If this bill is about medical reform, why not list medical reform in the list bellow. Showing what was in the first draft or original petition? From they way I read it you are not getting anything you did not already have. Maybe I am missing something here. In the list They show passengers as" up to one" and in the new reform bill "up to six". Are they talking SP or PP? I thought PP could carry more them one passenger, Please someone explain this. I am lost here.
How does this legislation compare with the petition that AOPA and EAA filed jointly in 2012?
The legislation greatly expands the number of pilots and aircraft who will be eligible to fly under third class medical reforms. The table below compares some of the key points.
Original Petition New Legislative Reforms Aircraft Specifications Up to 4 seats, 180 hp, single-engine, fixed gear Up to 6 seats, up to 6,000 lbs (no limitations on horsepower, number of engines, or gear type) Flight Rules Day VFR Only Day and Night VFR and IFR Passengers Up to 1 passenger Up to 5 passengers Aeromedical Training Pilots must take a free online course every 2 years Pilots must take a free online course every 2 years Altitude Restrictions Up to 10,000 feet or up to 2,000 feet agl Up to 18,000 feet msl
This does not affect Sport Pilot. Its about what a Private Pilot can do without holding an FAA 3rd Class Medical Certificate. Nothing more. Its a win for Private Pilot Certificate holders in as much as they can have their personal physician periodically say that they are healthy, just like Commercial truck drivers do, people who want to play in sports leagues, etc.
Best of luck,
Wes
N78PS
The one passenger was the original PETITION to fly as a PP w/o 3rd class medical. All it's saying is that now in the final language, you can fly up to 5. They gave us more than that for which we asked.
Original PP could fly up to the limits of their planes. It was THOUGHT that it would make it easier to pass medical reform if we could only take one other person.
Pardon me, but "They" didn't "give" us anything. DOT blocked the petition version, so Senator Inhofe went his own way via legislation. He, plus EAA and AOPA (though they've been so close-mouthed as to be suspicious), and thousands of letter-writing pilots like you and me, lobbied long and hard to get this for us.
I wonder how this will effect LSA and Experimental aircraft manufactures once signed into law. The majority of their sales were coming from pilots who switched to light sport because they feared they wouldn't be able to pass their 3rd class medical exam. I wonder if manufactures will take advantage of it and increase the performance and passenger capacity of their light sport planes.
“It's the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without a plane.”
-Charles Lindbergh