Medical Certification Headway

[Jonathan Harger]

http://www.eaa.org/news/2014/2014-04...itial-step.asp

The FAA announced this afternoon that it is working towards expanding medical self-certification and will begin the rulemaking process to expand the pool of pilots able to legally fly without a traditional medical certificate.
Progress!

[David Pavlich]

Looks like we're running into a 40kt headwind:

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news...l221803-1.html

David

[Bill Greenwood]

I wonder who this Mark Edsion who wrote the letter opposing the bill is and what are his qualifications or if he is a pilot and most of all , what is his financial interest?
When you look his name up on Google you get a psyco in N Y., a dentist, and a children's doctor. I don't see any that seem to have any aviation qualifications.

If this expert on other people's ability to fly is in fact as medical doctor, I wonder if he has a flawless record and history.

And maybe the doctor should attend Airventure this year to defend his claim in person in a pubic meeting.

[MEdwards]

You have to spell his name right to get accurate info from Google or the FAA database. Dr. Mark Eidson is a family practitioner and AME from Weatherford, Texas.

You're always going to get resistance from the "union." And no matter how many of us say this can be done without reducing safety (which is what I said in my letters), somebody is always going to come up with statistics that say otherwise. That's why we need to support EAA and AOPA with the resources and the smart lawyers and letter writers who can come up with statistics and objective arguments that support our position.

Mike E

[Bill Greenwood]

Mike , you are of course correct on my spelling error.
I am sad to say he is a U. of Texas graduate as I am, though I'm not a doctor.
Looking him up on Google, I find that he has a rating of 2 stars out of 5, so if 5 is a 100 % he only gets 40%. I think my flying is better than 40% and I sure hope any doctor I go to is better than 40%. To be fair, this 2 star rating is based on only one review so may not carry much weight.

[vaflier]

I wonder who this Mark Edsion who wrote the letter opposing the bill is and what are his qualifications or if he is a pilot and most of all , what is his financial interest?
When you look his name up on Google you get a psyco in N Y., a dentist, and a children's doctor. I don't see any that seem to have any aviation qualifications.

If this expert on other people's ability to fly is in fact as medical doctor, I wonder if he has a flawless record and history.

And maybe the doctor should attend Airventure this year to defend his claim in person in a pubic meeting.

Clearly he has a financial interest in the status quo. He may well lose a lot of income if he is no longer giving flight physicals. I wonder how many he performs in a given year and at what rate. For that matter all AME doctors will lose income and while I do not by any means believe most Doctors do this just for the money I am sure most will at least have to consider the impacts to their practice. All that I have met over the years were pilots and clearly loved aviation but they are people just the same and when you mess with someones income it gets personal quickly.

[tspear]

I know about a half dozen AMEs. All charge enough to cover costs, not to make any money.
I am sure there are others who do it for a living, but many who are pilots seem to do it to help other pilots.

Tim

[lnuss]

...but many who are pilots seem to do it to help other pilots.

That's the most prevalent attitude that I've seen among AMEs. I even had one who retired from medical practice, but still came in on occasion to do flight physicals -- a very helpful man.

[Joe LaMantia]

I have had two AME's since living in Ohio. The first was a Private Pilot who flew a Skyhawk and his son is a ATP Captain for American Airlines. He continued the AME thing after retirement by holding office once a week from 5:00PM to 7:00PM for several years. My current AME is in a partnership practice with another doctor, both are Private Pilots. He said his rates just cover costs, but he does get a tax credit that helps offset his hanger fees. He charges $125 for the Third Class and $100 for the "off-year" when he just reviews and submits my required "Special Issuance" paperwork. Typically the 3rd Class takes about 20 minutes, half of it is paperwork, but that has improved in recent years thanks to the FAA and the "on-line" application. This office is in suburban Dayton and has two full-time employees in addition to the doctors. I have a hard time seeing any big financial motivation here, these guys are specialists that focus on pulmonary issues, that is where they make their $$$. I've never met any AME who just focused on flying physicals to make his living. Given the structure of medical schools and the associated costs, the idea that someone would spend 6 years in Med school and another 2 or 3 in a "residency" program so he could spend his career as a AME seems very unlikely.

Joe

[Bill Greenwood]

Joe, I don't know what this doctor charges for a physical , but I don't see that the amount charged is the main point.
The story here is that we, EAA, AOPA, and others have a bill before congress that would make flying cheaper and simpler for many general aviation pilots. The bill has good sponsorship and support and as for as I know the only significant opposition to the bill comes from this doctor.
Joe, have you read his letter?
Do you agree with his position or his letter?
If his motive in not financial in some way, and I could think of other things than how much he charges patients, then what else would be behind his push to make flying harder for many pilots?
There are no persuasive statistics that support the necessity of a 3rd class medical for the lower end of gen aviaiton, in fact the stats point the other way.