Originally Posted by
LTCTerry
Flying dual is always available.
Personally I think it's silly to require a medical for glider flying. A car wreck is more dangerous than a glider accident.
I read some interesting comments from a group in Germany trying to get rid of a medical requirement for gliders. The basic premise was that the medical requirement was not put in place to ensure safety but to "not waste time/money" training people who could not go on to become Luftwaffe pilots...
I read somewhere that the accident fraction attributable to pilot health was 0.3 percent. That's insignificant. Putting enough fuel in the tank(s) would have a better safety improvement.
Basic Med in FAA land requires a physical, but not a flight physical and is good for four years at any age. Light Sport pilots fly with a "drivers license medical." The FAA wants to substantially raise the weight limits to permit light sport pilots to fly more aircraft. No physical is required for glider flying, even high end TMGs. And the accident/safety statistics remain good.
My son is 27 and has bipolar disease. He occasionally comments that he'd like to learn to fly. He won't be able to get a medical. As his dad and a flight instructor it makes me sad. I haven't told him that he can't get a medical; don't want to make him sad about something that's probably not ever going to happen anyway.
People shouldn't fly when they know they are ill. I wouldn't want an untreated person with bipolar disease flying. I see the difference in my son before and after diagnosis and treatment and would be perfectly willing for him to fly. It's safer than him driving in Atlanta traffic!
Putting the soap box away.
Unfortunately, to avail oneself of BasicMed, one needs to have had an FAA medical certificate (even a special issuance is ok) within the past 6 years.
Flying light sport, however, only requires a drivers license.