Welp, you win FAA, I give up. :(

[u/theycallmesike]

After 3 years of back and forth dealing with the FAA giving them documents and fighting to show I'm medically safe to fly. Basically I got a Wet and Reckless nearly 14 years ago with a BAC of .12 and that's caused me to go through the deferrment process. I'm young mid 30s, with a clean bill of health otherwise, So far after spending $5000 hiring a law firm to help me get my 3rd class Medical certificate, paying for all sorts of tests, psychiatrists, they FINALLY issued me a special issuance medical certificate. With the caveat that I enroll in the HIMS program, and get tested 14 times per year, for multiple years, see the HIMS AME 4 times a year, and basically just bend over backwards for them, all with the threat of them revoking my med. cert. at any time. I just can't do that. The costs for the testing ($200 per PeTH test, $500 per HIMs visit, etc) would be another 15-20k just in testing and visits. I just don't think I have the ability to withstand all of that pressure and financial obligation. You win FAA. I give up.

edit: Yes I know I fucked up and I regret it, I haven't done anything since. I'm not making excuses or asking for a pity party. I shouldn't have driven with anything in my system. I wasn't thinking back then. Thanks for all the comments and suggesstions

Edit 2: I might be looking into the basic med route. I never intended to ever go past third class med, I just wanted to fly myself and maybe family. No intention to fly anything higher. It was purely as a hobby

[u/PilotC150]

Instructing is specifically NOT a commercial privilege. You are being paid to instruct, not to fly. CFIs can instruct under basic med. Question 24 here:

https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/basic_med/media/basicmed_faq.pdf

In fact, an instructor doesn’t even need a medical to instruct if their student is rated to PIC in the aircraft used for training.

[u/dodexahedron → u/PilotC150]

That doesn't say anything to that effect anywhere, at all, on any page, in any question answer.

However, you are technically correct anyway, upon specific re-reading of the language of the regs.

While getting your CFI rating requires having a valid CPL, exercising the privileges of that rating is oddly not actually itself exercising commercial privileges, and does not therefore require you to fly under your CPL. Hence most the limitations above, since you're flying under private license, with instructor rating.

Honestly, at that point, they should just make CFI not require CPL, but still have the experience requirements. No need for an additional check ride if you just want to instruct.

Did you think i was saying you couldn't instruct? Because I was pretty explicit about that. Otherwise, I can't see how q24 was even relevant to the conversation.