Civilian v. military medical

[3turnspin]

Greetings all,
I am a military pilot and facing the possibility of permanently losing my medical cat. The medical condition requiring the current temporary downgrade has now cleared completely and I am back to full health (I had some spinal inflammation which led to a loss of sensation in my arm). However as my consultant cannot guarantee it will never reoccur (can anyone guarantee anything about the future?!) I have been warned that when my case comes up for review in about a month, I may be downgraded to 2-pilot-ops (I currently fly single-pilot-ops) or lose my flying medical altogether :ouch: .

I am wondering whether, even if I lose my military med cat altogether, I would have any chance of gaining a civil med cat that would enable me to fly professionally. (I'm only 25 and don't fancy spending the rest of my life on the ground) Are the decisions of military and civilian doctors generally identical?

I have been somewhat vague as to the specifics of my case since my colleagues are unaware of details, and should I retain my med cat, I would like them to remain so! I would be very grateful to anyone for any help, please PM me and I will explain in more detail...
Many thanks :ok:

[BigGrecian]

Sorry to hear the news.
Have you tried looking over the CAA SRG Medical Website (http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?categoryid=49)
It might have some contact information of one of their Docs who may be able to advise.
I would hazard a guess that even if you got a Class 1 Medical you might find it hard getting a job with an airline given your condition - but further research would be required.
Hope all works out for you. Fingers crossed.:sad:

[3turnspin]

Many thanks for that advice, I'll have a look. Never mind fingers, I've got fingers, toes, everything you can think of crossed! :ugh:

[6Z3]

Ah, but can you feel them?
Sorry, flippancy doesn't help, I know. Personally, I am too deaf from 35 military helos, so I can't get a CAA class 1 medical.

Good luck to you

[niknak]

The medical standards are exactly the same with regard to Military and Civilian certificates.
If you can get a class one medical, you get all that goes with it.
That said, some civilian airlines (B.A and others) have higher medical standards to join, than the CAA class one medical standard.

Good luck anyway.:ok:

[qw21]

Hi 3turnspin,

A few other resources for you to have a look at:

JAR-FCL 3 : Medical Requirements for Flight Crew Licensing (Section 1) (http://www.jaa.nl/publications/jars/533489.pdf)

JAA Manual of Civil Aviation Medicine (http://www.jaa.nl/licensing/manual/ManualofCivilAviationMedicine.pdf)

All the best, hoping it works out for you.