Briefing: May 2012

Your FAA Medical Form: no paper option

The FAA will discontinue the paper application for FAA medical certification. After Oct. 1, 2012, you must use FAA Form 8500-8 application, otherwise known as “FAA MedXpress.” That virtual form was introduced in 2007 and “has evolved considerably, streamlining FAA medical certification into a much more efficient and seamless process,” says the FAA. More than 400,000 pilots fill out one of these forms each year, so it’s understandable a digital system might save a few bucks.

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