alphaape06
New Member
Here is a complete overview of how my flight physical went. I writing this details account in hopes that it will answer any possible question that an applicant may have. So forgive the length. I am no expert, but if this post does not answer your questions please feel free to pm me or post on the board. There are years and years of experience on here so it definitely has been answered or will be answered.
My flight physical was in Key West. As we came and left the island there were F-18sflying everywhere. That got my blood pumping a little bit. We were told to not drink or eat for at least 12 hours before the physical. I didn’t eat or drink anything the entire day before fearing I would come in overweight at the weigh in. DO NOT DO THIS. This came back to haunt me. Swanee gave me great advise regarding weight for USMC. Just like he said the two are not connected at all. As a matter of fact they didn’t even weigh me during my flight physical. I am 5’9 186.8 so I was just being overly caution in case they decided to change up the weight regulations and start dinging folks for being a couple of pounds over the USMC weight standards.
My flight physical began at 0700. The first station was UA and blood. Remember how I said that the whole not drinking anything the day before would come back to haunt me? I was only able to fill the cup 1/8 of the way. Keep in mind the cups are rather small. I was severely dehydrated. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to buy a gallon of water the night before. I had planned on rehydrating on the way back home. The water definitely came in handy later on that day!
Next was the eye exam. This is another reason you want to at least be somewhat hydrated. The lack of moisture can negatively affect your test. It was by far the hardest eye exam I have ever taken. Not because it was inherently difficult, but it was because I was extremely nervous. On the way down our OSA was talking about a candidate who was dinged for vision. This same candidate got a 20/20 at meps. But if you can see, and you know you can don’t sweat this. It like Meps but a little more involved. The only difference was the dept perception test. When I went to Meps I had to look through the scope and determine which dot was closer. This was difficult for me and apparently everyone no matter the level of vision. During the flight physical they use 3D glasses and a book. This made it 100x easier. Before I could complete the full exam the doc put the dilation drops in my eyes and told me to go to the dentist and come back since the drops would take a few of minutes to work.
At the dental station they take an X-ray of you head and do a complete dental exam. GO GET YOUR CAVITIES FIXED BEFORE YOU GO. This will indeed ground you. It almost grounded me. But I literally had a dentist appointment a few days later to get them filled. So the dentist signed off on it. The dentist I had was extremely understanding. However, I doubt this is the norm. I just explained to him that this is my last shot and he signed off on it. I got them filled and faxed him the paper work the following wee. No matter the size get them done before you go. Mine were extremely small and it still was an issue. He said something about heads exploding in mid air….I dunno. So back to the eye doctor I went. I don’t know if he forgot he dilated my pupils or what but he puts more drops in my eyes. BRING SUNGLASSES. This saved my life. As a matter of fact I had to wear them to work the next couple of days. I called back a few days after the physical and was told that this is normal and it takes some folks a week before they are able to refocus.
Got chest X-rays, an EKG and anthropometric measurements. An X-ray is an X-ray is an X-ray. During the EKG they strap sensors to you to see if your heart has any abnormalities. I was still a little nervous so my heart was pounding harder than usual. The assistant said that was a good thing. So I guess my advice is to stay nervous during your exam and you will do ok. To get my antrho measurements they measured my sitting height and the length of my limbs to determine which cockpit would suit me.
The last thing you are supposed to do is see a flight doc. He said I was good to go pending blood work. However, my excitement was short lived. One of the assistants informed me that trace amount of protein were found in my urine. Once the whole not drinking water thing came back to haunt me! My pee was way too concentrated. And the fact that I had a little personal time with my girlfriend before I left did not help. I say this with all seriousness don’t jack off or have sex for a couple of days before your physical. And lay off the protein shakes a week before. I was told this will also negatively affect your UA. It took 3 UAs, 3 hours, and a half gallon of water before I received a positive result.
All in all, it was a great experience. I am honored I had to privilege to do it. Not many people do. If you are a man/woman of God pray, pray, pray!!! I can personally attest that God can make a way out of no way. I should have been grounded a couple of times during my flight physical but I personally believe the prayers gave me a little divine bump. I can not wait for the next step in this process!
My flight physical was in Key West. As we came and left the island there were F-18sflying everywhere. That got my blood pumping a little bit. We were told to not drink or eat for at least 12 hours before the physical. I didn’t eat or drink anything the entire day before fearing I would come in overweight at the weigh in. DO NOT DO THIS. This came back to haunt me. Swanee gave me great advise regarding weight for USMC. Just like he said the two are not connected at all. As a matter of fact they didn’t even weigh me during my flight physical. I am 5’9 186.8 so I was just being overly caution in case they decided to change up the weight regulations and start dinging folks for being a couple of pounds over the USMC weight standards.
My flight physical began at 0700. The first station was UA and blood. Remember how I said that the whole not drinking anything the day before would come back to haunt me? I was only able to fill the cup 1/8 of the way. Keep in mind the cups are rather small. I was severely dehydrated. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to buy a gallon of water the night before. I had planned on rehydrating on the way back home. The water definitely came in handy later on that day!
Next was the eye exam. This is another reason you want to at least be somewhat hydrated. The lack of moisture can negatively affect your test. It was by far the hardest eye exam I have ever taken. Not because it was inherently difficult, but it was because I was extremely nervous. On the way down our OSA was talking about a candidate who was dinged for vision. This same candidate got a 20/20 at meps. But if you can see, and you know you can don’t sweat this. It like Meps but a little more involved. The only difference was the dept perception test. When I went to Meps I had to look through the scope and determine which dot was closer. This was difficult for me and apparently everyone no matter the level of vision. During the flight physical they use 3D glasses and a book. This made it 100x easier. Before I could complete the full exam the doc put the dilation drops in my eyes and told me to go to the dentist and come back since the drops would take a few of minutes to work.
At the dental station they take an X-ray of you head and do a complete dental exam. GO GET YOUR CAVITIES FIXED BEFORE YOU GO. This will indeed ground you. It almost grounded me. But I literally had a dentist appointment a few days later to get them filled. So the dentist signed off on it. The dentist I had was extremely understanding. However, I doubt this is the norm. I just explained to him that this is my last shot and he signed off on it. I got them filled and faxed him the paper work the following wee. No matter the size get them done before you go. Mine were extremely small and it still was an issue. He said something about heads exploding in mid air….I dunno. So back to the eye doctor I went. I don’t know if he forgot he dilated my pupils or what but he puts more drops in my eyes. BRING SUNGLASSES. This saved my life. As a matter of fact I had to wear them to work the next couple of days. I called back a few days after the physical and was told that this is normal and it takes some folks a week before they are able to refocus.
Got chest X-rays, an EKG and anthropometric measurements. An X-ray is an X-ray is an X-ray. During the EKG they strap sensors to you to see if your heart has any abnormalities. I was still a little nervous so my heart was pounding harder than usual. The assistant said that was a good thing. So I guess my advice is to stay nervous during your exam and you will do ok. To get my antrho measurements they measured my sitting height and the length of my limbs to determine which cockpit would suit me.
The last thing you are supposed to do is see a flight doc. He said I was good to go pending blood work. However, my excitement was short lived. One of the assistants informed me that trace amount of protein were found in my urine. Once the whole not drinking water thing came back to haunt me! My pee was way too concentrated. And the fact that I had a little personal time with my girlfriend before I left did not help. I say this with all seriousness don’t jack off or have sex for a couple of days before your physical. And lay off the protein shakes a week before. I was told this will also negatively affect your UA. It took 3 UAs, 3 hours, and a half gallon of water before I received a positive result.
All in all, it was a great experience. I am honored I had to privilege to do it. Not many people do. If you are a man/woman of God pray, pray, pray!!! I can personally attest that God can make a way out of no way. I should have been grounded a couple of times during my flight physical but I personally believe the prayers gave me a little divine bump. I can not wait for the next step in this process!
Close???
