It's a sure sign of the excessive comilexpty of the aeromedical certification system that even experts like Mac MacClellan and Mike Busch would get lost in the weeds. A few clarifications are in order.Most importantly, the online application for a medical certificate (still referred to as an 8500-8 even though the paper form no longer exists) does not become an official FAA exam until an AME enters the confirmation number and imports it into the Aerospace Medical Certification System. Until then, the form that you fill out and submit online sits on a completely separate server, and if no AME imports it within 60 days it vanishes without a trace, and FAA doesn't know it ever existed.So to say, Whatever you do don't fill out that FAA medical application is really not the best advice. The best course for every pilot, whether he has a medical problem or not, is to complete the form online, submit it, and on the confirmation page click the link for Exam Summary. The resulting PDF can be saved for future reference. More importantly, it should be printed and taken to the AME's office. If you have any concern about certification, don't give anyone the certification number until after talking to the AME. He can review the history, clarify any problems, request any additional information, and do the physical exam before importing the application. If anything disqualifying shows up, he can stop the exam, and as far as FAA is concerned it never happened, and you're free to fly as a Sport Pilot. This is not some kind of underhanded cheating it's what the Office of Aerospace Medicine expects to happen.Once you have completed and submitted the online application, it is true you can no longer change it. But if you and your AME find something that needs to be correcting, he can still do so. Whether it's a forgotten medication, or a wrong answer to a trick question (Do you ever use near vision contact lenses?), the AME can fix it before the exam goes to FAA.It is true that some AME's are also still confused about all this. Just make sure to keep that certification number hidden until you're sure you understand where you stand with respect to the regs and with your AME, and nothing you enter into MedXPress will come back to bite you. And make sure you have an AME who understands the system. EAA is here to help. As are AOPA and a number of private aviation medicine companies.Furthermore, FAR 61.53 does not apply to Sport Pilot.FAR 61.23(c)(2) states:A person using a U.S. driver's license to meet the requirements of this paragraph must (i) Comply with each restriction and limitation imposed by that person's U.S. driver's license and any judicial or administrative order applying to the operation of a motor vehicle; (ii) Have been found eligible for the issuance of at least a third-class airman medical certificate at the time of his or her most recent application (if the person has applied for a medical certificate); (iii) Not have had his or her most recently issued medical certificate (if the person has held a medical certificate) suspended or revoked or most recent Authorization for a Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate withdrawn; and (iv) Not know or have reason to know of any medical condition that would make that person unable to operate a light-sport aircraft in a safe manner. It's confusing, but (iv) specifically and intentionally does not state any medical condition that would disqualify that person from receiving an FAA Airman Medical Certificate. It states any medical condition that would make that persona unable to operate a light-sport aircraft in a safe manner. Just what that means is left to your discretion and judgment. The only written medical standards for Sport Pilot are the standards imposed by the DMV in the state where you hold a driver's license. If you have epilepsy and you have a valid driver's license from a state where people with grand mal epilepsy can drive, then you can fly as a Sport Pilot. If your state prohibits epileptics from driving, then you can't.(See ) It isn't fair, but it's the way the DOT lawyers screwed up Sport Pilot. As proposed by former Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Jon Jordan, there were supposed to be no medical standards at all for Sport Pilot, but the DOT lawyers inserted them at the very last moment before adoption of the final rule.If you have coronary artery disease that's not bad enough to need a bypass but shows up on a stress test, or cancer that's treated but not cured, or you're taking prohibited medications for ADD or depression, and you're pretty sure you cannot qualify for an FAA medical certificate, but you've got a valid driver's license and you feel safe to drive and feel safe to fly, you can drive and you can fly as a Sport Pilot. If you don't believe you're up to flying (or driving) safely, then you shouldn't.It is certainly correct that the history as listed on the application and supporting documents is a much bigger factor in the decision than the actual somewhat cursory physical exam and dipstick urine test your AME does. It is absolutely correct that you want to discuss any potential problems with your AME before the exam goes live. But that trigger is not pulled by filling out MedXPress, and avoiding MedXPress will only delay your certification process.Stephen D Leonard, MD, FACSChairman, EAA Aeromedical Advisory CouncilSenior Aviation Medical Examiner HIMSATP, LR-JET, CE-500, SF.2602900 Chamblee-Tucker Rd, Bldg 5-210Atlanta, GA 30341Ofc 404-266-0010