I self studied using youtube videos and online practice tests. Passed the test the first try. Didn't leave much on the table. Needed 70% got 72%.
Question for licensed pilots!!
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You can get a comprehensive study guide here: Free Part 107 Test Study Guide For FAA Remote Pilot Airmen Certificate (Updated 2018) -
It’s a fair bit of reading but you won’t be underprepared IMHO. I used that and Tony’s video. Got a 95%
It’s a fair bit of reading but you won’t be underprepared IMHO. I used that and Tony’s video. Got a 95%
Find practice tests on the web ( those help a lot ) ...watch youtubes specially airspace concepts and weather ...you will pass. I self-studied and got 93, I was not private pilot, I am engineer. And, I agree, make it fun...I enjoyed learning all these concepts of charts, weather, airspace, and drone regulations.
Isn't that the truth. METARs and some of the questions around them are great examples of why the sUAV test is irrelevant to a large majority of us. I see a question asking what the chance of icing at 3000' is or what the visibility at the St Louis airport in 3 hours will be and I think, what the heck are they thinking? Sure, maybe in a world where we are flying BVLOS and above 400'AGL but we aren't there yet by any stretch. I studied about dew points and fog. What the heck? If it's foggy and I can't see my sUAV 2000' away then I'm not flying until it clears up. I don't need a METAR to tell me if it's foggy. I have an app on my phone which tells me all of that and more. And the stripes and solid lines on the runways and taxiways at the airport? When the heck am I ever going to taxi a Phantom or Inspire across a runway?
I took a class, studied and passed the test. 90% of what was on the test was a complete waste of time for me and my uses. I strongly suspect that if a poll was conducted, except for a VERY small percentage of people flying at airports doing tower or hanger inspections, or those experimenting with long range, heavy fixed wing UAVs, most of the questions on the Part 107 have little to do with our day to day flight operations.
Part 107 is so much more than "Phantoms, Mavics, and Inspires". This is a Phantom forum so most of us fly some model of Phantom or are looking to get one shortly but don't let our small piece of the pie restrict your vision of the Big Picture.
Understand that many of us fly something other than a Phantom and in some instances (none for me yet) a sUAS can land on airport property (aka runway) etc. The test is ALL encompassing so yes you may have learned some things you don't use but isn't' that how it is with any "Generalized" test? Remember this Part 107 is for multirotors (phantom type), rotorcraft (collective pitch, fixed pitch, and coaxials), and of course fixed wing aircraft.
It took long enough to get the Part 107 out as it is and most people were whining and complaining about that time frame as it was. Can you imagine how much longer it would have taken if they had to create tests for specific type airframes and flight scenarios (which I hope they do in the near future). Imagine how it was just 2 years ago when we had to get your Pilot's License to do this commercially. Talk about learning things you will never use with a sUAS. . .
Take a look in my signature line for PhantomPilots special pricing.
I obtained my Part 107 license to cover the gray area between hobbyist and commercial, which is called "research." Some of the photos I take for fun (hobby) I may publish later in research material (commercial). I am required to be Part 107 licensed to comply with an MOU several of have with a local fire department for some non-emergency work. I passed the Part 107 test first time with an 88% by merely studying what was available on the web at no cost. A topics for a couple of the questions I failed never showed up in any of the material I reviewed, FAA and otherwise. I believe the best thing I did to prepare for the test was to spend about $9 for a paper copy of the Los Angeles sectional chart, which I studied and practiced on during almost every spare minute, such as waiting at the barber shop, waiting for the meal to be served at a restaurant, or sitting on the can.
I'm totally new to this. I am considering buying a drone. (I have experience flying radio control fixed wing planes for several years.). why would I need a license? I have no plans to do commercial jobs. My plans are to fly locally and I;m more than five miles from the nearest airport. So, do I have to worry about this license?
No license required for recreational use. Get yourself a nice P3 Standard and enjoy!
Note, however, you will need to register the aircraft with the FAA but that's it.
Hello @Greg Stone and welcome to the forum.
As already noted above, you do NOT need a license for "hobby/recreational" flights. I think this link will help you immensely to get a "quick start" on the sUAS world of regulations.
Know Before You Fly
This is a Copy/Paste from another thread but I think it might come in handy here as well:
Key points here for anyone reading this and wondering about FAA Drone Regstration:
Hobby Registration(Section 336) is for you the operator so the same # can go on all the aircraft you own and fly only recreationally. This is stating that YOU are registered as a Recreational/Section 336 operator and that/those aircraft are only flown recreationally.
Commercial Registration(Part 107) is on a specific aircraft and that # is used only on that ONE aircraft. That's why it asks for serial # etc about the aircraft. This ties it to one exact and specific aircraft and not a Fleet of aircraft.
Recreational Registration
Thanks! I actually was thinking of something better - but having looked harder, I think I'll go withy our advice. The P3 Standard looks like a good startingpoint and may be all I ever need and I won't lose quite so much money when it crashes int he river. ;-)
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Congratulations! I renew this year. Watching videos is okay, but competency comes with practice. To be a competent commercial operator you should consider www.uavcoach.com or www.erau.edu (searc
Watching video is good, congratulations! I renew this year. But, IMHO, to be a truly competent commercial pilot you should consider www.uavcoach.com, or www.erau.edu (search sUAS Part 107). They're not free, but you ARE a better commercial remote sUAS pilot. For bragging rights, or to just have the Part 107, a video suffices.
I had to get the 107 as I use the drones to further my actual business. I build custom trikes and wish to do aria video of riding in circles and cornering, that sort of thing so it was mandatory I get certified or possibly fined. But if someone now wishes to have me do some commercial work I am open for that also.
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I have a part 107 and finally got an airspace authorization after over 3-months of waiting. They are extending them all until the fall, and by that time the new Digital Authorization should be nationwide. If you are flying for fun in the Delta you are fine, but as soon as you POST anything I think you are at risk of being commercial, in the Delta, without authorization. Anything I post on my business page I make sure I log and mark the airspace requirements.
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I purchased the Gold Seal school for the Part 107 test and have no regrets. Almost everything you need to know is there, no searching from site to site online, you can take and retake the practice lessons as much as you need to get comfortable. There's a lot of memorization involved, but it paid off for me. I passed with an 87% score. Yes, the majority of the content can be found for free in other sites, but at Gold Seal, it's all there, thoughtfully well-organized. You can get questions answered by real people as well. I only saw one thing on the actual test not covered by Gold Seal: a question involving the use of a "buddy box" by a second pilot.
I have a 107 license but probably will never use it. I think the value in getting your license is becoming more aware of the safety issues as well as the regulatory environment. Even for recreational flying, when in doubt, I always will ask the appropriate authority for permission in advance. In nearly every case I get permission and I can go forward and fly with confidence that I won’t be distracted by those who try to suggest that I am flying illegally.
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Not sure if you read my whole post. The video was a relatively small part and was actually a break from the other material I referred to which was probably hundreds of pages of reading. So I didn’t really just watch a video to pass for bragging rights. In fact I probably wouldn’t have passed with just the video. Also I checked out those links you offered. I may have missed something but they seem heavily geared toward passing the exam so I didn’t see a whole lot that indicates that that would take me into the world of a way better commercial drone pilot with extra practice beyond passing the test. In fact most of the testimonials are about passing the exam and with what scores. One of them threw in something about a flight proficiency module or something like that so that is a little extra. But if they really are selling making making me a truly competent commercial remote pilot then it doesn’t seem to be very obvious in their materials - unless I didn’t dig into the right area. For example, the first link offers these:
- Part 107 Test Prep
- Video Editing
- Mapping & 3D Modeling
- Aerial thermography
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