Contact Lenses

This one's for the TacAir guys...

Anybody wear contact lenses when you fly? I've been wearing cheaters for the last year, but they really do me a disservice in all my "other than the ball" flying. The fact that glasses alter your depth perception along w/ the problem of seeing the frame in your periphery when trying to fly form, tacform, and especially acm makes me interested in the possibility of contact lenses.

For those that use contacts, any problems in high G flight? High altitude? etc?

Thanks!

I never noticed any problem with contacts while. They allow (at least for me) a higher peripheral field of view. I haven't noticed any problems from high G or high altitude (nor should I).

Besides, they allow for super cool sunglasses.

I got on the USAF's contact lens program when it was brand new back in 1990. They are way better than glasses, and I've never had a negative issue with them. Highly recommended.
No, we cannot wear them in the pressure suit.

What pressure suit are you referring to?

Are you talking about the pressure suit like this for SR-71 guys at FL800??? (do U-2 guys wear them too?)
http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/press_suit001.html

If so, not too sure I'll have to worry about that one...

What's the policy on contacts vs. glasses while in flight training? It seems like they're changing it all the time and I know odds of Tricare covering them are pretty much none, but if I paid for them would I be allowed to wear them? I've worn contacts since I was 11 and I've never even driven a car while wearing glasses, so with the whole peripheral vision issue that was mentioned I am a little nervous about wearing glasses in flight school.

There's nothing quite like strapping in on a hot day and having sweat running down the inside of your glasses, then turning on the oxygen and having them fog over.

While in training, the Flight Doc referred me to the base ophthalmologist who gave me contacts (i.e. he didn't refer me to an eye doc out in town, and I didn't have to pay for them). I was told that in primary they usually won't give them to you because there is really no need, but once you get to jets they will give them if you want them (you will likely still have to fly with a pair of glasses in your flight bag). Even if you have to buy them, disposables are cheap and if you only use them for flying, you can definitely reuse them a few times.

Overall contacts are much better than glasses. Also, if you do have questionable depth perception, sometimes having contacts that are slightly overcorrected will help the problem.

AFAIK, the Navy WILL pay for contacts once you're a winged aviator, but not in flight school. As for glasses/contacts, nobody "checks" to see if you wear glasses or not. If you wear contacts, they'll probably just assume that you don't wear glasses if they even think about it. Wear what you want to wear, but USE YOUR CORRECTION either way.

Nobody has asked to see my upchit thus far, I just wear my glasses....

Hmm, so two different experiences on contacts in training, I guess I'll just wait till I get there and see what happens. Thanks for the info.

I too wear contacts in the plane. The only issue I ever had with them was when I was in the centifuge -- they seemed to drag down with sustained high g's (6 and above) and caused a little blur. That or it was all the blood leaving my head....other than that I've never had a problem with them with 5+ years of flying.

I'm confused...I thought you couldn't fly if you had bad vision. Unless you got PRK.

To add to your confusion: You can have PRK and still have to wear contacts . 20/40 is (was?) the limit for uncorrected vision, correctable to 20/20. PRK can degrade with time.

You can be an SNA with vision as "poor" as 20/40, in which case you have to wear something that corrects it to 20/20 (NFOs also have to wear something to correct their vision to 20/20).

INCORRECT.

You can get ACCEPTED as an SNA with 20/40 or better. You must be 20/100 or better as an SNA (ie: after flight physical).

I was accepted with 20/40 and wear glasses in the plane. (actually got better to 20/30 on my last short form). No biggie. I can go blind to 20/100 and still fly.

My understanding is that this is only the case AFTER you have received the PRK waiver. According to the NOMI Waiver Guide, you must be uncorrected 20/20 to receive the waiver.

Playing with fire there. If you're supposed to wear glasses, wear them. When I was in the ht's a stud was supposed to wear them, didn't, the IP saw him squinting and asked if he was supposed to wear glasses, which he was. Downed the flight, and i think he got in some serious sh!t because of it.

You misunderstand. That wasn't my intention at ALL. I was merely saying that if you wear contacts, then wear them. The IP doesn't know you wear glasses so he won't know to ask (unless he's seen you with them before). I was just making the point that wearing glasses/contacts if YOUR issue and not really regulated.

If you need correction, WEAR the correction. You can wear glasses or contacts or whatever you want.

First time anyone ever knew I wear glasses was on my night contact flight with my clear visor. We were waiting on the ground for a maintenance issue, and he made fun of the horrendous frames.

Never got them! Thank god the flight doc at OCS had a heart for a kid with vision barely less than perfect.... I was wearing the issued clear-lens gold-frame aviators.....ugh...HEINOUS!

Good luck explaining to the board that you weren't wearing your glasses on the fateful day you have to eject for whatever reason... (and if you're wearing "unauthorized" contacts, i.e. no letter from the doc, that won't help your case)

As for contacts, the Navy WILL give them to you as a stud in flight school WITH a flight doc referral. It's as easy as asking for them.

Sounds about right to me.

I have the perspective from both services...

While in the Navy, I my vision went to 20/25 at the tender age of 28. I got glasses... PITA. LAMPS OICs have a tendency to be letter of the law. I couldn't fly with my visor up, and the reflection of the glasses off the visor was distracting at night. Night deck landings were sporty when you had to turn of the ECS and flick on contingency power. The glasses would start to fog up between the humidity of the gulf and sandwiching between the visor and my skin.

My HAC continually berated me about putting my visor up on landing! I'm NOT KIDDING. He'd insist that I put my visor down per instruction regardless if the glasses fogged up or not!! TALK ABOUT LAMPS IDIOCY!! I got contacts the minute I found out about the contact lens program.

Contacts have been wonderful. Only problem is when you're in the desert with low humidity (no humidity). The jet doesn't come with a humidifier ... so bring along one of those contact lens friendly wetting drops.

NAVY ROCKS. THEY PAY FOR YOUR EXAM, LENSES, AND A YEARS SUPPLY OF SOLUTION.

The AF give you the exam. You pay for the rest.... who'd a thunk?

Do you know if they'll still pay if you have a history of GPC? It doesn't affect my ability to wear contacts, though I've been diagnosed with it.

Was touched on a bit, but any more opinions/experience on how the contacts hold up under G?