May 1, 2020, marked the third anniversary of BasicMed, with nearly 56,000 pilots flying under the medical rule.
Under the FAR Part 68 medical rule, pilots can fly aircraft authorized to carry up to six occupants with a maximum certificated takeoff weight of no more than 6,000 pounds. Pilots can fly up to 250 knots indicated airspeed and up to 18,000 feet msl.
BasicMed pilots must have previously passed a conventional FAA medical examination or currently hold a valid medical certificate, including a special issuance, and then be examined by their personal physician. Once a pilot has successfully transitioned to the BasicMed program, he or she will not have to see an aviation medical examiner again unless a heart, neurological, or psychological condition arises. If that happens, the pilot will need to go through the FAA’s special issuance process only one time unless the condition worsens.
Also, pilots are required to take an online medical self-assessment course, which the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the Mayo Clinic offer for free, every 24 months.
The BasicMed comprehensive medical examination can be performed by an AME or by a pilot’s state-licensed private physician every 48 months (calculated to the exact day) and requires that the physician use an FAA-approved checklist, AOPA officials explain.
The Bahamas and Mexico welcome BasicMed pilots into their airspace. AOPA officials say they are continuing to work with officials in Canada to accept BasicMed pilots.
Still have questions? AOPA has several online resources including an FAQ, video tutorial, and step-by-step eligibility guide on its BasicMed webpage.
Remember Chub’s Rule #10:
“The medical profession is the natural enemy of the aviation profession.”
At 56,000 basic med recipients, there must be merit. However, my understanding was the original impetus was to eliminate the medical (as a poster stated above). So basic med is a fail from that respect and an interim measure at best. Why AOPA touted it as a win is beyond me.
You also have to find a GP willing to understand the basic med requirements and take on some perceived or real liability. I live in a rural area, so my GP doctor pool is limited and those GPs working under a corporate umbrella, may not have the flexibility to perform the basic med exam. I don’t know
as I fly with a 3rd class medical.
If you really want to add to aircraft safety, stay proficient, know your aircraft and fly within your and the aircraft limitations. IMSAFE for self certification. Unfortunately, there will always be outliers that should not pilot an aircraft – look at all the NTSB fuel starvation caused accidents….I rarely see medical related accidents in the data base but poor judgement and you can’t legislate that.
Politics and law are like sausage, you don’t want to watch it being made.
Yes, the original intent was to eliminate third class medicals entirely, so based on that specific goal, it failed. However, we did get a lot of what we wanted, so based on that, we won. In politics and law there’s no such thing as all or nothing, and Basic Med is a tremendous advance over what we had.
I’d start poking around for a doctor who does know something about Basic Med before you (might) need it. I’m in a pretty rural area, too, but once I sat down with my primary care physician and we talked it over, there was no problem at all. It was five to ten minutes WELL spent.
Hollywood thinks you’re old at 30, the FAA thinks you’re old at 40 (and mostly dead by 65), Medicare kicks in at 65 and you get to pick a program. Usually there are a couple of choices, and they all have different doctors. If I were doing this again, I’d pick my Medicare plan based on their doctors being aware of Basic Med or not.
Remember, if you FAIL the third class medical, you are DONE and OUT of the game. if you plan ahead and convert to Basic Med (even if you have no problem passing the Third Class), you’ll be able to keep flying, and safely, too. IMSAFE is a good deal, Basic Med makes it official.
And no, you can’t legislate poor judgement. Read the headlines if you want proof of that 😉
I had Atrilfibulation that was corrected with Cardiac Ablation, and Hypertension. Prior to Basic Med I went through the expense of all the testing procedures required by the FAA’s ME main office as the local ME was not allowed to clear me. Because of the condition, instead of the normal requirement of a medical exam every 2 years I was required to test and resubmit every year. As my med expired in September, I started the process in June because of the multitude of FAA ME requested tests and documentation. I had to send in two EKG strips, 3 recent BP results, Nuke Stress test results and DVD of the test, wear a heart monitor for 24 hours and the report from that, a list of all medications, and “a letter from everyone of my Doctors with the statement that THE PATIENT IS FIT TO FLY”, totally releaving the FAA ME from any liability. EVERY year, the FAA ME would request additional information (usually information they had if they actually read the packet I sent) causing a delay in the issuance. On average, I would submit the packet in September (and stop flying the 1st of October), and get the additional information request in November. Immediately send the requested information, hear nothing from them until late January when they would issue the Medical that expired the following September. So, you will NEVER convince me Basic Med was not a God Send.
If only Superman or Superwoman can fly airplanes, there won’t be much aviation any more. Vision not 20/20, need glasses, you’re out. Blood pressure a tad high, need a pill, you’re out. Can’t hear high frequencies like you could when you were a teenager – you’re out.
Most of these FAA medical regulations are left over from the 1930s and 1940s (just like a lot of their certification requirements) when people didn’t live as long as they do now, and were generally not as healthy. It is even worse overseas. If you’ve had Lasiks surgery, the CAA (then JAA, now EASA, and soon maybe back to CAA) says you’re disqualified (this was as of 2010, it may have changed). Until recently, airline pilots in Russia had to have a full physical exam before EACH flight. Most of this is forensic medicine : “If something happens you can’t blame us, we’re the regulators”, and doesn’t reflect actual medical needs. We let people drive giant motor homes on the interstate at 70 mph, inches from cars or steel barriers on each side, day or night, good weather or bad, and nobody regulates that. Some states (Florida for one) don’t even safety inspect the vehicles any more! How is flying a C150 once around the pattern at a rural grass airstrip riskier by far?
Then we can talk about experiences with AMEs. One of them INSISTED that I arrive promptly at 1 PM for my flight physical despite a tremendous storm. (Torrential rain, lightning and hail!) I did it, taking my life in my hands to drive there, and then sat around for three hours until he got to me. (By which time the storm had abated.) Another one did the physical and told me I had failed my first class medical, could he buy my airplane? No, I am here for a THIRD class medical, which I did pass, and my airplane isn’t for sale (complaint sent to FAA on that one). Another one told me to be there at 2 PM, nobody even said hello until 3 PM (waiting room totally empty except for me), nobody noticed me until I got up and left, whereupon I was told “You can’t leave!” to which I replied “Really? Watch me.” Then there was outright fraud – the well known doctor at Spruce Creek who passed anyone with a pulse and lost his license over it – and THOUSANDS of pilots he “passed” had to go scramble around for a new medical desperately hoping and praying that they’d pass it and wouldn’t be out of a job, out of a career, and out of all that money they spent on flight training. What I found amazing is that EVERY AME insisted on a digital rectal exam, which has zero to do with flying unless the FAA just wants to know what kind of a-holes are flying around up there . . .
I fully realize that my experiences are not typical, and that the vast majority of AMEs try to do the best for aviators, so please don’t take this as a condemnation of AMEs or doctors in general. My experiences have not been good but hopefully YMMV.
Presently, I’m on Basic Med. My primary care physician knows me and my medical history very well, far better than someone I would see once or twice in my life. We had a detailed discussion of Basic Med, and she understands what it is all about. I combine my Basic Med exam with my annual physical and everyone is happy.
Do we need medical exams to fly? Yes, I think we do. Should they be more stringent for ATPs? Yes, I think they should. Is Basic Med a good idea? Definitely, and 65,000 pilots (so far) seem to agree on this.
I know someone who had a First Class physical with an EKG and who had a mild heart attack two months later. Required two stents as a result. A First Class is still minimum standards and no guarantee.
Want to really mitigate risk? Don’t drive to the airport.
I knew I was doing something right . . . I already live at the airport! Yet another reason to Live the Dream.
Yes, indeed!
Yeah … until you can’t make the physical and then you get to watch everyone else making the houses get smaller out your window.
It was my dream for years to live on an airpark. I’ve given it up for two reasons … the above AND … if you flew anyways … pilots can’t keep secrets.
Larry, don’t give up your dream. Go get a Basic Med exam instead of worrying about it every two years.
I was doing an exercise program (RCAF Physical Fitness program, 5BX) and at the age of 65 could do one hundred full length pushups non-stop. This was deemed utterly inadequate for “flight crew” status – do they want their pilots to CARRY the airplanes? A bit unrealistic, I think.
I’m on Basic Med and I think it is a great idea. So here’s the secret (since pilots can’t keep secrets): Basic Med will let you fly, and safely so, and you won’t get ulcers every two years because you are legitimately worried that there is a good chance you will lose it all with a flick of some AME’s pen.
Mike, good advice for sure. I already AM on BasicMed since the beginning in 2017. The problem is, I’m now a registered fossil and am just getting tired of the barrage of other bravo sierra being tossed at me by “the boys.” I can’t justify spending serious bucks on an airpark anymore was my point. Too few years left to make it worthwhile. Not to worry, though, I own the most beautiful 60’w x 45’d hangar on leased land near Oshkosh. That’s a pretty close second AND I can sell it pretty fast when I need to. I spend time at Spruce Creek and probably foam at the mouth when I’m there, though.
I’m also an A&P and live in a rural area where I have to find an IA to work with. Right now, no problem but he’s older than me. Finding a CFI for Flight Reviews is — likewise — getting tough. So I’ve set my countdown timer to be in sync with loss of the IA. I suppose I could become one but I just don’t have the time or inclination anymore. Unless I switch to E-AB or LSA, I’ll be done when he is.
SO … I’m walking the tightrope waiting for the day when I fall off. Until then, I’m like many here … enjoying what I love to do. It’d just be niftier to do it from the back porch of an airpark home.
I like your comment about carrying the airplane. That’s the EXACT problem. The medical community within the FAA are SO myopic that they just don’t “get it.” They can’t differentiate between GA and airline or commercial flying. They DO think every pilot ought to be 20 and a perfect specimen and — as such — the relationship is basically adversarial most of the time. In a perfect world, that’s fine but it ain’t a perfect world.
Just the other day (May 6), I did a repeat BasicMed exam and talked with my doc about it. I explained that flying a simple GA airplane under day VFR in good weather is far easier than driving. I underscored to him that cognitive abilities are far more important as far as I am concerned as you age … lest someone who can’t figure out where he is gets command of an airplane. The FR pretty much takes care of that part BUT … I think you could bluff your way through that ?
Bottom line … from where I sit, the BasicMed idea is the finest thing to happen to aviation. Even if one doesn’t use it now, it’s the backup plan as you age. It puts the onus of “IMSAFE” on the pilot. For me, I want to earn the Master Pilot award and then everything else I get is gravy. I’m a year away. I already have the Master Mechanic award. I’d love to buy a nice LSA but — like the airpark idea — it’s too late for that. SO … I do all I can to keep flying my C172 which has been my aviation friend for over 35 years.
Can ya still use an ame for basic med. exam
Yep. If the AME elects to do them
Illogical and biased argument.
If you don’t need to fly in the flight levels and/or fly for a living just get BasicMed and save the grief and expense of a medical. You can always return once you need to do either at any time.
My main issue, and many others as well, with BasicMed is that it did squat for getting new pilots into the fold. It’s basically an old mans fix to keep them flying a little bit longer and no more than that. It’s a total fail because of the mandatory medical requirement….it makes no sense for anyone who isn’t trying to stay flying to use it because of that. I know of no LSA pilots who are willing to risk losing their license to even consider this travesty. It doesn’t deserve to be praised in any way, it should be looked upon as the failure in political policy that it is so we don’t make the same mistake twice.
Michael: I respectfully disagree with your unduly harsh evaluation of a program that has allowed many pilots to remain in or return to aviation. It has been embraced by Civil Air Patrol which allows CAP pilots to perform missions and provide a valuable service. As a FAASTeam rep I often counsel pilots regarding the basic Med program and some now fly successfully because of it.
It is true the program does not provide an entry method for new pilots but it was not designed to do that. It is a retention program rather than a recruitment program.
Also I think you will find that there are virtually no cases of aviation accidents where the use of basic Med as opposed to an FAA medical has been listed as a causal factor. In summary, the program is a great success.
Just some points to ponder.
Sorry for the late response, Don. I never said it didn’t have some use, but if you go back to the beginning you’ll see that this was supposed to be something else entirely than what it ended up as. This legislature was actively pushed as the next gen LSA when it was originally pitched. It was doing the rounds in DC for quite a long time being pushed by the Gen Av friendly alphabet groups…..and, and this is their own words, they “saw an opportunity to push a streamlined version through” and they took it. It stripped away all of the reasons for doing this from not requiring a medical(gone) to weight increases for the LSA class(gone) to any real usefulness to anyone wanting to get into flying without having to jump through so many hoops(see aforementioned medical…..) The whole point of the original legislation was to eliminate needing a medical to fly aircraft like lighter weight Pipers and Cessna’s, you know, real FAA certified aircraft. If done the way it was supposed to be done it would have been awesome….but NO, it WASN’T. This turned into something that wasn’t even close to what it was designed to be. They lost all momentum on Capitol Hill that they had and now we’ll have to wait several more years to see if anything like we wanted it to be can even be done and you better believe they are using this against us saying that they gave us this as an excuse to not push anything else forward….pathetic!! This is a FAIL. Period. And anyone who says otherwise is being paid to do so or doesn’t have a clue as to what this was supposed to be. So NO it isn’t “harsh”, it is the TRUTH. Deal with it.
I’m not sure what crawled under your skin but I do not agree with your version of the truth or your attitude toward older pilots. A lot of younger pilots are living with health problems that simply have not been diagnosed as yet. Also, younger people are less likely to do anything about their health problems and have a “bullet proof” attitude. If I admit that I have a heart problem that I’m taking care of with regular visits to my cardiologist, that doesn’t make me a bad pilot or keep a younger person from joining the ranks of pilots. If I were around 40 or so and had never had a stress test, I wouldn’t even be aware of a possible heart condition that could effectively make me a health risk and possibly a bad pilot. I think it was wisdom not politics that allowed the FAA to see the light. I commend their wisdom and appreciate their knowledgeable restructuring of the regulations. Remember, you can only be an older pilot if you survive being a younger pilot. Good luck cowboy.
As one of those OLD people who uses basic med I can agree with you on points but disagree with you on your approach. Yes basic med still requires a medical and it really isn’t much more than a relaxed flight physical that you can get at a little less expense in a overpriced field. It does offer a route for people young and old who don’t need the high altitude high speed high passenger load aircraft and just want to fly for fun or personal use. It did keep a lot of OLD people with the money and means to fly interested and to entertain the idea of continue flying and pumping money into the industry. This was an experiment and like the age 65 ruling for US OLD people who flew for the airlines for years under an archaic ruling that forced us out at 60 which is now being considered for another increase. Or was until the Covid-19 disaster. It could get another look And get closer to what was originally thought it should be. Live long enough and you too will be OLD. A good approach usually ends up in a good landing.
You are totally wrong. BasicMed is for ANYONE who has passed at least one regular medical and then find themselves not needing or able to fly in the flight levels. This includes ANYONE with a low ceiling plane like an LSA, Cessna 172/182 or other low-powered single engine plane. The expense and hassle of getting a full medical when you don’t really need one is a gift to aviation.
Michael … and the other naysayers … YOU guys are just plain uninformed, opinionated or just plain negative. You don’t have your ducks in a row. 56,000 pilots using BasicMed say so, too. Why are you wasting our time badmouthing BasicMed and then you tell us YOU are using a third class? Fine. Use it and shut up.
First off, I have Senator Inhofe’s staff members on speed dial. I’ve spoken to him on numerous occasions in person at Airventure and brought an ancillary problem to him last year 2019. I am intimately plugged into BasicMed, now use it AND just did another.
First off, lets go back to the beginning. AOPA and EAA were trying to get the FAA to do a simpler and different version of a no medical requirement which made its way to the FAA and DOT and got stuck there. For at least two or three years, we all listened to Administrator Huerta flap his jaws about how it was “in work” and he couldn’t comment because it would be an “ex parte” communication. In other words, we’re working on it and you pilots just shut up. Yeah … right. Under THAT idea, you’d only be able to carry one pax in your Cessna.
Then came a perfect opportunity for Sen. Inhofe to slide BasicMed into FAA Reauthorization Legislation WITHOUT a medical exam. It was going that way but FL Sen Bill Nelson refused to go along with it unless some sort of medical exam was required. Sen Inhofe, knowing a perfect opportunity could be lost if he didn’t agree, let it go forward that way (as it is). So don’t you blame AOPA OR EAA. It was Sen Nelson of Florida who hosed it up. AND … it was Sen. Inhofe who got it passed, not AOPA or EAA … although I’m sure they helped him?
Under BasicMed, you can fly with up to five pax v. one and yada, yada. That covers almost all light single and multi-engine airplanes. What’s NOT to like. As far as helping new starts, what’s wrong with them using LSA first and then moving up the food chain? If they’re not qualified for at least one 3rd class, then under YOUR rules, they shouldn’t be flying.
You can thank Congress for all that is wrong with BasicMed.
I guess we should do nothing and go back to the days when the CAA thought only someone fit to be an astronaut could fly a Piper Cub.
You don’t understand that getting gov’t to relinquish some power is like trying to pick up 500 pound marshmallow with chopsticks.
It’s damn near impossible.
If you had told me 15 years ago you could fly a certified airplane with a driver’s license or a 600 pound twin without a 3rd class medical I would told you were delirious.
You are very ungrateful for AOPA and to some extent EAA for giving you a little more freedom that you had before.
BINGO!! Blame Sen Nelson of Florida for the form that BasicMed ultimately took, as I already stated.
Some years ago, I got wind that Sen Nelson was stirring up other trouble with regard to the requirement that pilot licenses should have your picture on it. I made a derogatory comment on a blog one day and — when I got home from my hangar — my wife told me that I received a call from an FAA guy in another State. When I called him, he wanted me to know that it was Sen Nelson causing the problem not the FAA and he was calling because he discerned that I live in Florida and maybe could help? Armed with that info, I took the challenge on to make it right.
Ironically, I discovered that Sen Nelson had an office two blocks from my home. I phoned up, got a quick meeting set up with a staffer who I explained the problem to. He was empathetic and told me that if I got a letter to him by that afternoon, he’d FAX it to the Sen in DC with a priority “read” on it. I did. In the letter, I actually threatened the Sen with defeat if he didn’t back off his high horse. Guess what guys … do you have to have your picture on your pilot license? I got my point to the good Senator. Say, “Thanks, Larry.”
And the final good news, the good people of Florida got tired of Bill Nelson in 2019 and elected the former Governator, Rick Scott to the position. That’ll teach him to fool with GA ! 🙂