Anybody Else Red-Green Color Deficient?

[scottfromiowa]

So, I went to complete my flight physical last week. After ten years of successfully passing the red-green color blindness test...I failed. I have always been red-green color deficient, but could always see enough of the numbers to get them and pass. No idea why the change...age? Fading of book at test site? Who knows...Bottom line is my medical now prohibits me from night flight. NICE. Paid $145 bucks to lose part of my pilot privileges. Even NICER.

Anyone else a red/green sufferer out there? Probably just me

[Marauder]

Scott - although more expense, I would go to an ophthalmologist and get it confirmed. Many of the AMEs seem to be even more of a Cheap Bast&$d than me and are using really dated & faded test charts. If you indeed are color blind, I would pursue a Medical Flight Test to demonstrate cockpit color capability.

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[mooniac15u]

You may be able to get that restriction removed by passing an alternate test.

 

http://www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Medical/Medical-Certification-and-Conditions/Vision/Members-Only-AOPA-Pilot-Information-Center-Vision-Color-Restriction-Removal.aspx

[N201MKTurbo]

I got the waver before I took my private test.

 

Rotating beacons look bright white and dim white.....

 

The FAA inspector who gave me the light signal test was more color blind then I was. He had to keep calling the tower on his walkie talkie to ask what color they were showing. Of course I could hear the conversation.

[scottfromiowa]

HHmmmmm. Thanks much. The Dr. did NOT discuss the alternative plate test...Only the flight/practical. Did not want to go down that road...I will pursue the alternative plate test. Nice to have an option. Would have been even nicer to have the Doc...whom I have gone to for ten years discuss that option. Apparently pretty rare?...

Again, THANK YOU much! Don't fly much at night, but can clearly identify gear indicators/street lights taxi/airport lights...Now seeing a red golf tee on green grass...or a red windsock on green grass...That is tough for me...

Can a brother get an orange windsock?

[M20F-1968]

^{I am a senior AME in the Boston area.  The AME Guide shows several types of equipment, both charts and optical testers, that are approved for color testing.}

^{The distance, light used for illumination, etc all can matter.  The specifications and  list as published by the FAA is show below.}

^{Color blindness is a genetically linked trait, so one does not "become" color blind midway through life.  Other visual conditions however can impact on vision, and if there is a question your first}

^{stop should be to your ophthalmologist for a repeat, and more thorough exam.  Needless to say, maintenance of vision is far more important as it related to health and quality of life.  Passing an FAA medical is a secondary concern.  I have seen many pilots who do not want to see their regular physicians for fear that "something might be found that would impact on their flying."   On the flip side, I have seen pilots who reported a medical condition to the FAA which was seemingly minor, only to find something more involved when the FAA work-up was completed.  For these people, the FAA medical saved the quality of their life (the example I am thinking of is reported diabetes, with work-up revealing a need for cardiac stenting).   You should seek the advice of an ophthalmologist to 1) test your vision for color blindness as you may simply pass with his more sophicticated and controlled equipment, but more importantly, 2) see your ophthalmologist to insure that something else is not going on that has impacted your vision more generally.}

 

^{John Breda, MD, Senior AME,  --  (frustrated engineer, symphonic clarinetist, husband/father, and too many other hats I have lost track of)}

 

 

<sup>Equipment Test Edition Plates Pseudoisochromatic plates Test book should be held 30" from applicant

Plates should be illuminated by at least 20� candles, preferably by a Macbeth Easel Lamp or a Verilux True Color Light (F15T8VLX)

Only three seconds are allowed for the applicant to interpret and respond to a given plate     American Optical Company [AOC]   1965 1-15 AOC-HRR   2nd 1-11 Richmond-HRR   4th 5-24 Dvorine   2nd 1-15 Ishihara   14 Plate 1-11     24 Plate 1-15     38 Plate 1-21 Richmond,
15-plates   1983 1-15 *Note to Agency-Designated ATCS AMEs Not all tests approved for pilots are acceptable for FAA ATCSs. Contact RFS for current list.</sup>    

^{Acceptable Substitutes: (May be used following the directions accompanying the instruments)}

• ^{Farnsworth Lantern;}
• ^{OPTEC 900 Color Vision Test;}
• ^{Keystone Orthoscope;}
• ^{Keystone Telebinocular;}
• ^{OPTEC 2000 Vision Tester (Model Nos. 2000 PM, 2000 PAME, and 2000 PI);}
• ^{OPTEC 2500;}
• ^{Titmus Vision Tester;}
• ^{Titmus 2 Vision Tester (Model Nos. T2A and T2S);}
• ^{Titmus i400}

[carusoam]

Thank you for sharing the extra detail, 68F.

Best regards,

-a-

[scottfromiowa]

Thanks for your input/information John. I have known all my life I am color deficient to red-green...Not "blind" like my brother that can only go by what light is lit on a traffic light. I had lasik surgery about ten years ago. Vision went from 20-30 to better than 20-20 with procedure. I can still pass the close-vision FAA test, but getting tougher each time...

It has been a few years since a thorough vision test was completed (beyond FAA) so will go and get tested and do advanced color plates. The procedure was NEVER administered properly for me. Distance, lighting in room...as well as time allowed (perhaps that was in my favor) as I was always given a lot more time...including the last most recent test administered.

[Joe Zuffoletto]

I got the waver before I took my private test.

 

Rotating beacons look bright white and dim white.....

 

The FAA inspector who gave me the light signal test was more color blind then I was. He had to keep calling the tower on his walkie talkie to ask what color they were showing. Of course I could hear the conversation.

 

Ha! I had a similar experience. Took the light gun test on the tarmac of San Jose airport back in 1988, along with one other pilot. He and I saw different colors most of the time but we both passed. Go figure.

 

Got the SODA and have been flying without restrictions ever since.

 

Funny thing is that I can distinguish light sources just fine, but not reflected light.

[kmyfm20s]

I'm very color blind, I had to send a letter to the FAA in Oklahoma requesting to be tested at the local FSDO. I took the test on the street in front of the office and found it to be very easy. It looked to me as the same red and green as on a traffic light which I can tell the difference between. The process took about 8 weeks but I ended up getting a waiver out of it enstead of a SODA, which always gets a positive comment from the AME's.

I still don't get the no night flying restriction for color blindness. If anything colored light pop out more at you. Does anyone have an explanation for it?

[Hank]

I guess they want to make sure you can distinguish the green-white blink of "here's the airport" from the blinking red and blinking white of "I'm an obstruction, stay away," plus the oh-so-rarely-used light gun signals (never seen one). That's all I can think.

[carusoam]

Wondering if modern technology can eliminate this particular requirement?

Best regards,

-a-

[N201MKTurbo]

I think it may be the ability to tell which way a plane is going by the position lights.

 

Something I've never had trouble doing.

[laytonl]

I had to take the light test at a FSDO. The white is super white and what they describe as green looked like a dim white. Once I knew the "code" I did fine. No restrictions now. Lee

[bonal]

Just googled red green color blindness and took the Ishihara test for red green deficiency seems a good way to self test. Passed

[N33GG]

Good luck Scott! I hope you get it resolved. We all have our medical challenges, especially as we become "old guys, or gals", and most of them make no sense from a practical point of view. Very frustrating. Every day I think about buying an LSA for reasons like your situation. Imagine being totally banned from flight. Not an answer I want to hear.

Again, I wish you all the best!

[Seth]

Good luck Scott. My vision though only 32 is not what it was when I was 18. I used to have eagle eyes and now my distance vision is "dirty 20-20." I'm getting enough of the letters right to pass the test, but not all of them. My AME said next time
I may very well need distance glasses to pass (class 2, class 3 I should be good to go).

He's retiring in a few months so I'm going to have to find an AME that's asthma friendly. I was originally denied by asthma and given special issuance where I have to get checked up every year, which is why I went with the class 2 since I have to go in every year.

However, my current retiring AME fought with and won in the past few months to have my special issuance taken away as it's not necessary for my asthma and was improperly put in place over a decade ago when the AME I was using didn't know much about asthma.

So . . . Sorry for the thread drift. Good luck retesting and here's to no/less restrictions - we are all pulling for you.

And I'll need a new asthma friendly AME and will ask in another thread in about a year.

-Seth

[carusoam]

Just another reason to support changes to the class 3 medical. Changes need to made.

If we are lucky, we will get older....

-a-

[bonal]

My aunt who is 91 once said to me and my wife when we were discussing getting old "YOUR NOT AS OLD AS YOUR GONNA BE" she said it with the perfect tone of voice that made us aware of how much worse we will feel if we are lucky enough to get that old. i remember after I bought my C150 to start learning to fly and was advised by my instructor i needed to get my 3rd class medical i was so worried I might be unable to fly and would have to sell my new airplane. i think we should all do what we can to support the legislation concerning 3rd class requirements. have you been drinking your bilberry tea.

check it out.  Interresting story how it gave the edge to the brits in night flying during the battle of Britain,

[Wildhorsesracing]

I failed the colorblindness test as well, but then again I have always known I was colorblind.  I especially can't see/distinguish red/green/black/dark blues.  When landing with a PAPI I usually move up/down to see the color dim/brighten to know if I am on glide slope. The rotating beacon looks like a bright light and a slightly dimmer one.  When encountering single flashing signals at intersections on country roads I always stop because I don't know if it's red or yellow.

 

Funny anecdote on colorblindness:

My son was 16 and had to write a paper for biology class.  He decided he would write it on colorblindness because my teens were always teasing me about "what's it look like in your world?"  Part of his paper required research and he asked me how I found out I was colorblind. I told him that I always suspected, but confirmed it when I had to do the "dots (Ishihara) test" - he googled the test to add it to his paper and asked "what do you see?" I said that "there are supposed to be numbers in the dots but I don't see them".  His response "What numbers?" I told him "welcome to my world!".

[N201MKTurbo]

One of the hats I wear is software developer. I was at a software conference in a session about UI design, specifically accommodating people with handicaps. The speaker showed a form with some rows of data and said that the color should be changed to illustrate some change in the data. Well she was changing the text colors to red and green. I stood up and told here that her color choices were very poor because 20% of men would have a hard time distinguishing the color changes. She essentially called me an idiot and told me to sit down. I guess our handicap is not politically correct.

[pinerunner]

I'm in exactly the same situation. When I was a kid I passed the color vision part of the first two medical and then failed one. After that I would sometimes pass in the doctors office and get my medical with no restriction and then receive a second one in the mail from the FAA reinstating the restriction and notifying me the one I had just passed was now invalid. I haven't really needed to fly at night but understand that if I want to I need to take the test with them for the waiver. Maybe next year. You could try actually talking to them. Looks like there are a lot of us out there. The appearance of the beacon to me is exactly as the other poster described; I see kind of a white/off white color. If they had chosen a yellow-green or blue-green color it would be easy. They seem to have picked exactly the wrong color for us to see easy.