Switch to BasicMed?

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flyingfrog

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flyingfrog
Hello!

I have a current Class 3 medical that expires next summer. I am currently living overseas and plan to return to the U.S. next summer. I had a complex medical issue arise a couple of years ago that has been dealt with but requires occasional monitoring (successful surgery to prevent colon cancer with no complications).

From my understanding, a new medical will require extensive coordination and documentation, but it is generally expected that the medical would be issued with no problems. I am active duty military, and the military returned me to full duty with no limitations.

My past flying fully qualifies under Basic Med (4 seat, single engine, IFR flying). I want to pursue my commercial and CFI when I retire in 5-10 years. Will switching to BasicMed now make it more difficult to regain a Class 2 or 3 certificate later? If not, it really doesn’t make sense to pursue a new medical if I can operate under BasicMed for the foreseeable future.

Thanks!
 
Such surgery not one of the things that disqualify you for basic med. The only real issue is you have to find a "state-certified physician" to do it. A foreign doctor won't qualify, and your military doc may or may not either.

There's no penalty for lapsing your medical (with or without basic med).

Here's the FAA info on colon cancer issues, by the way: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...pp_process/exam_tech/item38/amd/malignancies/

Depending on just what happened, you might be issued in the office if you have all the paperwork with you when you apply (surgical reports from the original and a current colonoscopy). This is one of the times where it would be handy to consult with a good AME without actually formally applying and find out what he would need.
 
I'm not an expert on this stuff, but switching to BasicMed through expiration doesn't look any different to the FAA / AME's than letting a medical expire in general does. The effect of either path (path 1: renew class 3 now, maintain or upgrade to class 2 thru commercial/CFI, or path 2: go BasicMed now, get a new class 3 or class 2 when you need it) is really only different in terms of when you want to do whatever testing is required to prove that everything looks good.

Advantages of path 1 are that your doctors who did the procedures and tests are still in practice, have the records close at hand, and maybe they're even within the 60/90 day window that FAA seems to like. That means you could do a lot of paperwork now and not worry about delay if a weird opportunity to get your commercial or something comes up, as hopefully all of your renewals could just say "previously reported, no change" to anything colon related.

Advantages of path 2 are that you can prove a longer period of stability / no issues when you do apply for your next medical, which the FAA might like / require. And you'd have no issues waiting to fly in the interim, and you'd save the money and headache of AMEs and FAA paperwork until you actually need it.

Hopefully one of the resident experts will be along to tell you whether this is something that would be easier to certify right away and then "no change" forever after (path 1) or to build up a good history of "no complications" before certifying later (path 2). But either way, the FAA doesn't "look down on" letting a medical expire or anything like that when it comes to getting one later.
 
Switch to Basic Med and don’t look back. As stated, finding a doc to sign off your basic med can be a challenge. Some docs refuse before they even read the form. The ones that read it say it’s nothing for an exam.
 
Note that you can get your commercial cert and CFI under basic med. You can be a CFI, including PIC as CFI, under basic med. You would need 2nd Class if you are actually using the Comm Cert as a comm pilot.
 
flyingfrog said:
Hello!

I have a current Class 3 medical that expires next summer. I am currently living overseas and plan to return to the U.S. next summer. I had a complex medical issue arise a couple of years ago that has been dealt with but requires occasional monitoring (successful surgery to prevent colon cancer with no complications).

From my understanding, a new medical will require extensive coordination and documentation, but it is generally expected that the medical would be issued with no problems. I am active duty military, and the military returned me to full duty with no limitations.

My past flying fully qualifies under Basic Med (4 seat, single engine, IFR flying). I want to pursue my commercial and CFI when I retire in 5-10 years. Will switching to BasicMed now make it more difficult to regain a Class 2 or 3 certificate later? If not, it really doesn’t make sense to pursue a new medical if I can operate under BasicMed for the foreseeable future.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

if you decide to go the Basic Med route, gather as much documentation about your complex medical issue as you can, NOW, from doctors, hospitals, etc. As another post pointed out, if/when you decide to get a first or second class medical, it's possible your docs may not be around to provide records. If the FAA demands records, having them now might make your work easier in the future.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
Note that you can get your commercial cert and CFI under basic med. You can be a CFI, including PIC as CFI, under basic med. You would need 2nd Class if you are actually using the Comm Cert as a comm pilot.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jeff. I don’t know much about BasicMed. Can you work for hire as a CFI under Basicmed, or are you saying that you can instruct without being paid?
 
You can work for hire as a CFI without ANY medical or basic med. Instruction does NOT require a medical.

The issue is if you need to be PIC while with the student (i.e., the student is either not yet rated or not current or otherwise doesn't meet the requirements to be PIC). In that case you m just either have a third class (or higher) medical or basic med. It matters not if you are paid or not.

The other gotcha is if your student ends up under the hood. You will need a medical or basic med. If you are doing it under basic med, you have to be PIC (silliness inherited from the legislation that prodded the DOT to stop cowtowing to the AMA and issue the regulations).
 
flyingron said:
You can work for hire as a CFI without ANY medical or basic med. Instruction does NOT require a medical.

The issue is if you need to be PIC while with the student (i.e., the student is either not yet rated or not current or otherwise doesn't meet the requirements to be PIC). In that case you m just either have a third class (or higher) medical or basic med. It matters not if you are paid or not.

The other gotcha is if your student ends up under the hood. You will need a medical or basic med. If you are doing it under basic med, you have to be PIC (silliness inherited from the legislation that prodded the DOT to stop cowtowing to the AMA and issue the regulations).
Click to expand...
And the third gotcha is when you develop CAD. Then you have to go back and clear your Colon Ca, and onetime satisfy the Third Class CAD Special B4 your Basic is good again.

But for this disease, IIRC the letter only requires a letter from your doc saying that you continue to be considered, to be disease free. You can easily do that at the time you re-up post CAD event.

Basic, should work well for you.
 
The real question for a pilot these days is "Do I have a need for anything beyond BasicMed?" Much easier question to answer.
 
As said before
  1. You want to become Commercial and CFI
  2. You want to teach and get paid.
  3. You don’t want to get paid for flying commercial - passengers, etc.
As the good doctor said - Basic Med will do just fine.
 
WDD said:
As said before
  1. You want to become Commercial and CFI
  2. You want to teach and get paid.
  3. You don’t want to get paid for flying commercial - passengers, etc.
As the good doctor said - Basic Med will do just fine.
Click to expand...

4. Fly to Canada (at least for now)
 
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