Greetings From AZ

[DSRT_VLTR]

Come on up to Tonto National Forest. Millions of acres of Class G airspace!!!

 

[PakNheat380]

Welcome to the forum from NW Montana

 

[SpitFire]

Welcome to the forum from Chicago the Windy City.
FLY SAFE & FLY SMART ALSO FLY LEGALLY

 

[jambros3]

Going down the drone rabbit hole quickly. Studying with PI for my Part 107. I live a mile from a USAF training base and 4 miles from a Class D airport with a large boneyard. Just to practice I have to travel 14 miles!

Hello from Uptown phoenix! so places to fly...been having a blast in this area.

 

[Gagey52]

Greetings mate, welcome to the forum from the outback of Australia. Look forward to your input.
Regards

 

[Kendallfordguy]

Welcome from Wisconsin!

 

[msinger]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[vonSeggern]

Sounds like you are in West Valley? Me too. In Surprise. How involved is what you need to know to pass for your part 107? Just registered for recreational presently. Thanks. Tom

I enrolled with Pilot Institute's online Part 107 course. $149 plus a bonus course seemed like a good idea. I would say it is very involved with focused study and a lot of time involved. The test requires the effort. Finished with the course, taking my test next week at a West-Mec.

 

[vonSeggern]

Your location only shows Arizona, but I am guessing that you live in Tucson, within the Class D Airspace of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. I retired from the Air Force after 30 plus years and my last duty station was DM… Now, I may be wrong about your location, but all the info is valid for wherever you are (Waldo?)…

I now live in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and I also live within the Class D Airspace of Langley AFB, but I am in a Zero Altitude Quadrant, but on the border of a 400' quadrant. I am part 107 and I also am a PI Alumni with a Free Shirt (I aced the Exam. Greg is one heck of an instructor…).

However, while I was still a recreational pilot, I could not get an FAA Authorization to fly in my own yard… But I could go out in the street in front of my house and fly. The FAA approved the authorization for flying in that Class D Airspace up to 400' in front of my house… (the quadrant boundary ran down my street).

Since I am now Part 107, the FAA has approved an authorization for me to fly in this Zero Altitude Quadrant… So I can now fly in my own yard…

Now, in your case, log onto the FAADroneZone and request an authorization in any area not a Zero Altitude Quadrant. If the quadrant is maxed to 50' or 100' or whatever, that is the max you can fly as a Rec Pilot…

I use these two Apps -- DroneUp, the maps are much more detailed than B4UFly (right down to building outlines like Google Map View), and the Windy.com App, also so much more detailed than UAV Forcast.

The map shows the controlled airspace in my area… Besides the AFB, I have an International Airport, an Army Airfield, all the National Park No-No airspace and the Naval Air Station down south…

View attachment 165698

Below is a Screen grab of the Tucson Area as portrayed in Drone Up, and I've edited it to show an inserted enlarged view… I also use DroneUp for my LAANC authorization, but you have to get your 107 first for that option.

View attachment 165699

I will be posting again, in an even longer posting, after this, but I wanted to get this out…

Thanks. I actually live in Goodyear, basically in the middle of this mess.

 

[LoudThunder]

Finished with the course, taking my test next week at a West-Mec.

I also took the Part 107 course through PI, I took my exam in mid-October 2022 and I scored 100%. And I would like to share some advice that other have found helpful.

Do not take the Pretests over and over again, the questions with their answers will become ingrained into your brain and if you see a similar question, your brain may jump to the pretest answer and the real answer might be in MSL, not AGL… You've studied enough, you should know it well enough now.

Before the day of the exam, drive to the exam location to be sure you know where it is and how to get there, and where to park. A lot of locations are at airports and the roads can be really confusing.

Start out early, so if you are delayed, you are not late… Put some paper towels in your pocket, when you get there, relax and BREATH… Leave your phone in your car, you will not need it, your watch too, especially if it's more than a watch. Don't worry the testing room will have a clock inside and the computer will tell you how much time has elapsed and how much time is left…

I only brought a magnifying glass ($1.99 at Harbor freight) with me. The test facility I used provided pencils, paper, a calculator, and a magnifying glass (a cheapie one I am glad I did not have to use…).

Make sure you have your picture ID with you. Now go inside about 15-minutes or so before the scheduled time, fill out the paper work and then use the facilities, even if you do not have to… After you wash your face and hands, use those paper towels to dry yourself off with. An Air Dryer just does not feel as good…

When you click the start button, the exam starts. I finished my exam is under 45-minutes. My advice is: READ each question twice, and then try to answer the question without looking at the answers. Then when you see the answer you expected, you are probably correct. Just do not get tripped up by answering too quickly, you want to make sure you mean to answer in AGL or MSL…

The test wording on the practice exam is the similar, but not always the same. On some of the questions, they asked the question "sideways…" For example, instead of asking what is the CTAF Frequency is for a certain airport, they asked, what frequency would you listen to if the tower is closed…?

First off, two-hours are a lot of time, a lot more than 99.9% of the folks would need. Before the exam starts, there are 5-questions that are not graded nor part of the exam… Perhaps to ensure you read and understand English or just to let you relax… Then, after you answer these questions, take a deep breath and relax.

BREATH…

Then trust your gut with the other answers. Unless you have an epiphany or the answer to a previous question comes up in a later question, do not change you answer. Chances are you were probably right in the first place.

Finally, whether, you pass with a 100% or a 70%, the licenses are all the same; my license is not be gold-embossed…

As I wrote, I took the exam in October and my license arrived the week after Christmas…

 

[LoudThunder]

I actually live in Goodyear, basically in the middle of this mess.

In my first posting, I wrote that my last duty station in the Air Force was Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, my first duty station was Luke AFB, back in 1971…

I did not know that Goodyear still had the boneyard, Google maps do not show any aircraft, had to use YouTube to see the Aircraft.

Below is the Airspace Map from the App that I use for my Maps for FAADroneZone and getting my LAANC authorizations…

The Class D Airspace over Goodyear is about 6-1/2 miles in diameter and not all is Zero Altitude. Even if you live in the Zero Zone, your Part 107 will qualify you to get an authorization, you just cannot fly over the airfield, without their expressed permission, which they might grant if you are taking photos for them…

 

[vonSeggern]

I also took the Part 107 course through PI, I took my exam in mid-October 2022 and I scored 100%. And I would like to share some advice that other have found helpful.

Do not take the Pretests over and over again, the questions with their answers will become ingrained into your brain and if you see a similar question, your brain may jump to the pretest answer and the real answer might be in MSL, not AGL… You've studied enough, you should know it well enough now.

Before the day of the exam, drive to the exam location to be sure you know where it is and how to get there, and where to park. A lot of locations are at airports and the roads can be really confusing.

Start out early, so if you are delayed, you are not late… Put some paper towels in your pocket, when you get there, relax and BREATH… Leave your phone in your car, you will not need it, your watch too, especially if it's more than a watch. Don't worry the testing room will have a clock inside and the computer will tell you how much time has elapsed and how much time is left…

I only brought a magnifying glass ($1.99 at Harbor freight) with me. The test facility I used provided pencils, paper, a calculator, and a magnifying glass (a cheapie one I am glad I did not have to use…).

Make sure you have your picture ID with you. Now go inside about 15-minutes or so before the scheduled time, fill out the paper work and then use the facilities, even if you do not have to… After you wash your face and hands, use those paper towels to dry yourself off with. An Air Dryer just does not feel as good…

When you click the start button, the exam starts. I finished my exam is under 45-minutes. My advice is: READ each question twice, and then try to answer the question without looking at the answers. Then when you see the answer you expected, you are probably correct. Just do not get tripped up by answering too quickly, you want to make sure you mean to answer in AGL or MSL…

The test wording on the practice exam is the similar, but not always the same. On some of the questions, they asked the question "sideways…" For example, instead of asking what is the CTAF Frequency is for a certain airport, they asked, what frequency would you listen to if the tower is closed…?

First off, two-hours are a lot of time, a lot more than 99.9% of the folks would need. Before the exam starts, there are 5-questions that are not graded nor part of the exam… Perhaps to ensure you read and understand English or just to let you relax… Then, after you answer these questions, take a deep breath and relax.

BREATH…

Then trust your gut with the other answers. Unless you have an epiphany or the answer to a previous question comes up in a later question, do not change you answer. Chances are you were probably right in the first place.

Finally, whether, you pass with a 100% or a 70%, the licenses are all the same; my license is not be gold-embossed…

As I wrote, I took the exam in October and my license arrived the week after Christmas…

Thanks!

 

[vonSeggern]

In my first posting, I wrote that my last duty station in the Air Force was Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, my first duty station was Luke AFB, back in 1971…

I did not know that Goodyear still had the boneyard, Google maps do not show any aircraft, had to use YouTube to see the Aircraft.

Below is the Airspace Map from the App that I use for my Maps for FAADroneZone and getting my LAANC authorizations…

The Class D Airspace over Goodyear is about 6-1/2 miles in diameter and not all is Zero Altitude. Even if you live in the Zero Zone, your Part 107 will qualify you to get an authorization, you just cannot fly over the airfield, without their expressed permission, which they might grant if you are taking photos for them…


View attachment 165870

Goodyear is not technically a boneyard I guess. There are at least 50 large commercial jets parked there for various reasons. During the "pandemic" it was chocked full. It's a busy training airport. Luke seems to always be doing some type of training and I live right in the airspace. When I get my Part 107 I hope to get permission in the green area due south. In the summer (today only got to 108!) if I want to practice a park is the best place to find shade. The desert is full of nasty crawly things and pointy cacti. Thanks again for the info.

 

[LoudThunder]

want to practice a park is the best place to find shade. The desert is full of nasty crawly things and pointy cacti.

Oh, my bad, I misread you initial posting, I thought you already had your Part 107… Once you do acquire it, the world is "practically" your playground. I understand your need for shade… It was only 92 today and I did not want to go out…