Describe how to obtain a medical certificate with and without a medical deficiency. Identify all the categories of aeromedical factors as relating to flight and decision-making. Describe how each factor can affect pilot performance. Set the stage for a creation of personal minimums relating to medical factors.
Story of “John the instructor”—post cold illness, Emergency Descent
How would your medical condition affect your flying and decision making?
Why is it important to learn aeromedical factors?
What does having a medical certificate really mean?
Breathing, balance, middle-ear/sinus, visual/illusions, stress, fatigue, diet, scuba, medical certificate, I’M SAFE checklist.
Log Ground Training:
- 61.105(b)(12) Aeronautical decision making and judgment;
Aeromedical Factors and Night
Development:
How to obtain a Medical Certificate
- Get a physical from an Aviation Medical Examiner who deems you medically fit to fly at the time, according to FAR Part 67 Medical Standards
- He/she issues you a medical certificate after their evaluation
- If there is a deficiency but you are capable of performing airman duties without endangering public safety, work with your AME to apply for a Statement of Demonstrated Ability (SODA) i.e.
- Loss of appendage
- Vision deficiency
- Etc.
- Student pilots need a third class medical, which includes privileges for student, recreation, and private pilots
- Refer also to the FAA’s Frequently Asked Questions about Aviation Medicals
Physiological Considerations
- Hypoxia—reduced oxygen, or not enough oxygen
- Hypoxic: insufficient oxygen available to the body—blocked airway, drowning, altitude, low barometric pressure
- Stagnant: “not flowing”—too many G’s, shock, too cold
- Hypemic: blood is unable to transport enough Oxygen to the cells, “not enough blood”—loss of blood, anemia, after donating blood
- Histoxic: inability of cells to effectively use oxygen. “poisoned cells”—alcohol, drugs, poisons, etc.
- Symptoms of Hypoxia
- Blue fingernails and lips: Cyanosis
- Headache
- Decreased reaction time
- Impaired judgment
- Euphoria
- Visual impairment
- Drowsiness
- Lightheaded or dizzy sensation
- Tingling in fingers and toes
- Numbness
- Hyperventilation—excessive respiration leading to abnormal loss of carbon dioxide from blood
- Symptoms of Hyperventilation
- Visual impairment
- Unconsciousness
- Lightheaded or dizzy sensation
- Tingling sensations
- Hot and cold sensations
- Muscle spasms
- Symptoms of Hyperventilation
- Middle ear and sinus problems (PHAK 16-4)
- Attention: Scuba diving experiment
- The effect of nitrogen excesses during scuba dives and how this affects pilots and passengers during flight.
- Altitude-induced Decompression Sickness (DCS)
- Climbs/Descents, air pockets compress/expand, painful
- Eustachian (you-stay-she-un) Tube—ear to throat
- Spatial disorientation and illusions
- Attention: close your eyes and balance on an uneven stool.
- Vestibular Illusions PHAK 16-6
- The leans—bank too slow, fluid in ear canal doesn’t move
- Corolis Illusion—when turning long enough, fluid slows to be moving at the same speed
- Graveyard spiral—Coriolis illusion tricks pilot to return to bank, compensates for loss of altitude by pulling up and tightens descending spiral
- Somatogravic illusion—rapid acceleration feels like nose up
- Inversion illusion—change from climb to straight-and-level feels like tumbling backward
- Elevator illusion—abrupt upward (or downward) movement feels like a climb
- Postural Considerations—seat of pants flying
- Demonstrations on Spatial Disorientation
- Climbing while accelerating
- Climbing while turning
- Diving while turning
- Tilting to right or left
- Reversal of Motion
- Diving or Rolling beyond the vertical plane
- Coping with Spatial Disorientation
- Stay aware
- Preflight weather briefing
- Flying conditions like over water, in clouds, reduced visibility
- Do not continue in adverse weather conditions
- Use outside visual references, fixed points on Earth’s surface
- Avoid sudden head movement, particularly during takeoffs, turns, and approaches to landing
- Physiologically prepared
- Flight instrument proficient
- Vision
- Vision is the most important sense for safe flight
- Attention: balance on one foot (control). Make a paper telescope, close one eye, look through the telescope with the other eye, balance on one foot.
- Visual Illusions
- Empty-Field Myopia: “looking without seeing” when there seems nothing specific to focus on (in clouds or haze).
- False horizon
- Autokinesis: happens when you stare at a single point of light against a dark background for more than a few seconds, and it appears to move on its own.
- Night landing: featureless terrain, dark runway environment, wide runways, mistaken approach lights, etc.
- False Horizon: when the natural horizon is obscured or not readily apparent.
- Runway width illusion
- Runway and terrain slopes illusion
- Featureless Terrain Illusion
- Water Refraction—rain on windscreen
- Haze
- Fog
- Ground lighting illusions
- Motion sickness
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Fatigue and Stress
- Dehydration
- Alcohol and Drugs
- Consider the effects of alcohol and drugs, and their relationship to flight safety. PHAK 16-13
- Seriously affects motor skills, reaction time, mental ability, etc.
- Consider the effects of alcohol and drugs, and their relationship to flight safety. PHAK 16-13
- See table in PHAK 16-15
I’M SAFE checklist:
- Illness
- Medication
- Stress
- Alcohol/attitude
- Fatigue
- Emotional/eating
Creating personal minimums: decide now not to fly if you are ever sick, whenever you are upset, etc.
Conclusion and Evaluation:
Medical condition affects your flying and decision making significantly. It is important to learn aeromedical factors to decide not to fly before a critical situation is encountered, and to recognize symptoms of oncoming situations. All your medical certificate means is that you appeared capable physically at the time of the examination; personal minimums should be created to determine before every flight if a pilot is ready for all the possible stresses of flying.