BasicMed Clarification on Legality

Penguinforce

Penguinforce

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Penguinforce
Im getting ready for my commercial checkride oral exam and wanted to clarify something about basicmed. Im pretty sure the answer is yes but I want to double check.

Say your third class medical expired last month. Before you do any other flights after that, you go and meet the requirements of basicmed, including filling out the forms and getting a physical from a state licensed physician. Even though your medical is now expired, you’re now flying under basicmed, so this would be legal correct?

Like I said, I think the answer is yes as the whole point of basicmed was to not have to have a FAA Medical but I want to make sure that since you applied and got your basicmed after the last medical expired, it is still ok.
 
Lindberg said:
What specifically do you find ambiguous in this scenario?
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I wanted to make sure you didn’t have to have an active medical certificate while you apply and obtain your basicmed. I’m planning to complete my checkride on basicmed and though this situation doesn’t pertain to me, I’m just trying to think of questions the dpe could ask me pertaining to it
 
you also have to take the course and test (really simple) - that pass then gets updated to the FAA and shows as your Basic Med course date. Then your physical paperwork for your physical is your "medical"
 
Penguinforce said:
I wanted to make sure you didn’t have to have an active medical certificate while you apply and obtain your basicmed. I’m planning to complete my checkride on basicmed and though this situation doesn’t pertain to me, I’m just trying to think of questions the dpe could ask me pertaining to it
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No, you merely must have held a medical certificate that was valid at any time after July 15, 2006. Even if expired on July 16, 2006 and you haven't held one since, you're good for basicmed.
 
Dana said:
No, you merely must have held a medical certificate that was valid at any time after July 15, 2006. Even if expired on July 16, 2006 and you haven't held one since, you're good for basicmed.
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Awesome, thank you for verifying that!
 
Penguinforce said:
Im getting ready for my commercial checkride oral exam and wanted to clarify something about basicmed. Im pretty sure the answer is yes but I want to double check.
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Wellll... I don't know the answer for sure, but... Answer me this Pre Commercial Candidate? Don't you need a 2nd Class to take your Commercial Checkride?

Again, I honestly don't know what's required now for a Commercial Checkride, but thought you had to have the 2nd Class Medical to take the Checkride. Pretty sure the only way you can make money under the Basic Med is as a CFI. I don't think you can take any other For Hire jobs.
 
M20K said:
Wellll... I don't know the answer for sure, but... Answer me this Pre Commercial Candidate? Don't you need a 2nd Class to take your Commercial Checkride?

Again, I honestly don't know what's required now for a Commercial Checkride, but thought you had to have the 2nd Class Medical to take the Checkride. Pretty sure the only way you can make money under the Basic Med is as a CFI. I don't think you can take any other For Hire jobs.
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You have to have a second class medical to exercise the privileges of a commercial certificate. You do not need a second class to take and pass the commercial Checkride.
 
Maybe ask DPE what they want. I asked back awhile if I could take a BFR check out without a medical of any kind. Basically was told its up to the CFI to decide. Maybe the DPE is the same way.
 
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M20K said:
Wellll... I don't know the answer for sure, but... Answer me this Pre Commercial Candidate? Don't you need a 2nd Class to take your Commercial Checkride?

Again, I honestly don't know what's required now for a Commercial Checkride, but thought you had to have the 2nd Class Medical to take the Checkride. Pretty sure the only way you can make money under the Basic Med is as a CFI. I don't think you can take any other For Hire jobs.
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Since the actual checkride is being preformed as a private pilot flight, basicmed is allowed. I’m not exercising commercial privileges during the checkride (since technically during the ride I don’t have a commercial cert anyways)
 
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Dana said:
No, you merely must have held a medical certificate that was valid at any time after July 15, 2006. Even if expired on July 16, 2006 and you haven't held one since, you're good for basicmed.
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I’m curious. Has anyone had an FAA medical certificate with an expiration that was not based on a calendar month?

I guess it’s possible for an SI-based certificate to say “NOT VALID FOR ANY CLASS AFTER…” with a non end-of-month date, but I’ve never seen one.
 
Penguinforce said:
I wanted to make sure you didn’t have to have an active medical certificate while you apply and obtain your basicmed. I’m planning to complete my checkride on basicmed and though this situation doesn’t pertain to me, I’m just trying to think of questions the dpe could ask me pertaining to it
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If you are going for your commercial checkride, you really need to learn to read the regs and not rely on someone’s crib notes. That level of basic rote learning without understanding the material may get by on some questions, but not others.

Yes, you can have someone legally flying whose last FAA medical expired July 31, 2006, stopped flying 2 years before that, and completed BasicMed requirements yesterday. Why? Because it says so:

61.23(c)(3)(B). At any point after July 14, 2006, have held a medical certificate issued under part 67 of this chapter;​
 
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midlifeflyer said:
is that just a test question or do you incorrectly think you do?
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I did not know, and yes, it was a legitimate question. I was asking because it is not uncommon for there to be a "gotcha" when showing up for a FAA Checkride. But @jsstevens chimed in and said it was not required for the Checkride.

So assuming he is correct, then a 2nd, 3rd or Basic would work for the Checkride. (Obviously a 1st Class too...)
 
M20K said:
I did not know, and yes, it was a legitimate question. I was asking because it is not uncommon for there to be a "gotcha" when showing up for a FAA Checkride. But @jsstevens chimed in and said it was not required for the Checkride.

So assuming he is correct, then a 2nd, 3rd or Basic would work for the Checkride. (Obviously a 1st Class too...)
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So this is the third recent thread on the subject of taking checkrides with Badic Med. Numerous people have chimed in and said you can do it. None of those opinions matter, including jsstevens, or even E. F. Hutton’s, had he chimed in. The only thing that matters is what the regs say.

“Gotchas” when showing up for a checkride are pretty much across the board due to people not being familiar with the actual requirements outlined by the FAA, whether in regulation or the ACS. Yes, that person may be the examiner, and if it is, you’ll have a lot more success combating ignorance with knowledge of the requirements than you will by trusting SGOTI to tell you “you can do that.”

As stated above,
midlifeflyer said:
If you are going for your commercial checkride, you really need to learn to read the regs and not rely on someone’s crib notes.
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Penguinforce said:
I wanted to make sure you didn’t have to have an active medical certificate while you apply and obtain your basicmed. I’m planning to complete my checkride on basicmed and though this situation doesn’t pertain to me, I’m just trying to think of questions the dpe could ask me pertaining to it
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My last FAA regular med certificate was issued in 2011. I did Basic Med in 2021. Perfectly legal.
 
MauleSkinner said:
The only thing that matters is what the regs say.
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So do you happen to already know what the Regs say in regard to what type of Medical is required to take the Commercial Checkride?

I'm not going for the Checkride, so don't have any need or desire to take the time to review the Regs. And totally agree that if you're going for any Checkride you should know what's in the Regs.
 
bonefishpete said:
I asked back awhile if I could take a BFR check out without a medical of any kind. Basically was told its up to the CFI to decide.
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To be accurate, the CFI cannot decide whether or not you are able (as in legal) to do a checkout or FR without a current medical. You absolutely are legal to do so. It’s not up to them. What the CFI absolutely can decide, though, is whether they want to fly with you or not, for whatever reason they like.
 
MauleSkinner said:
I can’t speak to the desire, but I definitely disagree on the need.
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I'm not following. You think I should take the time to research if a 2nd Class Medical is required to take a Commercial Checkride? So I should stop all real priorities when I am not taking the Commercial or any other kind of Checkride in the near future???

Well okay then, done! I just Googled it and the AI Bot told me a 2nd Class is required for the Checkride... So there we have an Authoritative Answer!! :p:cool:
 
M20K said:
I'm not following. You think I should take the time to research if a 2nd Class Medical is required to take a Commercial Checkride? So I should stop all real priorities when I am not taking the Commercial or any other kind of Checkride in the near future???

Well okay then, done! I just Googled it and the AI Bot told me a 2nd Class is required for the Checkride... So there we have an Authoritative Answer!! :p:cool:
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Congrats. Exactly as authoritative as SGOTI.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Anyone who flies should keep up on regs.
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Absolutely, relative Regs for the type of flying you do. But to have more than a basic understanding of the others and the know how to look things up if they need to is a bit much. (Assuming aviation isn't your career and you're in it every day.)

I don't have the need to know specifically if a 2nd Class Medical is needed for a Commercial Checkride since I'm not taking one. I do know that a 2nd Class is needed to exercise the privileges, and that's all I really need to know.
 
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