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Passed my Part 107 today

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.
@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.
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!!

Congrats! An 82 is a pass and that’s all that matters.

Ive had my temporary certificate for almost a week now. I’m impatiently awaiting my permanent one now ?
 
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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 I found some on YouTube that seemed good, but used terminologies that were no longer current.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 As soon as he said AFD, I knew it was outdated.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:
<snip>

Fly safe!
Thanks for the detailed review. It seems there are about as many "study for 107" as sites selling cotton masks.
 
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Thanks for the detailed review. It seems there are about as many "study for 107" as sites selling cotton masks.

My pleasure. I wanted people to know how attainable it is. I've heard horror stories about the original drone license, but the FAA did a good job redefining the license under 107. No reason paying hundreds if you don't need to.
 
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After reading, I may still go for the Part 107, but want to ask a question. On the reality side, with UAS being VSOL, does much of the testing really relate to flying drones, other than maybe the ones over 55 pounds. Is it really that important to know sectional maps and such when flying within VSOL. I am guessin quite a few will pounce on me for that. I understand rules, most my life has been spent following or enforcing them, but I look at all these data points in Part 107, and ask myself, with the 400 foot AGL limits, VSOL and such, is the 107 really necessary. Now I am in total agreement if 107 allows you to go outside the boundaries of 400 feet AGL or outside VSOL. then all the items would make sense. I am sure many arguments will be made for 107, and I are those who have take and passed, but my question is generally, in reality is 80% of the questions rooted in needs of a drone pilot. This i not meant to start a firestorm, but just putting it out there to discuss.
 
I view the 107 from the vantage of one that just needs pictures of the stuff I own, I want to "survey" my trees, my buildings, my crops to see how they are doing.
I took several of the online "sample" 107 tests and got an average 60% score before ANY "studying". A little studying and I was hitting 80% with ease.
BUT the nearest testing center is a 4 hour drive. And I'm not doing that in the age of Covid 19,
So I'll wait.
 
After reading, I may still go for the Part 107, but want to ask a question. On the reality side, with UAS being VSOL, does much of the testing really relate to flying drones, other than maybe the ones over 55 pounds. Is it really that important to know sectional maps and such when flying within VSOL. I am guessin quite a few will pounce on me for that. I understand rules, most my life has been spent following or enforcing them, but I look at all these data points in Part 107, and ask myself, with the 400 foot AGL limits, VSOL and such, is the 107 really necessary. Now I am in total agreement if 107 allows you to go outside the boundaries of 400 feet AGL or outside VSOL. then all the items would make sense. I am sure many arguments will be made for 107, and I are those who have take and passed, but my question is generally, in reality is 80% of the questions rooted in needs of a drone pilot. This i not meant to start a firestorm, but just putting it out there to discuss.

The 107 is for making money or for benefitting from the use of your drone. The thing that's important to know is what they consider benefitting. Obviously, posting videos on Youtube as portfolio material for an aerial videography business is considered benefitting because your business benefits (marketing and advertising). But if you just post your recreational drone flights on YouTube, and you start getting subscribers because of it, the FAA considers that benefitting because with enough subscribers, you can make money on YouTube, even if that is not your intention.

The 107 does have some different boundaries. For instance, under 107, if you are hired to survey a structure of any kind, your altitude is 400' above the structure you are surveying. So if you are surveying a 1000' tower, your max altitude in 1400' AGL within 400' of the tower.

Now the reason you need to understand how to read charts has nothing to do with vsol, but is that some structures near airports could put you into controlled airspace. You need to be able to identify if the structure is in an area that you need prior authorization before flying in, or if the area is in a restricted area or no-fly zone. A 500' tower gives you a 900' AGL max altitude, and if you are in a 700' class E airspace, you would be 200' above the 700' altitude and you would need to contact the airport for prior authorization before flying there.

If you record your flights and put them on YouTube, Vimeo, or the such, you might want to get your 107. If you want to fly higher than 400', or want to record structures, mountians, trees, anything higher than 400', then having a 107 protects you. For myself, I got my 107 and I register each of my drones as 107, so I no longer have to worry about grey areas with the FAA.

I hope this explains it for you. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
 
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The 400' extension over structures means man made structures. Mountains don't count. You can't go 200' away from a 500' cliff and be legal. I doubt anyone would pursue you over that though.
 
The 400' extension over structures means man made structures. Mountains don't count. You can't go 200' away from a 500' cliff and be legal. I doubt anyone would pursue you over that though.

Yes, you are correct; thanks for the correction, it's man-made structures only.

I'm also with you regarding their pursuit of things like that. I work in the aerospace industry and we deal with the FAA quite a bit. What I have learned is that when dealing with the FAA, the outcome really depends on the agent you are working with. The same experience can have different results depending on the agent. That being said, I play it safe so I don't ever have to deal with them.
 
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Congratulations [emoji322]. I’m also interested in taking the test one day. Sounds like it’s not too hard to pass the test [emoji106][emoji3]
 
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.
??????
 
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