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[Stan Cooper]

Welcome @Grapeshot !

I hate to be the nit picker in such a positive thread. But I am gonna be that guy. This post from @ExpressJetter 'might' be a bit misleading if read wrong...

A few things on the medical
1) You MUST get an FAA 3rd Class medical once in order to take advantage of Basic Med. He might have said that elsewhere but my job here is to pick nits and by golly, that's what I am gonna do!

Kelvin is correct.

From the FAA BasicMed FAQ (Question 17):

Individuals who are new to aviation will need to get one medical certificate if they want to fly under BasicMed. After that, they can fly under BasicMed forever, as long as they fly a BasicMed-compliant aircraft and never fly for compensation or hire. Most student pilots will still hold their first medical certificate when they apply for their private pilot certificate.

From AOPA:

BasicMed FAQs for Pilots
WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE A FAA MEDICAL CERTIFICATE?
If you’ve never held a FAA medical certificate, you'll need to obtain one from an aviation medical examiner (AME), but you will just have to do that one time. If your regular or special issuance medical certificate lapsed before July 15, 2006, you will also need to get a medical certificate from an AME one time only.

 

[Kelvin]

I am not sure this statement is accurate. IIRC, the application goes live when the AME opens it, not once the applicant sends it. Again, IIRC, unless the AME opens it, it drops dead after 60 days.

But I can be proven wrong.

Nope...I am wrong according to this post from @bbchien . It is as clear as a bell...it 'goes live' when the AME opens it...

Todd, I'm glad you were adroit enough to finess the situation.

Well, like I said, it depends on your AME. Sigh. I'm glad you got issued. "Mexican Standoff".

We are supposed to possess the MedXpress when we do the exam. But the PDF is the medxpress. The problem with the AME download is that you are committed at that moment. I SHOULD add that if your exam is uncomplicated, no reason to withold the code....ANY AME can do the uncomplicated one. Trouble is, when you don't know the guy well enough and he won't discuss a situation(s) BEFORE going on record.

Sigh. There really isn't any universal advice for this as Todd's experience shows. There are a lotta AMEs out there who just want to do the exam and send it in, no matter what you've got. Consultation is just not in their lexicon.

If he doesn't say, "do you need advice" then you know this is not the guy to go to when you have an issue.

.....sigh.....

 

[ExpressJetter]

The poor guy wants to learn to be a pilot and it's starting to turn into a basicmed discussion which will be taught and guided by his instructor when he finds the right school for himself. Alot of medical discussion and ways around it really, IMO, shouldn't be talked about on a public forum anyway.

@Grapeshot like I said before, if you need help, I'm local and more than happy to help you out. There are many people who have fell victim to some of aviations bait and switches, or pitfalls. There are many different ways to get your license, just like you will learn that their are many different ways to fly a plane. No way is right or wrong, unless your wagner air (jokes..... Or maybe not jokes). But what you need to find out is the right way of these for yourself

 

[Sierra_Hotel]

The poor guy wants to learn to be a pilot and it's starting to turn into a basicmed discussion which will be taught and guided by his instructor when he finds the right school for himself. Alot of medical discussion and ways around it really, IMO, shouldn't be talked about on a public forum anyway.

Anything outside of specific medical conditions should be fair game because it may help someone else in a similar situation.

 

[PaulS]

I'd rather see him concerned and proactive than rejected, denied a medical and dejected.

I think he'll have an easy path to a medical now that he understands he needs to get his ducks in a row, tests completed, paperwork collected, ready to be given to the AME before his exam. Much better than getting rejected without a clue.

 

[ExpressJetter]

I'd rather see him concerned and proactive than rejected, denied a medical and dejected.

I think he'll have an easy path to a medical now that he understands he needs to get his ducks in a row, tests completed, paperwork collected, ready to be given to the AME before his exam. Much better than getting rejected without a clue.

Agreed. But alot of it is knowing who to go also

 

[Stan Cooper]

The poor guy wants to learn to be a pilot and it's starting to turn into a basicmed discussion which will be taught and guided by his instructor when he finds the right school for himself. Alot of medical discussion and ways around it really, IMO, shouldn't be talked about on a public forum anyway.

The only reason for the BasicMed discussion is to correct misinformation asserted in the thread.