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Permalink Reply by christopher fryatt on May 22, 2017 at 8:25am

Nope

basic med really same requirements as class 3 with non AME doctors signature. Plus VA docs wont sign anything, and I am not gonna pay a medical "expert" to put me in situation that results in no flying.    My choices...Chemotherapy making cancer worse , ( and maybe 3rd class) or fly LSA and continue to beat cancer and live

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence Bird on May 23, 2017 at 9:35am

Thankfully I don’t (yet) have any medical maladies more threatening than chronic hypertension (medically under control) and a cynical attitude, but BasicMed isn’t a panacea for many of us – that is for sure.  I fully intend to continue exercising my PPL in the Light Sport arena.  My doc hasn’t said no categorically – but clearly he is neither an aviator nor AME and doesn’t want to sign anything aviation.  Yep there are options, new doc, another exam, etc., etc., but then I’m jumping through the same aggravations I was trying to avoid -- with no guarantee of success.  Thanks in-part to the pressures that were brought by various professional organizations, BasicMed is more a political regulation than a new pilot approval standard; probably mostly likely to be used by those who will reap some convenience, but no serious benefit – almost entirely dependent upon the receptiveness of the family physician.  The standard hasn’t changed at all – just the timing and process of the cyclical medical validation (always a pilot responsibility anyway).

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Permalink Reply by Brad Rawls on May 26, 2017 at 2:16pm

Made a huge difference for me. I'm a type I diabetic and have my PPL. It took me over a year to qualify under the old system, but I got a Special Issuance. Part of the Special Issuance was I had to see my Dr. every 3 months and get specific blood tests and had to requalify for Special Issuance every year. Because of the length of time it takes the FAA to process paperwork and way they dated everything, I could only fly about 9 months out of the year. I have no problem with seeing my Doc, but the FAA bureaucracy was killing me. This system is so much more sensible for my issues.  I know it did not help everybody, but it worked great for my situation.

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Permalink Reply by Stan Cooper on June 16, 2017 at 9:41am

The FAA airmen database now includes a "BasicMed Date" field in the "Medical Information" section of your online record if you have completed the CMEC checklist and had a state licensed physician perform the BasicMed physical exam, and have taken the FAA approved BasicMed online medical self-assessment course, passed the quiz, and possess the course completion certificate.

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