Originally Posted by
SkyHigh
Turbodog,
My thoughts are if you are a young person who has already been diagnosed with sleep apnea what do you think the future holds for you and your career? I would not be counting on attrition from older pilots. If I were in your shoes I would be worried about myself. As people age they gain weight and things like that usually do not get any better. What would happen if you exceeded sleep apnea limitations and lost your medical?
Could you still fly with a third class medical? Is the FAA going to make everyone pass apnea tests?
Skyhigh
I am fine. I have already gone through the procedures, I am not overweight and the CPAP therapy provides a good night sleep. I am just wondering how the senior folks will do with it. There are tons of them that will blow a study and lots of them probably no that they will. So will they do it and spend the money on the surgery, or just hang it up. Most people are fine with surgical procedures, but there are also lots of people who are afraid of going under the knife. I can't tell you how many flights I have flown when the guy next to me can barely read the displays at night. I think the AMEs are going to start paying attention to this stuff now with all of the focus on pilot health. No more "Go stand over there and tell me if you can hear me whisper" type stuff.