3rd Class medical expiring, can I wait 2 more years for doctor?

Ronald Monsen

Ronald Monsen

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I am not clear on this BasicMed requirements just after a 3rd class expires.

So my 3rd class expires this summer. If I switch to BasicMed I have to take the online course. The question is whether I need to see a doctor. Did the 48 month interval start at the date of my 3rd class medical or does it start at the end of it.

If i can wait another two years that would be fine. In fact, why not just get another 3rd class from my AME in two years and let it work through 2 years normal and two years BasicMed?

Do I have that right?
 
You still need to see a doctor. There is a checklist that has to be signed by a doctor and your expired 3rd class doesn’t take the place of that. The following is from the FAA’s basicmed FAQs:

Q42: I just received a 3rd class medical certificate. Can I use my medical certificate to meet the requirements for a comprehensive medical examination?
A: No. Section 2307 of FESSA did not allow for an exam associated with an FAA- issued medical certificate to substitute for a comprehensive medical examination.

https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/basic_med/media/basicmed_faq.pdf
 
No. The 48 month interval starts when you meet all the requirements for BasicMed - fill out the form, get your doctor's signoff, and take the online test.

Your FAA medical certificate is irrelevant, except that you had to have had a valid one after July 15, 2006.
 
Ok thanks. Heck I might just go get another 3rd class then. Why do a bunch of extra paperwork and cajole a doctor into doing more paperwork when you can just go get another 3rd class? I suppose it just means you can wait a couple of more years to see a doc but you still have to do the course again.
 
Ronald Monsen said:
Ok thanks. Heck I might just go get another 3rd class then. Why do a bunch of extra paperwork and cajole a doctor into doing more paperwork when you can just go get another 3rd class? I suppose it just means you can wait a couple of more years to see a doc but you still have to do the course again.
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BasicMed is best for those who have concerns over a medical issue which will require hoop-jumping for an FAA medical, but an easy pass by a physician. An example is the pilot with a Special Issuance for which the FAA requires expensive annual testing the pilots personal physician feels is unnecessary.
 
To really be consistent it seems they should have added two more years to the 3rd class for the over 40 crowd. That puts it in line with the BasicMed. Seems funny that people with slightly questionable health get 4 years and people with normal/good health get two.
 
The summer before last I spent some time at the Oshkosh campsite of OK, Senator Inhofe. A friend of mine who is a good friend of his introduced me. Anyway I was heaping praise on him for the work he did on BasicMed. Now two years later and my 3rd class coming up - I am not so sure....:)
 
midlifeflyer said:
Your FAA medical certificate is irrelevant, except that you had to have had a valid one after July 15, 2006.
Click to expand...

Please clarify.

I thought it had to be within 10 years from the expiration of one’s last validly held medical.

For instance, if one had a medical expiring today, they could fly again under BasicMed by meeting the requirements any time up to 10 years from today. Beyond that they would need to get at least one more medical to qualify for BasicMed going forward.

Right?

The way you wrote it makes it sound like a medical expiring on July 16, 2006 would qualify thereafter, unless I’m misreading you.
 
FastEddieB said:
Please clarify.

I thought it had to be within 10 years from the expiration of one’s last validly held medical.

For instance, if one had a medical expiring today, they could fly again under BasicMed by meeting the requirements any time up to 10 years from today. Beyond that they would need to get at least one more medical to qualify for BasicMed going forward.

Right?

The way you wrote it makes it sound like a medical expiring on July 16, 2006 would qualify thereafter, unless I’m misreading you.
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You are in the wrong thread, but the way I wrote it is the way it is. If you look at 61.23 (and the enabling legislation) it says, "At any point after July 14, 2006, have held a medical certificate issued under part 67 of this chapter." It's a fixed date, not a rolling 10 years.
 
FastEddieB said:
Please clarify.

I thought it had to be within 10 years from the expiration of one’s last validly held medical.

For instance, if one had a medical expiring today, they could fly again under BasicMed by meeting the requirements any time up to 10 years from today. Beyond that they would need to get at least one more medical to qualify for BasicMed going forward.

Right?

The way you wrote it makes it sound like a medical expiring on July 16, 2006 would qualify thereafter, unless I’m misreading you.
Click to expand...

Q9: Do I have to always “hold or have held a medical certificate” in the past 10 years?
A: No. There is no 10-year requirement, or a 10-year “look-back”. You only need to have held a medical certificate at any point after July 14, 2006. If you meet that provision, then you never have to hold a medical certificate again to operate under BasicMed, unless you develop one of the conditions identified in 14 CFR 68.9 that require you to get a special issuance (i.e., psychosis, epilepsy, heart replacement, etc.).

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-i...4ddb55d046c6d&mc=true&node=pt14.2.68&rgn=div5
 
FastEddieB said:
Oops!

Not sure how I got shuttled to a different thread.

Anyway, thanks for the clarification - I did, and in fact, misunderstand and improperly assumed the nonexistent “10 year lookback”
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You are not the only one. It's a pretty common misunderstanding.
 
OP. If you don’t like the way BasicMed works, don’t use it. Just get your medical renewed. It’s all real simple.
 
Last night, I realized that my 3rd class expires end of this month. I did it 5/13/13. I was under 40. Now, I'm over 40, so now it's every 2 years. I hve to go find an AME. I have a SODA for vision in the left eye. I assume that I will need to bring it to my medical.
 
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