gerrychuck
Well-known member
Hi, everybody; I am new to this site, after having emergency mitral valve replacement (St Jude's mechanical) 4 weeks ago. I'm 53, healthy and active (or I thought I was healthy) with no previous cardiac issues: low-normal blood pressure, always passed my ECG's for flying with no issues, so all of this was a major surprise. Guess it was a surprise to the docs too, since it took 3 days and near-death before an echo revealed my problem was not an overwhelming pneumonia, but rather severe pulmonary edema from major mitral valve regurgitation.
At any rate, I am now recovering from surgery, and thinking about what I will need to do to get my medical back so I can fly again. I know what it will take, and that it will be a challenge, but I think I should be able to get back in the air once I jump through the appropriate hoops. If not, I'll fly with my son (RCAF flight instructor) as my safety pilot for a while, and decide whether or not I want to keep the plane under those restrictions.
My question, though, is whether anyone on the forum has any experience with flying aerobatics after mechanical valve replacement. I have seen some suggestions that mechanical valves do not like to be g-loaded much. I was just starting to learn aeros from my hangar-mate, who flew fighters for years, instructed on jets, and then spent 4 years flying with the Snowbirds aerobatic team. My son is also very anxious to teach me. I have no intention (and never did) of getting into aggressive or competition type aeros; I just want to do the occasional loop and roll, and maybe the odd cloverleaf if I get ambitious. Gentleman's aerobatics, as some would call it. My aircraft is an RV-6A, so it is not suited to really aggressive maneuvers anyway. I have other interests that also involve some g-loading, such as track driving, which involves very aggressive, repetitive lateral acceleration and deceleration forces, and I'm curious as to whether there would be any problem with that as well.
I have already read a great deal on this forum and learned a great deal; obviously a great resource with a lot of great people who have shared this journey. Thanks in advance for any help!
Gerry
At any rate, I am now recovering from surgery, and thinking about what I will need to do to get my medical back so I can fly again. I know what it will take, and that it will be a challenge, but I think I should be able to get back in the air once I jump through the appropriate hoops. If not, I'll fly with my son (RCAF flight instructor) as my safety pilot for a while, and decide whether or not I want to keep the plane under those restrictions.
My question, though, is whether anyone on the forum has any experience with flying aerobatics after mechanical valve replacement. I have seen some suggestions that mechanical valves do not like to be g-loaded much. I was just starting to learn aeros from my hangar-mate, who flew fighters for years, instructed on jets, and then spent 4 years flying with the Snowbirds aerobatic team. My son is also very anxious to teach me. I have no intention (and never did) of getting into aggressive or competition type aeros; I just want to do the occasional loop and roll, and maybe the odd cloverleaf if I get ambitious. Gentleman's aerobatics, as some would call it. My aircraft is an RV-6A, so it is not suited to really aggressive maneuvers anyway. I have other interests that also involve some g-loading, such as track driving, which involves very aggressive, repetitive lateral acceleration and deceleration forces, and I'm curious as to whether there would be any problem with that as well.
I have already read a great deal on this forum and learned a great deal; obviously a great resource with a lot of great people who have shared this journey. Thanks in advance for any help!
Gerry
