Quote:
Originally Posted by Grey Ghost
It runs in my family. My IP told me he had one student go all through the training program. Then, he went to get his medical and failed for some reason. All that money...he said always go get a medical first.
Wow!
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That's the truth- also- don't go get your Medical Exam right away. Instead, set an appointment with the Flight Surgeon and discuss the dynamics of the exam. Then, go get a check-up from a regular doctor to cover all the points you heard mentioned. Only if clear on everything do you get the Medical Exam. There was a clause that if you failed the exam, you couldn't get a ticket ever. I doubt t has changed.
One path is to get your Sport Pilot ticket. No exam, and your driver's license is your ID. Limited to flying only daytime/ VFR, but any hours built up apply to the full Private Rating. Aircraft are small and limited in power and load. If you get your Sport ticket, move up to Private and then lose your Private Medical, you can come back down to Sport. If you start at Private and lose Medical, you can't get your Sport later.
In 2017 at Oshkosh I tracked down and talked to a huge number of people in the AOPA, EAA and FAA about diabetes. There was a booth for Diabetic pilots and they had the most informed information of anyone. But I was disgusted to find the
#2 person in charge of Medicals, who was a doctor, was completely ignorant of ANYTHING to do with Diabetes. You can have a half a dozen stents and heart attacks and still get a clear medical, but they think diabetics are just randomly going to pass out. Maddening.