Class III medical

[cvairwerks]

Don't give up yet on the medical. I've had stones before and while I held a Class 2 med. Wasn't a huge deal on my renewal. I only needed to get a die contrast x-ray series to show no stones and waited a couple of weeks and no problem. I did get a letter from OKC telling me that if I had any more stone problems to ground myself and get with my AME to work on what need to be done to return me to active status. I've had two more bouts with stones since that time, but none within the last 14 years. It will be intersting to see as i will be renewing my medical for the first time in 15 years now.

I plan on getting with the AME that I will be using and paying for some office time with him to go over my records and see what he is going to need me to chase so that things will go smoothly. I know that I have a few things in my history that can cause a glitch in getting mine renewed and I would rather have all the necessary supporting information and test work done and on hand before things go to OKC to cut down on the back and forth and to minimized the time required to issue mine.

[WWhunter]

My advice would be to join EAA or AOPA or better yet BOTH and contact their approriate departments and get the advice you need. After reading some of the replies on here it is like listening to what we call in the military...baracks lawyers. I don't have to time to sit here and type out all the info you need but either of these aforementioned organizations will help you out with a little research on your part. I have had kidney stones also so I know the ordeal which with you will be dealing with. I was in the middle of getting my Seaplane rating when I had the stone. I didn't get the issue cleared up and back to flying until the summer was almost over. It CAN be a mess but only if you make it that way. It just takes a lot of time and making sure you are doing things to the letter of the law to get an ok from the FAA!

Also, you state you want to build a P-38 replica. The original P-38 is a one seat airplane and I guess you could build a 2 seat version somehow to enable you to carry a passenger. But as Jim O'Hara's plane is built...it is a tiny back seat. It is also a twin engined aircraft which will require a multi-engine rating. If you are having any thoughts of flying under SP, a twin engine is not LSA complient. You are also talking about a LOT of money on such a project. Actually I think a LOT of money may be an understatement....bucket loads might be more appropriate. On a side note Jim O'Hara built a scaled P-38: P-38 replica - Maggie's Farm

The LSA/SP rules state you are allowed 2 seats so either way you can still fly one member of your family at a time as long as you do not exceed the GW or Speed restrictions.
I think you need to do a little more research on what you really want to do before you proceed any further. You do not need any type of medical to proceed with getting a SP license. If you are worried about the medical issue just get your SP and still be able to fly yourself and one family member at a time.
Sport Pilot Rule Synopsis
Good luck in your endevour and don't give up the dream to fly.
Ww

[Titanium Cranium]

I hadn't thought about EAA or AOPA for advice but that makes sense. I was already planning on joining EAA so that might be a resource to use. I'm aware that the P-38 is normally a single place aircraft and I plan on building it similar to Jim O'Hara's in making it a tandem. Although my cockpit will be a bit larger than his to make it comfortable. The cockpit will not look as much like the original P-38 the way his does but the idea is to make it a comfortable tandem 2-place. I know that flying as a SP would not allow me to fly a multi-engine aircraft which is why I'm hoping things don't go wrong. That would kill my dream of building this plane. And I'm fully expecting to spend a LOT of money to build it but also doing it in a way that will be much cheaper than Jim O'Hara's. I'll keep you all up to date on this once I get the letter from the FAA to let me know what they expect of me. Monday morning I'll be on the phone with the hospital that treated me with my stone to get any records I can in preparation.

[WWhunter]

TC, I wish you the best of luck with the medical issue. I was in an auto accident many years ago and it has caused me ongoing issues with my medical so I can understand your concerns. I feel the only other advice I can give is to say as little as one can legally get by with when dealing with government issues. 32+ years of being in or around the military has thought me that much.
I hope I didn't have the sound of being pompus or "know it all" in my reply. It is hard to convey one's true meaning and intent while forming a response on these threads. Everyone has dreams and my intent was for you to seek answers that are more concrete than from internet "guesses". I truly hope to see your dream of building a P-38 and it flying someday. I too, had the same dream at one time but realized it is way beyond my financial capabilities. My son has the same dream however! He graduates in May from ERAU with a degree in aerospace engineering with same day commisioning in the AF. He has been selected for the Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training. His education and subsequent training should lead him to do well in life, so hopefully he will be able to realize the dream! His favorite plane of all time is the P-38.

[Titanium Cranium]

Don't worry at all. I didn't feel you came across as pompus or negative in any way. I'm glad to hear some pointers and tips from everyone here as you have far more experience than I in this area. I think it will work out alright it's just a matter of investing the extra $$ into getting the additional info they require. It surprises me how much of one's dreams can be crushed by something that honestly doesn't seem like a big deal.

As for your son, that's awesome to be going right into the AF with that degree and it sure is nice to have someone close by as a resource to go to with questions about aircraft. I'm glad to hear others out there love the P-38 as much too. My love for it was a result of my Grandfather being a P-38 fighter pilot who never wore anything that didn't have a P-38 on it as long as I knew him. He passed away before I really had the maturity to understand what he did and what he went through and building this plane is my way of growing closer to him even though he's gone. Thankfully my wife supports it and will help me achieve it no matter the cost. Although I honestly think that I can build it for under $100K. Largely due to the fact that I can do all the fabrication and construction of both the airframe and the composite skin and nearly every part I will use on it will come from a Cessna 310 that we will buy to pilfer all the needed parts from.

[MarkinPNW]

I have CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) with 2 stents already, and the stress test required by the FAA still seems to be too close to the borderline ( I make the time and max heart rate limits, but with questionable EKG readings). When it first happened, I let my 3rd class (actually 2 yr old 2nd class) medical expire. Note: You may be able to get a glider rating and fly gliders even if you have been denied a 3rd class medical, and there are some high performance self-launching gliders out there, though they are rare and expensive.
Sonex, Sonex -- The Sport Aircraft Reality Check!, offers a kit for a motorglider that seems to be reasonable in price for a kit aircraft, and offers performance pretty close to the higher end of sport pilot specs. For myself, if my daughter or son-in-law were interested in flying enough to get a private with 3rd class, I might just build a Bearhawk, but they are too busy with other things (like trying to survive Great Depression II, etc.), so I am here trying to figure out the best choice between STOL , "pocket rocket", or aerobatic aircraft that fits into light sport specs.

[B_Edwards]

Titanium Cranium, i am in training for my ppl and I had a heart attack three years ago. Doctors said no damage and a stint was placed . Since then I have done fine ,changed my diet ,exercise regularly, and closed down a stressful business (at least for me) . I spoke with several local pilots all ppls ,all of them said you can't get a ppl. My cardiologist says they are wrong. He does several pilots each year and except for the hoops to jump through it's possible if you can pass the physical tests. He said he has commercial pilots who have had heart attacks and they must have a heart cath every year. Aggravating but at least they know what kind of shape their arteries are in. I had to do a nuclear stress test and fortunately passed it easily. In the future I may have to take another but was told to expect regular stress tests from here on. Surely you won't have as much trouble as I have and you will know how your body is doing stone wise. Win/Win?

I'm sorry your grandad isn't still around as WW2 is my favorite subject and I have Huge respect for that generation. I took my son to a military show in Louisville Kentucky late Feb called The Show of Shows. It is mainly a collectors gathering for trading and selling of trophies brought back from WW2 by the veterans. The high lite for me is always the veteran appearances which show up. This year there were four survivors of the Malmedy massacre. For those who don't know about that just google it, it is unreal. Two years ago I met a P-51pilot (Joe Petersbur) who had shot down a German ME-262 and the German who was flying it was there with him (Walter Schuck). The navigator from the Enola Gay. Members of the real Band of Brothers and
several other HEROS. I collect myself and will have to say I will think of your grandad every time i hold a P-38!

[vortilon]

The medical required for a Commercial Drivers License should be all that is needed. You would not be going through these hoops. Ask yourself if driving a tanker full of gasoline or a school bus with 80 kids on board through down town LA is more of public risk than flying a bug smasher over it.

[B_Edwards]

I have asked myself as I have a cdl license, doesn't make sense that you could drive a truck weighing eighty thousand pounds loaded with gasoline through the middle of Los Angelos and not be able to fly a single engine plane . I never hauled gas but i have driven through Los Angelos weighing eighty thousand pounds, I would rather fly a plane .

[Titanium Cranium]

You know, that's a very interesting point about the CDL medical issue. I feel a lot more hopeful after hearing scenarios from you guys and I also spoke with a good friend of mine who is an ATP about the issue. He said the same thing as you guys have. He said there will be plenty of hoops but just jump through them and I'll be fine. I'll jump any way I can to make it through them.

[Titanium Cranium]

Well I'm happy and very thankful to report that the FAA finally approved my class III medical. It only took them a few months I was quite surprised that no outlandish restrictions were applied to my certificate given the trouble I encountered obtaining it. Now I'm hoping to start logging some hours with the instructor in the next month or so in order to hopefully be ready to solo by the time I have a break in school next year. The delay in getting my medical along with some other recent challenges in life have prevented me from being able to log all my hours to earn my PPL this summer so it may end up having to wait to be finished until next summer but only time will tell if it will take me that long. For now I'll be happy to at least get off the ground even if it's not as often as I had hoped.

[pwood66889]

Well I'm happy and very thankful to report that the FAA finally approved my class III medical.

My congratulations to you, Ti. Fly far and wide!
Percy in SE Bama