What is a SODA and how do I get one?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Takuna42
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Takuna42

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Can someone please explain the difference between a special issuance and a SODA. I may or may not have mental illness people don't really know what it is.
 
A SODA is a "statement of demonstrated ability", when your demonstrate your ability to fly with a physical issue, like being an amputee or having only one eye. Any mental health issues, you need an SI.
 
I agree with Dana. The major difference is that SODAs are one-time things, where as SIs need to be maintained in various ways.
 
Takuna42 said:
I may or may not have mental illness people don't really know what it is.
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1) What is your flying goal? Hobby? Professional?

2) Why do you think you have something that could be a mental illness? Have you seen a doctor about this? If so, there will be records and diagnosis codes.

3) Is this mental illness that you have in mind something that you think would interfer with the skills needed for driving a car, operating heavy machinery, flying a plane? Would it effect your decision making and concentration?

Net net, good for you for asking questions. The last thing you want to do is start an expensive hobby or even a profession that isn't a good fit for whatever you may or may not have.
 
Dana said:
A SODA is a "statement of demonstrated ability", when your demonstrate your ability to fly with a physical issue, like being an amputee or having only one eye. Any mental health issues, you need an SI.
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I have a SODA, for "Eye Muscle Imbalance" (resulting in lack of depth perception). Got it 50+ years ago, short flight with an FAA guy a few weeks before my Private checkride. Only had to do it once. Just presented the waiver at each FAA medical (moot since Sport Pilot).

Ron Wanttaja (pronounced, "One-eye-Ah")
 
If you can live with flying with only one other person, in the daylight, in decent weather, you can become a Sport Pilot (SP) with only a valid driver's license, and fly under the new MOSAIC rules.
That's gotta work for most recreational pilots.
If you want to have a career, it all changes, and a failure at any point eliminates the sport pilot option.
I have glaucoma, and a wonky eye, that was borderline needing a SODA flight. But I passed the class 3, just, and got a Special Issuance. I must present the results of a battery of eye tests every year, forever.
If I hadn't passed the eye tests, I'd do a SODA flight, as a monocular pilot, just one time.
 
FlyingRon (post #3) got it right. SODAs are for situations that are STATIC. SIs- the state of the condition may change. THE OP is looking for the SI.
 
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