While not every pilot will need to have a medical certificate, everyone will need to undergo an authorized exam to ensure they can fly safely. BasicMed is a newer option for certain pilots. BasicMed is not an option for all pilots, as it has flight restrictions. Glider pilots, balloons, and some sports pilots can fly without medical certification, unless they are aware of a limiting medical condition.
If you're thinking about becoming a pilot, you may or may not know that the FAA requires a pilot medical certificate issued by an FAA medical examiner before you can fly alone or get your license. Although a medical certificate is not required to take flight classes, a medical certificate is required if a pilot student wants to fly alone, which is a mandatory training phase to obtain either of the two pilot certificates. It's important to be prepared and understand the different types of medical certificates and their possible limitations, to know what flight and pilot training certificates can be obtained. The new regulation is likely to imitate the regulation for sports pilots, according to which pilots will be responsible for self-evaluation and must be in possession of a valid driver's license.
The FAA hasn't specified who could fly without a medical certificate, but the title of the ad (“Private Pilot Privileges Without a Medical Certificate”) suggests that the new rule, if approved, would apply only to private pilots. This time, they responded by saying that they would go ahead with the rule-making process to allow private pilots to fly without a medical certificate. A third-class medical certificate is required for private or recreational pilots and does not apply to aviators operating in exchange for compensation or rent. Each pilot must meet specific medical standards depending on the type of medical certificate requested.
People who exercise private pilot privilege under BasicMed (or who exercise any pilot privilege on a balloon or glider) are not required to have a medical certificate. A second-class medical certificate allows pilots with a commercial certificate to exercise their privileges in the event of compensation or hiring, except in the case of a pilot in charge of airline operations. AMEs are not employees of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but rather private doctors designated to provide services to the agency and the local pilot community. If you're trying to obtain a pilot's license, flight classes taught by a certified flight instructor can be recorded as pilot hours.
