Passed The Part 107!!

regdawg · Apr 21, 2017

I eventually want to take it....but what happens if you fail the 1st time....then you gotta pay again to take it a 2nd time?

Robert Mitchell · Apr 21, 2017

regdawg said:
I eventually want to take it....but what happens if you fail the 1st time....then you gotta pay again to take it a 2nd time?

Yes, that's why you should know the material. The pass rate is way up near 90% for those who come prepared.

frankiez · Apr 21, 2017

Gerry65 said:
Is this the course you're referring to? Thanks. And, does it affect the flying in NFZ's in any way?
Remote Pilot 101 |

Yes that's it! And 2 years down the road when I need to retest, they will be there for me. It's for life.

Gerry65 · Apr 22, 2017

frankiez said:
Yes that's it! And 2 years down the road when I need to retest, they will be there for me. It's for life.

Great. Thanks. That will be next on my list after learning more piloting skills and how to edit using FCPX. I am curious, though, if having the license gives you any more leeway when flying in restricted areas. I live in Pensacola Beach which is on the fringe of NAS airspace and 2-3 miles from hospital heliports and was wondering if having the sUAS certificate would help if I was approached by authorities when flying there. Would you happen to know?

frankiez · Apr 22, 2017

I don't believe it gives u more leeway. It just means you play by the rules and gives you more leverage for business. It tells potential clients that you know the rules, are a safe pilot therefore giving them more peace of mind as opposed to some Joe Schmo who wants to do it for some cash under the table and will deny everything should anything go wrong and he is being held liable.

Gerry65 · Apr 22, 2017

frankiez said:
I don't believe it gives u more leeway. It just means you play by the rules and gives you more leverage for business. It tells potential clients that you know the rules, are a safe pilot therefore giving them more peace of mind as opposed to some Joe Schmo who wants to do it for some cash under the table and will deny everything should anything go wrong and he is being held liable.

OK, got it. I was referring to a post earlier in this thread from Lapeer mentioning that it would alleviate having to call "airports" such a heliports.

Robert Mitchell · Apr 22, 2017

Gerry65 said:
OK, got it. I was referring to a post earlier in this thread from Lapeer mentioning that it would alleviate having to call "airports" such a heliports.

The confusion comes from the misconception that recreational users need to notify any airport if within 5 miles, which is not the case. The rules state, only airports with control towers.

Once you have your 107, if you are operating commercially, you will be required to get airspace authorization in anything other than class g airspace, which in some cases will be more restrictive than flying recreational, but once you have that authorization it can be valid for a considerable period of time, eliminating the need for repeated notifications.

But, remember that you can still fly recreational, at any time you choose, prior to the flight, so you kinda get the best of both worlds.

Gerry65 · Apr 23, 2017

Robert Mitchell said:
The confusion comes from the misconception that recreational users need to notify any airport if within 5 miles, which is not the case. The rules state, only airports with control towers.

Once you have your 107, if you are operating commercially, you will be required to get airspace authorization in anything other than class g airspace, which in some cases will be more restrictive than flying recreational, but once you have that authorization it can be valid for a considerable period of time, eliminating the need for repeated notifications.

But, remember that you can still fly recreational, at any time you choose, prior to the flight, so you kinda get the best of both worlds.

Thanks for the clarification.

Robert Mitchell · Apr 23, 2017

Gerry65 said:
Great. Thanks. That will be next on my list after learning more piloting skills and how to edit using FCPX. I am curious, though, if having the license gives you any more leeway when flying in restricted areas. I live in Pensacola Beach which is on the fringe of NAS airspace and 2-3 miles from hospital heliports and was wondering if having the sUAS certificate would help if I was approached by authorities when flying there. Would you happen to know?

Also, I feel your pain. I was just down to your area for a vacation (Navarre) and the controlled airspaces are stacked up like pancakes. Between military bases everywhere, civilian airports everywhere, heliports, and MOAs it was a nightmare finding a spot that was actually legal and didn't give me a warning. And even then, once I did my homework and then self authorized, my Mavic did a forced landing, because it suddenly decided I wasn't actually authorized after all. Another 30 seconds and I would've been out over the ocean.

Jussaguy · Apr 23, 2017

Skcorsemaj said:
Just walked in the door after taking and passing the part 107!
Passed on my first try (just barely haha)
Studied for 3 days
And I met a P4P pilot who was taking the test at the same time as I was so we made plans to fly next weekend.

Well done.

Gerry65 · Apr 24, 2017

Robert Mitchell said:
Also, I feel your pain. I was just down to your area for a vacation (Navarre) and the controlled airspaces are stacked up like pancakes. Between military bases everywhere, civilian airports everywhere, heliports, and MOAs it was a nightmare finding a spot that was actually legal and didn't give me a warning. And even then, once I did my homework and then self authorized, my Mavic did a forced landing, because it suddenly decided I wasn't actually authorized after all. Another 30 seconds and I would've been out over the ocean.

Oh criminy...really? Is that how the latest FW update now works? I have been in Illinois and haven't flown at the beach since the update. With the earlier FW version I'd use AirMap and 'self-authorization' and hadn't had any issues like that. I was mostly going out in the early morning over the inter-coastal waterway and the Gulf without issue. This is very worrisome and will definitely take a lot of enjoyment out of my flying.

Robert Mitchell · Apr 24, 2017

Gerry65 said:
Oh criminy...really? Is that how the latest FW update now works? I have been in Illinois and haven't flown at the beach since the update. With the earlier FW version I'd use AirMap and 'self-authorization' and hadn't had any issues like that. I was mostly going out in the early morning over the inter-coastal waterway and the Gulf without issue. This is very worrisome and will definitely take a lot of enjoyment out of my flying.

Didn't mean to alarm you, just a heads up. Once I landed and re-booted, everything was okay. Do be diligent though, and maybe give it a couple of minutes over land before heading out. That way the Mavic and GO4 will have time to determine where they actually are.

I love your area though, even if it is a bit of a pain to fly legally there.

Lapeer20m · May 2, 2017

Going to take my test this afternoon.

Spent a few hours watching YouTube videos, reading a lawyer's explanation of the sample answers, and taking the FAA sample test.

Wish me luck!

ElGuapo · May 2, 2017

Lapeer20m said:
Going to take my test this afternoon.

Spent a few hours watching YouTube videos, reading a lawyer's explanation of the sample answers, and taking the FAA sample test.

Wish me luck!

Mine was heavy on sectional chart, quite a few questions on METAR and TAF, I had a few Lat / Long questions. Also they gave me the coordinates of 2 airports that were very close to each, I had to be very careful when counting the tick marks.

My advise is take your time, do not rush. If you think about it you have 2 minutes per question. I missed couple of questions because I did not take the time to read carefully. One of them was something like "What is not a concern", I missed the "not" part. I answered the question as if it read "What is a concern". Watch out for that.

Another thing I did, that worked like a charm for me, was that I marked a few questions I was not sure of the answer for later review. I answered and worked on all of the ones I was pretty sure of the answers.

Don't bring a cell phone or any electronic device. All you are allowed during the test is a calculator with basic functions. The proctor provides pencil and scratch paper. At the end of the test they confiscate the scratch paper you used during the test.

I passed with 83%.

Good luck, let us know.

Robert Mitchell · May 2, 2017

Lapeer20m said:
Going to take my test this afternoon.

Spent a few hours watching YouTube videos, reading a lawyer's explanation of the sample answers, and taking the FAA sample test.

Wish me luck!

Good luck man. Let us know how it goes!

Lapeer20m · May 2, 2017

Robert Mitchell said:
Good luck man. Let us know how it goes!

The test was surprisingly difficult. I passed with a 78%, I think I missed 13 questions.

The questions I missed were almost entirely about clouds and airspace classifications.

Robert Mitchell · May 2, 2017

Lapeer20m said:
The test was surprisingly difficult. I passed with a 78%, I think I missed 13 questions.

The questions I missed were almost entirely about clouds and airspace classifications.

Passing is passing. Congratulations! Good feeling being a certified airmen, even if it is UAV.

ElGuapo · May 2, 2017

Lapeer20m said:
The test was surprisingly difficult. I passed with a 78%, I think I missed 13 questions.

The questions I missed were almost entirely about clouds and airspace classifications.

Congrats, a win is a win and pass is a pass. You passed!!

bdrowe · May 2, 2017

Robert Mitchell said:
The confusion comes from the misconception that recreational users need to notify any airport if within 5 miles, which is not the case. The rules state, only airports with control towers.

Once you have your 107, if you are operating commercially, you will be required to get airspace authorization in anything other than class g airspace, which in some cases will be more restrictive than flying recreational, but once you have that authorization it can be valid for a considerable period of time, eliminating the need for repeated notifications.

But, remember that you can still fly recreational, at any time you choose, prior to the flight, so you kinda get the best of both worlds.

Where can I find a print version on the rule that says only airports with control towers? Can you provide a link?

Robert Mitchell · May 2, 2017

bdrowe said:
Where can I find a print version on the rule that says only airports with control towers? Can you provide a link?

eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations

(e) When flown within 5 miles of an airport, the operator of the aircraft provides the airport operator and the airport air traffic control tower (when an air traffic facility is located at the airport) with prior notice of the operation.

The contents of the parentheses is the interesting part, and seem to qualify everything before it, since there is no comma between operator and airport control tower.

Now, granted, this could, and has been interpreted two different ways, by people a lot smarter than myself, and I believe it is deliberately ambiguous, or at least poorly written.

At any rate, I should have included "when air traffic control facilities is located at the airport". This is only MY interpretation and shouldn't be taken as legal advice.

EDIT: Bottom line: when in doubt, notify.