Question on the medical...

So let me see if I have this right. Under the rules for sport pilot medical
self certification, both the following scenarios are acceptable.

Charlie Cardiac has a sport pilot certificate. He gets up this morning
looks outside to a nice clear day and decides to go flying.
Charlie says to himself, "Hmm, yesterday was kind of strange. I was
standing on the corner waiting for the light to turn green when my left arm
felt numb, just like the left side of my face did. I don't remember
stumbling off the curb, but that kid that picked me up said I sort of
slumped down."
Charlie flexes his fingers and winds his arm around like a softball
pitcher getting ready to deliver a fast ball. "Feels great now. I'm okay. I
think I'll go flying."

or,

Harry Hypertense got a reading of 165/95 on his super duper BP cuff
last night.
This morning, Harry says, "My BP is always lower in the morning and I
feel great." "I'm good to go," Harry tells his sweetie and grabs the keys to
his newly acquired SP craft.

"Casey Wilson" N2310D @ gmail.com wrote in message
news:dtiWf.5973$Od7.3090@trnddc06...

So let me see if I have this right. Under the rules for sport pilot
medical self certification, both the following scenarios are acceptable.
[possible heart attack and high blood pressure]

That depends on your definition of "any medical condition that would make
the person unable to operate the aircraft in a safe manner". And, of
course, on the FAA's.

My personaly definition would rule out the heart attack victim for sure (at
least, until the victim got a clean bill of health from a qualified doctor).
The high blood pressure guy, that's more iffy but assuming his doctor knows
about the condition and has cleared him to drive a car (for example), I
don't see why he would not be permitted to fly.

Remember, this rule is not new. It simply has been extended to apply to a
new category of aircraft. It has been in use successfully for other
categories for some time now. Any question you have regarding Sport Pilot
medical certification is an old question, "answered" by the application of
the same rule to the previously-existing aircraft categories.

Pete

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"Casey Wilson" N2310D @ gmail.com wrote in message
news:dtiWf.5973$Od7.3090@trnddc06...

So let me see if I have this right. Under the rules for sport pilot
medical self certification, both the following scenarios are acceptable.
[possible heart attack and high blood pressure]

That depends on your definition of "any medical condition that would make
the person unable to operate the aircraft in a safe manner". And, of
course, on the FAA's.

My personaly definition would rule out the heart attack victim for sure
(at least, until the victim got a clean bill of health from a qualified
doctor). The high blood pressure guy, that's more iffy but assuming his
doctor knows about the condition and has cleared him to drive a car (for
example), I don't see why he would not be permitted to fly.

Remember, this rule is not new. It simply has been extended to apply to a
new category of aircraft. It has been in use successfully for other
categories for some time now. Any question you have regarding Sport Pilot
medical certification is an old question, "answered" by the application of
the same rule to the previously-existing aircraft categories.

Well, Pete, in both cases, although admittedly I did not include this
detail in my fictional scenarios but still..., Charlie and Harry both have
driver's licenses. Have had them for years. I'll even go so far as to say
both had "checkups" by their family physicians less than six months ago.
During Charlie's checkup his heart rhythms were clear. Harry's doc noted
Harry's BP was 142/80 and suggested he cut down on salt and eat more
oatmeal.

These are fictional characters and hypothetical conditions. That
doesn't mean that Charlie and Harry aren't out there somewhere using real
aliases.

As for other categories, I have the same bitch about
self-certification. When I started flying gliders, my CFIG made a point of
telling me I didn't need to waste money on a medical, just write a letter
and tell the FAA I was good to go.

I am not against the sport pilot class. I think it is a fine idea. I'm
sure that the vast majority of pilots who enter that system won't be as
stupid as Charlie and Harry. What does **** me off, is the way some of our
community are blithely saying not to worry about health conditions - that
all that is needed is a driver's license. My son-in-law's father has had two
serious heart attacks totalling more than a month in the hospital. He still
has his heavy hauler driver's license for 18-wheelers. I won't even take
that man for a *ride* in my airplane. But, yet, having never failed a 3rd
class medical, he is qualified for a sport pilot's license.

====Rant Mode Off========

"Casey Wilson" N2310D @ gmail.com wrote in message
news:_4nWf.5527$f21.4297@trnddc01...
[...]
I am not against the sport pilot class. I think it is a fine idea. I'm
sure that the vast majority of pilots who enter that system won't be as
stupid as Charlie and Harry. What does **** me off, is the way some of our
community are blithely saying not to worry about health conditions - that
all that is needed is a driver's license.

Well, for whatever reason, this hasn't been something I've seen fit to get
"****ed off" about.

For better or worse, we allow people to engage in all manner of dangerous
activities without medical certification. In many cases, the greatest
hazard is to the person actually engaging in the activity, and it seems that
society has decided that if it's safe enough for that person, it's safe
enough for the people around them.

I think in most cases, people make the correct decision. Yes, some small
portion of participants don't. But I'm not convinced that forcing
certification on them really addresses the issue. They are likely to have a
personality that leads to them either bypassing the medical requirement
somehow, or doing something else risky instead.

My son-in-law's father has had two serious heart attacks totalling more
than a month in the hospital. He still has his heavy hauler driver's
license for 18-wheelers. I won't even take that man for a *ride* in my
airplane. But, yet, having never failed a 3rd class medical, he is
qualified for a sport pilot's license.

Well, is he qualified to drive 18-wheelers or not? If not, why is he still
permitted to do so? If he is, why wouldn't he be qualified to pilot an
airplane?

You can only go so far in keeping people from doing something stupid. IMHO,
the reason that the self-certification works is that most people ARE good
about respecting their own physical limitations, and in the remainder of the
cases, in very few instances does the medical certification process force
them to respect what they otherwise wouldn't.

Bottom line, for me: medical certification doesn't really prevent many
medically-related accidents, and it's somewhat of a burden on pilots,
especially those not flying professionally (for the professional flyers,
it's all just "part of the job"...for recreational flyers, it's just one
more hoop to jump through). Medically certified pilots have heart attacks
or other incapacitations in-flight, and a two- or three-year schedule for
certification means that even pilots with a valid medical are essentially
self-certifying for the bulk of their flights.

It seems to me that your "****ed off" attitude would be better directed at
those pilots who insist on flying in spite of being medically deficient,
rather than at those who recognize an inefficient, ineffective regulatory
program or at the new, stream-lined program that replaces it.

Pete

"Casey Wilson" N2310D @ gmail.com wrote in message
news:_4nWf.5527$f21.4297@trnddc01...

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"Casey Wilson" N2310D @ gmail.com wrote in message
news:dtiWf.5973$Od7.3090@trnddc06...

So let me see if I have this right. Under the rules for sport pilot
medical self certification, both the following scenarios are acceptable.
[possible heart attack and high blood pressure]

That depends on your definition of "any medical condition that would make
the person unable to operate the aircraft in a safe manner". And, of
course, on the FAA's.

My personaly definition would rule out the heart attack victim for sure
(at least, until the victim got a clean bill of health from a qualified
doctor). The high blood pressure guy, that's more iffy but assuming his
doctor knows about the condition and has cleared him to drive a car (for
example), I don't see why he would not be permitted to fly.

Remember, this rule is not new. It simply has been extended to apply to
a new category of aircraft. It has been in use successfully for other
categories for some time now. Any question you have regarding Sport
Pilot medical certification is an old question, "answered" by the
application of the same rule to the previously-existing aircraft
categories.

Well, Pete, in both cases, although admittedly I did not include this
detail in my fictional scenarios but still..., Charlie and Harry both have
driver's licenses. Have had them for years. I'll even go so far as to say
both had "checkups" by their family physicians less than six months ago.
During Charlie's checkup his heart rhythms were clear. Harry's doc noted
Harry's BP was 142/80 and suggested he cut down on salt and eat more
oatmeal.

These are fictional characters and hypothetical conditions. That
doesn't mean that Charlie and Harry aren't out there somewhere using real
aliases.

Is there any hard evidence the Charlies and Harrys of the world are a menace
to themselves and others?

"T o d d P a t t i s t" wrote in message
...
"Dave Stadt" wrote:

Is there any hard evidence the Charlies and Harrys of the world are a
menace
to themselves and others?

No, but there is some pretty good evidence to the contrary.
The FAA studied this 5-7 years back and concluded that the
3rd class medical requirement for private pilots was not
reducing medical related accidents as compared to gliders
where there was a simpler self-certification procedure.

That was my tongue-in-cheek point. Casey is barking up a non existant tree.
The 3rd class medical is hardly worth the effort and as you say does not
improve safety. $95 and a piece of paper does not automatically make one
safe to fly for 24 months. It is the pilots responsibility to self certify
before every flight.

--
Do not spin this aircraft. If the aircraft does enter a spin it will
return to earth without further attention on the part of the aeronaut.

(first handbook issued with the Curtis-Wright flyer)