Big Problem with Solo/Medical

SkyJeff

SkyJeff

New Member
I started flying about a month before Katrina hit and soloed just a few days before. Well, after getting my medical signed off and I went a few solo flights and then Katrina hit and I wasn't able to fly for 2 months. Then I started doing all my cross-country flights including solo ones. Well, I recently changed instructors a few weeks ago and we've been doing some dual work getting me ready for my PPL checkride. We'll he was asking me if my medical was up to date and when he checked it his eyes got big. He told me the solo sign off is good only for 3 months which means my solo X-C's were done with an expired sign off that was probably 4 months old at the time. What can be done about this? Rules were obviouslly broken here and the way I see it is that it is my old instructor's fault for sending me on these X-C's. He did sign me off in my log book though, it is just the medical portion that is the problem. What can I do about this, please help!
 
it's been a while, but i thought the sign off on the back of the medical was only for type of aircraft....there's one for general solo and then one for cross country (again, it's been a while). The only one I'm aware of that expires after 90 days is the one in the logbook....

edit: yup...just found a student pilot certificate picture with google...and the 2 endorsements on your certificate are general "able to solo" endorsements. One is just for local solos and the other is for cross countries...the 90 day one is only in your logbook...so you can chill :D
 
One more little tidbit:

Make sure the endorsements on the back of your medical correspond to the aircraft (make and model) you flew your cross countries in. Otherwise, they should only be worried about the 90-day endorsement. If the 90-day endorsement was expired, the cross countries won't count.
 
BoilerPilot2007 said:
One more little tidbit:

Make sure the endorsements on the back of your medical correspond to the aircraft (make and model) you flew your cross countries in. Otherwise, they should only be worried about the 90-day endorsement. If the 90-day endorsement was expired, the cross countries won't count.
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First off thanks for the replies.

Let me see if I understand things correctly.

All my flying time has been in a C150, with both instructors. It's the only plane I've flown. The sign off on my medical is 8/05. My last X-C was on 12/9/05. That tops the three month mark, but my logbook has been signed for each X-C I have made. He wrote 'I give permission under FAR for Jeff ... to make X-C to Blah blah blah". So the logbook should be fine.

So am I okay or am I in for some head aches?
 
SkyJeff said:
First off thanks for the replies.

Let me see if I understand things correctly.

All my flying time has been in a C150, with both instructors. It's the only plane I've flown. The sign off on my medical is 8/05. My last X-C was on 12/9/05. That tops the three month mark, but my logbook has been signed for each X-C I have made. He wrote 'I give permission under FAR for Jeff ... to make X-C to Blah blah blah". So the logbook should be fine.

So am I okay or am I in for some head aches?
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Ya, as long as there are two signatures and dates on the back of the medical, you're alright. As far as the logbook, there should be the cross country endorsements you mentioned, as well as another one that DOES expire at the end of 90 days. If you're doing your training quickly, you might only have one or two of them. If you take longer, you'll have more.

At the end of the day, this is something you're instructor should know about. I'd sit down with him, and not get up until you and him figure it out for sure. Go through the regs, and the advisory circular that your instructor should have regarding endorsements.

From what you've told us, as long as you have those 90 day endorsements, you'll be fine. But if you're still feeling uneasy, then talk with your instructor. If he's certain that you need a 90 day on the back of your medical, slap him upside the head and find someone else for a second opinion.
 
Rules were obviouslly broken here and the way I see it is that it is my old instructor's fault for sending me on these X-C's.
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Hold on just a second. Yes, your instructor could lose his butt for not catching this. However, you forget the golden rule about the pilot-in-command ultimately being responsible for determining whether or not a flight should or should not take place.

I bet you have PIC logged for those solo trips, too. So don't forget that when you're PIC (even after completing training), you have to ensure your medical, flight review, applicable currency, etc. is up to date before launching off into the wild blue yonder.

And that responsibility begins now. Flying is a skill that requires independence and being able to operate without constant oversight ... so if an error had occured, blame would lie with both yourself and your instructor.

Here's a toast to the learning process ... we all make mistakes/overlook something ... may we learn from it and press on!
 
The person with the most responibility is your CFI for not telling you about the 90 day solo requirement. Since he was endorseing your logbook for you X-ctys it was his responibility to make sure.

That said, you still need to be alert for things like this. Chalk it up as a learning experiance.

The same thing ahppend to me when I was a student, I soloed almost a year before I took my checkride and only ever had the first solo endorsement.

The 90 day solo endorsement goes in your logbook, not your medical.

Have your new CFI call an examiner and ask if this will be a problem when it comes time for the checkride.
 
In most such cases, when you sit the then CFI and the student down and ask them to search their memories while considering the various factors and implications, they both quickly realize that the missing endorsement must have existed, but has somehow become lost. In that case, the obvious answer is for the CFI to make a duplicate entry, dated per the date the original endorsement obviously occurred.
 
the endorsements on you medical are good for the rest of your life. they do not expire even when the student pilots liscense does. the one you need to be worried about is the 90 day endoresment in your logbook. it is required to be renewed if it has been over 90 days per 61.87i. your instructor was at fault if that one is expired however as said before this does not eliminate your responsibility. ignorance is no excuse.
 
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