ColoradoAviator

UPDATE: I had a cheilectomy on 9 April 2007 to remove a small bone spur on my 1st MT joint. Everything went very, very well and my toe feels like a champ. I'm running at least three days a week (3-5 miles each time) and cycling the rest. [Cycling is more fun anyway.] I have no limitations on movement or footwear in accordance with the AFI cited in the first post of this thread. I've been assigned to BOT 0802 with a report date of 10 October 2007. For several weeks I've been waiting for an appointment at MEPS for them to look over my foot and swear me in. This morning my recruiter informed me that MEPS called and said that I would need a waiver from the AF Surgeon General's office. I went down this route 15 months ago on my first visit to MEPS with PRK. The PRK waiver took about a month to come back. What are my chances of getting a waiver for a successful foot surgery without pushing back my class date? Why would MEPS sent me straight to the AF Surgeon General without even looking at my foot in-person first?

I couldn't get Rotorhead's link to work. Anybody else have another site? I can host as well if somebody would kindly send me the file.

Excellent advice Rage. My new set of orthotics is on order and should be here in 1-2 weeks. My surgery is scheduled for 9 April. Hopefully the orthotics work; if they don't then I'm off to the OR with a delay getting to OTS. In the meantime I'm off to lift more weights so I can max out the other portions of the PFT. What are my chances of getting the necessary cheilectomy while on casual status after OTS? If I've got 12 months on casual I might as well spend 6 of them healing. Does flight med have to approve/waive my use of orthotic inserts in my footwear?

Howdy Everybody! I'm an 06OT05 pilot select with a foot problem. First, the medical background. I have a case of Hallux Limitus in my right big toe. Basically, I don't have the range-of-motion to bend my toe beyond 20 degrees or so. Due to this I cannot run very fast if at all; basically I "shuffle" more than I run because of my toe. I cannot "shuffle" at the pace required for 1.5-mile run that is part of the PFT. There are two treatments available; an orthotic or a cheilectomy. The orthotic, a non-surgical option, is already on order. It may allow me to run at a pace that may meet the Air Force PFT standards. The orthotic will not, however, heal my Hallux Limitus. I will need a cheilectomy sometime in the next year or two. I'm happy to pay for it now with the (excellent) civilian surgeon I'm working with now. Am I better off waiting until I'm on casual status after OTS but before UPT to get such a procedure done? Where does MFS at Brooks AFB fit in? The surgical option, a cheilectomy, would actually fix my problem. The recovery time is around 8 weeks and it would allow me to run without difficulty. At this point my FC1 is all-but-complete awaiting one minor paperwork detail according to Force Health Management at FE Warren AFB. How would possible surgery such as this one affect my FC1 and my subsequent class date? My recruiter has told me to prepare for BOT 0707 though I am not officially assigned to that class until my FC1 clears. The earliest surgery date available is 9 April. This gives me around 10 weeks between surgery and BOT 0707. If I get BOT 0801 I should have plenty of time to heal. Has anybody asked that their class date be dealed for medical reasons? The only AFI reference I can find is in AFI 48-123 stating that hallux limitus is disqualifying if it interferes with military footwear. My pediatrist said he would happily sign a statement for either option, orthotic or cheilectomy, stating that my condition would not interfere with said footwear. Thoughts? Has anybody had minor surgery or another medical complication after their FC1 but before OTS? How much running will we really do at OTS beyond the 4 PFTs? Should I wait and hope to get this surgery done during casual status? Thanks in advance! CA

adopted by Angelina Jolie

It all depends on how much you are going to fly. Also, what year C-172 are we dealing with? Around my area (Denver) a late 70's vintage 172 is going for 85/hour with 2000 and newer airframes going for 100/hour+. The 40/month dues sounds pretty standard for any flying club, whether or not it sells shares or not. Is liability insurance included, or do you have to purchased your own insurance? Personally, if you want to do some aerobatics in that Citabria it could be worth it. If you are looking for some C-172 time twice a month it might not be such a good deal.

I had a similar problem. The phone numbers given on the web site simply rang and rang with no voicemail or answering machine. After many calls over many days a person picked up. The person answering the phone was an Officer Recruiter with a specialty in Dentistry. He simply took down my information, including age, major, GPA, etc. and faxed it off to somebody in Texas. He said that the person in Texas would call me back within a week. Here's hoping.

Howdy everybody. I would like to clarify some information I received from my recruiter versus some information I've received from a different recruiter, this board, and various other sources. I have a 4-year degree and had PRK in October of last year. I must wait one year to attempt an FC1 physical prior to application for OTS/UPT. I was under the impression that I could take my BAT and AFOQT tests during my one-year waiting period. My local recruiter basically said he would not do anything for me until one year after eye surgery. No paperwork, no tests, nothing. He even neglected to mention the required paperwork and measurements for post-PRK waiver requirements. Is my new local recruiter giving me false information or blowing me off? I was hoping to get the bulwark of my application minus the physical done before the one year mark in order to apply sooner rather than later. Any information is appreciated!

Thanks for all the suggestions. As soon as I go through yet another move I'll check into all of these suggestions after I unpack. I think that the co-pilot role with Angel Flight would work very well for me given that I do not own an airplane but do have a CFII. Perhaps some of their mission pilots wouldn't mind a helping hand with IFR duties on flights. Flight operations aside I would still love to teach cadets (or seniors for that matter) in CAP.

Hello everybody! I'm going to be leaving the flight instruction business in another month or so and moving back to hotel Mom for awhile. I had PRK in October and have 12 months before I can apply for a OTS/UPT slot. I flew my butt off as a CFI this summer and the 24/7 on-call "will fly for food" schedule has taken its toll on me. I'm looking forward to moving back home and getting a job doing something with a set schedule and lunch breaks. In the mean time I would like to do some volunteer work to become a "whole person" or so the AF saying goes. I'm already looking into CAP because I still enjoy teaching and wouldn't mind using my CFI and ground instructor tickets to teach kids more about aviation and the Air Force. I'm looking on suggestions for USAF preferred volunteer activities that might look good for a UPT board. Any suggestions are appreciated!