Aeromedical

Ifirst became acquainted with pulse oximeters the hard way — in a hospital Emergency Rooma few years ago. My wife and I were in the midst of a brief mini-vacation in theCalifornia High Sierras when I fell ill. After I spent a horrible sleepless night in thehotel, feeling nauseous and dizzy, my wife made a […]

Tomost of us who fly, aviation is as important as breathing. Or, at least it seems that way.We take our flying very seriously, and spend countless hours receiving ground and flightinstruction, and reading every book and magazine article and accident report we can getour hands on, trying to learn everything we can to make us […]

Little John, Lady J Adapter Brief Relief #1 Travel John Recommendation Little John, Lady J Adapter Brief Relief #1 Travel John Recommendation Little John, Lady J Adapter Brief Relief #1 Travel John Recommendation Onceupon a time, there was an entrepreneur-pilot — let’s call him Herb — who, after decadesof flying lesser aircraft, decided that it […]

Manypilots dream of strapping on a $45 million F-15E Screaming Eagle fighter, but few get todo it. I had the honor of doing so November 12, 1999, and learned a lot about what ittakes to support these jet jockeys — both their aircraft and their lives. Click on any image below for a higher-resolution version. […]

N47BA, the ill-fated Lear 35. A ghost ship flying across country with a crew evidently disabledor dead — sounds like a script for a bad Hollywood disaster movie. Sadly, however, recentevents have left us wondering how this actually happened. What happened to the Lear 35carrying Payne Stewart and five others? We may never know for […]

This is an expanded version of Dr. Blue’s article that appears in the FAA’s”Federal Air Surgeon’s Bulletin” which is sent to all Aviation MedicalExaminers. Until recently, the only objective guidance available to pilotsconcerning the use of supplemental oxygen in flight came from the Federal AviationRegulations: 91.211 Supplemental oxygen. (a) General. No person may operate a […]

If you are an adult and you fly an airplane, there is a decentchance that you will develop hypertension during your flying lifetime. Some 20 percent ofadult Americans are afflicted by this symptomless malady, which has been aptly termed the”silent killer.” Certainly you have a better chance of becoming hypertensivethan you do of flying your […]

Doctor Warren Silberman took on a big job last year when he assumed the reins of the Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI), which is responsible for all FAA Airman Medical Certification. The place was a mess of paperwork with over 50,000 medical certificate applications caught up in the quagmire. Silberman quickly reduced that backlog to 10,000 […]

As pilots we all “know” that oxygen is important to aviation safety and comfort.Our FAA written exams contain questions on the subject: the physiologic effects ofinadequate oxygen; the regulations pertaining to oxygen use. But how does oxygen really”work?” How does the oxygen we breathe get to where it’s going, what does it doon arrival, and […]

Decompression sickness (DCS) describes a condition characterizedby a variety of symptoms resulting from exposure to low barometricpressures that cause inert gases (mainly nitrogen), normally dissolvedin body fluids and tissues, to come out of physical solution andform bubbles. DCS can occur during exposure to altitude (altitudeDCS) or during ascent from depth (mining or diving). The firstdocumented […]