Q - American Bonanza Society

AOPNS TURBOMEDICAL®think I have the perfect present for your AME! The ideacame to me recently while doing some night physicals.One of my regular pilot examinees came into the office andpresented me with a copy of a fully filled out Form 8500-8-except thi s was not a gel/llil/e 8500-8. II had "void" printed inthe upper left-hand corner, the area where the medical cenificateinformation is typed. This document was printed from theairman's computer printer, and it was identical to the frontpage of the Form 8500-8 that all pilots fill out when applyingfor a medical cenificate.As an AME. I was thrilled. There, in neatly printed typeand lillie x's in the boxes, was the airman's entire history.There were no missed items. no illegible entries to question.Scanning the information took only a few seconds'The pilOl explained that he had gone to the AOPA memberwebsite and had entered "medical" and then entered"TurboMedical." This program had assisted him in fillino outthe information and printing the paper he subseq u: ntlybrought to me.I do quite a few AME exams, and this was the first time [had seen this form. I had heard of it but was nOl really awareof what benefits it provided for the airman or AME.That evening I logged onto the AOPA member site andwent through the TurboMedical process myself. If you havealready availed yourself of this process, you can skip to thequestions or go over to Mr. Allen's explanation of why yourIOsurance rates keep going up. Otherwise stick with mebecause this tool devised by AOPA is wonh knowing about. 'Benefits for the airmanA fir t-time applicant might benefit the most from theprocess, but returning users with new medical issues or withchanged circumstances can get useful information as well. Theactual pr?cess of filling out the form as a vehicle for gatheringlIl/ormalion.about yo ur aviation health issues is aeoreat learnmgtool.The questions also come with explanations for why a particularquestion i asked and what conditions mioht be disqualifyingor require funher documentation. For instance, ifyou mark "yes" to the question about high blood pressure, itWI U lead you to the information that your AME may issue thecemficate if the condition is controlled and you provide certaininformation.I recently sat through a presentation of the new BPPPrecurrent curriculum that features a similar learn ing format,I.e: the use of simulated night plans and weather data acquisitionto help the pilOl learn IFR procedures and real-life typeCIrcumstances,This type of learning product is so much more effective, Ithink, than a boring list of do's and don'ts or rules and regs.AOPA has enabled the airman to rehearse-in a nonthreateningenvironment-hislher application and also to learn whatthe various needs and concerns are from the FAA AeromedicalBranch.AME benefitsThe benefits to the AME are time management and qualitymanagement. It was amazing how quickly I was able toscan the airman's form that had been printed by his computerprinter.One of the items that still cause aggravation-both forAMEs and the AMCD-is missed items on the history page ofthe 8550-8 form. The TurboMedical form does not let the airmanprogress to the next item until the previous item has beencompleted. therefore, all applicable blanks must be filled forthe form to be finished.With this tool , there is no more scann ing the form two orthree times to be sure that some box is nOl checked or itemmissed. I looked over the form, asked one or two questions ofthe airman, and told him to transcribe his answers to the realForm 8500 that I provided to him. I intend to have my officeinform airmen making appointments for future AME examsaboUl the TurboMedical program. If they are AOPA members,hopefully they can use it and even drop off the completed formbefore their exam date, giving me time to look it over and ifnecessary, advise them if there are any questionable items.Easy format to use. . Using the TurboMedicai format is not difficult. It is fairlyIOWlllve and anyone who can look up weather or file a flightplan uSlOg DUATS ought to be able to ail through the process.The beginning of the program reassures the user that the informationis not kept on record unless the user wishes. The usermay save the information to speed up use of the programbefore the next exam. There are numerous "sidebar" type sitesthat when entered give you more information about a panicularresponse or medical condition.Many of these explanations are available on the instructionsheet provided with the Form 8500. but I find that many(most) PIIOlS do not take the time to read the fine print. ..(Literally, you probably could pa s your near-vision test if youcan read the instruction/explanation sheet while Sitting in thewaltmg room. )If you take the time at home to go through the process, itwill explain the rationale for many of the questions. It alsotells you the requirements for some of the conditions needinoofurther documentation.The main benefit is that it may highlight a question or