New Rules for Class 2 medical.

[kaiser77]

Hello,
I am now on my 6th hour training And my flight instructor said it would be an idea to get my class 2 medical out of the way , just to make sure I am not throwing my money away , fair point so booked a medical was offered the forth coming Wednesday or the following Saturday , due to work load I took the Saturday appointment.
Everything was going fine with the medical until I mentioned when asked if I was on any medication , to which I replied I take symicort which is for asthma but is prescribed to me because of a hay fever allergy which affects me during the spring and summer months on a very occasional occurrence , the doctor explained to me the rules had just changed, and because of this I would have to see a consultant , who would examine me do a couple of tests , sign me off and I will be rewarded with my certificate , ok no problem I go to my appointment to see the consultant , he greets me with a surprise comment of he usually only sees patients with chronic lung issues such as cancer etc , so I explained why I was here with an occasional allergy related lung problem , to please the CAA and their new rules, he carried out a load of tests and said everything was normal if anything excellent in the lung function area. But this does not satisfy. The CAA , I have to go back for more tests which are a histamine challenge , an exercise test and a chemical test and some others, my big problem with all this is if I had taken the Wednesday appointment I would have had none of the above just my certificate ,instead I have had the expense of the medical which was £160 then the consultant £160 and now the tests which I have yet to find out a price and no doubt will be extortionate .
I know flying is expensive but as a newbie has anyone else had my misfortune of not taking an earlier appointment ? I can understand rules have to be followed and could accept it if I was a proper asthmatic , with my allergy even in the worst high pollen count summer spring/summer days I have a very slight uncomfortable feeling without medication .
This does seem ridiculous or is it just me ?

[Paul_Sengupta]

Can you get a GP sign off as being able to drive a HGV in the meantime? At least that means you'll be able to obtain an NPPL, or train for it, while everything else is progressing.

[dan_vector]

Can you get a GP sign off as being able to drive a HGV in the meantime? At least that means you'll be able to obtain an NPPL, or train for it, while everything else is progressing.

That's exactly what I did as I had a similar issue with my class 2 although it was eyesight related. I needed to go through a host of tests to please the CAA. In the meantime I went solo and was doing solo consolidation work on an NPPL declaration while I waited the 3 months it took the CAA to be satisfied with the test results and issue an unrestricted class 2!

[RMurphy195]

Can you get a GP sign off as being able to drive a HGV in the meantime? At least that means you'll be able to obtain an NPPL, or train for it, while everything else is progressing.

Hi Kaiser - Like Paul I did the GP sign-off thing for NPPL, partly 'cos I know I won't pass the colour blindness test, partly 'cos the CAA medical "expires" rather too quickly so felt it would be better to get almost all the way down the line first, and partly 'cos I'm on medications (diabetes). If you get the NPPL med cert guidleines from the CAA web site they include things to look for on medication - so I compared the leaflets that come with the tabbies with the info on the guidelines to put my mind at rest before seeing the GP (and of course before forking out loads of dosh!)

[A le Ron]

The CAA requirements for a class 2 medical (from their website, http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/2499/Asthma%20guidance.pdf) are clear and really quite simple/sensible:
"Required Investigations:
• Standard Spirometry (Lung Function Tests)
AND
• Bronchial Reactivity Test: either 6 minute free running test (see separate
Bronchial Reactivity Test Form) OR a Chemical Challenge with
histamine/metacholine/mannitol"
These are to make sure you don't become incapacitated in flight (the usual standard applied is that the annual risk of an incapacitating attack should be <1%)
This is only required for the initial medical; after that the repeat medicals are pretty straightforward, unless your health changes. The NPPL route will soon be closed for EASA aircraft, although the LAPL medical has pretty similar requirements to the NPPL.

[kaiser77]

Thanks for the replies!
I just found it so frustrating if only I had taken the Wednesday appointment , I would have my class 2 medical certificate with no extra expense and more to spend on flying, but that is my luck !

[QSD]

.................Like Paul I did the GP sign-off thing for NPPL, partly 'cos I know I won't pass the colour blindness test,................

If you convert to LAPL, you might be able to pass the colour vision test and therefore be allowed to fly at night. The LAPL medical only requires a 9/15 pass on the Ishihara plates if you want the night rating.

I don't really understand why a LAPL is safe to fly at night with a 9/15 pass when a PPL is not, but there it is. I'll just add it to the growing pile of EASA stuff marked "WTF?"

[Flyin'Dutch']

Thanks for the replies!
I just found it so frustrating if only I had taken the Wednesday appointment , I would have my class 2 medical certificate with no extra expense and more to spend on flying, but that is my luck !

Not sure that I understand this.

What difference do the few days make to your medical history?

[kaiser77]

The difference a few days made, was the change in rules with EASA apparently, this was what my medical examiner said if I had come in a few days earlier , I would have been signed off as he would only needed to see my notes from my doctors instead of having to see a consultant and all these tests, if that makes sense!

[Flyin'Dutch']

The guidance under JAR:

Sorry can't post the screenshot (my technical inability) but here is the link.

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid ... pageid=540

Which is not a lot different from what the current rules say.

What has changed is that in the past AMEs could defer these decisions to the CAA at Gatwick whereas now the AME decides whether someone meets the standard.

[kaiser77]

I have just booked the histamine test that is required for me to receive my class 2

Can anyone guess the cost ? £263 !
So that will bring my total spend to £583 ! Not the projected £160

Did anyone else have this cost when getting their class 2 medical ?