Looking for guidance on if its possible for me to obtain a class 3 med in order to attain tandem skydiving license. Had 1 DUI at 30 right after I started my A license skydiving progression in 2021. I blew a .27 on the second breathalyzer at the station after the first didnt register on scene. I guess I told the cop exactly how much and what I had been drinking. I was not there so I have no memory of the entire situation. The last thing I remember was, I decided to start drinking at the drop zone bar, and woke up the next night in a jail cell. I never drank, never really liked to drink, and have not drank since.
3rd class Medical with 1 DUI
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Your odds of getting it are near 100 percent, IF you are willing to do whatever random thing they throw your way, in the random order they throw it.
3/c is much easier than 1/c…. Find a GOOD AME, make damn sure you get a consult before applying and what they say makes some sort of sense to you.
3/c is much easier than 1/c…. Find a GOOD AME, make damn sure you get a consult before applying and what they say makes some sort of sense to you.
Does having the DUI make it more difficult? More hoops to jump through I'm guessing?
OneCharlieTango
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A non-alcoholic at .27, I'm surprised you didn't wake up in the hospital with an IV in your arm at the very least.
Lindberg
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The DUI with a BAC [>].15 is looked upon very poorly by the FAA. The AME will have to defer the decision on your medical to the FAA, and they'll provide hoops for you to jump through.
Can you substitute a DOT medical certificate instead?
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Yes I believe the uspa allows it now but it is possible to run into the tandem rig manufacturer having a problem with DOT but I have read so far it is possible for TI to use DOT medical. I just dont know much either way.
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No. They don’t care about the DUI, it just memorializes the BAC which is the problem.
Yes, there will be hoops. Consult a good aviation medicine attorney or hims AME. Of course there really isn’t a way to know if the hims AME is any good or not….
What you are facing is administrative buffoonery and profiteering.
Indeed. It was a very dumb thing. Unfortunately, my tolerances have always been detrimental to my health.
bbchien
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Lots of errant information from the gallery here. Same std 1st class to third class on this one.
0.27, anything 0.20 or greater, is automatically "Aviation Defined Alcohol Dependency". I'm glad you didn't have a respiratory arrest nor an aspiration, and survived.
You need a "proven sobriety program" and if you want a first class you're going to need to go to full rehab. What you are facing is a huge personal challenge. Then the educational process of "sobriety vs recovery".
B
0.27, anything 0.20 or greater, is automatically "Aviation Defined Alcohol Dependency". I'm glad you didn't have a respiratory arrest nor an aspiration, and survived.
You need a "proven sobriety program" and if you want a first class you're going to need to go to full rehab. What you are facing is a huge personal challenge. Then the educational process of "sobriety vs recovery".
B
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Sounds like a bunch of bureaucratic B.S. I was never at that point to where I was even throwing up. It says in the report the only reason I was even pulled over was because I was passing drivers on a 2 lane while speeding. The sheriff said in the report he did not suspect a DUI until I told him I had been drinking crown royal and beer all night when he asked me why I was in such a hurry. Apparently at some point in the evening I received a phone call from my wife and she said she was putting all my stuff outside if I didnt come home that night. I was spending most weekends skydiving at that point. It sucks, I think about it all the time. It ****ed me off for a long time because I dont ever remember consciously making a decision to drive. I could have swallowed it all much easier had I made the decision. But one thing it did teach me was that I did make a decision that night to be completely irresponsible and drink that much. I have never been dependent on alcohol its never been a problem for me to not drink I can pick it up and put it down anytime just because I never enjoyed drinking mass amounts of liquids that taste like ****. I had to go through so much b.s just to get my license back that I decided it would be best just to never put myself in that position again and just not drink. Liquor was the culprit I can literally drink an entire case of beer and be just fine no personality change but I have a few double shots of liquor and it literally strips away everything that makes me, me and I am just a wild man. Thats why I quit drinking right after I turned 21. A few embarrassing nights acting like an idiot was enough for me. I see other people just pass out when they drink and I dont know why I dont. But fast forward 10 years and time makes you think that you have changed. Unfortunately, time hadn't changed anything that person is still in there and if you feed him he will come out. I've just never quite understood why some people can drink and pass out and others can drink like the energizer bunny and just keep going and going. I would much prefer to be able to drink and if I drink too much I just go to sleep but that has never been the case.
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Doesn’t matter what it sounds like to you. The FAA publicly specifies what the process is. You fall in Block C for disposition.
Your AME will be required to submit the following with your application.
You’ll have to submit a personal statement along with court records and driving record.
You may he required to complete an acceptable, ongoing, random alcohol testing program and/or provide letters or recommendation and/or program attendance records. You may also be required to complete other tests as part of the process.
You can expect a year or more delay and a significant financial cost to do so. Once you apply, you either complete the requested steps or you are denied a medical.
If you’re not willing to go thru those steps, then DOT may be a better option for you.
Yeah no reason to deal with all that bureaucratic b.s. DOT can do it. A big FU to the pos FAA. Like the USPA they dont actually care its just about money and the illusion that they care. When I had to jump through a bunch of hoops to get my driver license back the BMV/DMV said I had to go to a treatment program on top of the 3 day class they made me take and then have the doctor write a statement saying I should be reinstated. I found that out after I did the 3 day class and I just called my personal doctor and was like, Hey I am going to type something up and have the girls in the office sign off on it for you. Thats how I got my license back lmao.
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Well, that ain’t exactly true. You can do everything they ask for and still not even get an answer and they make you do it again…
Just talked to a kid who spent over 2 grand for a shrink visit. Shrink said “go get therapy and come back when you feel better”. Didn’t specify who, what, didn’t want records, nothing, be sure and schedule another 2 thousand dollar visit with me…
Another guy s coupla months ago was denied getting his package submitted because he wasn’t in good recovery… was told this on the phone THE DAY BEFORE his last scheduled visit to the doc before submitting… after 2 years and 20 grand invested. No warning about that up to that point.
This is NORMAL. I see it A LOT. That’s why I call it administrative buffoonery, they DO NOT follow their own guidelines frequently.
Lindberg
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Telling this story to the shrink is not going to help your case. You should either follow Dr. Chien's advice, which would probably be good for your health, too, or go with DOT.
Both examples appear to be provider issues, not FAA process issues.
I don’t deny the biggest room in the house is the room for improvement. I also don’t deny anecdotal information is only part of the information.
Dana
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...which is what most alcoholics say.
If you can drink a case of beer or still be coherent with a .27 BAC, you have a significant acquired tolerance... which to the FAA automatically means "dependence".
What the FAA cares about is flight safety, they don't want drunks piloting airplanes. I agree that they're draconian, overly conservative and overly bureaucratic, but political reality means they're unlikely to change... just imagine the political fallout if standards are relaxed and then there's a high profile alcohol related crash.
Cap'n Jack
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I'm sorry for the apparent snark, but it doesn't matter what you think. Listen to Dr. Bruce, as he understands the system very well. He's helped many people with various medical issues.
And all non-alcoholics.
Yeah, this is the telling one. "I'm not an alcoholic, but I do happen to know I can drink a case of beer in a sitting"
I'm not an alcoholic either. One of the pieces of evidence I would use to support that claim, if challenged, is that I've never tried to drink an entire case of beer.
Lindberg
Final Approach
I hope your confidence that this is all BS extends to relating all of this to your prospective students. Because after reading your posts here, I sure as **** wouldn't want to jump out of a plane with you strapped to my back.
Dr. Chien don't load them trucks...he just drives 'em. Regardless of what you think and feel is right, the FAA has their protocol and if you want to fly, there are hoops you will have to jump through. Full stop. I had some issues from 30yrs back. Full HIMS protocol for me, but, I wanted to fly so I complied with their requirements and I am flying today. Your best bet is to find a solid HIMS AME (hint- one has already responded to you on this thread) and follow their recommendations. There is no easier softer way.
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Which also explains the puzzle of how you were able to even partially function. Maybe someday this friendly suggestion might click. There's something going on if you can drink an entire case and think nothing of it. Having this behavior and jumping out of a plane doesn't seem like a good idea. Maybe just consider chatting with someone about it. This is much more important than whether or not you can instruct, get a medical, etc. That's all.
bbchien
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Well if it's all bul**hit...you can always take the bus. For skydive functions that require a medical - e.g tandem instructor, you can fuggedaboudit. You really need to get to AA....but I suppose you can't do that because, "nah, I don't have a problem".
"I didn't get nauseated, so, no its' no problem"--->really not GREAT insight.
I wonder what your spouse thinks of all the drinking.....
You do have a problem but it's not the one you think you have.
No matter what you think, best of luck to you and I DO mean that.
"I didn't get nauseated, so, no its' no problem"--->really not GREAT insight.
I wonder what your spouse thinks of all the drinking.....
You do have a problem but it's not the one you think you have.
No matter what you think, best of luck to you and I DO mean that.
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Lindberg
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Apparently the requirements have been updated to allow DOT physicals:
USPA Board Meeting Wraps Up
photo by Javier Ortiz The Winter 2025 USPA Board of Directors’ Meeting concluded Monday, March 17, in Daytona Beach, Florida. Following a wild week which included the Parachute Industry Association Symposium, Skydiving Technology Advancement Roundup (STAR) Awards and USPA Drop Zone Operators’...
If there is ever a need for a textbook case denial of a problem with alcohol, just copy and paste this.
WOW.
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It may end the same way it did for commercial hot air balloon pilots; with a requirement for a class 2 medical.
JScarry
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He sounds like the driver in the DUI case I was on over the summer. There were two charges, driving with a BAC greater than .08 and driving impaired. The lawyer argued that since he managed to drive for three hours without an accident and was only stopped for going 100 MPH in a 55 zone, just outside the city, that he wasn’t impaired.
If the OP can drive with a BAC of .27, that means he’s built up a tremendous tolerance to alcohol; people who aren’t alcoholics would be passed out at that point.
If the OP can drive with a BAC of .27, that means he’s built up a tremendous tolerance to alcohol; people who aren’t alcoholics would be passed out at that point.
Half Fast
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He doesn’t want to fly planes. He wants to jump out of them, with an unsuspecting hitchhiker strapped to his harness.
So he wants to fly, sans plane.
Half Fast
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So he wants to fly, sans plane.
Falling with style?
Kenny Phillips
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Why do people think that the alcohol in beer is somehow different from the alcohol in liquor?
Same stuff; the latter can be downed with much less bloating, but still the same.
Same stuff; the latter can be downed with much less bloating, but still the same.
But...but...it's only beer!
Albany Tom
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I can answer that question. If it's 1 or 2 drinks, it doesn't matter. But a person can drink a pint of liquid way faster than they can drink a gallon (10x12oz cans). If your intake matches a regional jet more than a cub, in terms of gph, it matters.
Sorry, this thread has devolved into name calling and profanity. It has run its course. LOCKED.
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