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FAA Changes Medical Durations By AOPA ePublishing staff Pilots under age 40 can save a trip to the AME. On July 24, the FAA will extend the duration of third class medicals from 36 calendar months to 60 calendar months (five years) and first class medicals from six calendar months to 12 calendar months for pilots under age 40. “This is welcome news for the GA industry,” said AOPA President Phil Boyer. “AOPA supported the FAA’s move that makes it easier and more affordable for younger pilots to fly.” Current and expired medical certificates are grandfathered under this rule. For example, a pilot under age 40 who has a third class medical that would have expired at the end of July 2008 under the three-year limit is now good for another two years. In other words, the medical won’t expire until the last day of July 2010. But what if you had let your medical expire? If you are under age 40, and the certificate was issued less than five years ago, it is now valid until the last day of the month, five years from its original issuance date. Here’s how it works. Let’s say you got your third class medical on Sept. 20, 2004, (and you were under the age of 40 at that time) but have not renewed it. Under the current rules, you haven’t had a medical since Sept. 30, 2007, and could not act as pilot in command. Now your medical is valid again and will remain valid until Sept. 30, 2009. Welcome back to the skies! Pilots under 40 who have first class medicals won’t need to renew theirs for one year after the original date of issuance. After one year, it will revert to a third class medical. So, what if you turn 40 during this new one- or five-year window? That won’t impact the duration of your medical. If you get your first or third class medical the day before you turn 40, it will still be valid for one year or five years, respectively. Because medical certificates that have already been issued and those being issued within the next month won’t reflect the new regulatory language, pilots should print this card that shows the new duration rules and carry it with their medical at all times. The FAA does not intend to reissue certificates to airmen who applied before the new certificates become available. AOPA’s medical certification staff handles about 20,000 pilot medical inquiries each year. To address members’ medical concerns, AOPA periodically meets in person with the FAA’s Aerospace Medical Certification staff in Oklahoma City, Okla., and the federal air surgeon in Washington, D.C. Because of this relationship, AOPA and the FAA have been able to advance and streamline the medical certification process for pilots. Have questions? Give AOPA’s medical staff a call at 800/USA-AOPA (872-2672). Be Safe. Be Courteous Please remember that you must re-fuel aircraft after each and every flight. Whether you just flew for an hour or for .3 of an hour, please refuel the aircraft. It is both unsafe and unfair to provide the next renter with anything less than full tanks. If you fly an aircraft for currency (3 bounces) and decide not to re-fuel the aircraft, the next renter may have to fuel up on their own before their cross country. That will cost them time, and at least .1 on the hobbs. In this day and age, that’s over $20 in the twin. If the next renter does not fuel up (not noticing the few gallons of fuel missing), they may proceed on a cross country unknowingly without a VFR reserve. Please help us eliminate this problem. If you see anyone flying, and not re-fuelng, let us know by filling out the details on the comment submittal form on the website. My Student Pilot Diary! Thursday: Take instructor to lunch. Discover I don't know enough to
take instructor to lunch. Week 2 Week 3
Get over $185 of free flight time! It's Flour Time! I reserved that airplane months ago! To add to the frustration, we never know how long an aircraft will be down for maintenance. We collaborate with the maintenance facility numerous times a day to get the best estimate, but parts being shipped and new discrepancies are always challenging aspects to deal with. On occasion, you may notice that your reservation was switched to another aircraft due to maintenance, but then the aircraft you originally scheduled is available at the time of your flight. This occurs because an aircraft might, on occasion, return from maintenance early and be placed back on the line. If this happens, your original reservation will not be re-scheduled automatically. This would be a logistical nightmare, and is simply not possible. In conclusion, everyone at Cal Aggie Flyers wants your trip to work out exactly as planned, and we will do everything within reason to assure it does. If a reservation must be re-scheduled or cancelled, please understand…we want you to fly as much as you do! Next time you have a trip scheduled, feel free to call the office a week (no more than that) in advance to get an idea of how much time an aircraft has remaining before mandatory maintenance must be preformed. CAFF Gets a New Look 24775 Receiving a new Engine
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