ADVOCACY UPDATE
GOVERNMENTAL ISSUES
MedXPress
Mandate
Paper forms for flight physicals
to disappear October 1
THE TRADITIONAL PAPER FORM, FAA Form 8500-8,
completed by many pilots prior to their airman
medical exam will vanish on October 1, as the FAA
moves exclusively to its online MedXPress system for
these applications.
Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton announced the
change in the Federal Air Surgeon’s Medical Bulletin
in January. The MedXPress system was introduced
in 2007, but it was not required that pilots and aviation medical
examiners (AMEs) use it. Dr. Tilton said, “The paper system allows
for too many errors, leads to storage problems, and creates security
risks.” The FAA will reportedly save an estimated $150,000 per year
by eliminating the paper forms.
Many AMEs already use the MedXPress system for pilots who
apply or renew their medical certification. The coming change is
that all pilots who apply for medical certification or schedule their
regular flight physical after October 1 will be required to use the
online system.
“The single most important tip for pilots when using
MedXPress is to make sure they print out a copy of the medical
PILOT’S BILL OF RIGHTS INTRODUCED IN HOUSE
LONGTIME EAA MEMBER Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri), along with Rep.
Dan Lipinski (D-Illinois), jointly introduced the House version of the
“Pilot’s Bill of Rights” that would provide aviators with more protec-
tion and access to information during FAA enforcement proceedings.
The bill (H.R. 3816) is a companion bill to the U.S. Senate ver-
sion (S. 1335) introduced last July by EAA member Sen. James
The House measure contains four key elements:
• It provides more protection and access to information during
FAA enforcement proceedings.
• It requires the FAA to initiate a notice to airmen (NOTAM)
improvement program.
• It requires that flight service station briefings and other air
traffic services provided by any government contractor be
information they submitted and have it
available to their AME at the time of the
exam,” said Dr. Greg Pinnell, a member
of the EAA Aeromedical Advisory Council,
who hosted a February webinar on the
topic (see www.SportAviation.org for
a link).
• It provides a review of the FAA medi-
cal certification process and forms,
with a goal of greater clarity to reduce
instances of misinterpretation.
“Having companion bills introduced in both houses of Congress is
a major step forward in advancing
this bipartisan legislation that will
benefit aviators,” said Doug Macnair,
EAA’s vice president of government relations, who assisted in crafting
the original legislation. “We encourage EAA members to contact their
congressional representatives and
urge them to co-sponsor this bipartisan measure.”
