Blimey your medicals are expensive £180. Does that include ECG?
Yes, and I elect to have one each year for my own peace of mind.
Beware a “gotcha” that happened to me. I did a self declaration when my AME could not provide the examination in time (extended overseas break) and subsequently went for Class 2 a few months later. Could not be done because the CAA website blocked it on the grounds that I already had a medical which was valid. Telephone discussions between my AME and the CAA came to nothing unless I was prepared to cancel my self declaration as if it had not existed. That would have left me flying with no valid medical. It took a long time to resolve and get my Class 2 again.
I have an FAA 61.75, only valid with an EASA (Or UK?) Class2.
I’d like to return to the US once travel is again possible
Could not be done because the CAA website blocked it on the grounds that I already had a medical which was valid.
That’s bizzare. That must have been introduced fairly recently.
Equally, if you had filed the PMD, you can get a Class 2, and then let that expire, and the PMD will still be there afterwards.
I guess this means you need to allow the Class 2 to lapse, get on the website quick, file the PMD, and then get the fresh Class 2 after a few days. The actual medical is the same whether the previous one lapsed or not (notwithstanding some dodgy wording in EASA Part-MED if you let a Class 1 lapse, which could trigger an initial Class 1).
Personally I don’t think an aviation medical is really ‘healthcare’, and I wouldn’t expect it to be a good substitute for a screening check either – the focus is different.
Are there any moves in EASA to relax class 2 requirements or move towards a self-declaration as in the UK?
kwlf wrote:
and I wouldn’t expect it to be a good substitute for a screening check eithe
Fully agree if you only do the legally required examinations for the medical. Many AMEs, however, offer to embed the examination for the medical into a more comprehensive checkup. Took me some time to persuade my AME to split the bill into two: One for the medical part and one for the remaining checkup examinations.
Got the impression that it is more common that pilots use this for insurance fraud having their medical paid by the health insurance as “checkup”.
Are there any moves in EASA to relax class 2 requirements or move towards a self-declaration as in the UK?
If that happened, they would have to remove these restrictions. However, if that was done, it would seriously damage the AME business because only pilots going abroad would need a Class 2, and most of the GA in north of the UK never flies abroad. Currently, about 4k pilots are flying on the PMD which is some 20% of the UK PPL population.
I already see signs of a pushback against the PMD route from the CAA medical dept (“they hate it but below 2000kg can’t do anything about it” were the words of someone well informed) and no doubt the “attitude” in the above mentioned CAA letter is an indication of some sort of “power grab” within the CAA.
Maoraigh wrote:
… FAA 61.75, only valid with an EASA (Or UK?) Class2.
Either. The rule at 14 CFR 61.3(c)(2)(xi) does not distinguish between UK medical certificates issued under Part-MED or the ANO.
