For those who think that more severe medical check are required for pilots over sixty the Ppruners in Oz will be aware of what CASA requires. Another country also has no age limits and that is The Peoples Republic of China. The principle is the same as OZ, a full medical once a year with a top-up six months later, only that the full medical is slightly different.
First there is a GOD ALMIGHTY medical at a nominated hospital. This is the whole wack. Body X-rays, echograms, blood samples and lots and lots of general poking about.. After that, off to another hospital to do the stress ECG, the audio and eyes. When that is finished and you have the necessary certificates you go to the CAAC hospital to do you airman’s medical. They repeat a few things and subject you to a fiendish sight test, ENT and reflexes. At the end of that you get your Class One medical certificate.
The Chinese tend to be short sighted and it is depressing watching a young wannebe pilot struggling to decipher something at five metres which is blindingly obvious to you. However outside the door there are lots of U/T F/As to chat up.
But that is not the end.
To work in China you need a Work Permit and a Residence Visa. To stop the place being cluttered up with crocked foreigners you have to take another medical at another nominated hospital. Your Class One aviation medical doesn’t count, it’s a different department.
A similar whirl of X-rays, echograms, ECGs, three blood samples this time and then they put you through the mangle looking at things the other three hospitals haven’t thought about. You get spat out after about three hours and a week later you get a certificate and a book that catalogs every part of you anatomy with what’s right or wrong about it.
After all that I don’t think I’m going to pop my clogs allofasudden.
Last edited by Fareastdriver; 29th August 2007 at 08:02.