AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2020 - 13

Look out for changes to MedXPress, AOPA warns
PILOTS SUBMITTING a medical application via the FAA's
MedXPress website may have noticed some substantial
changes to the form made in early 2018. The FAA has referred
to these alterations as updates to the medical application,
known as Form 8500-8, but has not called attention to those
edits-even though the changes are significant, and pilots
should be both aware and forewarned.
Because pilots are legally accountable for providing
the correct information to the FAA when completing Form
8500-8 through MedXPress, AOPA believes that it should
be as clear and easy to understand as possible. Pilots could
face FAA enforcement action or even criminal penalties for
any incorrect or false statements on the form, which is outlined and reinforced by the Pilot's Bill of Rights notification
on the first page of Form 8500-8.
The FAA posted a notice to obtain approval from the Office
of Management and Budget to continue using Form 8500-8

with the recent changes. To ensure that
AOPA's concerns about the changes
have been documented and added to
the official record, AOPA commented
on the notice in October. Chief among
the concerns are "additional instruction" drop-down menus, identified by a
small "+" next to the question number.
The drop-downs are easy to miss and difficult to understand.
In the past, both the Government Accountability Office
and the NTSB have expressed their concerns on several areas
of Form 8500-8; however, the FAA has continued to make
ad hoc updates instead of complete revisions. AOPA urges
the FAA to immediately undertake the process to make full
revisions to the form and ensure the public and aviation community are included in the process.
aopa.org/pilot/medxpresschanges

ACTION IN THE STATES
PILOTS SPEAK UP TO SAVE
MAINE AIRPORT
The central Maine town of Dover-Foxcroft
has shelved a plan to close the community
airport to construct a solar power generating facility on the property following a strong
turnout by airport supporters at a public
hearing. Instead, the town's board of selectmen said it would revisit alternative sites for
the project it is considering with alternativeenergy contractor ReVision Energy.
An AOPA report that the town's decision
to draft a lease agreement for the ReVision
venture based on the town manager's opinion would be "a fairly straightforward
process to close the airport" galvanized local
aviation advocates. Several dozen pilots flew
aircraft to town for a show-of-support fly-in.
Then, at a hearing in November, pilots
and other residents spoke up for rural
aviation for more than an hour, urging

officials to maintain the airport as a local
asset and tourism gateway, and to honor
the memory of Charles A. Chase Jr., for
whom the airport is named. Members of
Chase's family said at the hearing that
Chase was a local pilot who died in a 1959
accident, after which the family deeded the
airport property to the town to honor his
memory.
Sean Collins, AOPA's eastern region manager and a Maine resident, attended the
meeting and pledged to help Kole Stevens,
who was named the interim airport manager,
establish an airport advisory committee.
Glen Larson, AOPA's new Airport Support
Network volunteer at Chase Memorial and
a retired military pilot, also weighed in during the session.
aopa.org/pilot/maine

NEW 'GA-FRIENDLY' AIRPORT
OPENS IN NORTH DAKOTA
A brand-new airport has opened for business in western North Dakota, with local
residents cheering, officials celebrating,
and the first inbound airline flight landing
with a locally born pilot at the controls.
Williston Basin International Airport took
over serving the city of Williston from the
now-closed Sloulin Field in October. The
city's population had swelled from 14,700
to about 27,000 between 2010 and 2018,
with demand for transportation driven by
activity in the nearby Bakken oil fields outgrowing the old airport located in downtown Willison. AOPA Great Lakes Region
Manager Kyle Lewis attended the airport's
grand opening celebration and was encouraged by the official welcome directed
at GA.
aopa.org/pilot/northdakota

aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 13

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/medxpresschanges http://www.aopa.org/pilot/maine http://www.aopa.org/pilot/northdakota http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2020