Class 3 Medical for Tandems

[pilotdave 0]

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So if he puts the glasses restriction on my card does that mean I also have to wear glasses when doing tandems?

I looked at the Limitations section of an old medical of mine...

"Holder must wear correcting lenses while exercising the privileges of his airman certificate."

Doesn't say a thing about tandems.

Dave

[riggerrob 558]

FARs always loop back to "in accordance with manufacturer's instructions."

Similarly, most manufacturer's instructions remind you of applicable FARs.

[tombuch 0]

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FARs always loop back to "in accordance with manufacturer's instructions."

Not in this case. When the FAR's were undergoing the lastest change, USPA and several commenters (myself included) were concerned that there was no provision requiring a tandem parachutist in command to follow the manufacturers directives. FAA responded to those comments in the Federal Register on May 9, 2001 as follows when they published the final rule :

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Comments: Several commenters, including USPA, recommend that
manufacturer's directives for tandem parachute systems be made
mandatory.
.
.
.
FAA response: The USPA's recommendation that the manufacturer's
directives for tandem parachute systems should be mandatory is outside
the scope of this rulemaking, and therefore, cannot be addressed at
this time.

It is clear that FAA expects a tandem parachutist in command to successfully complete a tandem instructor course as listed in 105.45(a)(1)(iv), and that the tandem parachutist in command must have been certified as properly trained as listed in 105.45(a)(1)(v), but there is no requirement for ongoing training or supervision by the manufacturer or any other industry entity. There were several comments filed about this lack of oversight issue (mine included), but FAA did not address them. Thus, training and manufacturer control appear in the regulations as a single event with no follow-on responsibility.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[kallend 1,635]

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My class three says I have to have reading glasses available for reading charts.

So does mine. The AME suggested buying a pair of $5 reading glasses from Walgreens and stowing them in the back of the plane somewhere, since they only have to be "available" (in the unlikely event that The Man comes checking).

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.