Source: https://vdmametis.com/drone-certification-how-to-pass-faa-part-107/
Timestamp: 2019-09-16 16:53:11
Document Index: 512289263

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 107', 'art 107', 'art 107', 'art 107', 'art 107', 'art 107', 'art 107']

Drone Certification: How to Pass FAA Part 107 - Vdmametis
– Hi my name is Tom and in this video I’m going to give you the resources that you need to take and pass the FAA part 107 test to become
a commercial drone pilot. The first question that most people have is do I need to take this test? Really, only you can answer that question, but if you’re doing anything commercial with your Drone footage, then yes you need to take this test. If you are just recording
some videos and photos and showing them to your friends and family like at home and that’s it, and you’re not sending them anywhere or distribute them anywhere
or selling them anywhere, then no you don’t need to take the test, that’s totally recreational. You don’t need to worry about it. Commercial usage of your
footage is a really broad term, and so, the most obvious commercial usage is if somebody pays you for your footage, or they hire you to film
something for a project, and they give you money for it. That’s very clearly commercial
usage of your footage. Even if you don’t consider
yourself a filmmaker you could still be using
the footage commercially. If your real estate agent and you’re taking pictures or videos for a listing, that’s commercial usage. Even if someone offers you
something instead of money, so if someone says, hey come over and help me out with this thing and I’ll give you a six pack of beer, that’s commercial usage. If they’re offering
you tickets to an event or anything in return for your footage or creating footage for them, that is commercial usage, and you do need to take this test so that can get your commercial license. YouTube can be a little bit tricky because you might not be intending to use your footage commercially, but it is possible to monetize
off of videos on YouTube, so it can get a little fuzzy. I really recommend erring
on the side of caution and even if you think there’s
the slightest possibility that your footage, at some point, is going to be used for
something commercially, protect yourself and make sure you have the license that you need. The good news is there’s so
many resources for this test. The test itself isn’t really that bad and you’re doing it on your own time. If you’re someone who only needs three days to practice for it, fine. If you need two months
to practice for it, fine. You can make it work for you and that eases so much pressure. As I mentioned, there
are a ton of resources for taking this test
and passing this test. The reason that I’m making this video is because there are
almost too many resources. What I found when I was
prepping for the test was that I felt a little bit overwhelmed and I didn’t know, necessarily, what was the best resource
what was the most useful one. After while I felt like I was starting to just see the same information repeating and I kind of felt like
I was spinning my wheels. I was not 100% confident
that I was getting all of the best information. What I’ve done is I found the three resources that are the best, that you can forget everything else, focus on these things, and I have no doubt that you’re going to take and
pass the test, no problem. I’m gonna break this video
down into three parts. The first part is the resources that you need, most important. Second part, the test itself. There’s a lot of information
about the test online but when I was studying
I couldn’t find anything that clearly laid out the process. I wanna clear that up for you and answer a couple questions I had that I couldn’t find answers
to when I was prepping. The third part is after the test. So many resources prep you for the test and yay, you take the test
and you passed the test, and then after that they just
disappear and leave you there. There are some really important things you need to know and to
do after you take the test and I want to make sure
that is very clear. So, those are the three parts, we’ll jump right into it. Part one, resources. Before I jump into the three
resources that I recommend, I really do need to give
credit to Matt Johnson and his part 107 video, because this was the
video that I came across that really made me understand why I needed to take this test, and made the test seem totally accessible and something that I could achieve, and something that I could
really, actually pass, and it wasn’t really a big deal. He has a great way of explaining it, he provides a lot of great resources. I honestly just can’t
recommend his channel enough. His work is unbelievable. He has so many behind-the-scenes
things, that just, you learn so much from
watching his videos. He has a lot of stuff
specifically about drones especially the DJI Mavic. He even goes into how to
color grade and settings, and getting the best possible
footage from your drone. His channel is awesome,
please check out Matt Johnson. I wouldn’t have passed the test without the things that he provided. However, even after that awesome video and even after going
through those resources, what I noticed was I clicked on every link and in my browser had, like, 20 or 30 tabs open. Some of them were like these 100 page PDFs and these websites with
1000 links on them, and I just felt overwhelmed. I want to cut through all that noise and distill it down to the most essential
resources that you need, so here they are. The first resource,
most important resource, is the official FAA study guide. This is the study guide made by the people who produce the test. It has everything that
you need to know on it. It is an 80 page PDF document, and when a lot of people see that their first question is, how can I get that
information without reading an 80 page PDF. The answer to that is, just read the PDF. It has everything you need to know. Everything that’s going to be on the test, and the good news is the FAA
doesn’t try to trick you. They’re not throwing curve balls at you, there’s no trick questions. It’s all of the information. It’s not even really hard to read, it’s pretty easy to understand, and you’ll definitely need
to go through a few times. The first time you read it,
it’ll probably kinda murky. Then as you gain a little
more knowledge and familiarity and you go back through it, it’ll become a lot more clear. That is your number one best resource, is the FAA’s official study guide. Resource number two, Tony
Northrup’s, two hour long, part 107 study guide video. This is a totally free video but honestly, if he charged money for it
it, would be so worth it. This is such a good helpful tool. In this video Tony breaks
down the entire study guide, all of the information on it, he fills in all the gaps, and he takes the more complicated parts and he breaks them down in a really clear and easy to understand way. That combined with the study guide is all of the information
that you need to know. Just like with the study guide, you’re gonna need to watch
this video more than once, and it’s 2 hours long, so you probably wanna
break it down into chunks. Once you gone through it at least once while really focusing on it, then you can leave it on in the background and listen to it as
you’re doing other things. That information will
still get into your brain. The third resource is how you can apply that knowledge that you’re gaining. That is an app that’s available for IOS and Android called Remote Pilot. It does cost $5. I have nothing to do with this app, I’m not connected with
it, I just paid for it, and it played such a huge role in me passing this test, that I can’t recommend it enough. Remote pilot takes all of
the FAA sample questions and puts them into a format that’s very, very similar to the real test. It’s so, so helpful to have that. The sample questions are available all over the place online, lots of great websites like 3D Robotics, they have them and it’s totally free, and you can go through and see them and mark them and stuff. The reason I recommend this app is because it’s so
similar to the real test. They have, I think, it’s
over 140 questions total that you can go through and you can answer all the questions, and when you take a practice test, it generates a new 60
question test every time based on those questions. Every practice test you take
is a little bit different and that’s exactly how
the real test works too. They have their actual test questions. When you sign on the computer to take your test, they pull 60 of those questions and you get a test
that’s slightly different from the test that anybody else takes. The first thing you’ll
notice when you open the app is that visually, it’s
not super appealing. It kind of looks like an
app from the late ’90s if they had apps in the late ’90s. The reason they did
that is because it looks very similar to the real test. So when you sit down
to take the actual test it’s going to look very familiar and that’s going to help ease a lot of your stress and anxiety. The format of the Remote Pilot App is very similar to the real test where you have your progress, all your questions over here You’ve got your current
question at the top, you’ve got all your answer choices here, and you can mark them and go back. It’s the same exact system
that the real test uses and so that’s why it’s so helpful. The added bonus, too, is when
you answer each question, it explains why that’s the correct answer. It gives you a little short
paragraph description, explanation about why
that’s the correct answer. When I was practicing for the test I was using this app and
taking these practice tests like 10 times a day I did that up until I
was consistently scoring 98 or 100%. Once you hit that point then
you’re ready to take the test. The important thing to remember though, after you start taking
these practice tests enough you’ll start to memorize the questions, and as soon as you see the first few words you’re like, oh that’s B that’s C, but that’s not helping you. It’s really Important to
make sure you force yourself to understand and remember
the why behind each answer, and to understand how
you got to each answer. That way since these
aren’t the same questions that are on the real test, when you see the real test questions you’re going to know how to get them, and you’re not just gonna
be trained and conditioned to click the right bubble. a good way to do that is
to go through the test and pretend like you’re
explaining it to somebody else who doesn’t know anything
about this thing. The best way to learn
something is to teach it, and so if you pretend or if
you actually teach someone the stuff that’s in the test, that’s going to be the
best way to really drill it into your brain so that you know it and you understand it. Those are the three resources. If you use the FAA study guide, watch Tony’s video,and
use that practice test, that’s all that you need. You do not need to pay for courses, you do not need to overwhelm yourself with 1000 other things. You just need those three resources and I’ve no doubt that you’re gonna do incredibly well when you
take the actual test. Part two, the test. There is a lot of information
online about this test, but when I was prepping, I couldn’t find a very clear explanation of how the whole process works. So, here’s how it works. You’ll know that you’re
ready to take the test when you’re consistently
scoring 98 and 100% every time you take the practice tests in the Remote Pilot App. Once you’ve hit that
point and you feel like, okay, I’m not learning anything more, I’m not gaining any new knowledge, that’s when you’re ready to take the test. The test must be taken at an official FAA knowledge testing center, or KTC, ’cause they love acronyms. The FAA provides a
directory of all the KTCs throughout the country, the link to that will be down below. All you need to do is find your state, find the one closest to you and that’s the one you’re gonna use. I had to drive about 90 minutes to the closest testing center and I think that that’s a little unusual. I think most people will
probably have a testing center closer to them than that. But, even so, the 90 minutes
drive wasn’t a big deal because I was able to just listen to Tony Northrup’s video
again on the way there, and that information was
super fresh in my brain when I went in to take the actual test. The long drive was, kind
of, a benefit, in a way. So, just make it work
for you however you can. Once you find the testing
center that you wanna use, you do not make your appointment through the testing center. You need to call the CATS hotline, which is not nearly as entertaining as it sounds like it’s going to be, it is just the computer
aided testing system number. You call them and that’s the FAA’s number to make an actual appointment. They’re gonna take your
personal information, they’re going to ask you where
you want to take the test, and they’re gonna help
you find an appointment. Most testing centers are
open Monday through Friday, like the whole day. I think some of them are
even open on Saturdays if you need a weekend appointment. You don’t really need
to give a ton of notice. You can probably make an
appointment for the very next day, if you want. As soon as you’re
getting those good scores on the practice test and you’re like, I wanna take the test tomorrow. Just call them up, make an
appointment for the next day, go take the test, you’re good to go. Important thing to know, you do need to have a credit card ready when you’re making this phone call because this is when you’re gonna pay your $150 testing fees. The day of the test, they ask that you’re there
15 to 20 minutes early. I recommend getting there
significantly earlier than that so that way you’re not rushed, you’re not stressed out. You get there, you have time, like, in the parking lot, in your
car to review some things, take a break, eat a snack. Whatever you need to do to make sure you’re totally ready to go. You can’t bring anything
into the testing room. Leave any of your extra stuff in your car. You do need your ID, so make sure you do
bring that in with you. Anything that you have, your car keys, your wallet, whatever. They’re gonna take and
they’re gonna lock it up while you go take the test. You’re not gonna bring that
stuff into the room with you. When you go in the testing room they will provide you with paper, pencils, a small calculator, which you
probably won’t really need, and the test booklet. The test booklet is a pretty thick book that has all of the charts and diagrams that you’re going to need. When you see a test
question that says refer to figure 72, you’re
gonna open up that booklet to figure 72 and that’s
what you’re gonna use to answer that question. This test booklet it’s also really helpful because at the front of
it are all of the legends and keys for sectional charts. If you have a hard time remembering what a dashed magenta line means, or a solid blue line, or a little flag, or how to find what frequency to use to contact Air Traffic
Control at an airport. All of that stuff is in the
booklet that they give you, so you don’t have to
memorize all those things, it’s right there for you. The test itself is 60 questions. you have two hours to complete it and you need to score
at least 70% to pass. It’s pass-fail so you don’t get an A+ or B- or anything. I really took my time with this test and I went through and spent
my time on each question, and went through and rechecked things, and marked questions to go back to, and I still finished in under an hour. So, you should have no problem finishing within the two hour time limit. You get your score right away and if you did miss any questions, they will give you the chance
to go back and review them. That’s all there is to the test. It’s a pretty simple process. It’s not scary or unpleasant, you’ll do just fine. That brings me to part
three, after the test. Worst case scenario, if you fail the test it’s really not the end of the world. You’re not prohibited from
ever getting your license. All you need to do is wait 14 days and then you go through the process of making another appointment and taking a test again. The bad part is you do
need to pay another $150, and I’m sure you probably
don’t wanna do that. We don’t even need to talk about that, you’re gonna pass the test and you’re not going to
have to worry about it, so we don’t need to worry
about what happens if you fail because you’re not going to fail. You’re going to pass the test. The biggest thing after you pass the test, and I think a lot of people overlook this, is once you pass you are not licensed to use your drone commercially. Once you pass the test you are
eligible to become licensed to use your drone commercially. I think a lot of people
are taking the test, passing the test, and then being like, yay I’m done. The answer is, no you’re not done. You need to go to another FAA website called IACRA.FAA.GOV, and this is where all pilots and flight instructors keep track of their licenses and their certifications and all of their information. You are applying to be a pilot, you need to use this resource. All you need to do is go to IACRA, create a new account, and
submit a new application for your license. It’s a pretty easy process,
it only takes a few minutes. When you pass your test, the testing center will give you a form that has all your information on it, and it has an exam ID. You need to take that exam ID number and put it on your IACRA application, because that’s going
to tie your application to your test score, proving that you’re
eligible for a license. When you finish the application, they’ll send it to the TSA
to do a background check, and then, once you pass
that background check, then you’re issued your official commercial drone pilots license. That step is so important, so please, don’t forget to do that . Once you have your license
it’s good for two years, at the end of two years you have to take another test and be recertified, but that’s not a big deal and
it’s nothing to worry about. So that’s it. Those are the resources you need, that’s how the test works, that’s what you need to do
after you pass the test, and if you follow the advice and the information and the
resources provided here, I have no doubt that
you’re gonna do great, and you’re gonna pass on the first try, and you’re gonna feel really good, and you’re gonna do great. That brings me to the bonus information which is just a few extra things that I think might be helpful for you as you prepare to take this test. First thing is, I think
there’s a lot of frustration around this test. Some people are annoyed that the test doesn’t seem super relevant to how they’re going to be using their drones to capture footage and images. And, it’s true. You’re probably not going to be contacting Air Traffic Control, you’re not gonna be landing on a runway. You’re not gonna be flying really high up in class B airspace, or something. It’s still something you need to do. If you live in the United States, you have to take this test. Instead of fighting it, I really advise that you keep an open mind and embrace the process of the test. Honestly, I actually
found it pretty enjoyable and pretty interesting. It was, sort of, a fun
thing to learn about and to go take the test,
and it felt really good to get the license, and it feels official, and that’s all good things. Even though it might not be super relevant to how you’re planning to use your drone, I really encourage you
to keep an open mind, embrace the process, and
really try to actually enjoy the stuff that you’re learning about. What I think is the FAA’s
purpose with this test, I think that the goal, here, is to really help you to understand the responsibility that comes
with piloting an aircraft. Just like with a car when
you’re driving on the road, and you’re sharing the
space with other people. When you’re flying your drone in the sky, you are sharing the sky with other people, and you’re also entering an environment where there are already systems setup for how air traffic works. The FAA, I think, wants you to understand that, wants you to appreciate that, and it’s pretty impressive once you get a little introduction into what they do to ensure
that things are safe, and that you need to play your
part in keeping things safe. I think that’s the real goal here is to help people understand
and appreciate that, more than testing you on exactly how you’re gonna be using your drone. As an added perk, for me, I’m not the biggest fan of flying. I get nervous on airplanes,
still have to do it a lot, but I’m not super crazy about it. After doing this and after
learning just a little bit of what manned aircraft
and commercial pilots have to know, it actually
helped ease and reduce my own fear of flying, because you really see how
trained and how professional and how knowledgeable
these people have to be, and you really see the
systems that are in place to ensure safety. It really gives you a whole
different appreciation for pilots, and what they do, and what they have to know, and the fact that they can get you where you need to be safely and reliably. That was just an added
benefit that I didn’t expect. And finally, by participating in this, you are helping the drone communities and the film making communities because these are such awesome tools. If you really think about what they are and what you can do with them, and how fast the technology
is evolving, they are so cool, and we don’t wanna lose them. There’s so much controversy and misunderstandings around them that you really want to
help people to understand that there’s nothing to fear with drones. By being a licensed pilot,
by being a responsible pilot, you can help people to understand
that they are legitimate, that there are professional uses for them, and they’re something to be excited about, rather than something to be scared of. So, that’s pretty much it. Your next step is to
download the FAA study guide, watch Tony Northrup’s video, and then use the Remote Pilot App to take the practice tests. If you do those things,
you’re gonna pass the test and you’re gonna do great. I tried really hard to make
sure I explained things clearly and concisely, but if
you have any questions or I didn’t answer something completely, please feel free to reach out, ask, and I will do my best
to provide an answer, or, at least, point you in the direction of the answer you need. That’s it, I hope you
guys have a great day. Good luck on your test, but you don’t really need luck ’cause you’re super prepared ’cause you have all this
awesome information, so see you guys later.
drone test faa
faa part 107 resources
how to pass faa part 107
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56 thoughts on “Drone Certification: How to Pass FAA Part 107”
BEST VIDEO I HAVE EVER SEEN. Seriously…
I second Andrew Reeves comment. I'm studying right now and I'm so overwhelmed. I wish there was a handbook that was made just for the test. I would study that entire book until I got it, but the resources are all over the place. Thank you for adding another piece to this crazy puzzle of learning this.
Caliber Home Inspections, LLC says:
Very informative video. I've studied for so many exams and promotional tests over my career and this was different in that there wasn't a clearly spelled out "to-do" list of what to study with so much information out there on this. Now I have a better handle on what to focus on. Thank you!
They should do a background check before you take the test. What is you pass but then fail the background?
This is definitely great info! I am preparing to take the test soon. Prior to seeing this vid, I already was aware of Tony Northrup's vid… and already watched it twice! The resource list you have is really good. One other place to study is actually on the FAA site for the becoming a remote pilot. Within those pages is a link to the same self-study resources AND a place to make an account and enroll in a free course for remote pilot exam. It is meant for actual pilots who want to certify for drones. However, there is language stating it is also good for people who are non-pilots to use the course for self-study in prep for the exam. Sorry I don't have the exact link to place at the moment, but it really is easy to find once you get to the FAA site section on remote pilots.
EDIT: OK… the link to the FAA courses is here: www.faasafety.gov
Shamil Toma says:
Just PASSED the test with 82%, Thanks again for the advice, I think they redesign the questions and 50% of the questions regarding airspace . the apps helped a lot. Calculator included in the official test so no need for the it.
Pics & Clips Media says:
Very informative. I'm doing this.
Excellent Video. Thank You 4 that Information. Very Helpful
Great vid. Very helpful and reassuring that this is obtainable. Thank you!
Thank you Tom, for understanding us so much better than so many others,
who tried and failed to do what you did, here, so well and so completely.
It took me a while to say that too.
DronecasterZ says:
KevinYip says:
John Pretino says:
Tom, thank you for sharing this info! This has really been helpful.
Tony's video was the most helpful / information packed help that I came across. Great video. Thank you.
Dan Windmiller says:
I went through exactly what you described in researching and understanding how to go about getting certified and attempting to study for this test. And I came across the two videos you recommend. Hit it spot on! Tony is awesome. You did a great job breaking it down for people looking to get this done, wish I found your video first.
Thanks so much! You gave me a lot of confidence going into this. You mentioned having to get re-certified every two years and taking a test. Is it the same test and do I have to pay $150 for it?
Thanks Tom! I got an 88% on my test today! I appreciate you so much!
Suppose you are flying after people and make them pay you to stop chasing them with your drone? Just kidding sorry.
Excellent video. Simple, to the point. Thank you.
thanks so much, great video. I, too, was bombarded with resources–thanks!
Jake Buttarazzi says:
At 2:25 you can see his laptop reach maximum charge in the background. The indicator light shifts from orange to green
Is this Tom or his twin brother 😜
Tom, thanks for the info! I see Prepware also has Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot apps, it looks like this may be a good option for my students. Not sure if you mentioned it, but almost any airport where they offer flight instruction will be able to administer the test. You can take this test at my local airport here in Ankeny. And I tell my students exactly the same thing about "when you can take the test three times and get scores in the 80's or above, you are ready" Jim
Nice video. I was planning to do a similar video about my experiences, similar but a little different from yours. I wanted to be able to study on the go so I found this really good Googleplay app call UAS107 (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uas107.openrobotix.labs&hl=en_US). The app has a really decent practice exam with resources. Using the app in conjunction with a few free videos on VFR charts and aviation weather, I passed with a 96%.
Hey Tom I have had my eye on the DJI Mavic Pro and would love to get one and my commercial license as well! Thanks for the great resources and pinpointing exactly what to do!
Great tips, helped me narrow down all the information available out there, took the test today, passed with a 97%
Josh VanDyk Videography says:
Thanks so much for taking the time to make this video, sir.
Ashton Neckar says:
Robert Hartloff says:
thelonehellyranger01 says:
KwadfordFPV says:
Pita Zoysia says: