Problematic medical for potential new student?

Should I get the records together first and then
take the medical? See, I don't want to even start taking instruction

What do y'all think, is it possible, or just a pipe dream?

Thanks...

Doug, it's my understanding that AOPA will help and/or advise on just these
situations. You may want to contact them and explain much as you have laid out
here your condition(s). On the other hand, there may be some that are left
well enough alone.

It's also my understanding that one can't fail a medical then receive a Sport
Pilot Certificate, however if one allows their Class 2/3 to expire, then
reverts to flying under Sport Pilot rules, that's cool. I know you mentioned
that you would prefer PPL to Sport Pilot, but some flying is better than none.

Jim

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 12:26:26 -0400, "Doug S"
wrote:

So, after a few years of putting it off (actually..."after a few years of
saving enough $$$"), I decided I want to get a private pilot cert.
Welllll...from the time that I first wanted to do that (about 10 years ago)
until now, I've had some changes in my medical status, which will
*definitely* require a waiver. The question to the group is, what are my
chances? In other words, I don't want to go through the hassle of getting
all my records together if there's not much of a chance I will receive the
waiver. On the other hand, if people think that the waiver is probable,
what steps should I take? Should I get the records together first and then
take the medical? See, I don't want to even start taking instruction (and
spend the $$) if there's not much of a chance that I'll be able to get the
cert...


Doug,

I had a similar delima in that I wasn't sure I was going to get my
medical due to an old surgery. You can fly sport pilot currently, but
if you get denied an FAA medical, you can't.

I didn't want to ruin my chances for a sport pilot cert so this is the
procedure that I had to follow....

1) Call AOPA. Join if you haven't already.

2) Get a reference of a good, fair AME. Particularly one that isn't a
full time AME, but is a like a GP and does Flight meds one week a
month. You will need to talk to local pilots. Hang around your
local FBO.

3) Get every record you can find. Everything. Bring it with you. If
you have anything that needs to be reported, you better have the
records. Full disclosure. Since you have been on SSRI's, you need a
note from the prescribing doctor that you are off them, you are OK and
you were never a danger to yourself or other people.

3) Explain to your chosen AME that you want a regular medical, not a
flight medical. Explain also that your interested in a flight med.
but would like an evalauation first so you don't ruin your chances for
sportpilot. DON'T FILL OUT ANY FAA PAPERWORK UNTIL THE DOC HAS SEEN
YOU AND YOUR CHARTS!!!!!! (You may have to pay twice, but it will be
worth it)

4) If your doc says you don't have a good chance of passing, STOP!
Pay him and leave. Go for sportpilot.

5) If everything looks good, go for it. There is always a chance
that Oklahoma will overrule the doc, but that's a chance you will have
to take.


Good luck,


Jim

http://www.unconventional-wisdom.org

Jimbob wrote:

I didn't want to ruin my chances for a sport pilot cert so this is the
procedure that I had to follow....

Excellent advice, IMO.

George Patterson
Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak, throats become dry,
and they think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
Because she smells like a new truck.

Jimbob wrote:

3) Explain to your chosen AME that you want a regular medical, not a
flight medical. Explain also that your interested in a flight med.
but would like an evalauation first so you don't ruin your chances for
sportpilot. DON'T FILL OUT ANY FAA PAPERWORK UNTIL THE DOC HAS SEEN
YOU AND YOUR CHARTS!!!!!! (You may have to pay twice, but it will be
worth it)

Another option I've heard used is to request a DOT physical (what truck
drivers get), which has very similar standards. This allows you to
further increase your "plausible deniability" in case any red flags
come up.

-cwk.

wrote

Another option I've heard used is to request a DOT physical (what truck
drivers get), which has very similar standards. This allows you to
further increase your "plausible deniability" in case any red flags
come up.

You have heard wrong. The DOT physical is laughable, in comparison to the
FAA physical.
--
Jim in NC

Doug S wrote:

What do y'all think, is it possible, or just a pipe dream?

there are far more qualified people than I on this newsgroup
to answer (e.g., Richard Kaplan) but from the point of view of
a 'end user' with a suboptimal medical background (color blind
and paraplegic) who went through the process (currently holding
a class-II) I'd say go for it (document everything, join AOPA,
get in touch with a good AME, etc.)

HOWEVER, before doing that, you might want to also talk about
a knowledgeable folks (AOPA again) about the option of going
for the sport pilot certificate instead (if I understand correctly,
as long as you have not been denied a medical and hold a driving
license you are fine, but as soon as you have been denied the
medical, then you have to go through the whole thing of getting
waivers and all that);

what do you guys think?

--Sylvain

Sylvain wrote:
HOWEVER, before doing that, you might want to also talk about
a knowledgeable folks (AOPA again) about the option of going
for the sport pilot certificate instead (if I understand correctly,
as long as you have not been denied a medical and hold a driving
license you are fine, but as soon as you have been denied the
medical, then you have to go through the whole thing of getting
waivers and all that);

what do you guys think?


Let your conscience be your guide. I had a medical examiner tell me the bottom
line with the FAA is that they're trying to prevent a pilot from becoming
incapacitated while at the controls. Is that likely to happen to you? If so,
you should forget the whole thing and just pay an instructor for dual if you
feel the itch to fly.

If you honestly think you're intact enough that you wouldn't be a danger to
yourself or others then I'd be very circumspect in my dealings with the FAA.
There has been some excellent advice already offered suggesting you lay it all
out for a medical examiner BEFORE you fill out any paperwork. He ought to know
what he can get through and what he can't.

I went through a 15 year dry spell courtesy of the FAA and their glorious
medical department. I'd been tentatively hired by USAirways Express as a pilot
and went in to get my 1st class medical renewed (I'd previously gotten one so I
could take the ATP written). As I had passed the triggering age, I was required
to submit to an EKG while hooked up through a modem to Oklahoma City. Although
my doc didn't see anything strange, the FAA did and requested that I submit to a
treadmill stress test a few months after I'd applied for the 1st class. Those
things are expensive.. a couple of thousand dollars.

In the meanwhile, the airline job fell through, my air cargo company went belly
up and I applied to nursing school. Since flying was no longer my primary
activity, I blew off the FAA. They in turn sent me a nastygram stating until I
got a clear treadmill, I was not to fly. Well, alrighty....

I graduated, became a nurse, got fat, developed diabetes and sleep apnea... I
was falling apart.

Fast forward from 1990 to 2003: I was being worked up for a laproscopic gastric
bypass. The anesthesiologist wanted me to have an EKG since I hadn't had one in
years. It showed I'd had a probably heart attack. Funny, you'd think I'd
remember wuch an event but truly I didn't. He sent me to a cardiologist who did
a dobutamine stress test. It said I'd had a probable heart attack. I was then
sent for a heart cath and was mentally prepared for the insertion of a stent.
Forget flying... my gastric bypass was at risk at this point.

I had the heart cath. It showed that 1) I am allergic to Betadine and 2) my
coronary arteries were as clear as the day I was born. All previous indications
were false positives.

I had the gastric bypass, followed the next year by a hip replacement. My
diabetes (which was always controlled by oral medication) dried up. My high
blood pressure dropped. My cholesterol level dropped. My weight plummeted. My
sleep apnea went away. In other words, I waws back in good health. I take no
medication today.

I dragged every bit of documentation to my medical examiner and he punched it
through. I walked out that same day with a brand new third class medical. Next
year I may try for another second class... maybe I won't. But at least I'm
flying again, no thanks to the feds.

The cost of my cardiac workup was a little over $10,000. How many folks have
that to throw around? Particularly cargo pilots?

Frankly, I think if you WANT to fly, you need two doctors: one for your FAA
physical and the other for everything else. The two gentlemen should never
meet. Your primary care physician doesn't need to know about your flying.

OTOH, if you're flying for a living and want to retire, you only need one
physician. You can tell him *all* your problems.

The bottom line: take the train if you think you're a risk. If not, be cautious
in any dealings with the FAA, unless you have money to burn.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

Remember,
Alot of states will take your drivers license if you have periods of
passing out or seizure. I just wonder how many people admit this to their
states DMV's though? With sport pilot, it will be up to you to admit you can
not fly safely. By all means if you have a condition that would restrict
your driver's license in anyway, don't fly just to get around the FAA rules.
I would advise seeing a doctor and getting his opinion on your conditions ,
and what those conditions may or may not do during flight as well as
medications. I sure ain't a MD so I would not begin to tell you that you can
or can't fly. But I can say use common sense and make sure you are safe to
fly before you do It's only going to take one person having an accident
when they should have never been in the air in the first place and the
driver's license medical is going to go Bye Bye for everyone, IMHO.

Patrick
student SPL
aircraft structural mech

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote in message
m...
Sylvain wrote:
HOWEVER, before doing that, you might want to also talk about
a knowledgeable folks (AOPA again) about the option of going
for the sport pilot certificate instead (if I understand correctly,
as long as you have not been denied a medical and hold a driving
license you are fine, but as soon as you have been denied the
medical, then you have to go through the whole thing of getting
waivers and all that);

what do you guys think?


Let your conscience be your guide. I had a medical examiner tell me the
bottom line with the FAA is that they're trying to prevent a pilot from
becoming incapacitated while at the controls. Is that likely to happen to
you? If so, you should forget the whole thing and just pay an instructor
for dual if you feel the itch to fly.

If you honestly think you're intact enough that you wouldn't be a danger
to yourself or others then I'd be very circumspect in my dealings with the
FAA. There has been some excellent advice already offered suggesting you
lay it all out for a medical examiner BEFORE you fill out any paperwork.
He ought to know what he can get through and what he can't.

I went through a 15 year dry spell courtesy of the FAA and their glorious
medical department. I'd been tentatively hired by USAirways Express as a
pilot and went in to get my 1st class medical renewed (I'd previously
gotten one so I could take the ATP written). As I had passed the
triggering age, I was required to submit to an EKG while hooked up through
a modem to Oklahoma City. Although my doc didn't see anything strange,
the FAA did and requested that I submit to a treadmill stress test a few
months after I'd applied for the 1st class. Those things are expensive..
a couple of thousand dollars.

In the meanwhile, the airline job fell through, my air cargo company went
belly up and I applied to nursing school. Since flying was no longer my
primary activity, I blew off the FAA. They in turn sent me a nastygram
stating until I got a clear treadmill, I was not to fly. Well,
alrighty....

I graduated, became a nurse, got fat, developed diabetes and sleep
apnea... I was falling apart.

Fast forward from 1990 to 2003: I was being worked up for a laproscopic
gastric bypass. The anesthesiologist wanted me to have an EKG since I
hadn't had one in years. It showed I'd had a probably heart attack.
Funny, you'd think I'd remember wuch an event but truly I didn't. He sent
me to a cardiologist who did a dobutamine stress test. It said I'd had a
probable heart attack. I was then sent for a heart cath and was mentally
prepared for the insertion of a stent. Forget flying... my gastric bypass
was at risk at this point.

I had the heart cath. It showed that 1) I am allergic to Betadine and 2)
my coronary arteries were as clear as the day I was born. All previous
indications were false positives.

I had the gastric bypass, followed the next year by a hip replacement. My
diabetes (which was always controlled by oral medication) dried up. My
high blood pressure dropped. My cholesterol level dropped. My weight
plummeted. My sleep apnea went away. In other words, I waws back in good
health. I take no medication today.

I dragged every bit of documentation to my medical examiner and he punched
it through. I walked out that same day with a brand new third class
medical. Next year I may try for another second class... maybe I won't.
But at least I'm flying again, no thanks to the feds.

The cost of my cardiac workup was a little over $10,000. How many folks
have that to throw around? Particularly cargo pilots?

Frankly, I think if you WANT to fly, you need two doctors: one for your
FAA physical and the other for everything else. The two gentlemen should
never meet. Your primary care physician doesn't need to know about your
flying.

OTOH, if you're flying for a living and want to retire, you only need one
physician. You can tell him *all* your problems.

The bottom line: take the train if you think you're a risk. If not, be
cautious in any dealings with the FAA, unless you have money to burn.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote:

Frankly, I think if you WANT to fly, you need two doctors: one for your FAA
physical and the other for everything else. The two gentlemen should never
meet. Your primary care physician doesn't need to know about your flying.

Yep, that's what I've always done.

George Patterson
Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak, throats become dry,
and they think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
Because she smells like a new truck.

Three years off medication and no symptoms of depression will be the big
hold up at this point.
Michelle

Doug S wrote:

So currently, my medical status is:

1) Fatty liver: Stay away from products containing Acetomenaphin , and also
alcohol.
2) Borderline high cholestorol: My GP wants me on Lipitor, but due to the
liver side effects I am wary. I have not started taking the drug, but am
first trying to lower it through diet and exercise
3) History of migraines. Controlled by acute intervention medications. No
attack in the past four months, could be related to the drug switching.
4) Osteoarthritis in the knees. Controlled by Daypro with no discernable
side effects except upset stomach if I don't take it with food.


What do y'all think, is it possible, or just a pipe dream?

Thanks...