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Medical matters a top concern for AOPA members AOPA Director of Medical Certification Gary Crump spoke to more than 50 pilots, answering questions that directly affect members' ability to fly, including flying under the sport pilot rule without an FAA medical certificate. Pilots who either have not applied for or been denied a medical certificate are eligible to fly under the sport pilot rule using their driver's license instead of an FAA medical certificate. "There's no connection between flying a light sport aircraft and getting a medical certificate, unless you have been denied [an FAA medical certificate]," Crump said, explaining the Catch-22 that some pilots face. They cannot fly under sport pilot because their medical, at some point, had been denied. Crump also pointed out a key resource that can help members find answers to their medical questions 24/7 — AOPA's online medical center. The medical center contains information on AME Assisted Special Issuance (AASI), medical subject reports, which details what tests and documents the FAA requires for certain conditions, and TurboMedical. TurboMedical is AOPA's online interactive form that will flag potentially disqualifying conditions and provide links to documents that you will need to provide to get certified with that condition. "We've been working with the FAA to have TurboMedical accepted as the medical application form," said Crump. "The FAA just recently announced that they are allowing pilots to fill out TurboMedical, print it out, and turn it in to the AME in lieu of filling out the FAA's form. "As I've seen after almost 20 years working on medical issues, change takes time with the FAA, but it is possible, and AOPA will continue working to make it easier for you to get and keep your medical." |
