Hypoglycemia?

Danny Deger writes:

In my case I called the FAA in OK City and asked them directly about a
medical condition I had been diagnosed with. Based on this, I bought a 1941
Taylorcraft and am happily flying sport aviation.

You made the decision on the basis of a single phone call? What if the person
who answered the phone wasn't exactly the correct person to ask?

--
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"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"Danny Deger" wrote

If you have never been turned down for a medical you could fly under
light sport aviation. Basically a 40's plane like a Cub (almost all
without electrical system) or one of the new ones for about $80K. The
big issue for light sport is a maximum gross weitht of 1320 pounds. With
a couple of rare exceptions, all aircraft in the US with an electrical
system are over this weight.

Nearly ALL of the new breed (modern designs) of LSA have FULL electrical
systems, with many even having equipment for night flight, and some having
equipment qualifying them for instrument flight. I would not consider
that "a couple of rare exceptions," in any measure of the term.

Most of the old designs that meet the LSA weights are pushing weight with
full electrical systems, but some still do have them.
--

Thanks for correcting my post. I ment to say the older planes like Cubs,
Champs, etc. that are light sport have no electrical system. I shopped
quite a while for one and didn't find one. Taylorcraft made one, but only
produced 7 of them. Many Taylorcrafts have been modified to electrics, but
most of these were STCed up to 1,400 pounds. The Luscombes with electrics
are all too heavy. I ended up buying a Taylorcraft with a C-85-8 engine
without electrics that I can modify without too much expense if I want to.
I would have to change the accessory case to a -12 case that can accept a
starter motor.

Jim in NC

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Danny Deger writes:

In my case I called the FAA in OK City and asked them directly about a
medical condition I had been diagnosed with. Based on this, I bought a
1941
Taylorcraft and am happily flying sport aviation.

You made the decision on the basis of a single phone call? What if the
person
who answered the phone wasn't exactly the correct person to ask?


I don't want to go into any details, but the single phone call only
confirmed what I was 99% certain of before I made the call. The answer was
very clear. No medical and no waiver.

Danny Deger


--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

On Apr 8, 6:53 pm, wrote:
There's still another side of this that should be discussed. It's one
thing, and a 'good thing', to learn in an informal way if your
condition will prevent you from passing the medical. Do this before
making an appointment for an FAA medical exam because as has been
pointed out once you start that process the data is in the FAA's
records..

But, if you find your condition renders you unable to for example
drive a car from time to time -- that you have to pull off until you
regain control -- don't even think about becoming a pilot. There's no
pulling off to the side if the condition goes out of control, and it's
likely -- I'm not sure of this -- conditions of flight may provide an
environment that makes your condition more likely to become overt.

So I'm suggesting YOU make a mature decision. Is your condition such
that you're at some greater risk to have a medical condition put you
and your PX at risk? If so, stop now, even if you can find a way of
passing the physical.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Regarding the post above --- I am fine as long as I eat every couple
of hours or so. If not, I may start to feel bad. So, I have never
blacked out. If I were to let myself go too long without eating a
snack, I start to feel weak. I never black out though, just feel
terrible. If that were to happen, I could eat something sweet and I
would be pretty much alert again. Although, usually I avoid all sugar
and simple carbs unless i really need them.

I am a little dissapointed with some of the responses given my desire
to fly. P.S, i'm not interested in sport flying.
I am hoping that my condition will improve in the future - I'm working
on trying to reverse this condition. I hope not to have it for life.
Perhaps I will wait until I see an improvement in my situation.

Thanks Again
Efis2

EFIS2 wrote:

I am a little dissapointed with some of the responses given my desire
to fly. P.S, i'm not interested in sport flying.
I am hoping that my condition will improve in the future - I'm working
on trying to reverse this condition. I hope not to have it for life.
Perhaps I will wait until I see an improvement in my situation.

Thanks Again
Efis2

By not being interested in sport flying do you mean you are looking for a
commercial or ATP rating in the future? If so I wouldn't get my hopes up too
high. You say you've had the problem for quite some time but hope for
improvement. Do you think there is reason that it will clear itself? If it
cleared up via medicine you will still have to report it and while you might
get a waiver for class 3 getting a higher one is unlikely without a complete
clearing up of the condition.

EFIS2 writes:

Regarding the post above --- I am fine as long as I eat every couple
of hours or so. If not, I may start to feel bad. So, I have never
blacked out. If I were to let myself go too long without eating a
snack, I start to feel weak. I never black out though, just feel
terrible. If that were to happen, I could eat something sweet and I
would be pretty much alert again. Although, usually I avoid all sugar
and simple carbs unless i really need them.

The straightforward solution would be to ensure that you always fly with a
suitable supply of glucose or anything else you can use to maintain your blood
glucose. As you well know, nobody suddenly drops to the floor from
hypoglycemia, with no warning, so you'd have plenty of time to munch on
something if you felt symptoms coming on. And actually being incapacitated
would be very unlikely indeed.

I am a little dissapointed with some of the responses given my desire
to fly. P.S, i'm not interested in sport flying.
I am hoping that my condition will improve in the future - I'm working
on trying to reverse this condition. I hope not to have it for life.
Perhaps I will wait until I see an improvement in my situation.

See an endocrinologist, have your condition carefully assessed, and discuss
the options with him. If he feels that you can fly safely (and especially if
he's prepared to put this on paper, which you could pass on to the FAA), why
not go for the license now?

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

You don't need any paperwork to buy a blood glucose meter,
take readings to see what you really have when you start to
feel "weak or tired" and go from there.

Having to eat every few hours is not abnormal.



"EFIS2" wrote in message
oups.com...
| On Apr 8, 6:53 pm, wrote:
| There's still another side of this that should be
discussed. It's one
| thing, and a 'good thing', to learn in an informal way
if your
| condition will prevent you from passing the medical. Do
this before
| making an appointment for an FAA medical exam because as
has been
| pointed out once you start that process the data is in
the FAA's
| records..
|
| But, if you find your condition renders you unable to
for example
| drive a car from time to time -- that you have to pull
off until you
| regain control -- don't even think about becoming a
pilot. There's no
| pulling off to the side if the condition goes out of
control, and it's
| likely -- I'm not sure of this -- conditions of flight
may provide an
| environment that makes your condition more likely to
become overt.
|
| So I'm suggesting YOU make a mature decision. Is your
condition such
| that you're at some greater risk to have a medical
condition put you
| and your PX at risk? If so, stop now, even if you can
find a way of
| passing the physical.
|
| Good luck!
|
| Thanks for all the suggestions.
|
| Regarding the post above --- I am fine as long as I eat
every couple
| of hours or so. If not, I may start to feel bad. So, I
have never
| blacked out. If I were to let myself go too long without
eating a
| snack, I start to feel weak. I never black out though,
just feel
| terrible. If that were to happen, I could eat something
sweet and I
| would be pretty much alert again. Although, usually I
avoid all sugar
| and simple carbs unless i really need them.
|
| I am a little dissapointed with some of the responses
given my desire
| to fly. P.S, i'm not interested in sport flying.
| I am hoping that my condition will improve in the future -
I'm working
| on trying to reverse this condition. I hope not to have
it for life.
| Perhaps I will wait until I see an improvement in my
situation.
|
| Thanks Again
| Efis2
|

On 2007-04-07 09:25:47 -0700, "Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at
wow way d0t com said:



You can talk to an AME, but DO NOT make an appointment for an FAA physical!
If you attempt and fail then you are also locked out of the Sport Pilot
option.

Not at all. This is a major misconception about Sport Pilot. While you
cannot automatically fly if you have failed a medical exam, neither are
you 'locked out.' What it means, if you have failed an exam, is that
you need to clear up the issue with the FAA. That does not mean passing
the medical.

The thing is, too many people assume (from the badly written
regulation) that being physically able to drive and legal to hold a
driver's license allows you to fly Sport Pilot. That is not true. The
key is "other conditions." Basically, it means that you have to
convince the FAA that you are fit to fly Sport Pilot.

There are increasing numbers of pilots who lost their ability to fly
because they failed a medical, but who have been given the OK to fly
Sport Pilot. Granted, it is an extra step that you would not do if you
had never had a medical exam, but it is a far cry from being 'locked
out.'
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

On 2007-04-10 18:30:45 -0700, "Danny Deger" said:


If you have never been turned down for a medical you could fly under light
sport aviation.

Not true. If you have a significant medical condition that would keep
you from flying, you cannot automatically exercise sport pilot
privileges unless you first obtain a Special Issuance of a medical
clearance to fly sport pilot. From the FAQ on the FAA web site:


Sport Pilot Medical Certification-Frequently Asked Questions
If I suspect I have a significant medical condition, but have never had
an FAA medical certificate denied, suspended, or revoked, can I
exercise sport pilot privileges using my current and valid driverÕs
license, if otherwise qualified?

Response by the Federal Air Surgeon
Long-standing FAA regulation, ¤ 61.53, prohibits all pilots--those who
are required to hold airman medical certificates and those who are
not--from exercising privileges during periods of medical deficiency.
The FAA revised ¤ 61.53 to include under this prohibition sport pilots
who use a current and valid U.S. driverÕs license as medical
qualification. The prohibition is also added under ¤¤ 61.23 (c) (2)
(iv) and 61.303 (b) (2) (4) for sport pilot operations.

You should consult your private physician to determine whether you have
a medical deficiency that would interfere with the safe performance of
sport piloting duties. Certain medical information that may be helpful
for pilots can be found in our Pilot Safety Brochures.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

"C J Campbell" wrote

Not at all. This is a major misconception about Sport Pilot. While you
cannot automatically fly if you have failed a medical exam, neither are
you 'locked out.' What it means, if you have failed an exam, is that you
need to clear up the issue with the FAA. That does not mean passing the
medical.

I would love to see you back this opinion up with a relevant passage from
the regs.

"Clearing it up" by passing a failed medical IS necessary. You are correct
in that you can fail a medical, but you eventually must pass your last
medical, then continue to fly on the sport pilot rules.
--
Jim in NC