A
Anonymous
Guest
I'm coming to terms with learning that acquiring a 3rd class medical will be a very expensive and time-consuming process with no guarantee of success due to my childhood ADHD diagnosis. I'm glad that I learned this before applying for a physical, however, because sport pilot is still a tempting and possible option.
I'm struggling with how to overcome the medical catch-22, however. I'm motivated enough that the expense and time of acquiring a medical won't itself stop me, but the possibility of losing the sport pilot option is enough to stop me.
A bit of background:
I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and stopped taking medicine for it when I graduated college in 2011. Since then I've done very well in life without meds. I've led a successful career as a software engineer and I have no problem driving and generally functioning as an adult.
The flying that I want to do is mostly sport flying, but I would still prefer to get my PPL because:
My Question Is This (tl;dr):
Is there a way to pre-emptively judge my chances of success in aquiring a 3rd class with ADHD before I apply on MedXpress? Can I take the neuropsych tests before applying for a medical so that if I don't pass, or if it becomes unreasonably expensive to pass, I can still take the sport pilot route? Or does taking the neuropsych tests itself disqualify me from sport pilot even if I haven't applied for MedXpress? Is there another option that I'm not aware of?
I'm struggling with how to overcome the medical catch-22, however. I'm motivated enough that the expense and time of acquiring a medical won't itself stop me, but the possibility of losing the sport pilot option is enough to stop me.
A bit of background:
I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and stopped taking medicine for it when I graduated college in 2011. Since then I've done very well in life without meds. I've led a successful career as a software engineer and I have no problem driving and generally functioning as an adult.
The flying that I want to do is mostly sport flying, but I would still prefer to get my PPL because:
- I'd rather rent the local Cessna 150 than drive 1-4 hours for the nearest LSA available for rent
- If I get my sport certificate now, I'll be boxing myself so that I never can go further in the future because I won't want to take a medical and risk losing what I've already accomplished.
My Question Is This (tl;dr):
Is there a way to pre-emptively judge my chances of success in aquiring a 3rd class with ADHD before I apply on MedXpress? Can I take the neuropsych tests before applying for a medical so that if I don't pass, or if it becomes unreasonably expensive to pass, I can still take the sport pilot route? Or does taking the neuropsych tests itself disqualify me from sport pilot even if I haven't applied for MedXpress? Is there another option that I'm not aware of?
