Medical special issuance vs training, fallback plans if can't solo?

[vibster]

I laughed at "double secret probation", thanks for that! And thanks for the additional data points so far.

I'll continue to research things on sport pilot and check more directly with AOPA (and with my doctor!), while keeping more limited ultralight flight in mind as a backup. My primary concern is with safety, and my secondary concern is with being in compliance with law and regulation.

I'm not satisfied with "they won't notice unless you have an accident"; I want "they won't care even if someone e-mails the FAA enforcement department with details of your medical condition and what medications you take, because they'd agree you're safe to fly under sport pilot rules", and I'm not yet convinced which is which.

[Jim Heffelfinger]

You do know that EAA has a medical advisor right??? eaa.org is really running slowly with long load times right now. https://www.eaa.org/eaa/pilots/pilot-resources

[vibster]

Oh actually I hadn't seen that! Thanks, I'll try to talk more directly with them as well as getting advice from AOPA.

On a more general note, my concern is that I have to plan for contingency scenarios as well as the best case scenario were nobody notices me. If I, say, rent an LSA and land too hard, damaging the landing gear and giving my passenger a minor injury, then I have to deal with an accident investigation as well as medical and property damage liability. If I rent a plane from the local airfield, the non-owners insurance I'd need to get requires me to confirm I meet the medical requirements for the relevant license for the plane I'm renting, so I worry that in such a contingency if the FAA decides that no, actually I'm in violation of regs and should have known I shouldn't be flying in their opinion, I risk having my insurance claim denied and being personally liable for the property damage and medical bills *on top* of any fines they might levy me for flying against regs.

That's a risk I can't take. So I want to be sure I have my ducks in a row before I commit, that's all.

[cking22001]

So after some further research on FAA & AOPA sites:
* Sport pilot allows you and your doctor to decide if you're safe unless you have either gotten, been denied, or been yanked from a medical cert... BUT it's the FAA not your doctor who will enforce the rule.
* My condition and medication would get me denied as unsafe to fly by the FAA based on their guidance to medical examiners.
* Ergo, I can't assume that even if my doctor cleared me that the FAA wouldn't come down like a ton of bricks, yank my license, and possibly issue a fine for every time I've touched an airplane.
Unless someone can provide some evidence of actual people *openly* flying on sport pilot license with conditions like bipolar and ADHD and not getting in trouble with the FAA, I'm going to assume it's ultralights for me.

Thanks for your time, all!

I am 58 years old and recently returned from Oshkosh and bad case of 'its finally time to get my license'. I have well controlled type 1 diabetes using a pump and CGM and thus was totally fixated on researching this and it seemed doable though possibly requiring some extra work/documentation/etc. I have pretty good vision in one eye but my other is not so great but have lived with this and compensated fully and feel that I am safe but it never dawned on me that it might be an issue.

Well, I was floored when my AME (after paying him $185) told me that my likely blocker is my vision! (of course, what was I thinking) Well I am now reading about SODAs and how others claim it is possible to get a PPL with one good eye but that is to be seen.

My question though, if I get denied (bulleted item above) does that screw my chance to fallback to a sport pilot license??

Any advice on the vision issue would be helpful also. I read that you can get a medical to start training and once ready to solo get an FAA monovision check ride? Is that accurate still? I guess I am awaiting my first reply from the FAA to start getting help from the EAA Aeromedical Advisory Program.

I was pretty bummed but am ready for the long haul just hope I did not screw up already.

[Dana]

My question though, if I get denied (bulleted item above) does that screw my chance to fallback to a sport pilot license??

Yes. Did the AME open your application and defer it? If so, you're already screwed unless you prevail with a SODA. Pretty sure the diabetes is a disqualifier, too.

[cking22001]

Nice. Yah, I am a 3 striker on the Special Issuance stuff...eyes, diabetes and cpap. So before I mess with those parts I want to see about the vision issue. I guess I want all or nothing anyway. PPL or just go strap a motor to my back and fly a parachute.

[CHICAGORANDY]

There's always Ultralight Part 103? As a last resort of course. Me, short, old, bad eyes, high blood pressure, limited income and content to spend my meager $$$ on the new MSFS 2020 flight sim, a good desktop PC and compatible yoke, throttle quadrant and rudder pedals. Ya' does what ya' can do.

[FlyingRon]

Yes. Did the AME open your application and defer it? If so, you're already screwed unless you prevail with a SODA. Pretty sure the diabetes is a disqualifier, too.

Well controlled diabetes is a fairly easy special issuance. I've known a few pilots that went through it. So's monocular vision.

[lnuss]

I have pretty good vision in one eye but my other is not so great but have lived with this and compensated fully and feel that I am safe but it never dawned on me that it might be an issue.

Well, I was floored when my AME (after paying him $185) told me that my likely blocker is my vision! (of course, what was I thinking) Well I am now reading about SODAs and how others claim it is possible to get a PPL with one good eye but that is to be seen.

My right eye is a "lazy eye" which was 20/30 when I was young (not correctable), and now is not quite up to 20/40, and my left eye was 20/10 (need glasses now) but I got a SODA (often called a waiver) before I soloed in 1969. It's paper work and certain required tests certified by the eye doctor. So it's quite doable. And keep in mind that Wiley Post only had one eye, and he wasn't the only one over the years.

[bigdog]

Oh actually I hadn't seen that! Thanks, I'll try to talk more directly with them as well as getting advice from AOPA.

On a more general note, my concern is that I have to plan for contingency scenarios as well as the best case scenario were nobody notices me. If I, say, rent an LSA and land too hard, damaging the landing gear and giving my passenger a minor injury, then I have to deal with an accident investigation as well as medical and property damage liability. If I rent a plane from the local airfield, the non-owners insurance I'd need to get requires me to confirm I meet the medical requirements for the relevant license for the plane I'm renting, so I worry that in such a contingency if the FAA decides that no, actually I'm in violation of regs and should have known I shouldn't be flying in their opinion, I risk having my insurance claim denied and being personally liable for the property damage and medical bills *on top* of any fines they might levy me for flying against regs.

That's a risk I can't take. So I want to be sure I have my ducks in a row before I commit, that's all.

The "medical" requirement for exercising Sport Pilot privileges is a drivers license. Neither the FAA nor insurance can bust you as long as you have the drivers license - you satisfy the regs. A few years back I had AFIB. I got it fixed with ablation but it took a year between the mandatory wait time and the FAA hoops to get an SI. As soon as my doc released me I bought a Taylorcraft and flew as a Sport Pilot with my drivers license. All perfectly legal even though the FAA medical folks didn't think I was fit to fly <as a Private Pilot>. I was satisfied I was fit for an LSA as were my personal doctors and that's all that mattered. I couldn't fly my Navion but I could still fly something. Don't over think it. It really is true and legal. You're just limited to LSA qualified aircraft but if an LSA works for you then it's a gift. Accept it.