Renewal after a 20 years moratorium

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Hello, I wonder if I will have any problems with the AME if I try to renew my third class medical certificate, 20 years after its expiration date?
I am a private pilot, used to rent airplanes long time ago, but got married and moved out of the country for sometime and never flew again, now I am planning to fly again and hire an instructor for some refreshment.
Thanks for any help.
 
As long as you haven't developed any disqualifying conditions in the interim, and you fill out the application fully and accurately, you should not have any problems. However, some of the rules on how to fill out that form have changed, so read the attached instructions including all the fine print very carefully, and if you have any doubts at all on how to fill it out, ask the AME for guidance before you sign it.
 
Ron Levy said:
As long as you haven't developed any disqualifying conditions in the interim, and you fill out the application fully and accurately, you should not have any problems. However, some of the rules on how to fill out that form have changed, so read the attached instructions including all the fine print very carefully, and if you have any doubts at all on how to fill it out, ask the AME for guidance before you sign it.
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If you have any doubts, talk to the AME before you even let them hand you the number 80whatever form.

Any doubts.

Don't cheat yourself out of the sport pilot option.

You need to know before you go.

20 years shouldn't be an issue in itself. Bigger problems are more likely to be whatever medications you may have taken in the intervening time that are on the "bad list". (And no, that list is not available for you to see.)

AOPA has an on line version of the form that you can go through to flag any potential issues. And to make sure that you have all the information you need.
 
Probably, the biggest hurdle will be remembering every little cough and snort for which you have sought medical treatment over the past 20 years. Every doc visit, every pill horsed down. No DUI's, no drug bust, no heart attacks or diabetes, probably good to go, but get it all figured out and documented in advance and don't go in till you are sure of a pass. As everyone else has already said.
 
Mason said:
Probably, the biggest hurdle will be remembering every little cough and snort for which you have sought medical treatment over the past 20 years. Every doc visit, every pill horsed down. No DUI's, no drug bust, no heart attacks or diabetes, probably good to go, but get it all figured out and documented in advance and don't go in till you are sure of a pass. As everyone else has already said.
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Only visits to health professionals within the preceding three years must be reported. Likewise, only medications currently being taken must be reported on that line. Of course, you still have to explain anything requiring a "yes" to all those "yes/no" questions, but that's another story, and if any of those things happened, it's not likely you'd forget it.
 
Unreg, I would like to repeat something noted by Ron Levy. If the AME is using paper forms, you can fill it out but do not sign it. REFUSE to sign it if you have to. But better yet, confer before you fill it out.

If he is using MedXpress, there is a way that the AME can view it without making the record official. But he has to be "sharp" to do that.

I hate to be this "gamey", but you can fill it out online, write down the "confimration code" and do not give that to him; print your copy just after "Submit" (it's the only time you will get that chance, so look HARD at that page to find the PRINT option). On the printed PDF, cutoff the "confirmation code" at the bottom of the page, and give him THAT copy (keep a copy). If he thinks you are issuable you can give him the number subsequently and he can download the file. That protects you from a tech-klugy AME.
 
Wow. I did not realize there was such a risk of getting something bad on your med record. I went for 35 years between medicals. I didn't have any medical issues in that time, and I didn't think about the potential issues this group brings forward. I just made an appointment, went to see the AME, and got a new one, no problem...
 
skidoo said:
Wow. I did not realize there was such a risk of getting something bad on your med record. I went for 35 years between medicals. I didn't have any medical issues in that time, and I didn't think about the potential issues this group brings forward. I just made an appointment, went to see the AME, and got a new one, no problem...
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Be very thankful for such good health!
 
Ron Levy said:
Of course, you still have to explain anything requiring a "yes" to all those "yes/no" questions, but that's another story, and if any of those things happened, it's not likely you'd forget it.
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After 66 years, it's not easy to remember every yes answer to a question as broad as 18x ("other illness...")!
 
Palmpilot said:
After 66 years, it's not easy to remember every yes answer to a question as broad as 18x ("other illness...")!
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If it was serious enough that the FAA will care, I'll bet you would. Of course, I'm only 60, so in six years, I may not remember that I said this today.
 
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