AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018 - 15

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
IN BASICMED

* Comply with the general BasicMed
requirements: Possess a U.S. driver's
license and comply with any restrictions or limitations, have held a valid
medical certificate on or after July 15,
2006 (see "Does Your Medical Certificate Qualify?").
* Complete the pilot information
and medical history portion of the
FAA Comprehensive Medical Examination Checklist, available online
(www.aopa.org/basicmed).
* Schedule and undergo examination with a state-licensed physician,
who will complete the checklist. AOPA
recommends working with your personal physician, and providing a copy
of AOPA's Pilot and Physician Guide to
the doctor ahead of time.
* Complete the required online medical self-assessment course. AOPA's free
course (https://basicmedicalcourse.
aopa.org) satisfies BasicMed medical
education course requirements.
* Print the certificate of completion
for the online course; keep it in your
logbook or in an accurate and legible electronic format, along with the
completed checklist. There is no need
to carry the logbook when flying or to
send anything to the FAA.
* Thereafter, every 24 calendar
months, retake the online course and
retain the new certificate of completion.
* At least every 48 months, see
your physician for another evaluation
following the checklist and affirm the
absence of any medical condition that
could interfere with the safe operation
of aircraft.

passengers, day, night, VFR, IFR, and at altitudes up to 18,000 feet msl within the United
States or as authorized. Pilots must visit a
state-licensed physician every four years for a
physical exam that includes an FAA checklist
and take an online aeromedical course every
two years. As of March 23, 30,474 pilots had
qualified to fly under BasicMed, and with the
first anniversary of the regulations approaching, the number of participating pilots is still
climbing.

DOES YOUR MEDICAL
CERTIFICATE QUALIFY?

If you have not held a regular or
special issuance medical certificate
anytime on or after July 15, 2006,
you'll need to obtain a medical certificate-just once-before participating in BasicMed. Otherwise, you may
participate without ever visiting an
aviation medical examiner, provided
you meet these criteria:
* Your last medical was not suspended at any time or revoked, your last
authorization for special issuance was
not withdrawn, and your last medical
application was not denied. If any of
these is the case, you may still qualify
for BasicMed, but you'll need to visit
an aviation medical examiner and
obtain a medical certificate-again,
just once.
* You have not developed certain
cardiac, neurological, or mental health
conditions since your last third class
medical. These conditions, outlined
in AOPA's BasicMed resources (www.
aopa.org/basicmed), require a onetime special issuance.
For more details, see AOPA's suite
of online resources for pilots and
physicians (www.aopa.org/basicmed).
Questions? Contact the AOPA Pilot
Information Center on a dedicated
BasicMed hotline at 888-462-3976
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to
6 p.m., Eastern time. For a more indepth review of your personal situation, consider enrolling in AOPA's Pilot
Protection Services program.

Training Starts Here.

FAR AIM
SERIES
ACCURATE. RELIABLE.
TRUSTED.

The primary beneficiaries of
BasicMed are pilots who want to avoid
the needless time and bureaucratic hoops
of a lengthy medical certification process.
In many cases, renewing a special issuance or getting a new medical requires
costly testing the pilot's treating physician deems unnecessary-and that
insurance won't cover. But the rules also
benefit pilots in sparsely populated areas
who otherwise must travel long distances

FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATION
REFERENCE BOOKS

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 15

asa2fly.com/faraim

http://www.aopa.org/basicmed https://basicmedicalcourse.aopa.org https://basicmedicalcourse.aopa.org http://www.aopa.org/basicmed http://www.aopa.org/basicmed http://www.asa2fly.com/faraim http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2018