Posted by Tony Clark : Bipolar UK glider pilot (now ex pilot)

Re : u.r.a.s post 28th March

Title :- Germanwings compared to my BGA case.

Thanks for your comments Jonathon May (post 34) and Don Johnstone (post
33).

Not very correct in detail, Jonathon, but you did absorb one of the basic
concepts . . that I was bitter at the time of being denied passenger
clearance by the BGA medic, after the club CFI had cleared me 'technically'
. . but I now view this (over a decade later) as a generous judgement by Dr
Peter Saunby (the BGA Medical Advisor) since he was enlightened enough to
allow me to continue single-seat flying, albeit only from one nominated UK
club site only.

It was very unfortunate that I later 'wrote off' our jointly owned Vega
syndicate sailplane during a badly judged outlanding, indirectly caused by
my bipolar condition (see my u.r.a.s post re details) . . but this could
obviously have been 'maybe' taking my granddaughter for an ASK21 flight . .
Peter Saundby was proved correct.

However, the main point of my post was amazement that the German commercial
pilot was cleared to fly, not one passenger, as in my case, but thousands
of passengers, after 18 months of 'depression' in 2009.

May I urge r.a.s contributors to read Dr Peter Saundby's response to my
initial post . . his explanation of the German medical confidentiality laws
are both incredulous and frighening.

At that time (over a decade ago) Don Johnstone and I spoke privately by
email, of matters 'bipolar', and he was very supportive, knowing as he
does, much more about the bipolar condition than 99% of the population.