getting a license but older

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fast99

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fast99
Have wanted to get a private license for 20 years. Life and lack of funds got in the way. Now I am 69. Have been following subjects here. Kind of getting the idea that I have waited too long. Age may be an insurmountable roadblock, especially insurance. Talked to one flight school they were quite positive. Told them my age it didn't seem to bother them. The eventual goal is owning a plane possibly with a longtime friend. Is it even possible now?
 
fast99 said:
Have wanted to get a private license for 20 years. Life and lack of funds got in the way. Now I am 69. Have been following subjects here. Kind of getting the idea that I have waited too long. Age may be an insurmountable roadblock, especially insurance. Talked to one flight school they were quite positive. Told them my age it didn't seem to bother them. The eventual goal is owning a plane possibly with a longtime friend. Is it even possible now?
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Oh, yes. I am a 77-year-old CFI and have had a few student pilots older than I am. If this is your dream, know that we remember the things we don't do more than those things we do. Don't worry about the ownership deal until you have to... just learn to fly and have fun. You can rent and not worry about insurance, just buy renters insurance.

One guy I fly with often is older than I am, and can't get a medical certificate, but he loves to fly and goes up about two times a week. He does all the flying, and he's good at it, and I ride along to keep it legal.
 
Do it. Stop questioning and procrastinating. No more excuses. Take one flight at a time, one hour at a time. One flight will turn into the next. What’s it gonna hurt to try?

Flight school wants your money. That’s neither good or bad. They’re trying to sell instruction flights.

Owner insurance is optional, unless you finance.
 
Don't expect to progress like a 16 year old. It will take some time and money to get a private certificate.
 
Got mine in my early 50s and regretted I did not do it early...go for it.. you will never regret it.
 
Get your medical first, if you have any health issues then make another post about that (you can do so anonymously).

Then go for it! If you cannot get a medical then there is always the sport pilot route (use your driver license) if you don’t have any denied medicals on file.
 
mandm said:
Get your medical first, if you have any health issues then make another post about that (you can do so anonymously).

Then go for it! If you cannot get a medical then there is always the sport pilot route (use your driver license) if you don’t have any denied medicals on file.
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Gotta disagree. Start flying first. It makes the pain of getting the medical worth it. If you don’t enjoy it as much as you thought, then you avoid the paperwork. If you can’t pass the medical, you still get to enjoy flying with an instructor along.

If you were a kid wanting to invest in a career, medical first makes sense, but if it’s just a passion to fly, get in the air!
 
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Salty said:
Gotta disagree. Start flying first. It makes the pain of getting the medical worth it. If you don’t enjoy it as much as you thought, then you avoid the paperwork. If you can’t pass the medical, you still get to enjoy flying with an instructor along.
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...and there's no reason to deal with FAA medical issues at all. Sport pilot is an option.

on the main thrust of the thread, go for it. I had a friend who got his private at 67 and flew well into his 80s. Another friend who flew into his 90s.
 
Within our special 'United Flying Octogenarians' (aka UFO) we have a number of pilots that have successfully begun flying in their mid to late 70's. Continue to legally fly as a pilot in command past 80 years and join our ranks in UFO for your duration.
Also perhaps find a CFI with lots of gray. Our oldest still flying member is past 100 years. As mentioned above it will take patience, will be humbling and will take money. You don't know if you don't try! Best of luck and enjoy the ride.
 
fast99 said:
Have wanted to get a private license for 20 years. Life and lack of funds got in the way. Now I am 69. Have been following subjects here. Kind of getting the idea that I have waited too long. Age may be an insurmountable roadblock, especially insurance. Talked to one flight school they were quite positive. Told them my age it didn't seem to bother them. The eventual goal is owning a plane possibly with a longtime friend. Is it even possible now?
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Why do you say age is an insurmountable roadblock? There are pros and cons to being older. Pros are, you will exercise better judgement and maturity compared to a 20 year old who is trying to impress his or her friends; you can focus on the joy of flight rather than career objectives like qualifying for an airline interview, building time, or sitting in the right seat yelling more right rudder to pay your bills. Cons are, you may have more medical issues that come with age; it will be harder to get in and out cockpits as well as encoutering hearing and vision challenges. However, I've also noticed that these age-related health disadvantages are changing these days due to the number of young people who show up for flight training with drug and alcohol history.

It is absolutely possible, so go for it. Just be cautious about who you give your credit card to. FBO's might get too excited when an older guy with a thick wallet shows up.
 
All good options. There is only one caution, the medical. Sport Pilots can fly on a valid state DL as a medical. However, you can do that only if you haven’t been denied a 3rd Class Medical. if you have been denied, then you only have two choices: Not fly. 2. Slog your way through the time, money, & paperwork to get a Special Issuance (SI).

A lot of older pilots coming up on a 3rd Class medical renewal (including myself—actually, I’d been away from flying & my 3rd class had expired, so Basic Med wasn’t an option), have dropped back to exercising Sport Pilot privileges and using the state DL for a medical while flying Light Sport Aircraft. I’m having a great time.

in my case it wasn’t any one major medical thing that was wrong, but the prospects of waiting around for OKC (FAA medical) to issue an SI during the pandemic. What was already glacial pace of issuances from OKC slowed to a drip during the lockdown.

The takeaway is this : never officially ask the FAA a question you don’t already know the answer to.

A lot of AMEs will schedule “advisory” visits, or pre-physicals, to check you meds (the FAA hasn’t kept up on the latest, although I think bleeding & leaches are still okay), have you pull reports on any recent surgeries (I’d recently had my gallbladder strap on a suicide vest & explode in my chest), run an EKG on you heart.

As noted above, you can post here anonymously if you want to discuss any med issues.

so, go find a local graybeard to instruct you, and put in a few hours. If you’re hooked, then decide on which route you want to go (Sport or Private Pilot) & begin working the medical issue.
 
Have a meeting with another flight school in a week. There are 2 within a reasonable travel distance. Don't think medical will be a problem, I have a CDL and no health issues other than needing glasses. It's really the unknown attempting this and above all want to be safe. Thanks for the incentive hope to be training soon.
 
rhkennerly said:
I’d been away from flying & my 3rd class had expired, so Basic Med wasn’t an option . . .
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That depends when your last medical was issued, not necessarily the expiration of your medical.
 
fast99 said:
Have a meeting with another flight school in a week. There are 2 within a reasonable travel distance. Don't think medical will be a problem, I have a CDL and no health issues other than needing glasses. It's really the unknown attempting this and above all want to be safe. Thanks for the incentive hope to be training soon.
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Good luck. But remember, a lot of us here thought the same way as you…until we were bushwhacked by an AME. never as the FAA a question…
 
dbahn said:
That depends when your last medical was issued, not necessarily the expiration of your medical.
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How do you figure "held a valid medical at any point after July 14, 2006" is about when issued and not its expiration?

A 20 year old's medical issued in August 2001 would qualify, but a 50 year old's medical issued the same date would not - because of the expiration.
 
fast99 said:
So how involved is the medical?
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https://www.aopa.org/go-fly/medical-resources/airman-medical-certification

There are many questions on the form like “have you ever” that have caused problems because the FAA has started joining databases with states, the VA, DOT, etc. A lot of pilots got caught fibbing When the databases came together.

have you ever…dui/dwi, illict drugs, received a disability payment, Psychichatric treatment?…the list is long. DWI or drug charge expunged? Nope, gotta report it. Right now they are going after people with undisclosed VA disability payments.

recent hospitalizations? They may require surgical reports, labs, & imaging. i had my gallbladder removed & took advantage of the Covid lull to have bunions on both feet surgically corrected. That’s a lot of running around getting copies.

none of this is insurmountable, but remember OKC is a medical organization run by lawyers. Again, never ask the FAA a question you don’t already know the answer to.
 
fast99 said:
So how involved is the medical?
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Involved enough for someone our age. Find a friendly AME in your area, preferably a senior AME and ask for a consultation - no formal application. You want to know if you will qualify. You can go to the FAA's lookup website (on the "Tyep" dropdown, you want AME) e or, if you say where you are, you will probably get a recommendation or two right here.
 
midlifeflyer said:
How do you figure "held a valid medical at any point after July 14, 2006" is about when issued and not its expiration?

A 20 year old's medical issued in August 2001 would qualify, but a 50 year old's medical issued the same date would not - because of the expiration.
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I wasn’t doing that math since he said his medical was “about a decade” ago, so whether it was issued then or held then doesn’t matter.
 
dbahn said:
I wasn’t doing that math since he said his medical was “about a decade” ago, so whether it was issued then or held then doesn’t matter.
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I mention it because a medical that is "about a decade old" might be OK since the cutoff is 17 years at this point (that's why I congratulated him on coming back after 17+years). It's not a medical that was held "10 years ago." It's a medical that was valid on or after July 14, 2006 - IOW, if his medical expired July 31, 2006 or later, he qualifies for BasicMed.
 
fast99 said:
So how involved is the medical?
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Spend a while reading the POA medical subforum. It can become more complex than you might guess.

Mine was straightforward compared to many others, but was still expensive and time consuming. I have an autoimmune condition which required a Special Issuance (SI). On top of that, I have had a few other complications through the years, such as hypertension, hypothyroid, and a history of skin cancers. I also had three procedures to repair a torn eardrum.

All that meant multiple visits to various doctors, exams, lab work, audiology tests, compiling histories and letters and reports,... By the time we were done the paper pile was something over 400 pages (the dermatology records alone were about 140 pages).

Maybe yours will be simple. But have an off-the-record consultation with an AME before you roll the dice.
 
rhkennerly said:
A lot of older pilots coming up on a 3rd Class medical renewal (including myself—actually, I’d been away from flying & my 3rd class had expired, so Basic Med wasn’t an option), have dropped back to exercising Sport Pilot privileges and using the state DL for a medical while flying Light Sport Aircraft. I’m having a great time.
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dbahn said:
That depends when your last medical was issued, not necessarily the expiration of your medical.
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rhkennerly said:
About a decade.
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Uuuh, the date is July 15, 2006. If you held a 3rd class that was valid after that date, you are eligible for BasicMed.

I returned to flying after 20 years, but keep a medical until 2011. So still 10 years after my last medical, I can and do fly on BasicMed.
 
If you are thinking about getting a medical, the "trick" is. Do the FAA paperwork using the paper form.

Contact an AME and set up a CONSULTATION. Have them review your paperwork (which would normally online) and do the exam and then tell you what will happen.

Once you apply OFFICIALLY for a medical, the AME can only Issue or Defer. If they will need to Defer, they can discuss how many hoops you will need to do to get the medical.

WRT insurance, the issue with older pilots is for Retractable Gear aircraft. Fixed gear can still be insurable. If you REALLY want a retract, you may want to buy it now and insure it. Some companies will continue to cover you if you are already insured prior to 70. But most will not write a new customer over 70 in a retract.
 
My advice (for what it’s worth) considering the proposed MOSIAC rule changes is to start flying but hold off on the medical for a while. Most likely, you will be able to enjoy flying as a Sport Pilot on your drivers license after the rule becomes effective. I would tell the school this is my plan and go full steam ahead.
 
Why not do a consult with an AME and see if there are any issues. If there are not, then get the 3rd Class. Once you have it once, you can switch to BasicMed if that works for you.

If there are issues, you can discuss the road to a 3rd Class and decide if you want to deal with that or fly Light Sport.
 
Do it, do it, do it! I've met some folks around the hangar who are in their 80s and still sharp as a tack. What I've observed is a passion for learning new skills and staying active is what keeps one that way. I'm pretty sure one of our CFIs in the area is pushing 90.
 
You can always go the sport pilot route,to start. Being 76 and still flying it would be well worth the effort.
 
Just to give an update. Listened to the suggestions. Went to an AME today without filling out the med form. He said I had several issues that will preclude me from passing a medical. The AME had several recommendations and I also contacted Dr Bruce. My personal Dr due to his wording on the last physical really messed me up. Such as marijuana use. He asked about it and I jokingly said yeah in high school everyone did. That was 50 years ago, but on the results page, he entered MJ use yes. Am thinking I am flocked before I even get started.
 
fast99 said:
Am thinking I am flocked before I even get started.
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No, you're not.

And that's exactly why we suggested you get a consultation first. Now you know a 3rd class medical will be tough, but you haven't eliminated your option to get a Sport Pilot license. No medical needed, just a driver's license. And when MOSAIC goes through, many more aircraft will be available to the Sport Pilot, including 4-seaters like Cessna 172s. You'll still be constrained to a single passenger and daytime VFR, but that's how most of us fly most of the time anyway.

Nope. You're not screwed at all. Go get that Sport ticket, get into the air, and have fun!
 
My neighbor got her sport pilot license at the age of 68. It's never too late.
 
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