Page 83 - EAA78.Newsletter.Archives.(February.2017-July.2021)

CHAPTER CHATTER, EAA Chapter 78 8

Next, Desmarais spoke with the U.S. Air Force has already counted “1,400 hours of sorties on
“because 75-85 percent of our missions are disaster relief” in the last 12 months, including
performed for them.” Many CAP pilots are retired Air hurricane support in North Carolina, South Carolina,
Force personnel, and Desmarais “wanted to be up Georgia, and Florida.
front and in agreement” with the military service
before moving forward. “They told me to ‘stick with He was optimistic about how BasicMed rules would
what the FAA requires’ and we’d be OK.” play out in the coming years, especially in lowering the
cost for aviators and increasing the pilot ranks: “I’m
Finally, the organization sought record-keeping advice hoping that a lot of noncurrent pilots will be
from the FAA because of stipulations in its charter. interested in flying again, especially if the cost is
“The last thing we did was go to the FAA and seek lowered. Hopefully that’s a barrier that’s been
clarification for paperwork because under our removed in the big picture—and that’s a good thing
existing [operating] exemption we had to keep a for us. Growing the pilot community is a priority.”
copy of an FAA medical.”
Desmarais said the organization has not yet
BasicMed replaces a signed FAA medical certificate implemented BasicMed but is looking “to do that
with a checklist and course completion certificate, so within the coming weeks,” most likely in July.
the organization had to verify exactly what
documentation needed to be kept. When Desmarais
learned that the FAA would accept a copy of the
course completion certificate on file with the CAP, it
was a done deal.

Any pilot flying under the new rule “must also keep
both the completed Comprehensive Medical Exam
Checklist and education course completion
certificate in his or her logbook,” reminded AOPA
Senior Director of Government Affairs David Oord, who
explained that the records also may be stored
electronically and made available upon request.

Desmarais described additional “little nuances in the
BasicMed law that affect us,” including aircraft
restrictions. While a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172 or 182
will never see the BasicMed 250-knot indicated top
speed restriction, the Air Force auxiliary does fly
aircraft with more than six seats.

“We’ve actually got some aircraft in the fleet that
are eight seats. Our Gippsland GA8 Airvan is
primarily a transport aircraft when we have to move
folks around,” Desmarais said. The seats are
removable, he added, so the aircraft is sometimes
called upon to ferry supplies during a disaster. The
organization has four Airvans in Alaska and 12 in the
Lower 48. The cargo- and passenger-hauler requires
the pilots who fly it to carry at least a third class
medical certificate. “The rules are very clear on that.”

The CAP has 3,000 active pilots on its roster and
“another 6,000 pilots that could get back into
flying” under the new BasicMed rules, he said. It is
composed of 57,000 members with “just over 24,000
cadets and just under 33,000 adults,” Desmarais
said, adding that the organization typically flies an
estimated 60 to 75 disaster missions each year and