Weird vibes from AME over tattoos?

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draggingmytail@reddit

I have several visible tattoos on my arm and my AME didn’t even mention them.

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Nu11us@reddit (OP)

That’s good. I had a very bad experience with a very old AME once. Want to get more tattoos but also don’t want to ever have such an encounter again.

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gromm93@reddit

What does an AME know? Medicine. Maybe he's even a pilot.

But he's not hiring you.

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draggingmytail@reddit

This. It doesnt matter what airlines want. Not every pilot wants to be ATP.

Just find a different AME. Preferably one that’s also a pilot and has a good reputation.

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Weaponized_Puddle@reddit

That’s ridiculous. HE’S not paying YOU, YOU’RE paying HIM.

Unless you have some obscene tattoos or something that compromises your medical integrity. Like a tattoo that says ‘I hate being bipolar, it’s awesome’ or Steve O’s ostrich tattoo haha

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TheJuiceBoxS@reddit

I've always heard that the airlines don't allow visible tattoos.

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Nu11us@reddit (OP)

Some are starting to but yeah, still not.

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PILOT9000@reddit

Most don’t, which is why you see guys wearing long sleeve shirts in the summer.

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JSTootell@reddit

I was completely shocked when I showed up for my first medical (almost two years ago, making another appointment soon) and found that my AME is a Dr. of Aesthetics (beauty, Botox and stuff).

I walk in, after riding my bicycle an hour or so into this fancy little office. I'm a middle aged dude with a long history (yes, including being a veteran), wrecked skin, tats, long hair, etc. I was totally welcomed and she was friendly the whole damn time.

It was nothing like I expected 😂

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Nu11us@reddit (OP)

Love it. Nice people are nice.

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Akbagger@reddit

My AME is old school. Has made remarks about my tattoos in the past. Last time he said “don’t get more” jokingly… odd guy. But you won’t get unfairly evaluated. You should always be looking for a pilot friendly AME anyway.

I have a full Japanese arm and leg sleeve along with others fwiw.

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Nu11us@reddit (OP)

Oh man. That kind of comment makes me nervous in such a high stakes situation.

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MLZ005@reddit

I have sleeves and legs and my AME just said they looked nice. DPEs on the other hand I don’t chance and have done all my checkrides in long shirts and pants

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Nu11us@reddit (OP)

DPEs are an unpredictable bunch. It’s too bad.

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JSTootell@reddit

The local DPE showed up in I think jean shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, or something like that. My check ride was VERY casual 😂

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dyljcks@reddit

Do you fly out of the Denver area lol?

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JSTootell@reddit

SoCal, which should be obvious 😂

I think it was in the 90's that day. DA was probably about Denver.

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Oregon-Pilot@reddit

As they should be. They ought to want to see how you’d fly and execute ADM like you normally would, ie not under the stress of being on a checkride. AMEs who behave otherwise haven’t thought things through very well, IMO.

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JSTootell@reddit

My DPE is a retired airline pilot. My check ride very much felt like a real life PPL scenario.

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sinirishcream@reddit

My AME said his favorite tattoo that he’s ever seen was a military guy with a shotgun-toting squirrel on his inner thigh that said “Protect the Nuts”.

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madethisforaviation@reddit

My AME wrote them down as distinguishing marks to identify my body in a crash and talked shit about one of them being in Greek as he’s a Greek immigrant, that’s it.

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IndorilMiara@reddit

My AME took pictures of all of my tattoos individually and I was super confused. He said it was for identification if I was ever in an accident, which honestly fair that makes sense. Is that not standard procedure??

Because if it’s not standard procedure that’s creepy (I’m a woman)

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vivalicious16@reddit

My AME did as well, she’s a woman

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Nu11us@reddit (OP)

Oof. I don’t like that. There are other ways to identify and it puts way too much attention on the tattoos. Almost like a shaming.

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Separate_Bowl_6853@reddit

https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/app_process/exam_tech/item44/et

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Nu11us@reddit (OP)

Yes. I’m just thinking of the decades old culture out of which that policy was borne.

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PILOT9000@reddit

The decades old culture that uses unique marks on the body to identify a corpse? Scars, marks, and tattoos work great as identifiers, even in modern times.

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Nu11us@reddit (OP)

The decades old culture that isn’t sensitive to how such scrutiny is taken by the applicant and how it can be abused by an old head.

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PILOT9000@reddit

Why does it matter how it is taken by the applicant? You know why they are documenting the marks.

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OtterVA@reddit

When a body is mangled, severed, and burned after an accident, a tattoo (well, evidence of tattooed skin) may allow an accident investigator to associate a body part found with a specific person.

Aircraft accidents can be far more violent than automobile accidents due to higher speeds at impact, so pieces of people may be smaller for spread out and in worse condition.

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DatabaseGangsta@reddit

My AME didn’t take any photos of my sleeves…I’ve only had police do this, the couple of times I got arrested as an 18 & 20 year old.

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mgros483@reddit

That’s very strange, I think you should find a different AME next time.

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AlotaFajita@reddit

https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/app_process/exam_tech/item44/et

Is it strange, or is it standard procedure from the FAA?

As a PPL, you look things up when you’re not sure about them and follow FAA guidance, right?

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Able_Travel2158@reddit

The less your AME follows standard procedure the better. As an ATP, I want to keep a roof over my head so I don’t go with the AME who does digital rectal exams because I had a hemorrhoid when I was 18.

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AlotaFajita@reddit

I stand by my comment that standard procedure is not strange. Pilot's might not want AME's to follow standard procedure, that's fine. That means you are LOOKING for the different, i.e.: strange, AME, not avoiding them.

Also good thing FAA guidance doesn't say that tattoos are a disqualifying medical condition.

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mgros483@reddit

That’s very strange, I think you should find a different AME next time.

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mr_krombopulos69@reddit

Standard practice if you have tattoos. Most AMEs will do this

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mgros483@reddit

I have tattoos and have never had photos taken. I only have a third class, is this something for first class only?

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Language_mapping@reddit

My AME thought mine was weird but she just asked what it was and moved on.

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SSMDive@reddit

Tattoos, long hair on men, beards… These are all things that can cause someone in a position of power to maybe, even just subconsciously, judge you and be a cause for you being treated differently.

It can be the reason you miss out on an opportunity or even the reason you got an opportunity. But based on how conservative aviation is, I’d not bet on it opening doors.

You mention military… Most officers (at least when I was in) didn’t have tattoos, that was an enlisted thing. Officers certainly didn’t not have sleeves.

So yes. Someone somewhere a AME, DPE, or prospective boss might judge you for having visible tattoos.

As for the DPE recording your tattoos, it is in their guidance, although I do not hear of it actually happening much.

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Skylin3@reddit

More than half of the pilots in my squadron have sleeves at this point. The newer generation by and large love tattoos and the line of thinking that they’re unprofessional is stupid as shit as long as they’re tasteful art

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SSMDive@reddit

Ok. Now we have to dig into what is considered ‘tasteful art’… (If I actually cared)… Since not everyone will agree on what is ‘tasteful’.

The point is that tattoos can impact people’s opinion of you were not having one is less likely to have that same impact.

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Dependent-Place-4795@reddit

My AME has tats

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WifiAndWhiskey@reddit

Mine beat my ass in the lobby to prove he was tougher than me, then we moved on.

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bottomfeeder52@reddit

my ame thought mine were cool.

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bhalter80@reddit

Not saying it's right or wrong but the aviation culture has a lot of old white guys and that's not changing quickly for the next 10-20 years and then I'll be an old white guy in it. Visible tats is always going to be a question mark in terms of how people's opinions treat it.

IMO if I could find an instructor that wanted to work for me with full sleeves and dreads who was as good of an instructor as anyone else I'd hire them in a heartbeat because social science shows people want to hang out with people they identify with. Which means an easier time connecting students with tats and what not with at least one instructor leading to potentially better retention.

Others may not be as open minded, but tats are going to be a choice and I think for the foreseeable future they'll make life harder

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Barbell_Baker@reddit

My AME just asked if I had any and I told him I had a chest piece. He asked to see it and jotted some notes down and that was that, he's a pretty chill guy overall.

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J1776P@reddit

I’ve got a half sleeve on my left arm, a full sleeve on my right arm and a first class medical. Your results may vary, but my AME is an old school dude and couldn’t care less. My advice to you would be to find an AME that IS a pilot.

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flyingron@reddit

Scars, marks, and tattoos are on the AME side of the medical paperwork (along with anus). The guidance however just says to see if the scars result from unreported surgeries/injuries and to verify that scar tissue doesn't cause any loss of function.

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scarpozzi@reddit

I only had 2 AMEs. My wife used to do DOT exams when she practiced...she had to attend a 1 day course where they covered expectations of the examiners.

The first one was older, chill...easy exam.

The younger of the two AMEs I've had must have just taken the course for AMEs. He asked me about scars. I have a bunch on my hands from working over the years. He focused intently on measurements and documentation....I'm sure it's all about body ID. It just seemed ridiculous the way he went about it so I get what you mean about vibes.

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nft-red@reddit

thank God i dont have any tattoos.

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Nix_Nivis@reddit

Consider the possibility of this being a "it's only weird, if you make it weird" situation. So if you're very self-conscious of your tattoos, either trying too obviously to keep them out of sight or shoving them in people's faces, then it might become weird.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

Considering the culture of flying, military tattoos probably get a pass, but has anyone been treated strangely by an AME for having tattoos? Many I've encountered are very serious people. I'm especially concerned about the more current sticker style of random tattoos. Don't want to be unfairly evaluated or lose out on the occasional wink wink treatment for being "different".

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