AOPA Action: BasicMed breaks 50,000
AOPA effort gives pilots more freedom to fly
Two years have passed since general aviation pilots were given the choice to bypass the hoops and hassles of third class medical certification with BasicMed. Now, more than 50,000 aviators are enjoying the freedom to fly under the reform’s provisions.
If you’re late to the party, BasicMed allows eligible pilots to fly aircraft authorized to carry up to six occupants and with a maximum certificated takeoff weight of no more than 6,000 pounds. Pilots can fly up to 250 knots indicated airspeed and up to 18,000 feet msl.
As pilot in command, you must have a comprehensive medical examination and FAA medical examination checklist completed by a state-licensed physician every 48 months (calculated to the exact day). Pilots must also complete an online medical education course every 24 calendar months (calculated to the last day of the month). Remember to keep track of the dates when you will be due for another medical exam and education course completion. Once you have completed the education course, passed the quiz, and printed the completion certificate, along with a completed medical checklist and exam, you are ready to get out there and fly under BasicMed.
BasicMed is a huge victory for the GA community and the most significant shift in medical reform in decades. AOPA’s government affairs and advocacy team led the push in Congress, and the FAA implemented BasicMed through its new Part 68 regulations.
And pilots—don’t forget you also can fly in the Bahamas.
For those who still have questions about BasicMed, AOPA has a number of resources under its Fit to Fly page. Pilots also can contact AOPA’s Pilot Information Center for assistance via email or by phone (888-462-3976).
AOPA, pilots say FAA action on Piper fuel selector unnecessary
AOPA is urging the FAA to use pilot education and outreach, not regulatory action, to address concerns that an early-design fuel selector used in some Piper PA–28 single-engine airplanes could be mispositioned during flight. Responses by members to AOPA’s request that pilots review and comment on an FAA airworthiness concern sheet about the fuel selectors shaped AOPA’s position, said David Oord, AOPA senior director of regulatory affairs.
BAKER ON THE NEWS: “BasicMed is the best thing to happen to general aviation in decades. By putting medical decisions in the hands of pilots and their doctors, instead of the FAA, these reforms improve safety while reducing burdensome and ineffective bureaucracy that has thwarted participation in general aviation.” —AOPA President Mark Baker
The FAA expressed concern that the fuel selector’s design does not include protection against “inadvertent disruption of the position of the lever from its intended position nor does it prevent over-rotation which could result in mistakenly selecting the Off position when not intended.” However, none of the comments AOPA received in writing and by phone expressed reservations about the fuel selector or reported operating difficulties, Oord told the FAA. AOPA can not support a mandated removal of the fuel selector or the required installation of a later-generation replacement, he said.
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