I want to be a pilot! Please help!!!

[aero99]

I will assume your under 35 since your in college, and if you are in good health and look healthy, you exam should be pretty basic, yet thorough. Getting a 1st class for a student lic is easier than if you were 35+ and an ATP rated pilot. At least thats what my examiner says. They will ask you about your health and health history along with family history. BE HONOEST, yet smart about what you tell them. There are quite a few meds that are auto disqualifiers so if you are taking meds you might want to find a list( I'm sure someone here will know where to find). I don't know that there are "common problems" that pilots get disqualified for, but it is usually something that you would need to be concerned about just for your own well being. Don't sweat the exam. Just be hononest and let the DR do his thing. Ask your CFI for a recommendation for an examiner and he/she should be able to point you to a good one.

At 6'5" your not going to be comfortable in a 152, of course, at 5'10' I'm not to comfy in one myself. But, you shouldn't have much problem flying anything else other than cramped legs.

good luck

 

[eriknorth]

luckily, my legs aren't that long, it's my torso that makes me tall. Thanks for the answer. I could always just put a sunroof in my plane to give me extra headroom .

 

[bobbysamd]

FAA Medicals

An FAA medical is just a thorough physical exam. Assuming you're a standard healthy college student, you won't have any trouble passing it. Chances are, your own M.D. is more thorough. Many people recommend taking a physical with your own doctor before taking the FAA physical, but that applies more to older people and/or those with a known physical defect. Doing that will give one a handle on any problems that must be addressed before seeing the FAA. Once again, if you're a standard college student you'll probably do fine.

You absolutely, positively have to be honest with the FAA regarding any health conditions you may have. A couple of disqualifiers that I can think of include mental illness, neurological problems, heart problems, and some vision problems. Surprisingly, the FAA permits people to fly with health conditions you'd think would be disqualifying. People fly with bad vision. People with high blood pressure fly. People who've had heart attacks fly, but they have to jump through a ton of bureaucratic hoops to get there. People who are taking many different kinds of prescription meds fly. People with hearing loss fly. I believe that diabetics who are controlled by diet can fly. The long and short of it is most people who want to fly can get a medical certificate. Some have to jump through more hoops than others to do so.

If you are indeed looking at a flying career, I'd suggest you get your First Class Medical right off the bat. You will need that grade of medical to fly for the airlines. It's better to find out sooner than later if you qualify for a First Class if you're considering a career.

www.leftseat.com is a decent website on FAA medicals. If you are at all serious about doing any kind of flying, professional or otherwise, I'd strongly recommend that you join the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, www.aopa.org. I say that because AOPA is one of the best resources around for aviation information, medical concerns and general pilot issues.

This is probably more information about medicals than you wanted or needed, but I hope it helps. Medical certification and its ramifications are a major pilot issue. Good luck with your first flight.