Thanks for your kind repliesi want to clear something for some of you:I dont accuse flight simming ( i myself enjoyed flight simming so much amd still enjoying it)if you read my post carefully u'll find that the only one im blaming is myself.all i want to say is that pulling back your interest in flight simming a little wont hurt but losing your dream hurts a lotAlso Simming could not be compared to REAL WORLD.(at least in real world u wont be worried about low FPS and pressing shift+z every second)Also i didnt assure that simming will be the only cause of poor eyesight, i only said it may (although in my situation im nearly sure that it is)Just think of it wisely

>>Thanks for your kind repliesMine was not really "kind" but thanks anyways!>>i want to clear something for some of you:Ok I'm listening for the fun of it>>I dont accuse flight simming ( i myself enjoyed flight simming>so much amd still enjoying it)>if you read my post carefully u'll find that the only one im>blaming is myself.Really?? Here is part of what you said after carefully reading it"SO PLEASE DONT CHOOSE TO BE A VIRTUAL PILOT like me. Sounds pretty clear to me there what you meant.>>all i want to say is that pulling back your interest in flight>simming a little wont hurt but losing your dream hurts a lot Now that's just silly. I would NEVER consider flight simming to be a replacement for actual flight training, at most it would teach me that there are these buttons and pushing this might do this on the real one. Flight simming for some of us a replacement to be sure since I have NO PLANS to fly for real since I spend way too much money on add-ons lol.>>Also Simming could not be compared to REAL WORLD.(at least in>real world u wont be worried about low FPS and pressing>shift+z every second) Ah so much for my theory for virtual relationships ;-)>>Also i didnt assure that simming will be the only cause of>poor eyesight, i only said it may (although in my situation im>nearly sure that it is)>>Just think of it wisely Thanks!Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]http://www.rawbw.com/~bdoolin/shinault/southparkcartmad.gif[h3]PMDG 747![/h3]Caution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)ASUS KV8 DLX | AMD 3200 64 | 1 GIG PC 3200 DDR | GIGABYTE 5700 ULTRA | ViewSonic VP192b 19" |

There is no known causal relationship between astigmatism (abnormal curvature of the frontal cornea) and computer monitor viewing. This is the problem with your doctor's advice . . . IMO!Noel

graduated medical doctor talking here:There is no proven relationship between staring at a monitor and having astigmatism, wich is an abnormal variation of the surface of the cornea.

wait- I have noticed one serious effect. My wallet appears to be smaller. Oh wait, my wifematism must be the cause of that. Even if I close my eyes, it is still a nagging pain.

Right. And astigmatism does describe blurred distance vision. That malady is called myopia. Rather, astigmatism produces what could be described as "warped" vision at all distances. If the poster understood his eye care practitioner correctly, then he needs a new eye care practitioner.

Ok i read the very first message on this post and thats it. Let me tell you now that you examiner is full of crap. I have about 5000 hours and been flying commercially for the last 8 years. I have stigmatism and I don't even have on my license "Glasses must be worn which most people that wear glasses will have on their license. I technically need glasses BUT my eyesight is good enough without them. I needed glasses ever since grade 3 (long time ago). So the info that you have about having stigmatism and not being able to be a commercial pilot is full of nonsense.

For crvm,First of all dont be so angry i said "thanks for your kind replies ",i didnt mean your funny post also believe it or not the only post i didnt give care to when i read all this posts was yours. I have NO PLANS to fly for real .........if you read the title u'llfind that this words is not directed to u so simply dont give care to this post an keep your silly posts to yourself."SO PLEASE DONT CHOOSE TO BE A VIRTUAL PILOT like me.and what did you understand from this quote MR SMART????????i ve never been afraid of saying anything which means that if i was realy accusing flight simming i would have say it simply with no fear"Ok I'm listening for the fun of it"ohhh thanks god MR.CRVM is listening to me lol.Sometimes you regret you are polite to some people.

European regulations a re tougher than US ones.Not only needs your vision to be corrected to perfect at any moment you're in control of an aerial vehicle of any kind (not just an aircraft but even a hangglider), you can also not have more than 5 diopters correction in any one eye or you're permanently grounded.Eye surgery (even LASIK) will permanently ground you as well (with an option for appeal after I think 2 years which of course would mean missing 2 annuals and therefore your license so you'd have to start all over again).As to medicals, there are only 2 classes here. One is for military pilots, the other for everyone else.I did some research into this in 2002 when I was seriously thinking of taking up flight training.The vision requirements stopped me, the way my eyes are (and are getting slowly worse) I'd either fail the test now or would very quickly after getting my license.Back to computer use: my eyes have indeed gotten worse since I started using computers somewhere around 20 years ago.But the rate of deterioration has in fact slowed down a bit, something I don't link to using computers btw...

A greater load of tripe I have never heard.I have an astigmatism in my right eye.I've been playing FS religiously (can I say that?) since FS2 on my Amiga.I've also just obtained a JAR-FCL Class 1 medical and only 2 days ago completed my CPL/IR (frozen ATPL).I was commended on my situational awareness (from all those hours infront of FS interpreting the instruments) and didn't have a paddy when, during the MCC course, we were in an aircraft (sim) going quicker than 135kts. Flight Sim helped me enormously in getting the grades I got in my training. (Note to the flamethrowers : I'm not saying FS is suitable for training, I'm not saying only people who play FS will pass well, I'm not saying all FS users will benefit - I AM saying *I* benefited from my years of experience with FS when it came to real flying training).If you push yourself to learn about what's going on (from places like this and other reputable information resources) and to really try and do it right, FS can be of some benefit.I would suggest either :a) the doctor you saw was a fruit cake:( the doctor you saw wasn't an aviation doctorc) if your astigmatism really is bad enough to stop you getting a Class 1 you would have had the problem irrespective of time spent infront of a computer.Before you write off your commercial flying career it may be worth seeing a qualified aviation eye specialist who knows what he's talking about and speak with him about your options.I remember discussing this very problem with my doctor shortly before I went for my Class 1 (I used to be a software engineer and hence spent more than a healthy amount of time infront of a monitor). He comented that it made little difference and (on further probing on whether there was anything I could do to help) he said I should make sure I give my eyes a break every few hours and go and look at something far away.Hope this helps, don't give up that easily, commercial aviation is full of little obstacles like this and every single airline pilot flying now will have had to go through some sort of problem in their career when they felt like giving up, only those that didn't, made it.Take care,Ian

Thanks Clay, and to you and yours!"I find your background very multi faceted . . ."Yeah, I haven't quite figured out yet what I want to do when I grow up. But, I am getting there... :)

Hi, My advice would be to go and take the proper JAA Medical Examination if you really want flying to be your career. I am also slightly short-sighted (stigmatisme), but i passed the Medical with no problems.Vision requirements for air crew have been relaxed slightly for a few years now. Your 'doctor' probably needs to read up a bit...!Cheers PS...Real airline pilots also have to look at CRT's all day, with most planes having EFIS!

I'm 22 and have been flightsimming for about 9-10 years. I went to college and graduated with an aviation degree. Now, I'm in U.S. Air Force pilot training with perfect vision. I've sat in front of computers for many years, especially during college late at night finishing up a paper on my computer (I'm sure some of you have been there). I still sit in front of computers a whole lot, especially since a lot of the training during our academic phase is computer based. I don't think looking at a computer screen will ruin your vision. What may affect your vision are your genes. I probably will have to wear glasses/contacts later on because my parents and older relatives all wear glasses. Just my $.02.

Interesting about the differences in standards.My eyes are changing too, but I also don't atribute computers to the cause (couldn't be aging though!...).Bruce.

Take heart, I think it was Werner Molders who got violently sick every time he flew when he first started to fly. But he stuck with it and eventually beat it and became one of the best fighter pilots of WWII.Thomas Perry