Finally doing it..

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L.C. Gray

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L.C. Gray
After 34+ years in aviation business, a mere 58 years young and 30 years of wanting to fly, I finally decided I'm not getting any younger, and its not getting any cheaper, so there's never a better time to get started than today.

I called up a CFI in August and got it going. I'm about 17 hours in the air and doing my ground work at the same time mostly through self study. My hitch is in passing Class 3 Medical. I have a couple of "no-no's". One has been worked surgically with no more symptoms is last 18 months, the other is well controlled with medication. Both treating physicians are on board to assist me. The AME I saw assured me he'd help every way he can. For now it's all in the FAA's hands being done in a typical Gub'ment timeframe....

I'm at a point to where my CFI already wanted to Solo me but can't because of the Medical 3 issue, so for now we're continuing on in the syllabus. I've been reading on here of another guy's journey and his efforts to get through SI. It certainly gives me hope that I too shall pass.

Till then I'll continue on as far as I can go. I already wound up with a plane (these things can escalate rapidly as most of you know) and sure hope to be able to fly it alone some time in the not so far off future. No matter what I've already learned a lot, proven a lot to myself, had a great time, oh and of course..., spent a lot of cash!
 
Congrats on starting your journey!! Sounds like you are well on your way if you are ready to solo. Just hope that 3rd class gets worked out soon.

What kind of flying machine did you end up with? And, before anyone else says it.... post pics of the plane, please!
 
L.C. Gray said:
After 34+ years in aviation business, a mere 58 years young and 30 years of wanting to fly, I finally decided I'm not getting any younger, and its not getting any cheaper, so there's never a better time to get started than today.

I called up a CFI in August and got it going. I'm about 17 hours in the air and doing my ground work at the same time mostly through self study. My hitch is in passing Class 3 Medical. I have a couple of "no-no's". One has been worked surgically with no more symptoms is last 18 months, the other is well controlled with medication. Both treating physicians are on board to assist me. The AME I saw assured me he'd help every way he can. For now it's all in the FAA's hands being done in a typical Gub'ment timeframe....

I'm at a point to where my CFI already wanted to Solo me but can't because of the Medical 3 issue, so for now we're continuing on in the syllabus. I've been reading on here of another guy's journey and his efforts to get through SI. It certainly gives me hope that I too shall pass.

Till then I'll continue on as far as I can go. I already wound up with a plane (these things can escalate rapidly as most of you know) and sure hope to be able to fly it alone some time in the not so far off future. No matter what I've already learned a lot, proven a lot to myself, had a great time, oh and of course..., spent a lot of cash!
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That shows your total confidence in getting the Med Cert - enjoy the journey.
 
Congrats and good luck.
 
Update....

Got a big fat registered letter from the FA&A yesterday. No denial.... yet, but they did give me a laundry list of things I would have to comply with to be approved. Most are very doable, the one I hate the most is having to do a sleep study. The bigger challenge will be getting it done in 60 days date of letter (10 days ago) across three holiday weeks... during a pandemic.... Can't do much today but over the long weekend I'll build me a working list of who to call for what appointment and start making calls Monday morning.
 
L.C. Gray said:
Update....

Got a big fat registered letter from the FA&A yesterday. No denial.... yet, but they did give me a laundry list of things I would have to comply with to be approved. Most are very doable, the one I hate the most is having to do a sleep study. The bigger challenge will be getting it done in 60 days date of letter (10 days ago) across three holiday weeks... during a pandemic.... Can't do much today but over the long weekend I'll build me a working list of who to call for what appointment and start making calls Monday morning.
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Yeah. This is one of many reasons @bbchien has recommended for years and years not to apply without doing these things up front, and that a good AME should know this stuff and have it memorized — or at least written down.

I believe it’s also a pinned post in the medical area here by Mikey nowadays.

Those ticking clocks that start are avoidable by pre-prep. But it’s commonly seen that folks don’t know and end up in the time crunch.

A good AME can also look at the results of those tests and advise if stopping and never applying will avoid a denial — which can kill the possibility of BasicMed. Assuming it isn’t on the list of BasicMed disapproved items.

Oh well. Get ‘er done, as they say. You’re on their timeline instead of yours now.

And honestly sooooooo many sleep studies come back “positive” you may as well hop over to the medical area here and search for apnea stories about what FAA will require for that. Logging machine, minimum use/compliance sent to them regularly, all that jazz. Bunch of folks here do that. Also threads about how to buy and build CPAP machines that’ll run on batteries for a week of camping to show full compliance. Etc.

Hope that helps you get ahead of it so if the Docs say “CPAP” you buy the right one right at the start that has the required logging capabilities. Might save you buying two. :)

An aside: Lots of testing has switched to home testing and certain labs and Docs won’t understand those tests aren’t valid (AFAIK) to FAA even if they provide the Doc plenty of info to diagnose usually. My wife’s Doc and test lab keep attempting with stupid home test gear that (even though they themselves don’t understand their own damn equipment) requires cellular data on a specific carrier to send data back to the lab.

We’ve told them three times that carrier doesn’t cover our rural home well enough to send even low-speed data. They keep saying “not enough data received” and giving her instructions on how to tape down the heart monitor and stupid crap that’ll NEVER fix the tech problem they’re actually having.

Advice: Don’t accept a home test. Make them schedule the full in-lab test or call somebody else. The home test fails a lot for various reasons and will only extend your timeline and stress you out. Bypass that silliness.

Good luck!

(Meanwhile the Mrs got a mouth guard and also did our own measuring and she felt like a new person. Her lab idiots however may never figure their yech issue out... all they need to do is switch to a unit that stores the data in the unit (SD card, internal flash, whatever... just not the cell network in real-time, but they’re clueless as to what that means) and they’d be done MONTHS ago. Which is why I mention it. She never in a million years thought she’d be explaining rural cellular coverage to a sleep study lab tech or front desk person. Over and over and over...)
 
Go through the process. It’s not that bad. I did the sleep study. Failed it horribly!!! The good news is I only lost my medical for a couple of weeks. Now holding a 1st class just fine:)
 
Update...

After 8 or 9 Doctor visits crammed into less than a month with lots of holidays and COVID restrictions I did manage to complete all tests and evaluations and get 29 pages of results and records into the hands of the F, A & A 6 days under the deadline.

Its all in the flight god's hands now.... All results were good, keeping my fingers crossed that they'll ok me. Question is: How long will it take? Only the F, A & A knows for sure.
 
L.C. Gray said:
Update...

After 8 or 9 Doctor visits crammed into less than a month with lots of holidays and COVID restrictions I did manage to complete all tests and evaluations and get 29 pages of results and records into the hands of the F, A & A 6 days under the deadline.

Its all in the flight god's hands now.... All results were good, keeping my fingers crossed that they'll ok me. Question is: How long will it take? Only the F, A & A knows for sure.
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Have you or your AME called OKC and verified that they can actually see your record? Due to the FAA’s extensive receiving and scanning process, just because the FAA “has” your records, doesn’t mean that the medical division can see them yet.
 
FAA's time from receipt to time scanned and visible in system is now down to 11 days. (down form a nearly unbelievable 30 days!!). I recommend calling 405-954-4821 and speak to one of the PFCs (yes, Private First Class), and ask them to leave the comment "documents received at the MMAC mailroom on __/__/____ by your receipt, please await documents to scanning, B4 taking action" on your electronic file. They do muck up occasionally.
 
Another updated update:

So after being replying to the first 10 item laundry list I got a second deferral letter. This time there was another 10 item laundry list attached, but nothing new or insurmountable, just more detailed queries about the other items. I provided those reports and I think all were favorable to me. I have been waiting for another six weeks since sending those in and am confident that it's just awaiting a mouse click in OKC and it'll be done. I have been in touch with BBChien and will contact him further if this pass doesn't get approved.

According to my CFI, I have gone as far as I can go without my Med3, its pretty much down to solo stuff. Have been earthbound for six weeks now but if it goes much longer I'll go fly with the CFI and beat the pattern up a couple of times just to stay aquainted with the airplane.

In other related doings... my plane is at an FBO and its getting all new instruments, avionics and comms. Going Glass with all the bells and whistles.

Deelee said:
What kind of flying machine did you end up with? And, before anyone else says it.... post pics of the plane, please!
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I have delayed posting any pics waiting on it to transfer registration, as of today that's finally done. It took over 4 months to process. 1955 C172 Ser 28172
172 Hangar 1.jpg
 
Update.... Canned again but down to one item only, no more mention of the two biggies, so I guess I've cleared those hurdles. Now we're down to the dreaded sleep apnea loop. Should be doable, just going to further delay things again. Should have soloed months ago but can't without medical i place. Training has gone as far as we can go until the Med3 is in place.

Plane hasn't really moved, but at least we got all the parts in. Back shop work has begun.
 
You can fly wherever you want with the CFI in the right seat. Can't solo, but you can go places and do stuff.
 
steingar said:
You can fly wherever you want with the CFI in the right seat. Can't solo, but you can go places and do stuff.
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Correct, there is no reason you can't have nearly all the requirements for your private rating except the solo requirements completed. You should be able to perform all the ACS maneuvers to standard. Then when you get your Medical, you probably need to do a cross country or two with your CFI, finish your Solo Cross country requirements and Solo time and you should be more than ready to take the Practical Exam.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
steingar said:
Can you can do the dual cross country flights sans medical?
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Yes, have done everything dual that we can. All down to soloability….

Should have soloed back at 15 hours. currently at 29.7 hrs.
 
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Hang in there LC, good practice for when you become a pilot, almost nothing ever goes as planned.
 
Hang in there, went through that just got my medical, finally, finally, getting older is a *****.. Getting to the solo stage been grounded due to a bad cold or bad weather.
 
Pulling for you L.C. Gray, good luck, sounds like you’re close!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
L.C. Gray said:
Yes, have done everything dual that we can. All down to soloability….

Should have soloed back at 15 hours. currently at 29.7 hrs.
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I'm in the same FAA Medical Certification limbo as you. Should have soloed at ~15 hours but lack of certification has kept me from soloing. As a result, I've knocked out everything necessary, except the solo work, and have ~41 hours of dual. My CFI and I still go up every 2 weeks or so to keep the rust away (but sometimes it just creeps back in...). Once I have a SI in hand (and it might be a bit longer for me), we'll dive back in to twice/week, knock out the stage check, knock out solo work, and will hopefully make the check ride happen within a month or so.
 
Update......

Well after 4 deferrals and 1 yr 19 days patiently waiting....... I HAVE PASSED Medical 3!

Called OKC this morning and received a congratulations you have been issued and it went out in yesterdays mail.

For a number of months I have not been able to advance forward having done everything that could be done dual while waiting to be able to solo. During that time I have continued to fun fly with my CFI to various airfields in the region just staying current with what I have learned. I'm currently at 37 hours and can finally SOLO!

All in all the extra hours accumulated that weren't really required for training could only help me in the run to the finish. I am much more relaxed at the controls and while it might have taken some of the excitement from my first solo I know it will still be exillarating just the same.

About to get real here!

For those still in the trenches...... Don't give up, stay in there, keep positive it will happen.
 
Congratulations

Now put all the stuff you need to give the FAA next year in your calendar 9 months from now so it can processed in time. Alternatively you can plan for more upgrades when waiting on FAA next year
 
L.C. Gray said:
About to get real here!
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I had the same feeling a few months ago after I got my 3rd class medical certificate. Everything suddenly felt much more real! Like you, I had kept on training over the 54 weeks it took to get my medical but it took a solid 9 hours or so to get back "up to speed" for a pre-solo stage check (and lemme tell you; it's a helluva lot easier flying twice/week than it is twice/month!). 17 days after that first solo, I passed my checkride.

Congratulations!
 
Half Fast said:
Congrats, sir!

Now, before the ink has even dried on that 3rd class, get Basic Med and never play FAA medical roulette again! :)
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So, does he have to maintain his 3rd class until it expires?(I'm assuming his complication is requiring interim hoops that must be jumped before the expiration). Line 13 on the Basic Med form implies that he does have to maintain it until expiration:
upload_2021-10-19_21-27-30.png
 
L.C. Gray said:
After 34+ years in aviation business, a mere 58 years young and 30 years of wanting to fly, I finally decided I'm not getting any younger, and its not getting any cheaper, so there's never a better time to get started than today.

I called up a CFI in August and got it going. I'm about 17 hours in the air and doing my ground work at the same time mostly through self study. My hitch is in passing Class 3 Medical. I have a couple of "no-no's". One has been worked surgically with no more symptoms is last 18 months, the other is well controlled with medication. Both treating physicians are on board to assist me. The AME I saw assured me he'd help every way he can. For now it's all in the FAA's hands being done in a typical Gub'ment timeframe....

I'm at a point to where my CFI already wanted to Solo me but can't because of the Medical 3 issue, so for now we're continuing on in the syllabus. I've been reading on here of another guy's journey and his efforts to get through SI. It certainly gives me hope that I too shall pass.

Till then I'll continue on as far as I can go. I already wound up with a plane (these things can escalate rapidly as most of you know) and sure hope to be able to fly it alone some time in the not so far off future. No matter what I've already learned a lot, proven a lot to myself, had a great time, oh and of course..., spent a lot of cash!
Click to expand...
Very similar to the situation I was in, I had about that many hours by the time I got my medical sorted. Anyway you should be less nervous than you would have otherwise. I found my first solo surprisingly relaxing without the instructor there to judge(I mean help). :)
 
exncsurfer said:
So, does he have to maintain his 3rd class until it expires?(I'm assuming his complication is requiring interim hoops that must be jumped before the expiration). Line 13 on the Basic Med form implies that he does have to maintain it until expiration:
View attachment 101108
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Yes, he has to maintain it until it expires, but he doesn’t have to wait for that to do Basic Med. He can have the third class and Basic at the same time.

He can’t let the third class be revoked, though, so he will have to jump through any imposed hoops until it expires naturally.
 
Half Fast said:
Yes, he has to maintain it until it expires, but he doesn’t have to wait for that to do Basic Med. He can have the third class and Basic at the same time.

He can’t let the third class be revoked, though, so he will have to jump through any imposed hoops until it expires naturally.
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Can he get his BasicMed and then surrender his 3rd Class?
 
Getting the BasicMed happens pretty quick if you have a physician who will do the exam and sign off on the form. If it were me, I would just fly on the Class III until it was about expired. You can get the BasicMed even if the Class III expires.
 
somorris said:
Getting the BasicMed happens pretty quick if you have a physician who will do the exam and sign off on the form. If it were me, I would just fly on the Class III until it was about expired. You can get the BasicMed even if the Class III expires.
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The easiest time for a PCP to sign the Basic Med form is immediately after the FAA has deemed the pilot fit to fly. On Dr Chien’s advice, I did my Basic within a couple of weeks of receiving my 3rd.
 
Half Fast said:
I doubt it, but don’t really know. I suspect that when you “surrender” a certificate the FAA revokes it.
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§61.27 covers voluntary surrender of medical certificates. That section refers to a surrendered certificate as "cancelled," which does not sound like revocation to me. The BasicMed requirements say your last medical cannot have been suspended or revoked, or a special issuance withdrawn, but none of those sound like surrender to me. It seems like once you go BasicMed you can surrender your 3rd Class to avoid jumping through the hoops, but I figure I'd want to confirm that with the FAA first.
 
If you surrender your 3rd class, you aren't availble for Basic Med - at least that's what I've been taught.

So don't do anything bad in the next two years, and then go on Basic Med.
 
Half Fast said:
The easiest time for a PCP to sign the Basic Med form is immediately after the FAA has deemed the pilot fit to fly. On Dr Chien’s advice, I did my Basic within a couple of weeks of receiving my 3rd.
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I just continued getting my basic med from the same AME that was doing my 3rd class. Case familiarity and all that. Basic med will continue to refer back to that last valid 3rd class medical date. So, i'm not sure what that early renewal is buying you, but if Dr Chien recommended it, i'da done it too!
 
exncsurfer said:
I just continued getting my basic med from the same AME that was doing my 3rd class. Case familiarity and all that. Basic med will continue to refer back to that last valid 3rd class medical date. So, i'm not sure what that early renewal is buying you, but if Dr Chien recommended it, i'da done it too!
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Bruce was my AME. I sure wasn’t going to fly to Chicago for Basic, and I don’t think he does them anyway.
 
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