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For those interested, we will be conducting a webinar on International Flying this Saturday, November 11, 2023 in conjunction with the FAA Safety Team. This webinar will cover the most common questions and mistakes we see when assisting pilots make international trips in both piston as well as turboprop and turbojet powered aircraft.


The presentation will cover the most common issues on the following topics:
crew documents
aircraft documents
travel documents
equipment
CBP
navigational
safety


While it is not an exhaustive review of these topics, it focuses on the most common issues. This is an opportunity to learn from the questions and mistakes of others.


https://www.faasafety.gov/spans/even...EventList.aspx

[Username Protected]

While not as important for jet drivers, some of you may also fly other aircraft models under VFR internationally. Jeff Arnold from Leidos Flight Service will be joining me on this webinar. He will be reviewing flight plan and border crossing procedures from a flight planning standpoint for:
Miami/Caribbean
Mexico
Canada


He will also review the common mistakes made by pilots and dispel some common misconceptions. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and dismiss concerns regarding cross border flights out of the US.

[Username Protected]

However, the rest of the topics cover both piston and gas turbine powered aircraft operations.

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Do you need a First Class Medical to fly into Mexico in a Turbo Jet under part 91?

[Username Protected]

We were flying on Saturday so missed the event live. Is the webinar available online to watch?

[Username Protected]

Is it possible to view this today? i.e. after the event has been held?
Thanks

[Username Protected]

We have good news. We were able to secure approval and a copy of the webinar. You can see it at your leisure here:



We also have more free international flying videos here: https://www.youtube.com/@CSTFLIGHTSERVICES/videos

[Username Protected]

Do you need a First Class Medical to fly into Mexico in a Turbo Jet under part 91?

Mexico uses ICAO regulations which specify the pilot's license, not the classification of the flight, determine the flight medical requirement. I.E. if you have an ATP they could require a First Class Medical. I fly in Mexico 3-4x per month, and I've been questioned about it in a few airports, notably Monterrey (MMMY) and La Paz (MMLP) but not at any of the 10-15 airports I fly. I've pushed back and generally win the argument, but decided to just keep my 1st class current.

You may also encounter this is other countries, but it is variable. NBAA has a good briefing on the topic.

[Username Protected]

Interesting (Username Protected). I remember a thread on COPA where someone experienced that gotcha in Mexico and had to deal with it. This seems like a good reason not to get an ATP if you don't otherwise need one. I was thinking about getting one just for fun next year.

[Username Protected]

(Username Protected),

The ATP is a nice achievement and the new requirement of the CTP program is great. When I did my single and multi ATP decades ago it wasn't required and our son just completed it in the A320 sim and thoroughly enjoyed it. There is no less expensive method to get Airbus or Boeing sim time. The ATP also can help with insurance.

Regarding Mexico I successfully negotiated out of the requirement twice, but just keep my 1st class current. If I drop to a 2nd class I'll just stay away from Monterrey or make sure my son has his 1st class.

Flying in Mexico is relatively easy, if you have patience. I flew down three times in the past two weeks, and will drop down for lunch somewhere next week. I want to see if they have implemented some of the 2024 changes.

[Username Protected]

I agree, very interesting and troubling. I thought about getting the ATP, but now this is a serious reason to not get it. So strange.

Do any other countries besides Mexico treat the ICAO interpretation the same way? If so, I probably would not get the ATP. If it’s just Mexico, I can find other places to go to!

[Username Protected]

Diego,

The correlation of the medical certificate with the pilot license is an ICAO rule and not exclusive to Mexico. I’ve known of other destinations where it is enforced, however I’ve only be queried in two airports - MMMY and MMLP, and they then dropped the issue. So far I haven’t been asked in other countries when I only had the Second Class. Now I just keep it current.

the First Class Medical is not too difficult, but you can ask your AME.

The ATP is a nice achievement, and I encourage pilots to get it. As you know it is very easy with the type rating. I did my SE ATP in our Grumman Cheetah, with an ADF and one navcom, then the multi in my first multi-engine type rating.

[Username Protected]

(Username Protected)-

A) It's not just Mexico, as (Username Protected) said technically every country that is an ICAO signatory follows this rule unless they file "differences" with ICAO. (Trivia question- what member nation of ICAO has filed the most differences? You guessed it, the USA). This rule is definitely enforced in Europe, many crew run into issues there.

B) If you have a commercial certificate, you are required to maintain a first class medical under the ICAO regulations, not just if you hold an ATP:

[Username Protected]

To confuse matters even more, FAA medical certificates are not ICAO compliant. So, in theory, if applying ICAO rules strictly, I wonder if any FAA medical is acceptable? Do you know of specific language in the ICAO documents that say FAA Class 1 = ICAO Class 1?

[Username Protected]

Based on our experience, FAA Class 1 = ICAO Class 1. It is where you get to Class 2 and 3 where the fun begins.