AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Here's the place to ask all of your medical questions. But don't believe everything you read!

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CTLSi
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AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by CTLSi »

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Nomore767
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by Nomore767 »

CTLSi wrote:The AOPA fired off a 'blilstering' letter to the head of the NTSB whining about the long delayed 7 month review process they claim should have taken no longer than 90-days.

The AOPA is assuming this decision is going to go their way, obviously. Well, guess what? The delay no doubt bodes more for an eventual no-change than it does for a nice neat ball of here you go guys - self-assess...

http://www.flyingmag.com/news/aopa-fed- ... Nzg0MjQwS0

Actually, if you had read the article that you posted and that you're quoting, you'd see that the 'blistering letter' was actually sent to the DOT (Department of Transportation) and NOT the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board). Big difference.

That being said…you seem to continue to moan about pilots one day being able to 'self-assess' without realizing that ALL pilots, no matter what level of airman certificate or medical they possess, should already self-assess their personal fitness to fly before each flight.

Check the AIM and take a look at "I'm SAFE".

Even if there is NO CHANGE to 3rd Class Medical, pilots still have to self-assess prior to each flight.

Whatever your agenda, that's what YOU do prior to each flight…right?
SportPilot
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by SportPilot »

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Nomore767
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by Nomore767 »

SportPilot wrote:Gbigs is an ass. He would love nothing more than the FAA to maintain the current 3rd class requirement. He thinks the fact that he had a medical somehow makes him superior. What an idiot.
I can't quite figure what CTLSi's agenda or point is.

In my time I've held PPL, CPL, ATPL and FE certificates. As commercial pilot I had a medical every six months along with EKGs. On my own dime I had urinalysis, blood work, and additional EKGs since my livelihood depended on good health. Even with all this, I still 'self-assessed' prior to each flight, sometimes multiple legs per day. We had pilots say they were fatigued and eventually had an official 'fatigue policy' at the company.

CTLSi appears to think , and imply, that if you have a 3rd Class medical (or better) that you don't need to self-assess. And that sport pilots, especially those who have let their medical lapse, and all who are flying with a driver's license level of medical will be 'allowed' to self-assess if the rule is changed.
This is false, misleading and wrong.
Wm.Ince
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by Wm.Ince »

SportPilot wrote:Gbigs is an ass. He would love nothing more than the FAA to maintain the current 3rd class requirement. He thinks the fact that he had a medical somehow makes him superior. What an idiot.
Concur totally.
He has no credibility here, nor on the CT Flier Forum.
His lack of fundamentals is astounding, considering the claim that he has a Private Pilot Certificate.
Bill Ince
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MrMorden
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by MrMorden »

He doesn't even understand the process he is commenting on. Congress is driving this, not AOPA. Congress directed FAA to reform the medical process or face legislative action. If FAA does not come up with some reform in the next 12 months or so, it will be forced on them.

Another irony here is that this dude claims to be some species of small government free market conservative, yet he advocates the most intrusive big government solution possible for medicals simply to stroke his own ego. Like most authoritarians, he hates government control...unless it suits him. No philosophical consistency other than what suits him.
Andy Walker
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CTLSi
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by CTLSi »

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SportPilot
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by SportPilot »

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SportPilot
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by SportPilot »

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Nomore767
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by Nomore767 »

"Pilots DO NOT self assess a medical condition that prevents from from passing an AME medical exam. Big difference. "

This is about the dumbest thing you've ever posted, and that's saying a lot. You are totally wrong in your interpretation and I suspect it's because it doesn't fit your own agenda.
Only a physician could fully and properly assess a medical condition that prevents them from passing an FAA medical. In fact, that's why they have an AME do the medical in the first place! I suspect that you already know this but are per suing your own agenda. Only a pilot can self-assess their fitness to fly before each flight. If that assessment includes doubt as to a personal medical condition then they're bound to ground themselves. That's the way it is now, and has been. it's the rule that YOU currently fly under.

You, Cecil, have only taken ONE 3rd Class medical in the past 4 years, 2 years since the past one, 2 years until the next one. How do we know you're fit to fly? Your say so? Do you self-assess your fitness to fly before each flight? I suspect that you'll ignore the question as it don't fit your agenda.

"If the FAA allows pilots to self-assess their general medical fitness to fly, then there is no need to have ANY AME exams at any level."

This is the way it is NOW. You just either don't see it, or refuse to.

"The point remains, the AOPA is whining and trying to bully the process...they will not succeed."

Actually, Congress is directing the FAA along with lobbying from such groups as the AOPA and the EAA. I suspect you know this too.

You seem to be the major source of whining on this issue.
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MrMorden
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by MrMorden »

SportPilot wrote:
Pilots DO NOT self assess a medical condition that prevents from from passing an AME medical exam.
That's why you have to consult with your personal physician if you are using a driver's license medical. I suspect a physical exam from your personal physician is more thorough than a 3rd class FAA physical.
Exactly. There is no requirement that a SP must not have any condition preventing passing a third class medical. They only must certify that they are capable of making the current flight and operating the aircraft in a safe manner. Which is a determination the pilot can absolutely make (in accordance with his/her personal physician if there is any question).

The watchword here, as in most areas of law and regulation, is "reasonable." If the pilot flying under Sport Pilot regs can *reasonably* assert his fitness to fly, he is good to go. Is it reasonable to think he's fit to fly if he's had a heart attack in the past and surrendered his medical? Maybe, that's where a physician consult comes in.

Is it reasonable to say you are fit to fly if you pop four Vicodin a day for back pain? I don't think any reasonable person would think flying on opiates is a great idea. But an occasional Vicodin for a back spasm, if you wait a reasonable time to let the drug clear your system, say a couple of days? That seems reasonable, as long as your back issues don't prevent you from properly flying the airplane.

DL medical rules are NOT the same as third class medical rules. Trying to shoehorn fitness for a third class into the DL rules doesn't work, and defeats the purpose of the rules.
Andy Walker
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Nomore767
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by Nomore767 »

CFR 61.23 (2) A person using a U.S. driver's license to meet the requirements of this paragraph must—
(i) Comply with each restriction and limitation imposed by that person's U.S. driver's license and any judicial or administrative order applying to the operation of a motor vehicle;
(ii) Have been found eligible for the issuance of at least a third-class airman medical certificate at the time of his or her most recent application (if the person has applied for a medical certificate);
(iii) Not have had his or her most recently issued medical certificate (if the person has held a medical certificate) suspended or revoked or most recent Authorization for a Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate withdrawn; and
(iv) Not know or have reason to know of any medical condition that would make that person unable to operate a light-sport aircraft in a safe manner.
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by 3Dreaming »

I know a AME who when it come to the time that passing a medical is in doubt will suggest flying as a sport pilot. He will tell you that passing a medical doesn't mean you are healthy, it just means you meet the FAA standards. By the same token if you don't meet the FAA standards it doesn't mean you are too un-healthy to fly. His first and foremost concern is the health of the applicant.
CTLSi
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by CTLSi »

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MrMorden
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Re: AOPA Fed Up with Medical Reform Delays

Post by MrMorden »

CTLSi wrote:IMSAFE is NOT the same as an AME exam.
Well, duh. But a DL medical is different from IMSAFE. Equating the two is a straw man.
Andy Walker
Athens, GA
Sport Pilot ASEL, LSRI
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