zatatime wrote:
What I find even more disconcerting are conditions that would ground a
private pilot with a third class medical which merely get documented
and waived for a first class holder who flies heavy iron every day.

Hearing and Diabetes are two on the top of my head that I know of
which happened recently.

I doubt that you can get a waiver that would be valid for class-I but
not for class-III; as for hearing, there is a Deaf Pilots Association
(http://www.deafpilots.com/) which might disagree with your premise...

--Sylvain