Kenny Keller explains why pilots should get an eye exam from an optometrist before applying for an FAA medical certificate. After 20 years of struggles at medical examiners, he found success by bringing recent optometrist results and a signed note. Get it done first to avoid failing the test.
Hey, it's Kenny with Helicopter Land Ground School. And I want to give a tip today for anyone going for a medical certificate or renewing your medical certificate. Go get an eye test first if you think you're gonna have any kind of trouble at all or you're not even sure. I can tell you one thing. In 20 years, I've struggled almost every time on the eye test. When you go to the doctor to get your medical. My first bad experiences of my first job over 15 years ago in states away from home. I go to some local doctor, I take the eye test, new my medical. I even take off work from my helicopter job, and I go through the test, and at the end, the guy says, oh, well, you failed the test. And I'm like, I failed? And he says, yeah, you failed the eye test. And I'm like, they didn't tell me during the test, right? He's ready to just film me and tell me, you're not getting your medical certificate. And I'm like, well, wait a minute, I'm here as a pilot. If you're pulling my medical, I'm not gonna be able to fly. And I said, what part of it did I fail? And he explained the part. And I said, well, you know, I'm not so sure that you explained that good enough to me. I want to retake that test. He let me retake that part of the eye test, and I passed it, right? Only because I told him, you know, the lady that gave me administered the eye part of it, really didn't explain it. And she didn't even give me a chance. She didn't say, hey, you're struggling here. You know, you have to pass this. So every year, since I've always went to the doctor before the eye test, the eye doctor and I get a recent eye exam. So when I go in to renew my medical, I have in my hot little hands. I got a recent test from an actual optometrist, right? From the eye doctor. So when they try to fell me at the doctor's office, who they're not optometrists, right? They're just administering a test for you at a medical facility. One examiner or one eye guy I've been using for quite a few years. He's a pilot, right? So each year he'd say, ah, you're out. You're pretty good. You can just keep your sunglasses. Every year he would write me a letter along with my most recent results of my eye test. And he would say, here, take this in there with you, because for Each rating or not each rating for each certificate level, your eyesight has to be at a certain level for private, commercial, I'm sorry, first class, second class, third class, and so on. So the point is, go to the medical doctor first. I've been struggling with reading charts and such the last couple years. Today I went in, got a new set of glasses and I was like, oh my God, you know, it's time to go renew my medical. And I'm so thrilled that I got a new set of glasses. So when I go in there, if they try to fail me during the medical certificate test on the eye portion, I could say, wait, hang on, eyes are brand new glasses. I just had an eye test at the optometrist. There's a problem with your test. I'm not the only one that's experienced this. I've heard this over the years. And again, the one, you know, eye doctor I was using, he's a pilot, he said, dude, every year I go in, I struggle with it and he goes, I know my eyes are at a certain level, I know I'm good and they try to fail me. So if you have great eyesight, you're not going to have this problem. But if you're going to go to get your first medical certificate, you're going to take an eye test or you're renewing your medical certificate, maybe you've done like me where maybe you try to slide through for a few years. I can tell you spend the money and get a new pair of glasses. Oh my God, what a relief. So now I can go get my medical, renew it, hopefully have no problem. If they give me any gruff when I'm trying to renew my medical, I'll just say, hey dude, problem is your machine, it ain't me. And I explained that at the eye doctor's office I just left with my new set, told her about my struggle every year for 20 years and she said, you have a problem. We'll sign whatever documentation you need because your eyes are fine and you got a great set of glasses. So there. So leave us comment, let me know about your struggles with an eye test. How many of you have had a problem with this? And let me know if you've tried to have any kind of a different solution or just what you've been through with having problems on an itest during a medical certificate. So hey, give us a like and a share comment below and we'll see you in the next video.
