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.
Friday: Fly! Do first stall and second stall during same maneuver. Cover instructor with lunch.

Week 2
Monday: Learned not to scrape frost off Plexiglas with ice-scraper. Used big scratch as marker to set pitch.
Tuesday: Instructor wants me to stop calling throttle "THAT BIG KNOB THING." Also hates when I call instruments "GADGETS"
Wednesday: Radios won't pick up radio stations, so I turned them off. Instructor seems to think I missed something.
Thursday: Learned 10 degree bank is not a steep turn. Did stall again today. Lost 2000 feet. Instructor said that was some kind of record -- my first compliment.
Friday: Did steep turn. Instructor said I was not ready for inverted flight yet.

Week 3
Monday: Instructor called in sick. New instructor told me to stop calling her "BABE". Did steep turns. She said I had to have permission for inverted flight.
Tuesday: Instructor back. He told me to stop calling him "BABE", too. He got mad when I pulled power back on takeoff because the engine was to loud. Wednesday: Instructor said after the first 20 hours, most students have established a learning curve. He said there is a slight bend in mine. Aha--progress!
Thursday: Did stalls. Clean recovery. Instructor said I did good job. Also did turns around a point. Instructor warned me never to pick ex-fiance's house as point again.
Friday: Did circuit work. Instructor said that if downwind, base and final formed a triangle, I would be perfect. More praise!

Week 4
Monday: First landing at a controlled field. Did fine until I told the captain in the 747 ahead of us on the taxiway to move his bird. Instructor says we'll have ground school all this week on radio procedures.
Tuesday: Asked instructor if everyone in his family had turned grey at such an early age. He smiled. We did takeoff stalls. He says I did just fine but to wait until we reached altitude next time. Three Niner Juliet will be out of the shop in three days when the new strut and tire arrive. Instructor says his back bothers him only a little.
Wednesday: Flew through clouds. I thought those radio towers were a lot lower. I'm sure my instructor is going grey.
Thursday: Left flaps down for entire flight. Instructor asked why. I told him I wanted the extra lift as a safety margin. More ground school.
Friday: Asked instructor when I could solo. I have never seen anyone actually laugh until they cried before.  

Get over $185 of free flight time!
5/4/08
Fly 5 hours in 6042N and receive 1.5 free hours in that aircraft for use after your checkout! Thats right, free flight time just to get checked out in the fleets most capable aircraft. And after your checkout is complete will give you a free 172SP manual! To qualify you must complete a checkout in 6042N no earlier than 5/7/08. A checkout in this aircraft consists of 5 hours dual instruction. Once the checkout is complete, you will receive 1.5 hours of free use in the aircaraft (to be used within 30 days). To schedule a checkout, either call the office or book a lesson with Sean O'Leary, Robert Meyer, or Mike Nelson.
Equipped with traffic, weather, terrain, and a fully capable autopilot, this checkout will be the most fun you have had in a while. And what a perfect way to increase the airplanes availabale to you as summer flying approaches. Offer can end at any time.

It's Flour Time!
Thats right! It is almost time for the annual spot landing and flour dropping contest and bar-b-que. This year it will be held on Saturday, June 7th.
The fun starts at 8am and continues until approximately 2pm. The bar-b-que will begin around 11am. Bring the family, as this is always a great even for everyone, even those that will not compete. Sign ups will begin on Monday the 12th. Remember, anyone can compete. Students must have an instructor in the aircraft, and only 152's will be used. No private aircraft.

I reserved that airplane months ago!
4/22/08
It has happened to all of us. You have had that trip planned for months in 4624D, and now you have been re-booked in 711PG, or even worse, your reservation has been cancelled. We all know that aviation is a wonderful hobby, but it safety is the #1 priority. So when an aircraft must go down for maintenance, all reservations that will be affected are either moved to an available 172, or they are cancelled.

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
4/21/2008
Cal Aggie Flyers has a great new website. Equipped with more tools for members and a pilot forum! Spend some time checking it out.
Items of interest are the members forum, the tools page for all those important aviation links, and the ability to sign on from the home page. And remember, from any page, click in the CAFF logo on the top left to return home!

24775 Receiving a new Engine
4/21/08
Its that time again. N24775 has a new engine on order and it should be installed within the next few weeks.