JAA Class 2 to Class 1 medical upgrade

[englishal]

If I have just done a class 2 medical renewal, with ECG, class 1 audiogram, peak flow etc etc..., and have held a JAA Class 2 medical since 2000, as well as FAA class 2/1, is there an "upgrade" path to get a JAA Class 1 medical or do I still have to go to Gatwick and pay about £450 and do a full initial Class 1 medical?

It used to be that holders of an ICAO CPL / Commercial medical were excempt from certain elements of the Class 1 medical. Also having just done (or I will have) a Class 2 renewal must excempt certain elements?
Cheers

[IO540]

AFAIK you still have to go to Gatwick for the CAA Class 1, and no you get no credit for the CAA Class 2.

The ICAO Class 1 to CAA Class 1 path (which required the ICAO Class 1 medical holder to also have an ICAO CPL or ATPL) was quietly withdrawn by the CAA around Dec 2006, a couple of weeks after somebody kindly posted the URL to the CAA website page on pprune :) I reckon the CAA medical dept read pprune like hawks, especially the medical forum.

I heard the CAA Class 1 is a bit cheaper now than the £600 it used to be... no idea how much it is.

[llanfairpg]

Class 1 initials can only be undertaken at Gatwick--the cost is on the website

Aeromedical Centre
Aviation House
Gatwick Airport South Area
Gatwick
West Sussex RH6 0YR
Telephone: 01293 573700

[englishal]

Thanks,

Yep Peter, I have just found their "algorithm":

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/49/SRG_MED_Non-UKCl1[2577].pdf

No credit is given for JAA Class 2 or ICAO Class 1 by the looks of it. EVEN if you hold a JAA Class 1 from another state, they are so un trusting that you must provide a written declaration that there is nothin wrong with you.....even though you already hold a JAA Class 1 !!!

It used to be that you were only subject to a Class 1 renewal afaik if you held an ICAO Class 1.......

I'll drop them an email just in case....

[Shunter]

Yes. Gatwick for you young man. It's £350. (been there, done that).

Edited to say they have to accept a Class 1 medical from another JAA state. Them's the rules they signed upto. I know one guy who was having a nightmare with his colour vision test in the UK went to Germany, got his Class 1, then got the CAA to issue him a medical on the back of it. Took some shouting, chinese burns, arms behind backs etc by all accounts.. but they will do it.

[IO540]

I have the original page, Englishal ;) and you know where to find it. Not relevant anymore though.

I wrote to the CAA at the time, out of curiosity, but they refused to discuss it.

If you find out something, do drop me a line.

Shunter - loads of ATPL candidates are going to various places to get their initial CV letter. Hungary is reportedly favourite.

The CAA was so worried they commissioned a study (I've lost the URL to it but it's on the CAA website) by some consultants to see if any of these CV tests actually mean anything. The upshot was that all except the WH Lantern Test were basically meaningless.

The CAA may not like it but they have to accept it.

[englishal]

Wilco IO;)

But really, if my CV is good enough in the US, it is the same here ?? And if I have just had an ECG by a UK AME, then this must be good enough for Gatwick....?

Too logical I suppose.....!

[Shunter]

IO, believe me I'm intimately familiar with the subject of CV. Took me 18 months of research, loads of money, and being a downright, stubborn little git to get the CV restriction off my medical. The current CV testing regime has been proven repeatedly to be utterly irrelevant in the context of pilot CV requirements. But that's a whole other (long) thread....

[llanfairpg]

Edited to say they have to accept a Class 1 medical from another JAA state. Them's the rules they signed upto. I know one guy who was having a nightmare with his colour vision test in the UK went to Germany, got his Class 1, then got the CAA to issue him a medical on the back of it. Took some shouting, chinese burns, arms behind backs etc by all accounts.. but they will do it.

CAA will accept any colour blind test that is used by any JAR state for a class 1 CAA medical

[Shunter]

Yes, they will, in theory. But it's not quite that simple in reality... For example I know one gentleman who has an unrestricted class 2 medical, yet still has a colour vision restriction on his class 1 despite having passed a JAR approved test! The rather long CV threads on the medical forum might enlighten if you're so inclined.

Having spent the last couple of years addressing this issue there are many gotchas.

[TheOddOne]

Beware. I had a Class II medical and decided to go for a Class I (to earn money). The initial is indeed done at Gatwick. I thought I might have trouble with the eyesight test but I sailed through it (including the lantern test I took 25 years ago for my initial CAA Class III being accepted as I fail the Ishihara. They keep everything.) Where I tripped up was the blood pressure, not suprising at my age and personal circs at the time. If you fail a Class II item on the class I then you can get your Class II pulled until you come up to spec. It took me 3 months and 24-hour monitoring and a costly interview with a CAA consultant cardiologist to get back into the air.

Cheers,
TheOddOne

[englishal]

Hmmm.....well *hopefully* I should be able to get a class 1. Last Class 2 renewal and the AME said no problem, a fit young man like me would sail through ;) (CV and eyes are 20/20)...But I suppose there is always the chance, so as my Class 2 renewal is due in March, and as I am 38 now, due to be over 40 on the following renewal I was going to opt to have the ECG / peak flow etc...early so that I don't have to come back at 40 for them. At the same time I'd check with the doc that I am class 1 standard and get the class 1 audiogram at the same time (in case I get the IR;))...

It would be nice if I could be exempted from the ECG etc...by virtue of having just done one (I'm guessing an ECG is an ECG - your heart either beats in rythm or it doesn't?). Otherwise I think I'll wait another 2 years and re-asses then.....and probably forget the whole idea.

Frankly I get fed up with doctors prodding me. I am subject to a host of medicals required for my work. One year I had 5 medical exams including the JAA and FAA...

Anyway I have asked the AM branch to see what they have to say.....

Cheers.

[maxdrypower]

just for info Ive had my credit crd swiped this very week for an initial class 1 and it was 310 squids . not the 350 as per the above post :}
robbing gits

[S-Works]

The Class 1 medical was a bit of a non event. Pitch up do the tests make sure you can pee in the bottle and go home.

Hoping FD can start doing FAA and JAA Class 1 at the same time and I am laughing.

I to have more medicals than you can shake a stick at, FAA, JAA Commercial Diving etc.

[maxdrypower]

Its odd in a way but anyone dealing with the CAA for any length of time will know how revenue driven they are . I have to have a medical every year for my job on a police air support unit . The medical is identical in every detail to the Class 2. However the CAA will not accept it as an equivalent , even if , as happened last year they were within weeks of each other . But then the filth wont accept my class 2 or 1 as equivalent either , the worlds gone mad. I wager like myself Bose-x your as sick of pissing in jars as I am:ugh::ugh:

[S-Works]

It's why I am so good at taking the piss on here.........:p:p:p:p

I'll get my coat.......

[maxdrypower]

:}:}:}:}:}:}:}:}:}:}:}:}:}

[niknak]

Max - the class one is not "the same in every way" as the class two, the difference lies in the standards required to conduct the differing privilages of the medical certificates.

After you've done your initial medical at Gatwick, you can renew the class one with any AME who is qualified to undertake the examination, the CAA's charges for this are fixed and never differ, it's the Doctors bill which often varies significantly - I'd suggest that anyone needing a class one renewal does their homework.

[maxdrypower]

Nik , have another read , thats not what I said . The class two is the same in every way as the medical for police air operations , my point was that despite having a class two you still have to do their medical and vice versa even though they are identical , even when you have a class one they wil still insist on doing their class two equivalent