Passed my Part 107 today

[KB4MTO]

Today I passed my Part 107 exam. I have already applied for the license and am impatiently waiting to get confirmation.

The test wasn't difficult. I had studied good enough and had no problems with the exam. However, one thing I noticed was that the questions were very different than all of the practice exams I took. Almost all of the practice exams used the same questions, leading me to believe that those are the exact questions in the pool. That's not uncommon on government tests. I only had about 5 questions that matched up. This means if you memorize the questions, you might not pass. But if you understand the questions, it doesn't matter what the details are because they can ask you the same question in many different ways and you will understand it.

I am looking forward to starting doing aerial photography, possibly real estate to start with. Any tips from those already doing this or knows about doing it commercially are greatly appreciated.

 

[MA2 317]

Congratulations on passing the exam.

The MM would be perfect for the real estate market.

Small enough to fly inside and out.

 

[KB4MTO]

MA2 317" data-source="post: 1103189" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

Congratulations on passing the exam.

The MM would be perfect for the real estate market.

Small enough to fly inside and out.

That was my thought exactly. Lift off in the livng room, hover, then do a slow 360 turn.

 

[MA2 317]

That was my thought exactly. Lift off in the livng room, hover, then do a slow 360 turn...

...and out the front door with a cinematic shot of the property.


From what I understand, any flights inside a structure is not governed by the FAA.

But once you exit the structure to the outside, it becomes a licensed pilot matter.

Is this correct?

TIA.

 

[Thomas B]

Congrats!

 

[KB4MTO]

Congrats!

Thanks !

 

[KB4MTO]

MA2 317" data-source="post: 1103258" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

...and out the front door with a cinematic shot of the property.


From what I understand, any flights inside a structure is not governed by the FAA.

But once you exit the structure to the outside, it becomes a licensed pilot matter.

Is this correct?

TIA.

That is correct. And if it is an unpaid shoot, then the FAA wouldn’t regulate the outside flying either as long as I am following the law. But anytime you make money from using a drone in America, it becomes commercial and you need the Part 107 license.

 

[DanMan32]

That is correct. And if it is an unpaid shoot, then the FAA wouldn’t regulate the outside flying either as long as I am following the law. But anytime you make money from using a drone in America, it becomes commercial and you need the Part 107 license.

As soon as you are outside, FAA indeed does regulate it's flight. What you may be thinking is that you don't have to register with FAA when recreationally flying the Mini due to its weight, but you still have to follow the rules.
That means no flying in controlled airspace, since you need to get authorization in those spaces, and you need a registration to apply for authorization.

 

[shaneb50]

Congratulations [emoji322][emoji898]
I think maybe one day I might try to take the test [emoji106]

 

[careless]

ATTA BOY! or GIRL!

 

[KB4MTO]

As soon as you are outside, FAA indeed does regulate its flight. What you may be thinking is that you don't have to register with FAA when recreationally flying the Mini due to its weight, but you still have to follow the rules.
That means no flying in controlled airspace, since you need to get authorization in those spaces, and you need a registration to apply for authorization.

I went back and reread my post, and I completely missed the point I was trying to make; I was half-asleep when I posted the reply (drunk or fatigued posts usually turn out bad ). I was referring to the commercial aspect of flying drones.

You are 100% correct, the FAA regulates all airspace outside of buildings. Even uncontrolled airspace is regulated. We know that because we still have limited altitudes AGL, VLOS rules, and when we can fly in twilight, whether we have a 107 or not. What I was trying to say was that the Part 107 is needed when we want to make money or benefit from flying the drone. It doesn't need to be monetary; if our business or ourselves benefit from flying our drone (such as pro bono work being used as advertising), it needs a 107. For myself, I want to be able to make money from my MM and hopefully one day a MA2 and am looking at real estate photography as a start, so I clearly need a 107.

Thanks for clarifying this, the last thing I want to do is pass on incorrect info and lead someone into making bad flying decisions.

 

[theDRONEranger]

My study for my initial 107 in May 2018 was 75% FAA.GOV and 25% all other.
For my recurrent in June 2020, it was 100% FAA.GOV. Absolutely everything needed for study is on the FAA web. FREE! The standards, the source material, study guides, even sample tests!

 

[WahooBadger]

Today I passed my Part 107 exam. I have already applied for the license and am impatiently waiting to get confirmation.

The test wasn't difficult. I had studied good enough and had no problems with the exam. However, one thing I noticed was that the questions were very different than all of the practice exams I took. Almost all of the practice exams used the same questions, leading me to believe that those are the exact questions in the pool. That's not uncommon on government tests. I only had about 5 questions that matched up. This means if you memorize the questions, you might not pass. But if you understand the questions, it doesn't matter what the details are because they can ask you the same question in many different ways and you will understand it.

I am looking forward to starting doing aerial photography, possibly real estate to start with. Any tips from those already doing this or knows about doing it commercially are greatly appreciated.

Congratulations! I am considering going for the Part 107 certification as well. For your study work, did you use one of the paid online courses, a free study guide I've seen elsewhere in the Mavic Pilots forums, or something else? Any thoughts/advice appreciated.

 

[KB4MTO]

My study for my initial 107 in May 2018 was 75% FAA.GOV and 25% all other.
For my recurrent in June 2020, it was 100% FAA.GOV. Absolutely everything needed for study is on the FAA web. FREE! The standards, the source material, study guides, even sample tests!

Exactly! I used the FAA study material and some YouTube training videos to pass my exam. Like you said, the material is available for free.

I almost paid for training by buying into a YouTube video by someone trying to convince us we couldn't pass without paid training. He said that those of us who claimed we did it with free videos aren't telling the truth. I decided to give it a go with the free available resources and I passed the exam with flying colors.

My only suggestion with YouTube vides is that if the video is more than a few years old, verify it is accurate. I found some on YouTube that seemed good, but used terminologies that were no longer current. An example is the term chart supplement. The old term for chart supplements was Airport/Facility Directory. I was watching a video that seemed diffgerent than the others I was watching. As soon as he said AFD, I knew it was outdated.

Here are some of the training I used:

Start with Tony Northrups video. He will give you a solid foundation:

Most videos confused me with latitude/Longitude because they were incomplete. This video was so clear and he takes you through using lat/lng coordinates on sectional charts:

For most other topics, I really liked the videos from Aeroworks Productions. Their sectional chart videos and the 2 hour+ video practice test were precise and clear. They are the biggest contributing factor to me passing: Part 107 Training & Instructional Videos

Finally, download the training material directly from the FAA's website. Make sure to include the test supplement as you will use it during the exam. I studies the supplement and various chart legends to make sure I understood what I was going to see in the exam.

I hope this helps. The exam takes some studying, but I believe most people will pass it first time through by using the right materials and making sure you understand the concepts, not just knowing the answers.

Fly safe!

 

[KB4MTO]

Congratulations! I am considering going for the Part 107 certification as well. For your study work, did you use one of the paid online courses, a free study guide I've seen elsewhere in the Mavic Pilots forums, or something else? Any thoughts/advice appreciated.

No I did self study. I almost paid because of what some people were saying in their YouTube videos, but then I realized those people were all promoting a single website, so I questioned their motives.

I would grab the study guide you saw in these forums. I like and trust these forums. I also used various YouTube videos I have posted in a reply below, and the FAA training materials for the exam, weather, and other topics on their website:

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/remote_pilot_study_guide.pdf

https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs/media/uas_acs.pdf

Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge

www.faa.gov

The exam is not easy, but it isn't difficult either; you have to know the topics. All of the practice tests I took all used the same questions, so I thought those were the actual questions. However, the test had the same type of questions, but had different airports, locations, weasther reports, obstructions, etc.When going through the practice tests, if you understand why the answer is right, and you know how to identify anything they ask you to find on a sectional chart, you should do just fine on the exam.

The sectional charts in the test supplement has a mileage legend on the top or bottom, just like real charts do. When they tell you to look 10 NM south or 4 NM, use the legend to determine exactly where the object is to make sure you are lookin g at the right object. If you do, you will know which object to use to answer the question.

The toughest topic for me was weather. But there is a lot of freely available study materials for weather; just Google Part 107.

Good luck, let me k now if you have any other questions.

 

[Azizuddin]

Today I passed my Part 107 exam. I have already applied for the license and am impatiently waiting to get confirmation.

The test wasn't difficult. I had studied good enough and had no problems with the exam. However, one thing I noticed was that the questions were very different than all of the practice exams I took. Almost all of the practice exams used the same questions, leading me to believe that those are the exact questions in the pool. That's not uncommon on government tests. I only had about 5 questions that matched up. This means if you memorize the questions, you might not pass. But if you understand the questions, it doesn't matter what the details are because they can ask you the same question in many different ways and you will understand it.

I am looking forward to starting doing aerial photography, possibly real estate to start with. Any tips from those already doing this or knows about doing it commercially are greatly appreciated.

Congratulations ?

 

[crdeasy]

Congrats! Good suggestions for study!

 

[KB4MTO]

Congrats! Good suggestions for study!

Thank You.

 

[BirdzEyeView2020]

Exactly! I used the FAA study material and some YouTube training videos to pass my exam. Like you said, the material is available for free.

I almost paid for training by buying into a YouTube video by someone trying to convince us we couldn't pass without paid training. He said that those of us who claimed we did it with free videos aren't telling the truth. I decided to give it a go with the free available resources and I passed the exam with flying colors.

My only suggestion with YouTube vides is that if the video is more than a few years old, verify it is accurate. I found some on YouTube that seemed good, but used terminologies that were no longer current. An example is the term chart supplement. The old term for chart supplements was Airport/Facility Directory. I was watching a video that seemed diffgerent than the others I was watching. As soon as he said AFD, I knew it was outdated.

Here are some of the training I used:

Start with Tony Northrups video. He will give you a solid foundation:

Most videos confused me with latitude/Longitude because they were incomplete. This video was so clear and he takes you through using lat/lng coordinates on sectional charts:

For most other topics, I really liked the videos from Aeroworks Productions. Their sectional chart videos and the 2 hour+ video practice test were precise and clear. They are the biggest contributing factor to me passing: Part 107 Training & Instructional Videos

Finally, download the training material directly from the FAA's website. Make sure to include the test supplement as you will use it during the exam. I studies the supplement and various chart legends to make sure I understood what I was going to see in the exam.

I hope this helps. The exam takes some studying, but I believe most people will pass it first time through by using the right materials and making sure you understand the concepts, not just knowing the answers.

Fly safe!

Congratulations!! @KB4MTO
@WahooBadger @shaneb50 @crdeasy I took the Part 107 test this morning. I used these same videos for studying, T. Northrup & the long/latitude video. Also, I purchased the same booklet used in the actual test to use during practice exams.

Amazon.com

@KB4MTO I also noticed at least 10 questions that I wasn't familiar with as far as practice exams went. I used the one at King Schools.

Free FAA Drone Pilot Test by King Schools

The FAA gives you 120 minutes to complete 60 questions on your actual test on: Loading and Performance, Airspace, Weather Minimums and Charts, Operations and Procedures, Weather, Risk Management, Regulations

www.kingschools.com

But, as you said @KB4MTO , Knowing information rather than memorizing answers is key!
I averaged mid to upper 80%, three of which were 90%x2 and one at 95%.
I only scored 82% on the actual test this morning. Somewhat disappointed in myself, nevertheless, it's plenty good enough to move forward. @KB4MTO I am also IMPATIENTLY waiting on my temporary certificate lol!!

 

[BirdzEyeView2020]

Congratulations!!
I took the Part 107 test this morning. I used these same videos for studying, T. Northrup & the long/latitude video. Also, I purchased the same booklet used in the actual test to use during practice exams.

Amazon.com

@KB4MTO I also noticed at least 10 questions that I wasn't familiar with as far as practice exams went. I used the one at King Schools.

Free FAA Drone Pilot Test by King Schools

The FAA gives you 120 minutes to complete 60 questions on your actual test on: Loading and Performance, Airspace, Weather Minimums and Charts, Operations and Procedures, Weather, Risk Management, Regulations

www.kingschools.com

But, as you said, Knowing information rather than memorizing answers is key!
I averaged mid to upper 80%, three of which were 90%x2 and one at 95%.

@WahooBadger @shaneb50 @crdeasy
If anyone chooses to practice with the King Schools link, make sure to change the amount of questions from 10 to 60.
From what I have found, there are 130 questions which 60 are randomly generated from...but how true that actually is...I don't know.