ame medical question

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shoprat

Filing Flight Plan
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jeff
Hi again, I have a question about the 3rd class medical. It will be my first as
I stated in a previous post and I'm a little concerned. I have my yearly physical
coming up first part of April and was thinking of making a copy of the FAA medical form to show my Dr so he knows what info I may need,good idea or no?

As far as my records go what am I allowed to see/have copies of?

Should I see if he will write a letter stating results of any tests or previous medications used? I really can't remember the dates some were prescribed or when I quit useing them.

I have basicly decided to schedule my 3rd class and deal with the results by either taking lessons or chalking it up to bad luck if I fail as I am 59 and can't see spending thousands on tests/procedures at this stage.

I have found 2 ame's that are close to me, or should I go ask the flight school I'll probably use for their advice? Thanks for any help
 
shoprat said:
Hi again, I have a question about the 3rd class medical. It will be my first as
I stated in a previous post and I'm a little concerned. I have my yearly physical
coming up first part of April and was thinking of making a copy of the FAA medical form to show my Dr so he knows what info I may need,good idea or no?

As far as my records go what am I allowed to see/have copies of?

Should I see if he will write a letter stating results of any tests or previous medications used? I really can't remember the dates some were prescribed or when I quit useing them.

I have basicly decided to schedule my 3rd class and deal with the results by either taking lessons or chalking it up to bad luck if I fail as I am 59 and can't see spending thousands on tests/procedures at this stage.

I have found 2 ame's that are close to me, or should I go ask the flight school I'll probably use for their advice? Thanks for any help
Click to expand...

Your regular doc will not likely understand the intricacies. What you want to do if you are concerned is to book a consultation for a medical with the AME before your physical that way if there is something to address, you can talk to your doc about it then. Basically you'll go through the process without filling out any FAA paperwork.
 
Wait to get it until you need it (1st solo). If you haven't started flying yet, there is no need to get the medical / risk be denied, especially with a good chance of Class III changes within a year or so.

You probably won't be needing it until 10 or so hours in and you can still do a lot of the other requirements while you decide to go forward with it...and then you'll also be better informed about what you need to pass. Merely asking your primary care physician about requirements or whether you will pass most likely won't help you as AMEs are specialized in the rules and most doctors would have no idea.
 
mrkbbd said:
Wait to get it until you need it (1st solo). If you haven't started flying yet, there is no need to get the medical / risk be denied, especially with a good chance of Class III changes within a year or so.

You probably won't be needing it until 10 or so hours in and you can still do a lot of the other requirements while you decide to go forward with it...and then you'll also be better informed about what you need to pass. Merely asking your primary care physician about requirements or whether you will pass most likely won't help you as AMEs are specialized in the rules and most doctors would have no idea.
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I think if people have concerns, they should start the process early with a consultation. Sometimes issues take a couple of months to deal with.
 
Henning said:
I think if people have concerns, they should start the process early with a consultation. Sometimes issues take a couple of months to deal with.
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What I was alluding to, is if he has never flown an airplane, he may not like it - so go try it out before going through all the hassle of a difficult medical and make sure it is worth it to you
 
mrkbbd said:
What I was alluding to, is if he has never flown an airplane, he may not like it - so go try it out before going through all the hassle of a difficult medical and make sure it is worth it to you
Click to expand...

Oh, for sure, but I wouldn't wait until ready for solo, you can lose several weeks of time in the processing stack.
 
Thanks for the quick response!!

So when I schedule do I need the med form or just ask for a consutation?
Talk to him and then schedule the ame exam or is it something like a hypothetical thing like"if I had this or that,what would you do?" kinda deal?!

The reason I wanted to do the exam first is I don't want to invest a lot of money into training knowing that if I don't pass the physical I'm done.

Even though I feel healthy enough to fly it does seem more about the past than the present!! And if the worst does happen I'm not sure I would spend a lot of money to fight it. I would be bummed for sure though. on edit yes I think it would be a good idea to take an intro flight as it has been a while since I was up in a freinds plane but I think i"l still enjoy it!!
 
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shoprat said:
Thanks for the quick response!!

So when I schedule do I need the med form or just ask for a consutation?
Talk to him and then schedule the ame exam or is it something like a hypothetical thing like"if I had this or that,what would you do?" kinda deal?!

The reason I wanted to do the exam first is I don't want to invest a lot of money into training knowing that if I don't pass the physical I'm done.

Even though I feel healthy enough to fly it does seem more about the past than the present!! And if the worst does happen I'm not sure I would spend a lot of money to fight it. I would be bummed for sure though
Click to expand...

If you have concerns, do not fill out any forms or sign anything, a consultation requires neither. The reason you don't want to get denied is that it prevents you from flying Sport Pilot rules, plus the whole medical issue for planes <6000lb gross weight is going away, but we don't know the specifics, so they may also apply a similar 'No denied Medicals' clause like with Sport Pilot.
 
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shoprat said:
Thanks for the quick response!!

So when I schedule do I need the med form or just ask for a consutation?
Talk to him and then schedule the ame exam or is it something like a hypothetical thing like"if I had this or that,what would you do?" kinda deal?!

The reason I wanted to do the exam first is I don't want to invest a lot of money into training knowing that if I don't pass the physical I'm done.

Even though I feel healthy enough to fly it does seem more about the past than the present!! And if the worst does happen I'm not sure I would spend a lot of money to fight it. I would be bummed for sure though
Click to expand...

Consultation - don't fill anything out online until you know you'll pass
 
You can look at the series of "Have you ever" questions and get a pretty good idea if you are going ot have any difficulty. Other than that you can look up most meds you have taken in the last few year to get a feel for what you may be up against.
 
When it comes time to fill out the medical application, your instructor can help you find the MedXPress web site and provide information on the mechanics of filling it out. However, you can download a copy of the form ahead of time here, and that may help you identify all the issues of concern to the FAA. Note, however, that the FAA no longer accepts paper applications. You can use the paper form to get your information together, and help with a consultation, but you must fill out and submit the on-line version via MedXPress when you're ready to take the examination "for real".
 
shoprat said:
Thanks for the quick response!!

So when I schedule do I need the med form or just ask for a consutation?
Talk to him and then schedule the ame exam or is it something like a hypothetical thing like"if I had this or that,what would you do?" kinda deal?!

The reason I wanted to do the exam first is I don't want to invest a lot of money into training knowing that if I don't pass the physical I'm done.

Even though I feel healthy enough to fly it does seem more about the past than the present!! And if the worst does happen I'm not sure I would spend a lot of money to fight it. I would be bummed for sure though. on edit yes I think it would be a good idea to take an intro flight as it has been a while since I was up in a freinds plane but I think i"l still enjoy it!!
Click to expand...

Have you looked at Part 67 of the Federal Aviation Regulations? Go to www.faa.gov and you will find a link to the regulations on the home page. Drill down to Part 67 and then look under Third Class to see what the parameters are.

Bob Gardner
 
not sure if this is helpful for you or not, but I *just* did a video on my take on this process. In summary, AOPA can help greatly... I show some detail in the video, but TurboMedical might be a good place to start...

 
Henning said:
If you have concerns, do not fill out any forms or sign anything, a consultation requires neither. The reason you don't want to get denied is that it prevents you from flying Sport Pilot rules, plus the whole medical issue for planes <6000lb gross weight is going away, but we don't know the specifics, so they may also apply a similar 'No denied Medicals' clause like with Sport Pilot.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much what I did. Had an incident, minor to my doc, but with unknown cause. Proving a negative to the FAA was going to cost $6-8 thou with no guarantee. Better to have a heart attack.:( I didn't try to be able to stay SP. My Jabiru is a good cross country airplane. Just 25 knots slower than my old Mooney.
 
I got my first 3rd class medical just this week. Passed the exam with flying colors, but had to provide a letter from my family doc stating that I have been taking the same BP script for 11 years with no problems.
 
shoprat said:
So when I schedule do I need the med form or just ask for a consutation?
Click to expand...
Do NOT start a medical form. If you go to an AME first, make it crystal clear you do NOT want an exam, only a consultation. If the AME begins the exam, (s)he must finish it. There's no provision for starting the exam and then abandoning it.

Again, make it very clear you are looking for a consultation.
 
From my experience lately (Since being 55 YO/I'm 60 now) If you know you have conditions that may be a problem (and you would know if do) get all the documents together before you go. For example: If you are taking blood pressure pills, get documentation of last 6 BP checks. etc. If you have documentation, you are more likely to get approved right then. Sometimes the ame will even call FAA while you're sitting there (happened on my last one). If you are generally healthy... don't worry about it. Its pretty benign. However as stated above... if you wait, you may not need one at all...
 
Ken Ibold said:
Do NOT start a medical form. If you go to an AME first, make it crystal clear you do NOT want an exam, only a consultation. If the AME begins the exam, (s)he must finish it. There's no provision for starting the exam and then abandoning it.
Click to expand...
That's true if you hand the AME a signed application, but the only way to do that today is to go on-line with MedXPress. OTOH, filling out a paper 8500-8 (which today is by rule unofficial) may help organize your thinking and make sure you know all the issues of interest. Whether you hand that to the AME or not is your choice, but it will sure help you to sit down and fill it out ahead of time.

Again, make it very clear you are looking for a consultation.
Click to expand...
Concur.
 
FlySince9 said:
Most people know if they have chronic health issues... That's usually the stuff that gets ya!
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Or, something in their history like ADD, or getting knocked out playing football, or some vertigo that they were foolish enough to have addressed by a doctor, or something else they think is no big deal when they apply for their first medical.
 
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