Why is the advice so different?

A

anonymous

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I'm currently dealing with a deferred application for mental health issues, now resolved. My AME has been helpful in getting me started, and I'm finding the process very straightforward and easy to navigate, even without his direct help and the addition of FAA bureaucracy (I am pretty sure they're keeping fax machine manufacturers in business).

But when I surfed onto this site, I see situations like mine that have been made out to be so complex that I shouldn't be able to handle it on my own. I'm a little confused about the difference? Am I missing something, or is this really not as complex as some make it out to be?
 
I'm currently dealing with a deferred application for mental health issues, now resolved. My AME has been helpful in getting me started, and I'm finding the process very straightforward and easy to navigate, even without his direct help and the addition of FAA bureaucracy (I am pretty sure they're keeping fax machine manufacturers in business).

But when I surfed onto this site, I see situations like mine that have been made out to be so complex that I shouldn't be able to handle it on my own. I'm a little confused about the difference? Am I missing something, or is this really not as complex as some make it out to be?
Ignore what goes on here, listen to, and believe your AME. What is posted here, is not always the entire story, so you really can't compare your situation with any other. Just be very careful and make sure your AME is completely familiar with all the details of your case, and is willing to take the lead when dealing with the FAA. Keep copies of everything!

If at any time your AME believes you need more experienced AME-type assistance, then ask fthe AME to recommend someone who is more experienced and familiar dealing with the FAA in your situation.
 
I hope your past relative ease dictates your future.
You should update at the time of your issuance though to give others hope or document the reality of what you faced.
 
Ignore what goes on here, listen to, and believe your AME. What is posted here, is not always the entire story, so you really can't compare your situation with any other. Just be very careful and make sure your AME is completely familiar with all the details of your case, and is willing to take the lead when dealing with the FAA. Keep copies of everything!

If at any time your AME believes you need more experienced AME-type assistance, then ask fthe AME to recommend someone who is more experienced and familiar dealing with the FAA in your situation.

He thinks I'm perfectly capable of dealing with the FAA myself. Which is mostly what I'm wondering about. That doesn't seem to be the recommendation here, but this is so straightforward...
 
He thinks I'm perfectly capable of dealing with the FAA myself. Which is mostly what I'm wondering about.
By yourself? For a mental health issuance?

Hmmmmm.... Seems to be a developing foul odor in a Scandinavian country situation

Is this AME you are referencing a “regular” level AME? Or a HIMS level?

Is a HIMS level AME already part of your team?
 
By yourself? For a mental health issuance?

Hmmmmm.... Seems to be a developing foul odor in a Scandinavian country situation

Is this AME you are referencing a “regular” level AME? Or a HIMS level?

Is a HIMS level AME already part of your team?

Why would I need a HIMS AME when it's not a HIMS case?
 
Why would I need a HIMS AME when it's not a HIMS case?
My apologies for assuming facts not in evidence in your particular case.

But many mental health cases are handled at the HIMS level.
 
My apologies for assuming facts not in evidence in your particular case.

But many mental health cases are handled at the HIMS level.

It's my understanding that SSRI use, current or past, will land you in HIMS. I could be wrong, but that's what I'm learning here. I never took them, so maybe that's the difference.

In any case, the FAA's requirements are pretty clear...so I'm curious.
 
It's my understanding that SSRI use, current or past, will land you in HIMS...

That’s not the only thing that’ll require a HIMS AME and I’m not saying your history will require one. Each case is different and each AME has a preferred method. What you have to be comfortable with is accepting the potential for a medical disqualification (not deferral, but denial) due to not knowing what you don’t know.

If your AME has seen hundreds or thousands of cases with a history like yours and has provided you with advice you trust and can follow, then great.

If your AME shrugged his shoulders and said to DIY it, then a second opinion or consult may be in order.
 
That’s not the only thing that’ll require a HIMS AME and I’m not saying your history will require one. Each case is different and each AME has a preferred method. What you have to be comfortable with is accepting the potential for a medical disqualification (not deferral, but denial) due to not knowing what you don’t know.

If your AME has seen hundreds or thousands of cases with a history like yours and has provided you with advice you trust and can follow, then great.

If your AME shrugged his shoulders and said to DIY it, then a second opinion or consult may be in order.

He has. And sure, there's the potential for a denial. It all depends on how I do on the cogscreen. But I knew that going in, so...

Maybe I'm missing something. This is a long wait and expensive, sure, but not all that stressful.
 
I have the same feeling. No matter HIMS or not, you always have to submit your documents, wait for FAA to respond and tell you the steps you have to follow. The letter from FAA also serves as an instruction for your HIMS AME so that he knows how to help you.

In simple cases, there is no difference. But when dealing with complicated cases, an experienced AME might have a better-educated guess on what kind of documents FAA would need, so that you don't waste too much time and money going back and forth with FAA.

A lot of people here say don't go to the exam if you have this and that condition. But if you are not in a hurry and have some spare money, it doesn't hurt to give it a try. Even if the FAA denies your case, they always tell you the reason and give you instructions on how to proceed.
 
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some days equine hydration is simple, other days... not so much.
 
I have the same feeling. No matter HIMS or not, you always have to submit your documents, wait for FAA to respond and tell you the steps you have to follow. The letter from FAA also serves as an instruction for your HIMS AME so that he knows how to help you.

In simple cases, there is no difference. But when dealing with complicated cases, an experienced AME might have a better-educated guess on what kind of documents FAA would need, so that you don't waste too much time and money going back and forth with FAA.

A lot of people here say don't go to the exam if you have this and that condition. But if you are not in a hurry and have some spare money, it doesn't hurt to give it a try. Even if the FAA denies your case, they always tell you the reason and give you instructions on how to proceed.

This is exactly what I'm finding.
 
A lot of people here say don't go to the exam if you have this and that condition. But if you are not in a hurry and have some spare money, it doesn't hurt to give it a try. Even if the FAA denies your case, they always tell you the reason and give you instructions on how to proceed.
The reason people say that is because if you are ultimately unsuccessful in getting a medical certificate, it DOES hurt to give it a try, in that it closes off the sport pilot option. And if you previously held a medical certificate at some point since 2006, then BasicMed might be an option, and that is foreclosed by a denial as well.
 
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He thinks I'm perfectly capable of dealing with the FAA myself. Which is mostly what I'm wondering about. That doesn't seem to be the recommendation here, but this is so straightforward...

You’ll know who was right in the end.

Frankly some AMEs are very good, others are good enough, of course some are lazy, and some seem to get off on having some type of power over pilots. Just keep in mind, demographics wise, you don’t get too many of the medical greats resigning to doing employment type physicals for a living.

I mean health wise, real world it’s a high school sports physical, it doesn’t take iron man to fly a plane, it’s all the .gov stuff that makes what should be a simple and logical health checkup and turns it into the mess that it is.
 
The reason people say that is because if you are ultimately unsuccessful in getting a medical certificate, it DOES hurt to give it a try, in that it closes off the sport pilot option. And if you previously held a medical certificate at some point since 2006, then BasicMed might be an option, and that is foreclosed by a denial as well.

Sport pilot doesn't interest me. Nor does BasicMed (as a CFII who can't instruct under it).
 
If it were me, I would wait until I actually had the medical certificate in hand before coming to a conclusion on that.

I have a 505-50 shot. I knew that going in, so I'm not sure what the issue is. The process itself is clear.
 
Sport pilot doesn't interest me. Nor does BasicMed (as a CFII who can't instruct under it).
Here's what the FAA has to say about instructing under BasicMed:

Q24: Can I exercise my CFI, as PIC, under BasicMed?

A: Yes, as long as you are flying a covered aircraft.

https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/basic_med/media/basicmed_faq.pdf

According to AOPA:

The FAA considers the flight instructor who is acting as PIC to be “receiving compensation for his or her flight instruction” under instructor privileges but is “exercising private pilot privileges while acting as PIC of the flight.”

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2017/january/12/aopa-details-basicmed-rule

Since instrument flight instruction requires the instructor to fulfill the role of safety pilot whenever the student is using a view-limiting device, the instructor would have to be PIC-qualified in the aircraft, and designated as PIC. Whether that limitation would be a problem for you is something only you could determine, but for pilots in general, it's not always true to say that "it doesn't hurt to give it a try."

The risk of losing the sport pilot and BasicMed options is one of the issues that address the title of this thread.
 
Here's what the FAA has to say about instructing under BasicMed:

Q24: Can I exercise my CFI, as PIC, under BasicMed?

A: Yes, as long as you are flying a covered aircraft.

https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/basic_med/media/basicmed_faq.pdf

According to AOPA:

The FAA considers the flight instructor who is acting as PIC to be “receiving compensation for his or her flight instruction” under instructor privileges but is “exercising private pilot privileges while acting as PIC of the flight.”

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2017/january/12/aopa-details-basicmed-rule

Since instrument flight instruction requires the instructor to fulfill the role of safety pilot whenever the student is using a view-limiting device, the instructor would have to be PIC-qualified in the aircraft, and designated as PIC. Whether that limitation would be a problem for you is something only you could determine, but for pilots in general, it's not always true to say that "it doesn't hurt to give it a try."

The risk of losing the sport pilot and BasicMed options is one of the issues that address the title of this thread.

Yes, I'm well aware of what I can and can't do as a CFI without a medical. But fair enough. Though if that's the case, I really don't think we should be dissauding people to the extent this forum does. Not everyone is into sport aircraft.
 
The reason people say that is because if you are ultimately unsuccessful in getting a medical certificate, it DOES hurt to give it a try, in that it closes off the sport pilot option. And if you previously held a medical certificate at some point since 2006, then BasicMed might be an option, and that is foreclosed by a denial as well.

You are right. I forgot about that part. Maybe that's a more important reason for the general aviation pilots.
 
Yes, I'm well aware of what I can and can't do as a CFI without a medical. But fair enough. Though if that's the case, I really don't think we should be dissauding people to the extent this forum does. Not everyone is into sport aircraft.
To be clear there are a handful of very vocal people saying those things. They do not represent the board.

I have an opinion but at the end of the day people will do what they want not what others tell them to do. Well if they are adults they will.
 
To be clear there are a handful of very vocal people saying those things. They do not represent the board.

I have an opinion but at the end of the day people will do what they want not what others tell them to do. Well if they are adults they will.
The real issue is the volume of “I’m just fine, I just have one question”....emails that reflect what is really “wishful thinking....so I will do fine”. Most of these inquirers haven’t got a clue....:(

Most folks, like the anon, here, have zero idea that all HIMS means is “FAA Psychiatry trained and vetted” and nothing more. We know what they are going to require.

Over 25% of my works Comes to me after the denial....

....and so, you don’t have to get any of that stuff, it’ll either take a extra year, or end in a denial......I don’t care if you spent a year beating you head against the wall. Just recognize when that happens, that optimism doesn’t make the case win.

Remember Gary Larson, and Frank’s Neurosurgery? If you have a psychiatry issue , go to a cardiologist.....”yeah, that’s the ticket....”
 
The real issue is the volume of “I’m just fine, I just have one question”....emails that reflect what is really “wishful thinking....so I will do fine”. Most of these inquirers haven’t got a clue....:(

Most folks, like the anon, here, have zero idea that all HIMS means is “FAA Psychiatry trained and vetted” and nothing more. We know what they are going to require.

Over 25% of my works Comes to me after the denial....

....and so, you don’t have to get any of that stuff, it’ll either take a extra year, or end in a denial......I don’t care if you spent a year beating you head against the wall. Just recognize when that happens, that optimism doesn’t make the case win.

Remember Gary Larson, and Frank’s Neurosurgery? If you have a psychiatry issue , go to a cardiologist.....”yeah, that’s the ticket....”
Yep and you know what... stupid is a stupid does.
 
Yes, I'm well aware of what I can and can't do as a CFI without a medical. But fair enough. Though if that's the case, I really don't think we should be dissauding people to the extent this forum does. Not everyone is into sport aircraft.
If this post is any indication of your understanding then you are in for a rough time.
 
The 'mental health issues' is probably the issue that the FAA will be concerned with here. If it is a matter of a problem with depression, this can easily be handled today with medications and the FAA knows this. AME's, in my experience, are more for us than against us. The one I recently used said that the FAA wants to get us flying. I personally think that your AME dealing with the FAA, if possible, would be better than you having to deal with them.
 
The real issue is the volume of “I’m just fine, I just have one question”....emails that reflect what is really “wishful thinking....so I will do fine”. Most of these inquirers haven’t got a clue....:(

Most folks, like the anon, here, have zero idea that all HIMS means is “FAA Psychiatry trained and vetted” and nothing more. We know what they are going to require.

Over 25% of my works Comes to me after the denial....

....and so, you don’t have to get any of that stuff, it’ll either take a extra year, or end in a denial......I don’t care if you spent a year beating you head against the wall. Just recognize when that happens, that optimism doesn’t make the case win.

Remember Gary Larson, and Frank’s Neurosurgery? If you have a psychiatry issue , go to a cardiologist.....”yeah, that’s the ticket....”

Well, yeah, my situation might be wishful thinking. But the right people (i.e., people with experience in my situation AND the FAA) are involved, so I may as well take the shot. It's not like I can fly right now to begin with...

And the letter was pretty explicit about what they wanted. Even to saying doctors with no aeromedical background will produce a mostly useless report. Even to specifying the tests they require.

Unless you're saying all MH cases should go through you.
 
Well, yeah, my situation might be wishful thinking. But the right people (i.e., people with experience in my situation AND the FAA) are involved, so I may as well take the shot. It's not like I can fly right now to begin with...

And the letter was pretty explicit about what they wanted. Even to saying doctors with no aeromedical background will produce a mostly useless report. Even to specifying the tests they require.

Unless you're saying all MH cases should go through you.
No, there are ~150 “HIMS” AMEs all trained in the ways of the FAA Psychiatry branch. You can choose anyone, and you will have to eventually, to find the FAA credentialed HIMS Psychiatrist anyway. The list is unpublished on “pain of dismissal”.

It’s like this: you can represent yourself before the IRS, but will be painful and slow and ultimately cost you more.

Or, as one longtime attorney said (whom got off of his Special Issuance) when I said, “Phil, you don’t have to keep coming 450 miles, any AME can issue you...” to which he replied,
“I got got advise here...am I not welcome?” To which I said,
“I appreciate your return here VERY much”.

Going without good counsel is ultimately far more frustrating and less successful. And to answer you original question, you are missing a LOT.

Good Luck with you endeavors!
 
A HIMS AME deferred me. A HIMS psychiatrist evaluated me. So still not sure what I'm missing, but so be it.
 
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