General Aviation Medical Reform

1)  Currently, the GA push for medical reform is looking to remove the requirement needed to go in and renew a 3rd class medical certificate every 24 months (2 years) if a pilot is over 40 years old and every 60 months (5 years) if the pilot is under 40 years old. In the proposed reform, a pilot who has held a 3rd class medical certificate (including special issuance) over the past 10 years would not be required to go through the FAA medical certification process again (Tennyson 2015). This rule rule comes with some stipulations which are: the aircraft to be flown must be 6,000lbs or less, the pilot can only carry up to 5 passengers, the altitude flying must remain below 18,000ft, and the speed of the aircraft cannot exceed 250kts (Tennyson 2015). The need to apply and test for a 3rd class medical would only be required to those who are initially applying like a new student pilot, or those requiring a special issuance certificate or those who haven't held a current medical certificate for over 10 years since the legislation. Also, the proposed bill would require private pilots to undertake a free online "aeromedical factors" course once every two years as well as a visit to their physician once every four years (Bergqvist 2015). Although this trip to the physician seems like a similar concept to applying for a 3rd class medical the difference is that you don't have to report the outcome to the FAA, just simply make a note of the visit in your logbook and have the form that is required to be filled out in your logbook as well (Tennyson 2015a).

2) Currently the medical reform has been included in a "Pilot's Bill of Rights 2" which was introduced by Senator Jim Inhofe last February (Tennyson 2015). I'm guessing this makes the medical reform a "bill" so to say and it has been approved by the Senate and is currently in the process of getting through the House before it can be signed by the president.

3) An aspect of the medical reform that I would like to analyze is the form needed and the 4 year checkup required by pilots. One "for" on this topic is that it ensures the pilot is still medically sound to fly and with the exam being conducted with a personal physician there should be a relaxed comfort level so they pilot won't be afraid to reveal information. In the same aspect though, the personal physician could bypass certain tests they don't see necessary from their "medical judgement" and ok the pilot since they know them personally which could lead to a potential medical condition overlooked. Also, the fact that the medical conditions aren't required to be reported to the FAA unless specifically requested seems very discerning. This makes me believe that a pilot could potentially be unfit to fly due to some medical condition, but as long as they have the form signed and made a note in their logbook of the doctor visit, they technically are still able to fly without FAA intervention.

4) Personally I don't see the medical reform as being necessary. I think the requirement the FAA had in place where a pilot over 40 had to go for renewal every 2 years and every 5 years for a pilot under 40 was fine. I think this reform was instituted more for those older pilots so they can continue to fly as they age without having to go in for a medical certificate renewal. I also think the reform was put in place to aid in the growth of General Aviation by not requiring a renewal of the 3rd class medical unless you require a special issuance or are a new plot. The "10 years prior legislation" rule imposed in the medical reform seems excessive; for example, I would still be able to fly under this rule because I applied and received my first class medical certificate in 2011 so I would still be eligible to fly after this year (the 5 year mark) if I wanted to without needing ANY medical examination whatsoever. I understand from the GA's perspective how big of a reform this is for their aging members, but I just feel it could potentially lead to some medically unqualified pilots flying when they shouldn't be flying for the safety of other pilots in the air.

Works Cited

Tennyson, E. (2015, December 15). Full senate passes medical reform. In aopa.org.

Tennyson, E. (2015, December 9a). Third class medical reform FAQs. In aopa.org. Retrieved January 30, 2016.

Bergqvist, P. (2015, December 17). Senate passes third-class medical reform. In flyingmag.com.