HR3935 was signed into law on 5/16/24. Of course who reads 1000 pages of legislation so I am not sure if there are some bad items hidden in the bill. It does appear have several positive changes for GA - especially for Basic Medical. Bill had true bipartisan support. On 4 nays in Senate and 26 in House.

- Basic Medical weight limit increased to 12500 lbs aircraft
- Basic Medical seat limit increased to 7 total seats
- Basic Medical now acceptable for CFI and DPEs
- CFI no longer expires - only needs to be renewed every 2 years with FIRC.
- Existing Airport protection
- Continuing 100 LL support through 2030

There is more stuff but this is a general summary. I would like to see further changes to Basic Medical but this is a good start. I think Basic Medical should just replace the Class III medical. Anyway big win for GA. I just heard about this yesterday and thought I would pass it along. Video below summarizes some of the key parts of the bill




Josh

Nice, that’s good news for sure!


Thought CFIs could already use basic med however?

NineThreeKilo wrote:Nice, that’s good news for sure!


Thought CFIs could already use basic med however?

They can, been doing it for several years.

The rub with all this stuff is the bill "tells" FAA to implement these things.....essentially, the FAA can then take years to implement them. So, none of this stuff is actually approved yet.

I think most of the BM stuff will go through without too much push back. But, bear in mind that the FAA has never liked Basic Med, and it wasn't invented there.....

MTV

I'm grateful for the changes. Hope the FAA will implement them sooner rather than later. Now, if only Canada will accept Basic Med, I can give up on my Class III special issuance.

CFI doesn't expire, you just have to take the FIRC?

What happens if you don't take the FIRC?

I'm not seeing how this is different.

aftCG wrote:CFI doesn't expire, you just have to take the FIRC?

What happens if you don't take the FIRC?

I'm not seeing how this is different.

It would be like a pilot and a BFR from my understanding

NineThreeKilo wrote:

aftCG wrote:CFI doesn't expire, you just have to take the FIRC?

What happens if you don't take the FIRC?

I'm not seeing how this is different.

It would be like a pilot and a BFR from my understanding

Under the new rules - the CFI certificate does not expire but needs to be renewed every 2 years with a FIRC or other satisfactory completion methods. The new rule allows the FIRC to be taken post the 2 year mark allowing the CFI to become activated again. If you fall out of compliance after 2 years - you do not need to retake a CFI renewal checkride. Just complete the FIRC and submit the paperwork to IACRA. So the FIRC lasts for 2 years but the CFI certificate is for the rest of your life - assuming you don't get in trouble with the feds.

Josh

Dog is my Copilot wrote:

NineThreeKilo wrote:

aftCG wrote:CFI doesn't expire, you just have to take the FIRC? What happens if you don't take the FIRC?
I'm not seeing how this is different.

It would be like a pilot and a BFR from my understanding

The new proposal seems a bit more reasonable than a complete check ride etc. Especially, if you have a lot of hours in the preceding months/years.

Flying requirements are getting better, principally for the older folks.