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Special Issuance - 3rd Class

D

Duffer

Member
I received my medical certificate in the mail today. Finally. Good through November 2018 (originally posted 2019 - which was not correct. See updated post below).

Special Issuance ? Third Class.

It has taken six months to get my medical certificate back since spending time in a cath lab to place a stent in my LAD artery (the bad one). It took some tenacity. The FAA wanted another stress test. My cardiologist wanted to wait 45 days to do another stress test after my surgery.

A local AME said no problem. We?ll get this done quickly ? a few months tops. This is more procedural than anything. Plenty of pilots flying with a stent.

First go-around was indeed fairly quick. I got a response from the FAA in about a month and a half asking for more information. The next go-around was closer to four months. Word is your info sits in a pile and will be reviewed by a decreasing number of doctors reviewing an increasing number of special issuance applications. They sent my certificate with a request for stress test tracings they already have. No problem. Glad to re-send.

Be aware that in the first paragraph of my latest letter has the wording ?you are ineligible for medical certification under Title bla bla bla,? but keep reading for the bold print that says, ?I have determined, however, that you may be granted Authorization for special issuance, etc., etc.? Whew!

I wanted to post for those who may have to undergo something similar.

Special thanks to Alan Mekler MD who responded with a couple of encouraging phone calls when I reached out to him. Also of course to Doug Reeves who makes it possible to get good advice through the forums from an AME in New Hampshire.

I think I?ll go schedule a flight review!
 
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Let's go Flying!

Congratulations! That is a big step. Although I didn't have a stent, I did have a prosthetic mitral valve placed, so I, like many other folks in these forums, can appreciate what you've been through. I had to do a similar dance each year for several years...I'd like to call it the "Special Issuance Tango". Then last year I was able to go BasicMed. :)

Yes, go out and get a flight review. You'll soon remember how much you enjoy flying again! :D
 
If you go to AirVenture, you can talk to the meds directly. I once had a special issue medical and walked into the FAA building with a stack of papers. Came back the next day, and they needed one more document. Called the surgeon's office, and they faxed it to Oshkosh. Next day, my special issuance was converted to regular.

:)

Ed
 
That would be incredible.

Especially since I was able to sit down and fully read the whole letter tonight. It's going to be a little more arduous than I thought. First of all, the certificate is valid only through November 2018, not 2019.

Every 12 months, they will now require
1)Submit cardiovascular report and labs
2)Submit the results of another stress test

No exam req'd until 2019.

I will discuss with an AME, but it looks like he/she can sign me off each year with an Assisted Special Issuance as long as we follow their protocols. I guess I should be glad I have what I have, and only need a class 3. I understand Class 1 & 2 require a nuclear stress test every year ($$$).
 
Duffer said:
That would be incredible.

Especially since I was able to sit down and fully read the whole letter tonight. It's going to be a little more arduous than I thought. First of all, the certificate is valid only through November 2018, not 2019.

Every 12 months, they will now require
1)Submit cardiovascular report and labs
2)Submit the results of another stress test

No exam req'd until 2019.

I will discuss with an AME, but it looks like he/she can sign me off each year with an Assisted Special Issuance as long as we follow their protocols. I guess I should be glad I have what I have, and only need a class 3. I understand Class 1 & 2 require a nuclear stress test every year ($$$).
Click to expand...

So this is why I was probing a bit...can't you just now go with BasicMed from here on out?

Don't the BasicMed rules allow for this, as long as you have never been denied for a medical, and only need a Class 3, even with an SI can't you go the BasicMed route now?
 
3rd class med

Sounds like all the hoops and paperwork I had to go through after a mitral valve replacement. I did not want to undergo the continued yearly testing and report sending so I did basic med when it got passed. Do not let ego or pride tell yourself that a 3rd class med is somehow better. Know a fellow who had a 3rd class ticket but wanted to try for I think a 1st class med. He did not get it so he failed and you do not revert back to a 3rd. So he now has a denied/failed medical on record and can not go basic med. He has a lot of paperwork to go through.
 
Totally agree, Allen. Primary goal was to get a third class medical first, then decide if Basic Med applies from here on, or if I go light sport.

Once upon a time dreamed of Second Class, Commercial, Multi and right seat in a King Air (or something) in retirement. That's sure out the window now, but I still have a third class and plenty of options for personal flying. It's all good and counting my blessings.
 
I did this routine for 15 years after a triple bypass. As soon as the basic med came out I switched over.....

Duffer said:
That would be incredible.

Especially since I was able to sit down and fully read the whole letter tonight. It's going to be a little more arduous than I thought. First of all, the certificate is valid only through November 2018, not 2019.

Every 12 months, they will now require
1)Submit cardiovascular report and labs
2)Submit the results of another stress test

No exam req'd until 2019.

I will discuss with an AME, but it looks like he/she can sign me off each year with an Assisted Special Issuance as long as we follow their protocols. I guess I should be glad I have what I have, and only need a class 3. I understand Class 1 & 2 require a nuclear stress test every year ($$$).
Click to expand...
 
Duffer said:
...

Especially since I was able to sit down and fully read the whole letter tonight. It's going to be a little more arduous than I thought. First of all, the certificate is valid only through November 2018, not 2019.

Every 12 months, they will now require
1)Submit cardiovascular report and labs
2)Submit the results of another stress test

No exam req'd until 2019.

I will discuss with an AME, but it looks like he/she can sign me off each year with an Assisted Special Issuance as long as we follow their protocols. I guess I should be glad I have what I have, and only need a class 3. I understand Class 1 & 2 require a nuclear stress test every year ($$$).
Click to expand...

Jon, you now have a Class 3 Special Issuance FAA medical certificate. You don’t have to go back to an AME unless you want to continue the dance.

IF YOU WANT TO GO THE BASICMED ROUTE, you now need to study the information pertaining to BasicMed on the FAA, the AOPA and/or the EAA web sites. You have to go to a state-licensed Physician (not a Nurse Practitioner) with the medical questionnaire that he/she has to complete. This may require a prior visit with an Eye Care Practitioner for the vision test. That’s what I did. Then you have to study and pass the online exam offered by either the AOPA (or the Mayo Clinic.)

You will NOT need to go to the AME every year. AOPA: "At least once every four years (48 months), you’ll need to visit a state-licensed physician."

Every 24 months you will need to take the online refresher course. AOPA: "Every two years (24 calendar months), you’ll also need to take the free AOPA Medical Self-Assessment Course." I believe a similar one is also now available through the Mayo Clinic.

There may be a reason you want to continue with the Special Issuance, but for most of us the BasicMed certificate is the way to go.

Be aware that some AME’s don’t participate in the BasicMed program. And some state licensed Physicians likewise don’t participate. My family physician gladly completed my forms.

All that legalese in your letter only applies if you want to continue with the S.I. All of us who have been on S.I. have received a similar letter. It's a "cookbook" letter, one which was composed with various sentences and paragraphs pulled "off the shelf" as they apply to your condition. There MIGHT be a sentence or two near the end that was composed by a real person, but for the most part they are "canned" words. Those letters will scare the dickens out of you the first time you read one.

I believe there are some limitations with the BasicMed vs. the Class 3 S.I., but your initial post indicated you were considering BasicMed and possibly even Light Sport privileges. Please do your homework and be sure of which route you want to take, especially before you reappear at the AME office.

Study the AOPA information on BasicMed. Here's the link to the BasicMed opening page on the AOPA site. After reading this, and if you still have questions, I encourage you to call AOPA again. Their medical folks have helped me tremendously before and after my heart surgery in 2009. In my opinion, you need to stay away from the "Special Issuance Tango" unless it's absolutely necessary.
 
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Fred.Stucklen said:
I did this routine for 15 years after a triple bypass. As soon as the basic med came out I switched over.....
Click to expand...

Fred, me too, except in my case it was eight years of S.I., ...and after converting to BasicMed, I have never looked back.
 
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