Learn to Fly

Medical Articles

MEDICAL ARTICLES

FROM THE LOGBOOK: IT’S NOT MY FAULT!

A PSYCHIATRIST TOLD ME SO!  Jim Trusty 2011             I flew with a doctor/pilot…

⏱ 5 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

FROM THE LOGBOOK: THE DREADED FAA PHYSICAL EXAM

 . . . and some proven tips on how to pass it . . .OR NOT! Jim Trusty…

⏱ 6 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Conclusion

The fact that an individual holds a pilot’s license does not guarantee that he is a good pilot.…

⏱ 2 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 20 – The Flying passenger

Passengers come in all sizes, shapes, and temperaments. It is not uncommon for a pilot to take up…

⏱ 2 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 19 – Some Psychological Aspects of Flying

Your attitudes and general mental state are just as important to safe flight as the condition of your…

⏱ 2 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 18 – Age

At what age are you considered an “undependable” pilot? The natural process of aging is of more interest…

⏱ 3 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 17 – Noise

Noise has always been accepted as one of the prices to be paid for the pleasure and convenience…

⏱ 3 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 16 – Fatigue

Fatigue is a general term which is difficult to define medically. Usually thought of simply as “tiredness,” fatigue…

⏱ 3 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 15 – Motion Sickness

Although motion sickness is uncommon among experienced pilots, it does occur once in a while. If you have…

⏱ 1 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 14 – Disorientation (Vertigo)

An archaic definition of disorientation literally meant “difficulty in facing the east.” To the pilot, it more often…

⏱ 6 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 13 – Cockpit Lighting

Cockpit lighting has been the subject of considerable discussion. In military aviation, red lighting was long used in…

⏱ 1 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 12 – Night Flight

A veteran pilot once remarked that night flying is no different from day flying-it’s just that at night…

⏱ 3 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 11 – Vision

Vision, even under instrument conditions, is perhaps your single most vital faculty in flying. Yet, the best eyes…

⏱ 2 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 10 – Carbon Monoxide

Pilots tend to think of carbon monoxide gas as something produced by a defective muffler, a faulty exhaust…

⏱ 2 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 09 – Drugs and Flying

The word “drug” evokes an image in the minds of many people far different from its actual medical…

⏱ 3 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 07 – The Ears

If you fly an unpressurized aircraft, you are almost sure, eventually, to encounter the problem of ear discomfort…

⏱ 2 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 08 – Alcohol

Everyone knows that alcohol impairs the efficiency of the human mechanism. This fact has been emphasized again and…

⏱ 3 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 06 – The Gas in the Body

In an unpressurized aircraft climbing to higher and higher altitudes, your body is exposed to less and less…

⏱ 2 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 05 – Hyperventilation

Some people believe that breathing faster and deeper at high altitudes can compensate for oxygen lack. This is…

⏱ 2 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 04 – Hypoxia

Lack of oxygen is the greatest single danger to man at high altitudes, despite the importance of pressure…

⏱ 4 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 02 – The Flyer’s Environment

We live at the bottom of an ocean of air, the atmosphere, which is necessary to support life…

⏱ 1 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 03 – The Pressure is On

About 175 years ago scientists first discovered that the prime purpose of breathing was to obtain oxygen needed…

⏱ 2 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Chapter 01 – The Physical Examination for Pilots

The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) requires that you be properly certificated and physically able to operate your aircraft…

⏱ 2 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Medical Handbook For Pilots Foreward

To become a safe pilot, it is not enough that you want to fly. You must also be…

⏱ 1 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Vision and the Aging Pilot by Dr. William Monaco

The median age of professional pilots, like that of the general population, is increasing. Pilots from the World…

⏱ 8 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

What Every Pilot Shold Ask the Eye Doc by Dr. William Monaco

A common concern to all pilots is the retention of their unique gift of vision. However, most pilots…

⏱ 8 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Glaucoma by Dr. William Monaco

Vision problems are a frequent cause for pilot groundings and waivers. While there is no way of knowing…

⏱ 8 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Nutrition and Pilot Eyesight by Dr. William Monaco

Pilot performance depends on a number of factors including genetics, environment, age and health status. As a key…

⏱ 9 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

20/20 May Not Be Enough by Dr. William Monaco

The Year of the Near Miss’ was Newsweek magazine’s label for the year 1987. In July it was…

⏱ 10 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Seven Essentials of Aeromedical Certification by John Hastings, M.D.

1. Something has changed: If a change has occurred since your last airman physical, assume the FAA will…

⏱ 3 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Lyme Disease by William A Schmidt, M.D.

Lyme disease is an infection caused by a spirochete bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, that is often found in…

⏱ 4 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

The Epidemic Of Obesity by Glenn R. Stoutt, Jr., MD

The epidemic of obesity is now a crisis. It is one of the major public health problems in…

⏱ 4 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

You’re Not Tired, Are You? by Eric Simson

IT’S ABOUT 8 PM, YOU’VE completed the aircraft inspection and pre-flight checklist, finding no problems. The flight plan…

⏱ 5 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Physical Fitness by Glenn R. Stoutt, Jr., MD

A survey of the armed forces during World War II showed that Army Air Corps pilots ranked dead…

⏱ 6 min read
MEDICAL ARTICLES

Anger: How to Control a Killer Emotion by Glenn R. Stoutt, Jr., MD

Anger can run the spectrum from mild irritation to rage, and rage is a form of temporary insanity.…

⏱ 6 min read