by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D. Senior Aviation Medical Examiner © Copyright 2024. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine August/September 2024 Digital Issue Our eyes are one of our…
Tag: Dr. Bill Blank
Ocular Certification Changes
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Senior Aviation Medical Examiner © Copyright 2024. All rights reserved Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine June/July 2024 Digital Issue The FAA ocular certification procedures are…
The Aging Pilot
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Senior Aviation Medical Examiner© Copyright 2024. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine April/May 2024 Digital Issue When I learned to fly a long…
Efforts To Speed Up Certification
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Senior Aviation Medical Examiner © Copyright 2024. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine February/March 2024 Digital Issue The FAA is acutely aware that…
Sunglasses
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Senior Aviation Medical Examiner © Copyright 2023. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine December 2023 Digital Issue Recently the Federal Air Surgeon, Dr….
AirVenture Aeromedical News
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Senior Aviation Medical Examiner © Copyright 2023. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine October/November 2023 Digital Issue From an aeromedical point of view,…
New FAA Color Vision Tests
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Senior Aviation Medical Examiner Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine August/September 2023 Digital Issue On May 31, 2023, the FAA authorized three new color vision tests…
FAA Basic Med Report To Congress
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine June/July 2023 Digital Issue BasicMed became effective May 1, 2017. Part of the law authorizing it required the FAA in…
An Internet Attack On The Federal Air Surgeon
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine April/May 2023 Digital Issue Recently I have been getting questions from airmen about changes in the PR interval which the…
An Upload Feature To AMCS
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD © Copyright 2022. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine December 2022/January 2023 Digital Issue Where did I come up with this title? Why…
Tracking Your Medical Application
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD © Copyright 2022. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine August/September 2022 Digital Issue Until recently, it was difficult to track your medical application….
Arthritis
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD © Copyright 2022. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine June/July 2022 Digital Issue Arthritis refers to painful, swollen joints with decreased mobility and…
Age-Related Macular Degeneration
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD © Copyright 2022. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine April/May 2022 online issue Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) is a major cause of visual…
Certification Issues
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD © Copyright 2021. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine – December 2021/January 2022 Online Issue Those of you who attended EAA AirVenture this…
Do You Have A Valid Medical?
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Copyright 2021. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine August/September 2021 online issue An airman will sometimes say “I am going to quit flying…
DUIs & Certification
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Copyright 2021. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine June/July 2021 Online Issue Recently I have had a couple of applicants with more than…
Hypertension and FAA Certification
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Copyright 2021. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine – print & online April/May 2021 issue Hypertension or high blood pressure is quite common….
What Not To Skip On FAA MedXpress Form 8500-8
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Copyright 2021. All rights reserved! Published online Midwest Flyer Magazine – February/March 2021 FAA form 8500-8 is the form airman complete and submit via MedXpress…
Kidney Stones & Flying
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Copyright 2020. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine (online) – December 2020/January 2021 issue Kidney stones are particles which are formed in the…
COVID-19 & Your Fitness To Fly!
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Published in Midwest Flyer – October/November 2020 issue COVID-19 (COronaVIrusDisease19) first appeared in late 2019. Since then it has caused a pandemic. It is classified…
Diabetes & FAA Certification
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D., Senior AME @August 2020 All rights reserved. Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2020 issue The FAA has come a long way since I first…
Finding New AMEs
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D., Senior AME Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue Do you know of a physician you think would make a good Aviation Medical Examiner…
Understanding What Causes FAA Medical Certification Delays & What You Can Do To Speed Things Up!
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D.,Senior AME Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue I just returned from speaking at an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) refresher course in Nashville….
CBD & Why The Jury Is Still Out!
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D. Published in Midwest Flyer – February/March 2020 issue Is CBD (Cannabidiol) the latest fad or is it a medication with the potential to help people…
High On Health
Introduction by Dr. Bill Blank As many of you know, marijuana for recreational use and some of its derivatives, have been legalized in several states. While they are legal in…
Airport Board Honors Midwest Flyer Magazine Contributing Editor, Dr. Bill Blank
Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2019 issue LA CROSSE, WIS. – The City of La Crosse Regional Airport Aviation Board passed the following resolution recently, recognizing Dr. Bill Blank…
A Pilot’s Mental Health
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D. Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2019 issue Mental health issues are common in our society. The results of serious mental illness show up in…
Visual Standards
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D. Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2019 issue Recently, several questions have come up regarding vision and certification. New Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs) are required…
Be Sure You Have All of Your Ducks In Order
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D. Published in Midwest Flyer – February/March 2019 issue Over the past several months, I have become aware of several certification issues which prompted this article….
The Great Lakes Region Gets A New Regional Flight Surgeon While Basic Med Increases In Popularity
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D. Published in Midwest Flyer – October/November 2018 issue When I last checked, over 35,000 airmen had availed themselves of “Basic Med.” In addition, Mayo Clinic…
Take Precautions… Don’t Become Victim To Incapacitation
by Dr. Bill Blank, MD Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2018 issue I am certainly no expert on the subject of “pilot incapacitation,” but it is a topic deserving…
Florida Fly-Out Attracts Midwest Flyers
Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2017 Members of the Florida Aero Club flew to Venice, Florida February 19, 2017 for its monthly fly-out and lunch at Sharky’s On The…
How The Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 Can Affect You!
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D. Published in Midwest Flyer – Oct/Nov 2016 As many of you know, on July 15, 2016, President Obama signed into law the “Pilot’s Bill of…
As We Age As Pilots
by Dr. Bill Blank Aviation Medical Examiner The average age of pilots has been increasing. This is due to several factors. Because of improvements in lifestyles and health care, people…
Does The FAA Trust Its AMEs?
by Dr. Bill Blank Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) There are a number of selected medical conditions that are initially disqualifying for a pilot medical if the applicant does not meet…