Vision Purple?

[pilotman2105]

Nothing in the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook or the FAA Pilot's Handbookof Aeronautical Knowledge about "Visual Purple" or "Rhodopsin."

I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

 

[bobbysamd]

Visual purple

An examiner has a perfect right to ask questions about night flight, including its aeromedical factors. Asking about visual purple is on the order of asking about rods and cones. One should know these things, but not exhibiting "commercial pilot knowledge" of visual purple is not sufficient grounds to pink an oral, unless the rest of the oral otherwise sucked.

I don't recall exactly which FAA pub(s) discuss rods and cones and visual purple, but it could be either the Pilot's Handbook of Aviation Knowledge or the Flight Training Handbook or its successor.

PS-I just read the post below. Rods and cones and visual purple are in the FAA pub(s) because that's where I read about it. See if you can find an old copy of the FTH - it'll be in the night flight section.

PPS-Bafanguy's comments about visual purple are part of the answer to the question.

 

[minitour]

Nothing in the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook ortheFAA Pilot's Handbookof Aeronautical Knowledge about "Visual Purple"or"Rhodopsin."

I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

Yep...we couldn't find anything either...until WebMD...and Matt explained it perfectly (according to WebMD).


Oh well...now I know that one.

Next I get to go memorize the words on the airworthiness certificate so I don't bust on that question.

-mini

*edit*
JRSlim

It could be. I just gave that one a quick once over but didn'treally dwell on that book...it was okay if you like pictures butthere's other better books out there IMO. Plus that isn'treferenced in the PTS (which I was under the impression was the stuffconsidered "fair game"). But since it seems anything is "fairgame" I better quit posting and get back to more and more and more moremore reading...

 

[JRSLim]

Nothing in the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook or the FAA Pilot's Handbookof Aeronautical Knowledge about "Visual Purple" or "Rhodopsin."

I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

I am pretty sure it was in the Jeppesen Instrument/Commercial Manual. I do remember reading about it - I think it might have been in the ASA Commercial Oral Prep Guide.

 

[mattpilot]

Hey, the only reason i knew about it mini, was because i'm taking Aviation Medicine at the moment

 

[minitour]

Hey, the only reason i knew about it mini, was because i'm taking Aviation Medicine at the moment

well gee whiz

there's one question you won't have to worry about come Oral time!

I usually love oral too..*rimshot*

-mini

 

[pilotman2105]

It may be in the Jepp books, but as mini eluded to earlier, and how Ihad it explained to me once by a DE and ASC, it isn't "FAA approved"unless it's an FAA publication. Thus, if you can't find an FAApublication that references "Visual Purple" or "Rhodopsin," then theapplicant that got busted on his commercial ride for not knowing thoseterms might have a good arguing point to take up with someone, providedthat is precisely how the question was worded, and that was the ONLYthing he missed on the oral.

Granted, not that one normally goes out and seeks attention from thefeds, but if he's really sore about the bust, it might be worth a phonecall or two.

 

[Cat Driver]

I don't often post on this forum, but this one got to me.

I've been flying for going on fifty two years and hold just about every qualification in the business and never ever heard anyone ask such a question.

But here is a deal for you, send the prick to me and I'll give him a in depth assesment on if he knows something really important..like how to fly.

Cat

 

[A Squared]

Well, I couldn't find any refernce to visual purple in the FTH, but it is mentioned in my Jeppesen PPL text.

THe Commercial PTS used to list Area of Operation 1, Task I, Physiological Aspects of Night Flying, which although it didn't list VIsual purple specifically, certainly that's an aspect of it. The current PTS has dropped this Task. Must be part of the ongoing national effort to dumb everything down.

Hmmm, since they deleted the requirement from the Comm PTS, it isn't a requirement anywhere. Night vision factors aren't in any PTS; PPL, CPL or ATP... guess it's not important. Ignoring for the moment the question of whether you can be held accountable for something which isn't explicitly listed in the PTS; I'm curious. Did he bust the ride only because he didn't know what visual purple is, or did he bust because he was unable to demonstrate an understanding of night vision adaptation (which of course visual purple factores into)?

Let's suppose the task for Physiological Aspects of Night Flying was still in the PTS.

Scenario #1, The examiner asks out of the blue, "what is visual purple?" and pinks the student when he says I don't know.

Scenario #2, The examiner asks a long series of questions about night vision adaptation, none of which is answered satisfactorily. the examiner making one last attempt, says have you ever heard of visual purple. The student says no and gets a pink slip.

I suspect that there are many checkride busts which the "bustee" descibes in a manner similar to scenario #1, yet in reality, were much more like scenario #2.

 

[PropsForward]

Someone just got busted on a Commercial oral today because he didn'tknow what vision purple was. I've never even heard of it. Any takers?

-mini

Err, the color you see when you bust a checkride?

Seriously, the DPE must have a pretty big chip on his shoulder, or the pilot missed quite a bit more on his checkride.

If you suspect the "chip" theory, then I certainly would not seek him out for any checkrides. There are enough DPE's floating around to just avoid this guy.