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Well there I was again, sitting in the doctor’s office waiting to get my over 40 years of age aviaton medical exam First Class Medical done. Since I’m an airline pilot and over 40, I have to do one every six months and an EKG once-a-year.

And I have to say, I think they are a bit of scam!

Though the FAA provides a guide for the doctor, via the “Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners,” in all my years of getting physical exams, only a handful have ever followed it and most seem to make it up as they go. On top of that, the doctor’s fees are getting out of hand. These exams are not covered under medical insurance, usually. Furthermore, why is it that over 40 have to do physicals twice a year? How did they come up with the magical number?

Anyway, here’s the deal.

The medical tech takes my pulse, checks my blood pressure, checks color vision and urine. The hearing test, I discover, is optional and the tech asks if I want to do it. Hey, if it’s optional, why would I want to do it? OK, so far, easy enough. Then I sit in the exam room for 15 minutes and I thumb through the magazines to my left.

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