Recent content by Jon Wilder

28 in 12 was suggested by Joe LoRusso. He explained that while the FAA requirement is 14 in 12, apparently when the airman has taken it upon themselves to establish their own monitoring program, the FAA has actually argued "Well you can plan around that". Doing 28 in 12, since EtG goes back 2...

In my specific case, once all was said and done, I was in about $10K-$11K. I received my HIMS SI medical certificate in July of 2023. It has since timed out and I am now flying on BasicMed. Let me give you some advice I wish I had known before I started the process. BEFORE YOU SUBMIT ANYTHING...

So I didn’t end up at Hemet. I had originally chosen that airport over Perris Valley (L65) because it had food and fuel. But later learned the person I was meeting would’ve had to drive 45 mins vs 10 mins to Perris Valley. So we flew to Brackett Field (KPOC) for food and fuel, then to Perris...

See 14 CFR §61.53(b) - Operations that do not require a medical certificate - "For operations provided for in §61.23(b) of this part, a person shall not act as pilot in command, or in any other capacity as a required pilot flight crewmember, while that person knows or has reason to know of any...

Hi all. I'm flying from Fresno to Hemet and planning the following route - KFCH -> FRAME -> V23 -> EHF -> V197 -> PMD -> Cajon Pass -> Banning Pass -> KHMT I'm planning to cruise at 9,500 MSL in a 172. Any concerns I should have about this area? I see Palmdale is rife with military traffic...

@Brad Z If the airman responds that they are not intending to renew the medical certificate and transitioning to BasicMed, is there a risk that AMCD would withdraw the special issuance authorization based on the airman's "no longer need" for it, which would then revoke BasicMed privileges?

When you have a Special Issuance Medical Certificate, it is accompanied with a Special Issuance Authorization Letter. The Special Issuance is contingent upon compliance with everything in the Authorization Letter, and is usually in the form of submitting medical information at some time interval...

As a successful HIMS to BasicMed transitionee, I’ll weigh in on this. Aside from them pertaining to drug/alcohol, or other mental health concerns, HIMS special issuances are no different from any other special issuance. To grant them special treatment would be to make them a punitive measure...

CACI = Can Authorize Can Issue

If you contact your regional flight surgeon, they can email you a copy of it.

And here we have it. "Get your mental health squared away." "But I cannot afford it." "Heh...that's your problem. Sorry about your luck." What a way to kick people when they're down.

Everyone has a breaking point. None of us is immune. Who gets to define what "mental illness" is? What do we do when FAA medical holds us to a standard that is so far out of line with general medicine? When all of your doctors have written countless letters attesting to your mental health...

^^^THIS!!! Especially when you've shelled out thousands for the test, send it in, the FAA sits on your case for months on end (dare I say years), only to then send you a letter stating that they need you to redo the tests because the previous tests are now more than 6 months old, thus you're in...

This is precisely how I did mine. Made the BM appointment right after the medical/SI was issued. Even had an AME do the BM physical. Everything went down without a hitch. I then continued compliance with the SI Authorization Letter until the medical certificate timed out, sent in all of my...

Millions of people aren't forced to fight like hell and spend thousands and tens upon thousands getting tests and repeat tests, jumping through hoops with no end in sight, followed by more snail mailed requests for more information (and some because the original submitted information expired...