What is more important to pilots than vision? And yet so many pilots get so much wrong about our most important flight instrument—our eyes.
I’ve been an eye surgeon for more than 30 years, and I’m also a certified flight and instrument instructor. With this unique combination, I’m frequently amazed by how little most pilots are taught about how vision actually works in the cockpit.
Pilots spend so much time learning aircraft’s systems and avionics, how to navigate, weather, mechanics of flight, regulations and airspace, and instrument procedures. Yet the most important part of flying, which is putting all that together, depends largely on how well we can perceive what is happening around us.
That is why we’re creating Pilot Perception. Please consider subscribing (for free)! We’ll be releasing short, instructional videos as well as longer interview podcast segments in both audio (Spotify, Apple Podcasts) and video (YouTube). We’ll be talking with world experts in eye care, aviation medicine, human factors engineering, perceptual science, flight instruction, avionics, and other fields.
Thanks to my global relationships as a leader in the eye care industry, I’ve known some of these experts for many years. And through this community, we’ll be connected with others who can also bring something to teach.
Pilot Perception is looking for a community of aviators, aviation industry folks, and flying enthusiasts who want to better understand vision, sensory perception, and the human factors that influence the decisions we make in airplanes.
Many pilots are surprised that vision turns out to be way more complicated than seeing 20/20 on an eye chart. People with “perfect” vision often miss traffic that’s a potential threat. That’s because haze can make a close by airplane disappear against its background. Glare, dirty windscreens, dry eyes, cataracts, and other factors can reduce contrast and make perfectly clear objects very difficult to see.
Understanding tricks for spotting traffic and how to improve contrast is just our starting point.
We’ll explore:
* night vision and visual illusions
* glare, haze, contrast, and atmospheric light scatter
* sunglasses, windscreens, cockpit lighting, and avionics displays
* dry eye, cataracts, LASIK, PRK, eyeglasses, and contact lenses
* preparing for the vision portion of an FAA medical examination
* spatial disorientation and sensory conflict
* why pilots sometimes fail to perceive something that is directly in front of them
* how attention, expectation, and experience influence what we believe we see
When tragedy strikes and airplanes go down, we often ask, “How could that happen?” Sometimes, the better we understand perception, the better we understand how that could happen.
Our big goal is not to teach overly complicated science, but to make flying safer by taking complicated concepts and put them in the context that aviators need.
If what we do here prevents just one accident, it will all be worthwhile.
Please subscribe to PilotPerception here on Substack! We will send subscribers new articles and episodes just as soon as they are released, every couple weeks, and with time we’ll be developing premium content for those interested in a deeper dive.
You can also find us at PilotPerception.com, on YouTube, and on Instagram. Please share this with pilots and others you know who might love to learn.
Keep learning. Keep looking outside. Keep flying safely.
— John A. Hovanesian, MD, CFII
Music credit: Music downloaded on Chosic on 8/17/26, “Rescue me” by Liqwyd
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pilotperception.substack.com
