FAA Part 107

[Mavic Maveric]

I am a little better than half way through a course before taking my Part 107 test. Wow...so much to know. I am search for input about the test from those who've taken it. Any advise? Thanks.

 

[BD0G]

I have read here that learning how to read the sectional charts properly is helpful to pass and also being able to decipher the NOTAMS.

 

[PhantomFandom]

I am a little better than half way through a course before taking my Part 107 test. Wow...so much to know. I am search for input about the test from those who've taken it. Any advise? Thanks.

If you use the search feature, you will see many discussions on studying for and taking the exam.

 

[BK261]

I used the Flight Ready app to study and practice for the exam. I highly recommend it. It definitely prepared me for the exam. A lot of the questions on my test were in the practice exams I took.

 

[Drone on]

Sectionals are the majority of the challenging questions, followed by weather related questions, and NOTAMS.

When in doubt, Remote Pilot In Command

A good test taking strategy is to go through the exam answering the questions you have confidence answering, and marking those you don't. Then go back to the beginning spending more time on those not answered. Even with those not answered the first go around, do the easier ones first going all the way through, and go back to the beginning again, repeat.

In so doing, you will gain confidence and not be shell shocked spending too much time on the stress questions fretting over the remainder of the exam.

I believe you only need a 70 to pass.

 

[Bryce steiner]

I am a little better than half way through a course before taking my Part 107 test. Wow...so much to know. I am search for input about the test from those who've taken it. Any advise? Thanks.

Take as many practice tests that you can online. Once you master that you should have no problem. Make sure that you know why you missed something. That way you are understanding the point of the question. It will also give you an idea of what the test is like so you don’t get there blind.

 

[BD0G]

Sectionals are the majority of the challenging questions, followed by weather related questions, and NOTAMS.

When in doubt, Remote Pilot In Command

A good test taking strategy is to go through the exam answering the questions you have confidence answering, and marking those you don't. Then go back to the beginning spending more time on those not answered. Even with those not answered the first go around, do the easier ones first going all the way through, and go back to the beginning again, repeat.

In so doing, you will gain confidence and not be shell shocked spending too much time on the stress questions fretting over the remainder of the exam.

I believe you only need a 70 to pass.

Great Advice as typically ones natural first "gut" answer is correct. If you over think each question and second guess oneself then thats where questions get answered incorrectly.

 

[Super Dave O]

Am I the only one that thinks it's a little ridiculous to have to study that much, just to, say take a picture of a house for sale for a realtor for a fee ? I am all for safety, and needed rules but come on..

 

[Tkoglin]

Am I the only one that thinks it's a little ridiculous to have to study that much, just to, say take a picture of a house for sale for a realtor for a fee ? I am all for safety, and needed rules but come on..

I was just thinking the same thing. It’s not like we are flying jet airplanes.

 

[Drone on]

Am I the only one that thinks it's a little ridiculous to have to study that much, just to, say take a picture of a house for sale for a realtor for a fee ? I am all for safety, and needed rules but come on..

It is ridiculous for that. However, that's not all there is to the commercial application of drones. The FAA is trying to cover all bases for all situations with one set of rules.
The house you are trying to photograph may be in class G airspace, but someone else may be taking a picture of a house within class B airspace, or today's job maybe in G, but tomorrow's in B, and the whole idea is to be able to evaluate what, where, and when there is risk to other aircraft, and the property below your drone.
It also seems ridiculous because the drone is a plastic 'toy', but 1.X pounds coming down in a free fall exerts significant force upon impact.
The MP1 has a metal plate in the chasis. I know that I do not want that landing on my head from 400 feet regardless of the likelihood of that happening.
You may see video of flights out in the middle of nowhere, and there is no real risk. And, you'll see illegal flights in congested areas, and the risk increases; significantly. This is going on all across the country all of the time.

Part of the challenge is balancing risk vs reward. The comparatively minor income from drone jobs is more than offset by the potential liability of failed jobs.

At time passes you may gain greater understanding for why the rules exist.


BTW...questions around the 'attitude' you are exhibiting in this thread may appear on the exam.

Hope this doesn't tick you off, but you asked. Not long ago, I looked at this the same way you do. Now, I have a greater understanding of the bigger picture. With the potential for greater commercial application emerging, it may be that the FAA got out in front of this.

 

[Super Dave O]

It is ridiculous for that. However, that's not all there is to the commercial application of drones. The FAA is trying to cover all bases for all situations with one set of rules.
The house you are trying to photograph may be in class G airspace, but someone else may be taking a picture of a house within class B airspace, or today's job maybe in G, but tomorrow's in B, and the whole idea is to be able to evaluate what, where, and when there is risk to other aircraft, and the property below your drone.
It also seems ridiculous because the drone is a plastic 'toy', but 1.X pounds coming down in a free fall exerts significant force upon impact.
The MP1 has a metal plate in the chasis. I know that I do not want that landing on my head from 400 feet regardless of the likelihood of that happening.
You may see video of flights out in the middle of nowhere, and there is no real risk. And, you'll see illegal flights in congested areas, and the risk increases; significantly. This is going on all across the country all of the time.

Part of the challenge is balancing risk vs reward. The comparatively minor income from drone jobs is more than offset by the potential liability of failed jobs.

At time passes you may gain greater understanding for why the rules exist.


BTW...questions around the 'attitude' you are exhibiting in this thread may appear on the exam.

Hope this doesn't tick you off, but you asked. Not long ago, I looked at this the same way you do. Now, I have a greater understanding of the bigger picture. With the potential for greater commercial application emerging, it may be that the FAA got out in front of this.

You are correct about different situations, but just because you have a license doesn't make you safe ( not you in particular ) and no, an answer to my question doesn't bother me, I've been flying drones for since the phantom 1 and ppg for 2 years with out an incident. I would like to see different levels of a drone license.

 

[Super Dave O]

I am a little better than half way through a course before taking my Part 107 test. Wow...so much to know. I am search for input about the test from those who've taken it. Any advise? Thanks.

And Sorry Mavic I didn't mean to hijack your thread.

 

[KAOS Imagery]

Drone On's advice is spot on. You can pass on questions you are not sure of and then go back to them. Sectionals are a big deal, on my test, they were about 40% of the exam. Pay attention to the wording of the questions so you understand what kind of answer they are looking for. Many of the questions looked like the practice ones I did, but were worded differently - some even poorly - take your time reading them so you don't get tricked. I have no aviation background, finished the test in less than an hour and got a 93%. Do your best to know and understand the material and you'll do fine.

 

[Mavic Maveric]

Am I the only one that thinks it's a little ridiculous to have to study that much, just to, say take a picture of a house for sale for a realtor for a fee ? I am all for safety, and needed rules but come on..

I used to think the same exact thing. BUT, I'm really glad now that I took the course. I learned a lot about the airspace in which I'm flying and have a whole new respect for others who use it. I'll be taking my test this week.

One thing I didn't know is that there is a lot of commercial work being done with drones. It's possible that your real estate picture could lead to being asked to inspect a tower, power lines or a farmers field, for example, in a controlled airspace or within 5 miles of a Class G airport. Once you starting taking pics commercially, it could most definitely lead to more. You just never know and the FAA wants you to be prepared if that happens. I'm doing commercial work now for a town but my pics won't be used until after I get my certification. This work for the town, is taking pictures of a bridge replacement for their upcoming Town Report. I'm using both my land camera Canon 6D and my M2P drone.

Anyway, that's my two pennies. Have a great day Super Dave!

 

[Mavic Maveric]

I have read here that learning how to read the sectional charts properly is helpful to pass and also being able to decipher the NOTAMS.

Yep, learning to read the sectional charges are a must for sure. Many questions relate to them.

I think you're referring to the METAR and TAF weather reports. The NOTAMS is "Notice To Airmen" regarding TFR's (temporary flight restrictions) and other information you won't find on the charts. I took a practice FAA test yesterday and the two questions about that subject were asked in such a way they practically gave me the answer. There are some wonderful YouTube videos on the subject. I took the King's School Course ($150.00) and to me it was worth every penny. Good luck.

 

[Mavic Maveric]

Sectionals are the majority of the challenging questions, followed by weather related questions, and NOTAMS.

When in doubt, Remote Pilot In Command

A good test taking strategy is to go through the exam answering the questions you have confidence answering, and marking those you don't. Then go back to the beginning spending more time on those not answered. Even with those not answered the first go around, do the easier ones first going all the way through, and go back to the beginning again, repeat.

In so doing, you will gain confidence and not be shell shocked spending too much time on the stress questions fretting over the remainder of the exam.

I believe you only need a 70 to pass.

Yep, you only need a 70 to pass. I took a practice exam yesterday and (to my surprise) got an 85. I got 9 questions wrong. So, you can get many wrong and still pass. They give you 2 hours to do the test and it took my 45 minutes to complete so I had tons of time to go back and revisit the ones I marked. The practice test was set up exactly like the real FAA test, so I've been told. I'll take the real test later this week.

 

[Mavic Maveric]

It is ridiculous for that. However, that's not all there is to the commercial application of drones. The FAA is trying to cover all bases for all situations with one set of rules.
The house you are trying to photograph may be in class G airspace, but someone else may be taking a picture of a house within class B airspace, or today's job maybe in G, but tomorrow's in B, and the whole idea is to be able to evaluate what, where, and when there is risk to other aircraft, and the property below your drone.
It also seems ridiculous because the drone is a plastic 'toy', but 1.X pounds coming down in a free fall exerts significant force upon impact.
The MP1 has a metal plate in the chasis. I know that I do not want that landing on my head from 400 feet regardless of the likelihood of that happening.
You may see video of flights out in the middle of nowhere, and there is no real risk. And, you'll see illegal flights in congested areas, and the risk increases; significantly. This is going on all across the country all of the time.

Part of the challenge is balancing risk vs reward. The comparatively minor income from drone jobs is more than offset by the potential liability of failed jobs.

At time passes you may gain greater understanding for why the rules exist.


BTW...questions around the 'attitude' you are exhibiting in this thread may appear on the exam.

Hope this doesn't tick you off, but you asked. Not long ago, I looked at this the same way you do. Now, I have a greater understanding of the bigger picture. With the potential for greater commercial application emerging, it may be that the FAA got out in front of this.

Exactly!! Well said.

 

[Mavic Maveric]

And Sorry Mavic I didn't mean to hijack your thread.

No problem. You're getting some great answers here from the other pilots. Fly on!

 

[PhantomFandom]

You are correct about different situations, but just because you have a license doesn't make you safe ( not you in particular ) and no, an answer to my question doesn't bother me, I've been flying drones for since the phantom 1 and ppg for 2 years with out an incident. I would like to see different levels of a drone license.

It is true that being licensed does not necessarily make you a safe pilot. However, it usually is a good start as an indicator that the person put in effort and time to understand. This doesn't always lead to safe and responsible flying but we need to start somewhere. Also, if that person does do something reckless they cannot then plead ignorance since they took and passed the test.

The FAA has a tough enough time trying to determine how and what to test with drones. Having multiple levels of exams would really add an unnecessary level of time and burden for them and for us. For fixed wing pilots, we have multiple levels of exams. You start with private pilot's license for single engine and then progress if and when you choose. It takes a lot of time, work, patience, PIC hours, and MONEY to work all the way up to ATP. I don't think we need to introduce that level of complexity into the commercial drone licensing process.

Yes it does take some time and effort to get your 107 license. However, it is not terrible and it does really teach you some important concepts no matter where you fly. Chief among those concepts is airspace. Good luck.

 

[BigAl07]

Am I the only one that thinks it's a little ridiculous to have to study that much, just to, say take a picture of a house for sale for a realtor for a fee ? I am all for safety, and needed rules but come on..

If you're going to be flying in the NAS why in the world would you NOT need to know the Rules & Regulations of the NAS?