Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rated?

T

tashakor

New Member
I just had a quick question.

Is it possible to have a Commercial certificate and a class 3 medical? I know you need a class 2 in order to fly for hire, but what if you just want to have a Commercial certificate. Because I am not eligible for class 2 or 1....and I don't want to have like 800 hrs and be a private pilot.

So to conclude, is this possible?:

Have a class 3 medical, multi-engine and commercial.
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

I really don't understand why you would want a commercial ticket if you can never use it. There are plenty of extremely professional private pilots out there with tons of experience, just like there are more than a couple commercial pilots out there who just plain suck. It isn't about a card in your wallet, it's about what you do with it.........I think that's what "she said"

I'll say that my civilian medical has long since lapsed from a 2nd to a 3rd and then to nothing and my commercial ticket is still valid. I don't think that is really what you were getting at though
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

< moved to General Topics. Not really a question we need to bother the good Doctor with. :) >
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

I have a commercial certificate and a 3rd class medical. So, apparently it's possible. :)

There is no requirement to have a 1st or 2nd class medical to take the commercial checkride, only to exercise some of the privileges of it. You can take the checkride with a 3rd class.
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

Looking at the Part 61 regulations, I don't see any prohibition against the issuance of a commercial pilot certificate to someone without at least a third class medical. So I suppose that technically one could be issued.

Howver, 61.3 says you cannot act as a PIC under a certificate issued under Part 61, without having a valid medical certificate. Since the private pilot and commercial pilot certifcations are not separate (i.e you don't have a commercial AND a private certificate) you would not be able to fly PIC once you had it, which in essence would invalidate the purpose of the certificate.
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

///AMG said:
I really don't understand why you would want a commercial ticket if you can never use it.
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Just because you can never use it (or will never use it) doesn't mean you shouldn't try to achieve it. I don't ever see myself flying a panel, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to get an FE ticket some day or a DX cert.

-mini
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

///AMG said:
I really don't understand why you would want a commercial ticket if you can never use it. There are plenty of extremely professional private pilots out there with tons of experience, just like there are more than a couple commercial pilots out there who just plain suck. It isn't about a card in your wallet, it's about what you do with it.........I think that's what "she said"

I'll say that my civilian medical has long since lapsed from a 2nd to a 3rd and then to nothing and my commercial ticket is still valid. I don't think that is really what you were getting at though
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:yeahthat:

Unless you want the "I'm a commercial pilot" conversation piece.

(which is kinda gay)


If you're doing it for the challenge and to study something new in aviation....I can understand that.
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

skydog said:
Howver, 61.3 says you cannot act as a PIC under a certificate issued under Part 61, without having a valid medical certificate. Since the private pilot and commercial pilot certifcations are not separate (i.e you don't have a commercial AND a private certificate) you would not be able to fly PIC once you had it, which in essence would invalidate the purpose of the certificate.
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No. The class of medical requirements (pt. 61.23) speak in terms of "exercising the privileges of" a particular (private, commercial, etc.) certificate. If you are exercising the privileges of a private certificate, you only need a 3rd class. Nothing prevents you from exercising the privileges of a private certificate while holding a commercial certificate for the same category/class.

Also, your proposed interpretation is hard to reconcile with 61.23(a)(3)(iv), which allows a flight instructor acting as PIC to have only a 3rd class. You can't be a flight instructor (airplane) without getting a commercial certificate first.

ryanmickG said:
If you're doing it for the challenge and to study something new in aviation....I can understand that.
Click to expand...

or for insurance purposes or because you want to get the CFI
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

///AMG said:
I really don't understand why you would want a commercial ticket if you can never use it. There are plenty of extremely professional private pilots out there with tons of experience, just like there are more than a couple commercial pilots out there who just plain suck. It isn't about a card in your wallet, it's about what you do with it.........I think that's what "she said"
Click to expand...

Insurance is the biggest reason I can think of. If you own an airplane there is a little bit of a discount for getting another rating.

My flying club has their own currency requirements, which are based on what ratings you hold. Someone with a commercial vs. private ticket can go twice as long without flying and not have to hop in the airplane with a CFI to be current with the club.
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

Actually for quite a few years I did the same thing. Originally I wasn't planning on flying professionally, but when I was adding my multi-engine rating it was almost the same ride to do it to Commercial standards instead of just Private so I did. For quite a few years I had Commercial Multi-Engine, Private Single Engine and just a Third Class Medical. All of my flying was non-commercial so that was all I needed. Just because my cert said "Commercial" didn't mean I had to have a corresponding medical.

(Interesting story about the time I decided to get a First Class when I was just toying with the idea of a career change, and ended up with the Apollo 13 Flight Surgeon as my AME. I'll save that one for another thread.)
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

skydog said:
Howver, 61.3 says you cannot act as a PIC under a certificate issued under Part 61, without having a valid medical certificate. Since the private pilot and commercial pilot certifcations are not separate (i.e you don't have a commercial AND a private certificate) you would not be able to fly PIC once you had it, which in essence would invalidate the purpose of the certificate.
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I would say that isn't accurate. Having a 3rd class and a commercial certificate won't preclude him from operating an aircraft as PIC as a private pilot.

Just because I have an ATP doesn't mean I always need a 1st or 2nd class medical to rent a Cessna.

Edit: nevermind someone already did the research
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

Even flying as a CFI all you need is a 3rd class medical EVEN though you are getting paid and using the commercial pilot ticket. You can have any certificate and as long as you just want to go up and hop around with a friend or family member, all you need is a third class.
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

TheAviator737 said:
Even flying as a CFI all you need is a 3rd class medical EVEN though you are getting paid and using the commercial pilot ticket. You can have any certificate and as long as you just want to go up and hop around with a friend or family member, all you need is a third class.
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Yep.. 9 out of 10 people I come across tell me I was in blatant violation of FARs when I was instructing with a first class medical certificate that hadn't been renewed in almost three years.

These days, if you're under 40 years of age and a flight instructor, you can really save money by waiting five years to get that puppy renewed.
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

If memory serves you can act as a flight instructor WITHOUT ANY class medical certificate as long as you aren't acting as PIC.
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

Short answer: You only need a second class or higher to exercise the privileges of a commercial pilot certificate. So, if you're not acting as a commercial pilot then you can fly all you want on a third class medical and be totally legal.

The reason you can flight instruct on a third class medical is because you're not being paid to fly. You are being paid to instruct the student pilot, the flight is incidental to the lesson according to the FAA. (that isn't to say I totally buy that)
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

I got all my ratings with a 3rd and only recently got a 1st.
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

ryanmickG said:
:yeahthat:

Unless you want the "I'm a commercial pilot" conversation piece.
Click to expand...

This is what I was getting at. Sorry but a commercial ticket really doesn't add that much to your skillset in and of itself. A few more testable items, some ccx time and a couple new ground reference maneuvers? You could do all of this on your own without needing to pay the extra money. I'm all for continually seeking to increase one's professionalism in the air, but there are so many better ways to do it IMHO. I know this is a bit of a thread-jack off of your original question, but probably worth at least considering. God knows how little (in the grand scheme of aviation) I knew the day I passed my civvie commercial checkride. Maybe marginally more than a private pilot, but mostly just cause I had more hours than I would have with a newly minted PPL.
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

Thanks for the input guys.

My school is offering me 36 free credits if I receive my Commercial. And it wouldn't hurt to have it anyways. :P
 
Re: Possible to have a class 3 medical and be commercial rat

tashakor said:
Thanks for the input guys.

My school is offering me 36 free credits if I receive my Commercial. And it wouldn't hurt to have it anyways. :P
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If you don't mind me asking, what school is that? That is A LOT of credits for a commercial certificate.

Back on topic, I would say go for it. As others have said, even if you are only planning on flying as a hobby now, you never know...you may get bit by the bug to try to make a career out of it.
 
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