Train to be a SFI(H) without a medical?
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Train to be a Synthetic Flight Instructor (SFI) without a medical?
Hi all,
Possibly the stupidest question ever posted on this forum but I have to ask. I have a few hundred hours gliding and a couple of hundred hours SEP flying on the NPPL I used to have. I have been diagnosed with bipolar and grounded, which is possible/likely permanent because I have to take lithium on a maintenance dose. I've always wanted to fly for a living but every time I've tried either medical or life events have stepped in. It occurred to me that if I could somehow qualify to become a Synthetic Flight Instructor (SFI), ideally on helicopters, I could enjoy training people in sims at least. The Easy Access Rules for Part FCL are pretty clear that I would need at least 1,000 hours of flying experience as a pilot on helicopters, including at least 350 as a pilot on multi-pilot helicopters. Without a medical I can't gain the experience, let alone get a CPL/ATPL to qualify to get the experience, so my assumption is that it's a non-starter. However, if by some miracle there is a route to becoming a SFI without a medical then please let me know.
Kind regards,
Jimbo
Possibly the stupidest question ever posted on this forum but I have to ask. I have a few hundred hours gliding and a couple of hundred hours SEP flying on the NPPL I used to have. I have been diagnosed with bipolar and grounded, which is possible/likely permanent because I have to take lithium on a maintenance dose. I've always wanted to fly for a living but every time I've tried either medical or life events have stepped in. It occurred to me that if I could somehow qualify to become a Synthetic Flight Instructor (SFI), ideally on helicopters, I could enjoy training people in sims at least. The Easy Access Rules for Part FCL are pretty clear that I would need at least 1,000 hours of flying experience as a pilot on helicopters, including at least 350 as a pilot on multi-pilot helicopters. Without a medical I can't gain the experience, let alone get a CPL/ATPL to qualify to get the experience, so my assumption is that it's a non-starter. However, if by some miracle there is a route to becoming a SFI without a medical then please let me know.
Kind regards,
Jimbo
Last edited by Jetset Jimbo; 16th Oct 2022 at 14:04.
Unfortunately to be an SFI you must have held at least a CPL.
It's unfortunate that both SFI and STI provide a path for former instructors who have lost their medicals, but there is no way for someone who has never had a medical to be a SIM instructor, even if they paid for and flew the necessary flight time dual. It sounds almost like disability discrimination...
It's unfortunate that both SFI and STI provide a path for former instructors who have lost their medicals, but there is no way for someone who has never had a medical to be a SIM instructor, even if they paid for and flew the necessary flight time dual. It sounds almost like disability discrimination...
Last edited by rudestuff; 16th Oct 2022 at 15:56.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: London
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Unfortunately to be an SFI you must have held at least a CPL.
It's unfortunate that both SFI and STI provide a path for former instructors who have lost their medicals, but there is no way for someone who has never had a medical to be a SIM instructor, even if they paid for and flew the necessary flight time dual. It sounds almost like disability discrimination...
It's unfortunate that both SFI and STI provide a path for former instructors who have lost their medicals, but there is no way for someone who has never had a medical to be a SIM instructor, even if they paid for and flew the necessary flight time dual. It sounds almost like disability discrimination...
Unlikely. Even if they would give you a licence without a medical you'd need the best part of a million quid for the flight training, for what? Just use your million to buy a small helicopter and have someone sit next to you when you fly it. Or buy/ build a simulator and have people pay you to fly it for fun.
