What's Up - May 2013

Manners May Be Free… But…

By Larry Shapiro

They do have value. I must say thanks to all of you that took some of your valuable time to express your appreciation and offered comments on my “Love Stories” in last month’s issue of In Flight USA. Wow, I was knocked off my “throne” and I am truly humbled by your response. I was amazed that my love stories made it all around the world (I’m blushing) so, here’s a few follow up reactions to share.

A Love Story…A Real Love Story (Continued)
 
More keys – shock, that’s the only word I can think of. Two more heroes came forward to talk about giving me their keys. One has already done it and the other is still saying farewell and hugging his airplane good-bye. Wow! Bravo, not to me, but to them. I’m so sorry I didn’t finish medical school so I could prescribe some ice cream and candy for them. Come to think of it, I never even started medical school.

Love Story Number Two (Handshakes Are Alive and Well)

A few weeks ago I started a telephone relationship with a soybean and corn farmer out in Kansas. No! Seriously, I really did. That wasn’t a record breaker for distance; I’ve had these conversations from as far away as Slovenia and Afghanistan.

Over the following week we “shook hands” a few times and made a deal on an amazing T-210 and we both agreed that it was a handshake deal. Then, I’ll be darned (I learned that expression from him, he said that’s how they talked “back home”), he showed up in California and we shook hands in person and he met his new airplane. There’s more to this story, but I love handshake deals – if I don’t trust someone I wouldn’t be doing business with them in the first place.

I’m Just Saying

Here we go again. They’re back again to make my life unhappy and inconvenient. Those wonderful administrators sitting in the “green check” waiting room in Oklahoma City, are still pretending to be docs, when they don’t even play one on television. Wrong, really wrong. Now that I have announced that I may have a high-class medical problem, I’ll probably be ticketless again while they flip their coins and decide whether I can continue to fly. I guess the Department of Motor Vehicles folks are really generous – they let almost blind, almost deaf, oxygen-assisted 100-year olds drive around and have no concerns about it. But a pilot who can dress himself, and drive to the airport may be a threat to the world if he has a medical problem that is being controlled and treated by experts who actually know what they’re talking about.

I know this sounds disrespectful and biased. Okay, it is. I’m just mad and hate having to start this process all over again, especially with the comments being made below. I’ve included the following FAA information to help you, help me, help them, and to ask you to support some reforms in the medical evaluations we have to live with right now!

We’re long overdue for the Driver’s License Pilots and the FAA says they’re too busy to deal with it – bull feathers, that’s their job. Please get back to me and sound off, we can’t just sit here and do nothing. It’s time for some serious changes.

FAA Announces Change in Special Issuance Medical Certification

EAA Aeromedical Council efforts help progress on measure

The federal air surgeon has announced a major change to the medical certification process for several common diagnoses that have previously required a special issuance and a review process by the FAA prior to issuing a medical certificate.

Under the new policy, termed “Certificates an AME Can Issue” or “CACI,” applicants with arthritis, asthma, glaucoma, chronic hepatitis C, hypertension, hypothyroidism, migraine and chronic headache, pre-diabetes, and renal cancer can receive their medical certificates directly from their AME. Further diagnoses are expected to be announced in the coming months.

The AME will require certain documentation but this does not have to be forwarded to the FAA as in the case of a special issuance. The resulting medical certificate is good for the normal duration, depending on the age of the applicant and/or the class of medical.

Members of the EAA Aeromedical Advisory Council were heavily involved in bringing about these changes. “We are incredibly fortunate to have the Aeromedical Advisory Council at EAA,” said Sean Elliott, EAA vice president of advocacy and safety. “These six AMEs are among the most experienced and respected doctors in the aeromedical business, and this announcement represents the culmination of several years of hard work on this policy they have done on behalf of our membership.”

Manners!

Saying thank you goes a long way. I’ve been doing that a lot lately – mostly to the community around me that has stepped up to support me during this past month through some recently uncovered ugly medical issues crawling around inside me. If I thought I wasn’t medically okay to fly, I don’t need someone else to tell me, I happen to be close friends with me and I trust my own advice, plus I’m married to my best friend and she has her input too on what I can and cannot do. Besides, I like her better that those other dudes.

On Final

Here’s a great idea. Let’s remove towers and controllers at primarily training airports. If the President and his gang think this is a good idea, then let’s vote to be able to sue them when the student pilots start bumping into each other, go-arounds become the norm, noise abatement becomes more of an issue than weather, and the panic sets in with all the low-time pilots. Of course, that will be followed up when all the airport neighbors start having nightmares over the fear of the above actually happening…but wait, there’s more. Never mind, I’m getting upset and that’s not good, I mean, I could have a heart attack, or go blind, or maybe even vomit, and that might be another reason to ground me…come to think of it, is mental illness a ground-able condition, after all, most of us are nuts, aren’t we?

I can’t say adios without applause to the folks in Boston who showed the world what American’s are truly made of. I’ve always loved Boston, now I love it even more. And while I always mention our troops in uniform, those heroes wearing civilian clothes and the uniforms of fireman and police officers, well … here’s my salute to you.

And Finally, happy Mother’s Day to all of you that made it possible for us to be here, we couldn’t have done it without you. And if I may, Happy Anniversary to my wife –thanks for marrying me, I couldn’t have done it without you either.

Until next time …
That’s Thirty!
 “Over”

About the writer: Larry Shapiro is an aircraft broker, aviation humorist and fulltime grandfather of three. He’d love to have you share your thoughts and ideas for future articles. Palo Alto Airport Office: 650-424-1801 or Larry@ LarryShapiro.com