Like most of us I was born at a very early age... and was bitten by the flying bug shortly thereafter. I built
plastic model airplanes, flying model airplanes - both control line and free-flight. I was the prototypical "kid
at the airport fence" and did a lot of dreaming about flying. I finally got around to obtaining my Private
Pilot Certificate in 1976. Over the next few years I added a Commercial Pilot Certificate, Instrument and Multi-engine Ratings,
and then became a Certified Flight Instructor and Instrument Flight Instructor. I was fortunate to make a good living
in the avionics business for several years then disaster struck in the form of diabetes. In 1987 the FAA didn't have
the same enlightened attitude they do today about diabetes and I wasn't able to qualify for a medical certificate. After
being in a serious funk, not to mention a state of denial, I somehow managed to move on.
In 1996 the FAA changed the regulations and allowed insulin dependent diabetics to obtain a 3rd class medical certificate.
While that was encouraging I felt I was too "sick" to qualify. Then in 2003 my doctor suggested an insulin pump might
be beneficial and I jumped on that idea like a duck on a June bug! Turned out to be an excellent decision - my blood
studies rapidly moved back into the "normal" range and I got excited about the possibility of being able to fly again.
About 18 months (and a lot of hoop-jumping) later the FAA sent me a letter which said, in effect, "Dear Aviation Medical
Examiner, the FAA knows he's got diabetes and is insulin dependent but if you don't find some other reason to not issue the
3rd class medical certificate it's OK with us if you do." Wow! 17 years, 4 months, and 24 days after losing my
medical I was back in the air!
During the spring of 2006 I bought half interest in a nice Piper Archer. That's my 3rd Piper Cherokee. Later
that same year I went and took a reinstatement ride for my Flight Instructor Certificates. That was exciting too...
then I realized it took over 19+ years to get back to where I was in March of 1987!
We are fighting a lot of problems in general aviation today. Airports are closing at an alarming rate; people build
houses near airports then whine about "airport noise" for some reason. Aviation fuel is over $5.00/gallon in a lot of
places and the FAA wants to burden general aviation with ornerous "user fees" in order to give airlines a break. The
problem with that is if every general aviation aircraft was grounded the FAA would still have to have the Air Traffic Control
system in place to serve the airlines... that's who the system was built to serve anyway. Nobody in a little airplane
ever lobbied for "Class B airspace" around airports - it's not wanted nor needed by general aviation. It solely serves
the airlines but they don't want to pay for it. Oh well... general aviation has been badly hurt by "user fees" in Europe and
Australia but the FAA thinks that won't happen here.
