Flight Training - March 2013 - 18

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9/29/08

10:14 AM

Page 1

PREFLIGHT»

MEMBER PRODUCTS

The ABCs
of EKGs

BY WARREN SILBERMAN

What your results mean
to the FAA

DISCOUNT
for current
AOPA members
on all FAA exams!

To Register
Call
800-947-4228
www.catstest.com

AOPA membership
ID #________________
Ask for $10 discount

THE TWO MAIN REASONS for performing
an EKG on an airman are the requirement
for first class airmen when he turns age
40, and every year after; and for the initial
packet when a pilot is reporting for the
first time treatment for high blood pressure. It is the responsibility of the AME to
interpret the EKG and, if it is abnormal,
to have you undergo certain testing and
evaluations to make sure you have no
underlying medical condition.
If the AME is uncomfortable reading
the EKG, he or she should have it interpreted before they release you from the
office with a medical certificate in hand.
Most EKG machines these days have selfinterpretation capability, and the FAA has
given AMEs a list of “normal variants.”
These are findings on electrocardiograms
that have been found not to be aeromedically significant.
When you have an ECG performed in
your AME’s office or bring one in from
your own treating physician, it is critical
to ask the AME how it looks. If he or she
says that it is not normal, you need to
press them about obtaining more testing
to demonstrate to the FAA that you are
OK. Do not leave the office until you both
agree on a next step to establish that you
are OK. If the AME does not review the
EKG and is not “negative,” some months
later you may receive one of those letters
that say that your electrocardiogram
shows a variance and you need to provide
the FAA with testing. If that happens then
I strongly suggest that you find yourself
another AME!
For more expert advice and professional
assistance with protecting your pilot and
medical certificates year-round, visit—and
consider joining—AOPA Pilot Protection
Services (www.aopa.org/pps).

Final Exam

Think you know your stuff? Quiz yourself
with these FAA test questions
1. Unless otherwise authorized, two-way radio
communications with air traffic control are
required for landings or takeoffs
A. at all tower-controlled airports regardless of
weather conditions.
B. at all tower-controlled airports only when
weather conditions are less than VFR.
C. at all tower-controlled airports within Class D
airspace only when weather conditions are less
than VFR.
2. After an ATC clearance has been obtained,
a pilot may not deviate from that clearance,
unless the pilot
A. requests an amended clearance.
B. is operating on a VFR flight plan.
C. receives an amended clearance or has an
emergency.
3. Where can an aircraft’s operating limitations be found?
A. In the current, FAA-approved flight manual,
approved manual material, markings, and placards, or any combination thereof.
B. In the airframe and engine logbooks.
C. On the airworthiness certificate.
4. No person may operate an aircraft that has
an Experimental airworthiness certificate
A. under instrument flight rules (IFR).
B. when carrying only property for hire.
C. when carrying persons or property for compensation or hire.
5. The correct method of stating 4,500 feet msl
to ATC is
A. “Forty-five hundred feet msl.”
B. “Four point five.”
C. “Four thousand five hundred.”
6. Which is the correct way to initiate a radio
call to a ground station?
A. Unicom at Frederick…
B. Washington Center…
C. Miami Ground Control…
7. During operations at altitudes of more than
1,200 feet agl and at or above 10,000 feet msl,
the minimum distance above clouds requirement for VFR flight is
A. 500 feet.
B. 1,000 feet.
C. 1,500 feet.
8. VFR cruising altitudes are required to be
maintained when flying
A. at 3,000 feet or more agl; based on true
course.
B. more than 3,000 feet agl; based on magnetic
course.
C. at 3,000 feet or more msl; based on magnetic
heading.

Answers on page 51
Dr. Warren Silberman is the former manager of
FAA Aerospace Medical Certification and a doctor of
osteopathic medicine.

18 /

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Flight Training - March 2013

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