Class 1 medical, overweight and airsickness, implications

[edd2000uk]

To obtain a class 1 medical would being slightly overweight be a problem? By this I mean a slight 'beer belly' and not being too fit at the moment. Also if you have been airsick before will this go against you (I've never been airsick on a commercial flight but have been sick on a trial cessna flight, the second was alright though).

[alistair_roman]

hi ed,
unfortunately i don't know about airsickness with the class1, but certainly i don't see any written information about it on the CAA site. i think it only really poses a problem in militaral jets.

I also was very sick feeling on my first trial flight, but as with yourself, you get used to it after a short while and the sickness went away. certainly when you encounter turbulance you will have to get used to that as well, but to overcome it i suggest you try controlling what you think when you fly. try to fly VFR (don't look at the instruments in the plane) if you are feeling sick, and i reccomend using MS flight simulator to get your brain used to the moving and sounds of the aircraft.

eventually it will go away and hopefully by the time you take a class1 you shouldn't be effected by the sickness.

in regards to being overweight, i think it only poses a problem if you want to join an airline, certainly the flight instructor i hve is overweight but he still has his job, so it shuld only be a problem if you can't move much.

don't worry about being airsick because as i found, it was just i had a lot of gas, and when you fly to high altitudes the pressure is different and so this can make you feel sick, try avoiding eating food that gies you gas before flying. although if you are flying with an instructor then try to avoid releasing the gas, if yuo are flying by yourself however then try belching (well, i don't need to explain) a few times and it causes a surprising drop in feeling sick and is a great relief. also make sure you are getting good ventilation in the craft. i know in the cessna 152 i fly it has a tendancy to produce carbon monoxide so that could also be causing the sickness.

[edd2000uk]

Thanks for the reply, I'm not obese just slightly overweight for my height (hardly noticable with clothes on). Was just wondering if there was a specific height/weight limit or cholesterol limit etc.

[gingernut]

Edduk, what exactly is your height (m) and weight (kg) ?

PS how they gonna know you get airsick ?

[buzzc152]

1. Air sickness........... not relevant to class medical examination. They don't ask, you don't tell. Simple. It goes away after a bit of experience anyway.... which is probably why they don't ask.....and they can't 'test' for it.

2. Unless you're grossly overweight it won't matter in the slightest for class 1 medical. Just be sure your cholestrol levels aren't through the roof..... and unless you eat 10 Big Macs a day they shouldn't be.

[edd2000uk]

I'm 6'2" and was 15 1/2 stone last time I checked.

[moleslayer]

Even if you have a Class1 medical, my company will not employ you if your 'body/mass index' is significantly greater than 25. This effectively rules out the 'well muscled' SAS adonis type of body building fitness fanatic. Apparently although they may look a million dollars (to some), there is a higher risk of heart problems in early adulthood.........alledgedly :D

[gingernut]

Edduk, according to the charts you are about half a stone overweight. For your height, your ideal should be between 10-15 stone. These figures are based on charts that are rather outdated, but they will be the ones used by the authorities.

Statistically, you are twice as likely to develop heart disease than if you were in the "normal" range.

Sounds like you could easily reduce weight to "normal" with diet and gentle aerobic exercise. (Covered in previous threads.)

Cholesterol levels are not always linked directly to diet and weight. I'm not sure what the CAA do with the results anyway. I'd be interested to know about how they test (is it fasting), what they test for (hdl?), and how it affects their decisions ?

Anyone enlighten me ?