What is an FAA Third Class Physical?
During the physical examination, a medical history will be taken. Your distance and color vision will be tested, along with your hearing. Your blood pressure will be checked and the doctor will listen to your heart and lungs, and palpate the major organs in your abdomen. Generally, if you can “hear the whispered word at three feet” and have vision which is 20/60 uncorrected, or correctable to 20/20 with glasses, have blood pressure under 160/100 (even with the use of most blood-pressure lowering drugs), and have no physical problems that could cause you to lose control of the aircraft in flight, you can pass a third class medical. Physical problems that can prevent you from passing are: very high blood pressure, history of stroke, passing out, mental illness, suicide attempts, un-rehabilitated heart attack, diabetes requiring insulin, kidney problems requiring dialysis, blindness, deafness, and kidney stones visible in an X-ray. The whole point of the medical exam is to make sure you a
