Vision Requirements for Navy Flight Training

Some people dream of becoming Navy aviators, especially after attending a Blue Angels Navy flight show or watching the movie “Top Gun,” set in a U.S. Navy flight school. The Navy sets out stringent physical requirements, including vision, that must be met by aviator applicants before they can become trainees.

Visual Acuity

A training applicant is tested for his sharpness of vision (visual acuity) from a distance of 20 feet. Unlimited or unrestricted flight duties require a visual acuity of 20/100 or better for each eye uncorrected and 20/20 for each eye corrected. A student naval aviator applicant cannot have visual acuity less than 20/40 uncorrected for each eye and his vision has to be correctable to 20/20 each eye. Naval flight officers do not have a limit on uncorrectable vision but must be able to correct to 20/20 vision.

Refractive Limits

There are no limits for refraction with the exception of student aviator applicants and applicant naval flight officers. Student aviator applicants cannot have a total myopia (nearsightedness) of more than -1.50 diopters in any meridian; total hyperopia (farsightedness) cannot be more than +3.00 diopters in any meridian, and astigmatism cannot be greater than -1.00 diopters. The eye exam for applicant naval flight officers cannot yield results that indicate a refraction greater than +8.00 diopeters in any direction and astigmatism cannot be greater than -3.00 diopters.

Field of Vision

The aviator and aviator applicants must have a full field of vision. The normal human visual field ranges from 60 degrees toward the nose to 100 degrees away from the nose for each eye. Additionally, the field of vision also extends 60 degrees above to 75 degrees below the horizontal meridian.

Color Vision

Color vision is tested using one of two methods. The FALANT (Fansworth Lantern) is a machine that tests color perception. The aviator applicant must score a 9/9 in the first trial or a combined 16.18 correct on the second and third trials. The second method is the PIP, which is a red-green screening test with at least 14 plates. This test is administered under a Macbeth lamp. Plates 2 to 15 are scored and a passing grade for an applicant is 12 out of 14 correct.

References

• Navy Medicine: NAMI Exams