I hope that this answers your questions

Ismar