Hey guys, I need some help/advice on how to proceed...I'm looking to try and help my father become a pilot. He had a stroke in 2008 and has had borderline high blood pressure all his life. Ever since his stroke, he has not had any other medical issues that I am aware of. The advice I need is whether I should recommend him to go for a third class medical or a basic med attempt or to just recommend LSA and sport pilot so he could fly himself and my mother around. He has always dreamed of becoming a pilot ever since he was little and he gave up his dream when I was born. That being said, I do not want to get his hopes up before I have all the information needed. Has anybody else been in this type of situation? Medical issues then passing a Third Class Medical?
Yes, I am in the same situation Questions. Has your Dad been denied his medical by the FAA ? Is he well enough to fly safely.
As long as the gray matter is working correctly I'd recommend a Sport Pilot Certificate. If the 3rd class gets denied then he's stuck with gliders and ultralights. After getting a Sport Certificate he can decide if he wants to pursue going further or continue enjoying a bit of day VFR flying at 120 knots. For me the answer to blood pressure sneaking up a bit is proper diet and regular exercise. Lowing my sodium intake helped a great deal also. I'm blessed to have no BP meds yet ...
Basic med is not an option unless he had a valid FAA medical sometime since 2006 (I think that’s the year, may be wrong year). sport pilot can be done if he’s got a valid drivers license and is medically safe to fly.
He has not been denied a medical but is healthy enough. They were prepping to hike the Appalachian trail this year before COVID. He is probably in one of the best shapes of his life since they were planning to hike the Appalachian trail. I’m not sure if he is still on blood pressure medicine.
I would encourage him to get a consult, not an actual Third Class Medical examination from a good AME to discuss his situation and determine if he would pass a Third class medical without getting deferred. Otherwise just go Sport Pilot...
Then he can still fly with out a medical, basic med, see the rules. https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Form/FAA_Form_8700-2_.pdf
In order to go basic med, he would have had to have had a medical certificate first. He's just getting into flying.
Additionally, a consult is not a medical, so there is no action to be taken. A consult is a question and answer session to learn what the FAA rules are around your specific conditions.
I would recommend Sport Pilot assuming he is healthy enough. The path for FAA medical certification starts here if stroke is the only thing. https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...me/guide/app_process/exam_tech/item46/amd/cd/ FAA has some info on acceptable BP meds, I’ll try to find that later.
What??? You can't fly BasicMed without having had a Third Class Medical Certificate. You can't obtain a Third Class without an examination by an AME. A consult with an AME is not an FAA medical exam as long as no 8500-8 has been submitted. These hoops exists to protect the op's Dad from losing Sport Pilot privileges if he applied for and was denied a Third Class. How can any Dr get you denied?
My dad decided to start flight training at the age of 74. His dad was a pilot, and so is his daughter, so he figured it was time. Very healthy guy -- also an avid hiker -- but with the kinds of issues that anyone would face who has made that many trips around the Sun... "You should consider Sport Pilot," said his CFI daughter, and I described a bit about what the deal is with Sport Pilot and LSA's. "It exists for people like you!" "No, I want to fly REAL planes," he said, "like your 172." "Light Sport planes *are* real planes," I tried to tell him, "and a Sport Pilot *is* a real pilot!" ...but he is stubborn and went for the 3rd class anyway. The FAA requested a ton of additional information and tests, information sent, months went by, more information requested... I don't know all the details, but the ultimate outcome of the process is that he got seriously demoralized and gave up. Yes, you can't do BasicMed without successfully getting a 3rd class first. And you can't do Sport Pilot if you try (officially) to get a 3rd class and fail to get one. So the "consult" people speak of is going to see an AME to talk, but not filling out the magical FAA form that makes it official. I agree that the consult (do not submit any forms!!) might be a good idea, and that Sport Pilot might fit your dad's ambitions perfectly.
It seems to me that a doctor voluntarily sending out medical info about a patient without either a release or some sort of legal compulsion, like a warrant, would be opening himself up to serious legal action.
