Polite discussion about EASA, the CAA, the ANO and the delights of aviation regulation.
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By navidvivo
#1522165
Hello Everyone,

I have my class 1 initial medical test in 2 weeks time and I tried a few Ishahara test's online and I can get about 12-14/15. I am not colour blind, never been and can see all colours perfectly fine.

I know you need to get all the 15 plates correctly in order to pass.

My question is what happens if I can't get all 15 correctly on the day?

Any advice would be most welcome.

Thanks
Last edited by navidvivo on Thu Mar 02, 2017 5:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
#1522318
The CAD test was apparently designed to allow more people to be assessed as "colour safe" I have done it and it takes longer than the plates and requires more concentration. As to "difficulty" if you can see.it it's easy allegedly but if you can't it's not!
The key thing to remember is that, while retakes of the cad test are permitted, an average value is.used of all CAA tests conducted so if you have a bad 1st attempt and then pass on the second go you aren't guaranteed a pass overall. There are a number of places in the UK that will do the CAD test 'off the record' the best known one is city university in London. I believe that the CAA will accept a pass certificate from city but any unsuccessful attempts need not be communicated to them.
The fact you.are looking at a class 1 suggests this may be more important than just a hobby so take your time to give yourself the best chance. There are a number of huge threads 'on the other side' which will take up hours of your life you will never get back but may well help you get the tick in the box you need.
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By GeorgeJLA
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1527021
Hi!

Just registered but been lurking for a little while.

I'm about to start lessons again (this Saturday) at John Lennon Airport after a gap of 20 years. Why? Because in 1997 I went for a Class 1 and failed both the Ishihara and the Lantern test at Gatwick and ended up with a restricted Class 3, so gave up after 6 lessons. It was too expensive a hobby for something so restrictive.

I heard about the CAD test about 2 years ago and booked a full test at City University. Although any ideas of being a Commercial pilot had long gone (I'm in my late 40s) I really wanted to fly - the desire had not gone, and now I could (just) afford it!

The results were:

Ishihara 38-Plate test - Failed

CAD (Colour Assessment & Diagnosis Test)
Classification: Deutan deficiency Colour Vision Thresholds:
Red-Green: 3.35 CAD unit* Yellow-Blue: 0.81 CAD unit*

Farnsworth D15 Test
Pass

American Optical Company (H.R.R) Plates (2nd Edition)
Score 17 correct out of 20

City University Test, 2nd Edition
Pass; Score 10 correct out of 10

The CAD test for the CAA requires a score of 6 or less - as you can see I got 3.35.


The whole session was actually suprisingly enjoyable. Interesting to note that the Fansworth D15 was a pass and the University's own test was a full house.

The upshot is that I now have an unrestricted Class 2 (after my AME had a few problems changing the previous Class 3 restricted). There is no reason why I couldn't get a Class 1 if that was something I wanted. I can fly at night and in IMC.

So I'd drop a line to City University and get comprehensively tested:

Colour Research Laboratory
E: colourvision@city.ac.uk

If you still have problems, I'd consider joining the Color Vision Defective Pilots Associations (http://www.cvdpa.com) - CVD pilots can fly commercially for airlines in Australia.
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1527297
There is always lengthy discussion on the Dark Side about ways of 'getting round' (or cheating) the colour deficiency screening tests.

I ask myself why this is: There must be a valid safety reason why pilots should be able to distinguish between, for example, red and green warning lights, possibly in low light conditions, or the test wouldn't be in place.

Shirley a pilot who wangles his way through by devious means despite poor colour differentiation runs the risk of putting himself and his pax at risk?

And to spend thousands on training, before checking that Class 1 and its attendant visual checks are attainable, smacks of very poor planning.

Peter
#1527320
Hi Everyone,

So just to give you all an update that hopefully some might find helpful.

I had my Initial Class 1 last week at GatwickAMS in Upper Wimpole street.

Before attending this I had provisionally booked a CAD test session at the city university for the day after my initial just in case I failed the Ishahara Test.

So all the test went absolutely fine apart from the Ishihara test which I got 13/15 (I was so upset by this) So I told them that I have an appointment at the city next day and they told me that they actually started doing CAD test at Gatwick too and they could do mine in a couple of hours. I paid the £144 fee and phoned and cancelled City.

An hour later while sitting on the chair with my eyes closed to rest them (after the exhausting eye test) I hear they shouted my name, went it and after a little practice I started the CAD test which I think went on for a good 20-25 minutes. THEN light came on and within a few seconds I was told that I passed :o

I've never went from so unhappy, sad and stressed to be insanely happy in such short period of time, I literally hugged the gentleman who carried out all the tests.

But I'd like to share a few points for whoever is going to do the test

1) All the doctors and staff there are very very helpful and they do whatever they can to help you.
2) In regards with CAD test. During the process DO NOT GET STRESSED if you don't see anything as later I was told this is totally normal.
There were times that for a good 1 minute I couldn't recognise anything and I was just going to give up in anger but PLEASE don't let this get to you and stay focused. Feel free to stop for a minute or so to rest your eyes.
Even though during the test I genuinely thought I was going to fail this miserably I was then told I actually passed very comfortably and my CVD is very very mild, almost negligible.

Thanks for everyone who helped me and good luck to everyone who is about to do theirs.
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By cockney steve
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1527326
There is, indeed, a huge amount of information in a thread on the Dark Side's Aus or Pacific Fora. It seems that , though "colour deficient" , people still see a colour/lamp, It's just they see something different.

The Aus authorities are apparently waging a war of attrition against CVD Pilots, despite a court case establishing the ability to safely fly commercially. - and thousands of hours flown bt CVD pilots without accident, If you think the CAA was bad, read ALL the thread, then think yourself lucky you don't deal with CASA .

It seems, rather like the Cannabis controversy, the authorities are frightened of losing face, backing down and admitting they were WRONG. The whole story is complex and fascinating, but gives a clear insight on the discrimination and victimisation heaped on CVD sufferers who wish to become Commercial pilots.