Got my PPL last week! + (RCCT color exam experience)
Passed my checkride about 10 days ago and got my PPL! Already started my IFR grounds and super stoked to keep going!
Quite the journey to get here too. I went in to see an AME to see if I could obtain a first class medical (airline aspirations). I passed everything except the color vision test.
I was directed to go and try alternative tests. After research, I picked the RCCT option.
Drove over 2 hrs to the closest clinic that had the machine available. Took me a few attempts to familiarize myself with the testing process and shake off the nerves (I was stressing that I wouldn’t pass and that it all stops here).
Dark room, eye patch over each eye, and a keyboard off to the side (on screen) for you to select options. Examiner sits off to the side in the room with you.
Letters get lighter and lighter until you can’t see them anymore. Got perfect scores for red and blue, and great on one eye for green with the other being below standards initially. Subsequent tests definitely suffered from anxiety but I passed above what the FAA requires. Doctor even tested my ability to see green separately (his own curiosity, not for the FAA) and could tell I could clearly identify green in multiple shades etc.
Needless to say, the drive home with that piece of paper was one I’ll never forget.
I share this experience because there isn’t much info online about the RCCT.
Tip from experience: call the manufacturer of the test and they’ll tell you which clinics closest to you have the testing equipment and their number to reach them.
Anyways, I’m officially a pilot 🤓