PPL Wannabe needs info on medical
 

Hope someone can help me here. I hope to go to Oz from the UK and get some flying lessons under my belt towards a PPL. Do I need to have a medical before I am allowed to have any lessons and does it matter if its done in the UK or in Oz? Also, assuming there is a medical how stringent is it? Do I need to go mountaineering in my spare time to pass it? And just as important, how much does an actual medical cost?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, cheers everyone.

Right, here goes.

If the Australian system is anything like the UK and South African ones, you do not need a medical to start lessons, but you will need one to go solo.

I think there are some examiners in the UK who will do Australian medicals, but it will probably be cheaper when you get out there.

As for the UK, the medical requirements for PPL really aren't very stringent at all. An averagely healthy person would have no problem passing them. Eyesight is usually the biggest catch: I think you have to be +/- 5 dioptres, however exceptions are sometimes issued . Apart from that if you're not ill and haven't had any major problems in the past, no worries. The UK medical costs anything between £100 and £160 its up to the doctor to set fees so is variable.