How much does the general public know about FAA medical exams and certificates?

N918KT

N918KT

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Here is an interesting question, I am wondering about. As pilots we are aware that there is an FAA medical exam that we have to pass to obtain and renew our medical certificates. And to a certain degree, we know the FAA medical standards and the disqualifying medical conditions.

But I am wondering how much do non-pilots and the general public know about medicals? I'm pretty sure that you need to have 20/20 vision to be a pilot, but I think that is all they know regarding medicals. Are they even aware that pilots, even PPLs have to pass a medical exam on a inital and recurring basis?

Thoughts?
 
Being around none pilots all the time - the general public doesn't know anything about FAA medicals.
 
From my experience, they know functionally zero about FAA medicals, and if they think they know, it's something like "You have to have 20/20 vision, be able to run a 4.4 second 40 yard dash, show no symptoms in a hyperbaric chamber and be able to juggle while pulling 9 G's."

When I explain it to them, most reply "That's bull****", but since it's no skin off they're back, they don't care.
 
The general public knows as much about FAA medicals as they do pilot certificates, flying and airplanes in general... which is to say... nothing at all.
 
Correct, they know virtually nothing. Want to see some jaws drop? Say these things to a non-pilot:

"Did you know that you cannot be a pilot if you have an ADHD diagnosis?"

"Did you know that if you run in a race, get dehydrated, and pass out just once the FAA will require tests costing thousands for you to keep your medical?"

etc.
 
Why would the general public care what a private pilot needs to have in order to fly unless they were interested in perhaps becoming a pilot? I never knew commercial truck drivers were medically certified until it was suggested that pilots be similarly certified by regular doctors instead of AMEs.
 
N918KT said:
I'm pretty sure that you need to have 20/20 vision to be a pilot...
Click to expand...

§67.303 Eye.

Eye standards for a third-class airman medical certificate are:

(a) Distant visual acuity of 20/40 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. If corrective lenses (spectacles or contact lenses) are necessary for 20/40 vision, the person may be eligible only on the condition that corrective lenses are worn while exercising the privileges of an airman certificate.

(b) Near vision of 20/40 or better, Snellen equivalent, at 16 inches in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses.

(c) Ability to perceive those colors necessary for the safe performance of airman duties.

(d) No acute or chronic pathological condition of either eye or adnexa that interferes with the proper function of an eye, that may reasonably be expected to progress to that degree, or that may reasonably be expected to be aggravated by flying.

[emphasis added]​

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-id...4d3fca4f7fa0&node=14:2.0.1.1.5.4.1.2&rgn=div8

20/20 is only required for a first or second class medical, and then only for distance vision.
 
N918KT said:
Here is an interesting question, I am wondering about. As pilots we are aware that there is an FAA medical exam that we have to pass to obtain and renew our medical certificates. And to a certain degree, we know the FAA medical standards and the disqualifying medical conditions.

But I am wondering how much do non-pilots and the general public know about medicals? I'm pretty sure that you need to have 20/20 vision to be a pilot, but I think that is all they know regarding medicals. Are they even aware that pilots, even PPLs have to pass a medical exam on a inital and recurring basis?

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

About the same amount as the news media.
 
After reading (and posting) some questions in the medical forum, I think there are plent of US who don't know enough about FAA medical exams.
 
Palmpilot said:
§67.303 Eye.

Eye standards for a third-class airman medical certificate are:

(a) Distant visual acuity of 20/40 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. If corrective lenses (spectacles or contact lenses) are necessary for 20/40 vision, the person may be eligible only on the condition that corrective lenses are worn while exercising the privileges of an airman certificate.

(b) Near vision of 20/40 or better, Snellen equivalent, at 16 inches in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses.

(c) Ability to perceive those colors necessary for the safe performance of airman duties.

(d) No acute or chronic pathological condition of either eye or adnexa that interferes with the proper function of an eye, that may reasonably be expected to progress to that degree, or that may reasonably be expected to be aggravated by flying.

[emphasis added]
​
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-id...4d3fca4f7fa0&node=14:2.0.1.1.5.4.1.2&rgn=div8

20/20 is only required for a first or second class medical, and then only for distance vision.
Click to expand...

Yes, I already know that you don't really need 20/20 vision to be a private pilot, just for commercial and airline pilots, but even then you can wear glasses or contact lenses.

I was just making a guess that the non-pilots might think that pilots in general need perfect vision without glasses or contact lenses to fly an aircraft.
 
Maybe a better question is why would you expect them to know anything? That said, I don't think many people are surprised that you need to qualify medically in some way.
 
Well, when Mom and Dad are in here in late July angrily trying to fix Johnnie, for whom they have paid the housing deposit at the SIU college of aviation can't get a medical due to six years of Ritalin, you realize how little they know......about many things.....
 
bbchien said:
Well, when Mom and Dad are in here in late July angrily trying to fix Johnnie, for whom they have paid the housing deposit at the SIU college of aviation can't get a medical due to six years of Ritalin, you realize how little they know......about many things.....
Click to expand...
It's OK! Johnnie can still fly gliders and LSA with a college degree. Lots of guys do.
 
my experience has been that most people are shocked when you tell them about some of the medical conditions that people can have and still fly a plane with the blessing of uncle sam
 
Matthew said:
Being around none pilots all the time - the general public doesn't know anything about FAA medicals.
Click to expand...
Yup. Mentioned to my wife that I'll be working with Dr. Bruce and she said "Why? You're healthy as a horse!" So I ticked off a few of the medical issues that would ground me without someone of Dr. Bruce's experience/expertise to help me navigate the FAA medical maze. She walked off mumbling something along the lines of "you drive 60 miles an hour inches away from multi-ton vehicles going 60 miles an hour in the opposite direction every day. You'd think you could manage to fly a vehicle through an empty sky without causing any damage."

I don't think she'll ever get it. :mad2:
 
FastEddieB said:
To put things in perpective...

How many here know the requirements, medical or otherwise, to captain an ocean liner?
Click to expand...
Large forearms and a smoking pipe (anchor tattoo is a plus)

a_main.jpg
 
FastEddieB said:
To put things in perpective...

How many here know the requirements, medical or otherwise, to captain an ocean liner?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I know the requirements to captain an Airbus.

Holding out to the public with scheduled service is one thing, farting around in a Cessna 150 is another.

I would rephrase your question and put it in perspective as

"How many here know the requirements, medical or otherwise to captain a ski boat?"
 
N918KT said:
Here is an interesting question, I am wondering about. As pilots we are aware that there is an FAA medical exam that we have to pass to obtain and renew our medical certificates. And to a certain degree, we know the FAA medical standards and the disqualifying medical conditions.
Click to expand...

Maybe after a couple years of reading the Medical Topics forum... :)

It would be smart for instructors/schools to brief students on medical requirements before even beginning flight training. To the uninitiated, I can understand why some might assume that the medical is pro forma, or that its scope would be limited to what can be conducted during the exam.

lex-luthor-wrong1.jpg


N918KT said:
But I am wondering how much do non-pilots and the general public know about medicals? I'm pretty sure that you need to have 20/20 vision to be a pilot, but I think that is all they know regarding medicals. Are they even aware that pilots, even PPLs have to pass a medical exam on a inital and recurring basis?
Click to expand...

Zero. Maybe less. The CFR is a big document and, blessedly, most people do not need to interface with it.
 
bbchien said:
Well, when Mom and Dad are in here in late July angrily trying to fix Johnnie, for whom they have paid the housing deposit at the SIU college of aviation can't get a medical due to six years of Ritalin, you realize how little they know......about many things.....
Click to expand...

So true!
 
bbchien said:
Well, when Mom and Dad are in here in late July angrily trying to fix Johnnie, for whom they have paid the housing deposit at the SIU college of aviation can't get a medical due to six years of Ritalin, you realize how little they know......about many things.....
Click to expand...

They've been busy at the mall every weekend for almost 20 years and watching the Kardashians on TV. Sheesh Doc!

(LOL!)
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bbchien
Well, when Mom and Dad are in here in late July angrily trying to fix Johnnie, for whom they have paid the housing deposit at the SIU college of aviation can't get a medical due to six years of Ritalin, you realize how little they know......about many things.....
So true!

Just watch Jay Leno's Jaywalking segments. Sobering......
 
painless said:
Just watch Jay Leno's Jaywalking segments. Sobering......
Click to expand...

I think it's a safe bet that most of those people know that if they give the right answer, they won't get on TV.
 
Palmpilot said:
I think it's a safe bet that most of those people know that if they give the right answer, they won't get on TV.
Click to expand...

Well, if that's true, and they are so desperate to be on TV that they are willing to make themselves look like total morons, then I rest my case.
 
The general public knows that you need to file a flight plan and get permission from a tower before you take off. And, that you loose control of the airplane if it runs out of gas. What else would they need to know?
 
I once tried to explain to someone that when planes have an engine failure, they glide, and she replied "NO THEY DON'T! THEY JUST GO RIGHT DOWN!" I wish I had had the presence of mind to say "Only if the pilot panics." Fortunately, a friend of hers was there, and said, "My ex-husband was a pilot, and they do glide."
 
Palmpilot said:
I once tried to explain to someone that when planes have an engine failure, they glide, and she replied "NO THEY DON'T! THEY JUST GO RIGHT DOWN!" I wish I had had the presence of mind to say "Only if the pilot panics." Fortunately, a friend of hers was there, and said, "My ex-husband was a pilot, and they do glide."
Click to expand...

It kinda explains why they want government to tell them what to do doesn't it? They're too stupid to survive via their wits alone.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
The general public knows that you need to file a flight plan and get permission from a tower before you take off. And, that you loose control of the airplane if it runs out of gas. What else would they need to know?
Click to expand...

Step dad of one of my 14 yr old glider students was visiting the club. He was shocked to learn that there was no tower control at the remote airport.
 
BillTIZ said:
Step dad of one of my 14 yr old glider students was visiting the club. He was shocked to learn that there was no tower control at the remote airport.
Click to expand...

Should have shown her the oil dipstick under the hood of her minivan. Mind. Blown.
 
denverpilot said:
It kinda explains why they want government to tell them what to do doesn't it? They're too stupid to survive via their wits alone.
Click to expand...

If I remember rightly, she said something to indicate that she had seen news reports where planes had "gone right down," so I'm assuming that what she had seen were cases where the pilot had stalled the airplane.

I don't think ignorance necessarily indicates stupidity. It's just that the average person doesn't really get exposed to the true facts about aviation.
 
Palmpilot said:
I don't think ignorance necessarily indicates stupidity. It's just that the average person doesn't really get exposed to the true facts about aviation.
Click to expand...
Besides, if it's not something which interests them other than as a mode of transportation where they don't participate except as a passenger, why would anyone expect them to know something? Most of us don't know the true facts about many different subjects.
 
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