Is the FAA medical the absolute barrier to one becoming a pilot over all others?

LandSickness said:
I think the definition of ADHD is so broad that skeptics(yeah, I'm one) have a hard time believing that every single energetic kid needs to be medicated.
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amen

sitting on the school board I've seen several cases of kids who were brought up as needing special treatment. As we looked at these cases, we were able to diagnose each of them as suffering from a disease called "boy". The symptoms of "boy" can be treated with a combination of structure, discipline, and athletics.
 
MONEY!!!!!!!
Pretty much anyone can get a 3rd class medical. If they have problems all they need to do is lie on their paperwork. High blood pressure, ADHD, most of no problem, you just don't disclose it. But there is no point going through that headache is you don't have the funds to fly.
 
This thread is funny. Basically the OP wants to know if the medical is the biggest barrier to entrants to aviation but only if you look at well funded students with medical issues.

Lol, okay...why yes. In the class of well funded students with medical issues the medical is the biggest issue. The same as a skateboard is the worlds fastest mode of transportation if you only look at wheeled plank based methods of mobility costing under $50.


Did ya know BigMacs are the healthiest food in the world? (if you only look at hamburgers sold by McDonalds?)
 
My only issue with the no medical crowd is that sport pilots and glider pilots do have to self certify that they are fit to fly.

Let's say you have a condition that prevents you from getting a 3rd class medical. Can you still go out the next day and say I'm perfectly fine and self certify yourself.

I understand that the pilot population is getting older and medicals can be more challenging to get. The real question is are you still able to self certify?

Since I live in Florida, I see the affects of aging on the driving skills of the elderly. If people can't say I should stop driving, what makes you think that they'll stop flying voluntarily.
 
jonnyjetprop said:
My only issue with the no medical crowd is that sport pilots and glider pilots do have to self certify that they are fit to fly.

Let's say you have a condition that prevents you from getting a 3rd class medical. Can you still go out the next day and say I'm perfectly fine and self certify yourself.

I understand that the pilot population is getting older and medicals can be more challenging to get. The real question is are you still able to self certify?

Since I live in Florida, I see the affects of aging on the driving skills of the elderly. If people can't say I should stop driving, what makes you think that they'll stop flying voluntarily.
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Yup let's start pulling tickets. BMI is a good measure of health and future risk let's start with grounding fat old people. Heck I bet if you ditched the medical class system for BMI less then 25 as the only standard the health of active pilots would increase.
 
Matthew said:
Dunno. But the local FAA guy keeps telling us that Alaska has the highest number of unlicensed pilots in the country.
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In my 7 years of flying Alaska I met several private pilots flying on suspended/revoked pilot certificates, expired medical with out of annual airplanes. (severe anti authority attitude) I only met 2 people there flying without any kind of certificate. Well, one now. One guy killed himself and his son flying his several years out of annual plane on a hunting trip. I have known a couple people that had their planes confiscated because of flying with revoked certificates. These are people that can afford it, they can get a 3rd class medical, they just don't want to take the time to do it right.

I also know people in the lower 48 flying without medical and/or pilot certificate.
 
You guys who think that anyone who can fog a mirror gets a medical just by showing up at the AME's office must be under 50.
 
James331 said:
Out of the boat load of people I've trained over the years medicals haven't been a issue, I've found them to be less intrusive then a school sports physical.

Seems like most folks that I read about getting shot down are due to paperwork or an acquit case of diarrhea of the mouth.


Biggest barrier I've seen is $$$$
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Money is it

It does come down to money secondarily though for many people. While some claim that a school sports physical is less intrusive, that is simply not true. There is nothing known to me to be illegal about failure to disclose your FULL LIFE medical history bc you want to play basketball. It is however, a federal offense to do so on an FAA medical, and they know your history. Lots of conditions are automatically disqualifying or need special issuance.

Ever had migraines? better check and pay someone to find out. ADHD? Alcohol abuse/dui? infarct? thrombosis in your leg? medications for pain, allergies, depression? mental illness? people with prosthesis... put it on and welcome to the altitude chamber at mike monrony... hemorrhage, bleeding disorders, ever been knocked unconscious... better check with the dr and likely get an extensive writeup as to why these kinds of things will not be a safety of flight issue.

The point is, if you and your spouse weigh as much as most Americans, and you want to fly her on a weekend 400 nm round trip with fuel reserves, SP may be too small, motor gliders are not widely available, and your best bet would be say a cherokee 161 or cessna 172. But then that person may have to pay 5-10G out of pocket just to get the tests to prove they are not a risk to fly with the one they love. That's the entire flight budget for many ga pilots out there. To avoid this, I'll bet there are tons of people out there flying light sport either entirely overweight, or short on fuel, both of which are huge risks that are needlessly pressed upon their psyche because of a couple hundred pounds of 'safety' in structure and fuel reserves which could make aviation actually safer if they were able to fly a 172, cherokee 140, etc.

Money is king... For a person like that, it now costs twice as much to fly as the guy in front of him on the flight line.

I'm hoping for some good news in this regard from the FAA somewhere between tomorrow and.... well who knows when. lol
 
paflyer said:
You guys who think that anyone who can fog a mirror gets a medical just by showing up at the AME's office must be under 50.
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Not really fog a mirror.

I am a below knee amputee, corrective lenses, mid-40's, fly on a SODA and have held all the way to 1st class medical.

Brian is an arm amputee, SODA.

Half of the active pilots in my EAA Chapter are also UFO's (Unified Flying Octogenarians), many special issuances and SODAs, a couple LSA only

A good friend has suffered from kidney stones, special issuance.

Another friend with 2 Citabria's, a 310 and a Stearman is legally blind in one eye, SODA.

Dr. Bruce's threads are chock full of stories running the gamut on health challenges - basically you pays your money, you takes their tests, you follows the rules, you gets your ticket.

Point is that there are mechanisms in place to address a substantial number of health issues for people to get 3rd to 1st class medicals and fly as licensed pilots, then there is Sport Pilot, then there is glider pilot, then there is hot air balloon pilot.

But getting qualified under those mechanisms takes money.

When it comes down to it, no bucks, no Buck Rogers, if you have the coin you almost always have options.

'Gimp
 
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AcroGimp said:
But getting qualified under those mechanisms takes money.
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That was my basic point; it's not a cakewalk for a lot of people, especially "experienced" ones. Similar situation in my EAA chapter, out of 35 or so members I have just over a half dozen with medicals (recently including myself, which lapsed a couple months ago, but that's a different story) , and a few of those have taken a year and a half and who knows how much money and angst to get and maintain a special issuance every year. Average age is somewhere over 50.

Unfortunately a lot of guys find out, when they are middle aged and can finally afford flying (in terms of free time and money), that the medical becomes an obstacle that is impossible or hugely onerous to get and keep.
 
cowman said:
Are you healthy and you know it? Nothing crazy like DUIs or epilepsy or any diagnosed psychological disorders? Most likely, you will pass.
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It's the sneaky things that can get you, that the general population might not even think about. Did you get get dehydrated while mowing the lawn on a hot day and pass out momentarily once? Well.. that's going to cause some problems on your medical.

Psychological disorders seem more and more prevalent. There's a pretty good chunk of our population that have taken ADHD meds, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds at some point.
 
F01LA said:
It's the sneaky things that can get you, that the general population might not even think about. Did you get get dehydrated while mowing the lawn on a hot day and pass out momentarily once? Well.. that's going to cause some problems on your medical.
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There is a degree of common sense needed. If you lack the common sense to know when to talk and when to keep your mouth shut, you probably won't make a very good pilot.

Now, of it was more serious than you describe and you had to have a doctor treat you for heat stroke.....that is a different story.
 
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