Free Part 107 Test Study Guide For FAA Remote Pilot Airmen Certificate

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Needing a Part 107 study guide to help really focus on what needs to be studied so you can pass on the first try? Tired of finding outdated study material?

Look no further.

I created this free Part 107 test study guide to help my clients and the drone community based on my experience as an FAA certificated flight instructor and aviation attorney. 

The FAA compiled a list of many references in the final airmen certification standards for the remote pilot knowledge exam and FAA-created study guide. Unfortunately, they did NOT include everything you need or would find helpful. Below I have included the material the FAA suggested you study along with extra items that the FAA should have included, which are in the bold text, that I added.

First Time Test Taker Study Guide

I want to emphasize after you pass your test, you should be looking for quality mentorship for the long term. Being a professional is not just about passing a test. If you are looking to be mediocre, I suggest you go to another industry and do us all a favor. It should be about learning the material AND how to apply it properly in practice.  Passing the Part 107 exam is merely the key to unlocking the door to begin your journey into aviation, not a certificate saying you have arrived. To re-emphasize, once you pass your test, go find a competent flight instructor who can help you apply the knowledge you will learn to real-life situations so you can be profitable, legal, and safe.

Disclaimer:  You aren’t guaranteed to pass the test based on this material.

Step 1. Read all the steps.

Step 2. Sign up for the test. Instructions on signing up for the test and getting your pilot license are here. You should pick a date based on how much time you have in relation to how much material you need to go through. Estimate you have about 550-600 pages of studying to do. It’s hard to estimate this exactly seeing that some of the topics are web pages that just scroll for a while.

Step 3. Learn about the Airmen Certification Standards (ACS) and read over Part 107 ACS.

Step 4. Start studying the material below.

Step 5. Once you are done or feel competent. Take the sample test here that uses FAA-created questions. For your deficient areas, go over those particular areas in the ACS.

Step 6. In the final stretch of time, study Areas I, II, and V from the ACS since both of those areas will make up the majority of the test.

Step 7. After you passed your test, you should be looking for quality mentorship for the long term. Being a professional is not just about passing a test. If you are looking to be mediocre, I suggest you go to another industry and do us all a favor. It should be about learning the material AND how to apply it properly in practice. Now go find a competent flight instructor who can help you apply the knowledge you learned to real-life situations so you can be profitable, legal, and safe.

Tips For While You Are Studying

You will be able to take the test with the Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement for Sport Pilot, Recreational Pilot, and Private Pilot which is a great resource. There are two reasons why you should look for this supplement and know what is in it: (1) there are helpful legends that will be great for answering sectional map questions and (2) many questions on the test will reference some of the figures in this supplement. At the end of your studying, you should skim through and ask yourself questions based on the numbered areas on the sectional charts.

See a term you don’t know in the ACS? Look it up in the glossary of the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK) to see what the term means in a short statement. Want to learn more about the term in the ACS? Look up the term in the index of the PHAK and/or Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) which will tell you where to find more information.

Hit ctrl + f and type in the word to search through the information rapidly.

Free Material to Start Studying

The FAA compiled a list of references in the final ACS and FAA study guide. Unfortunately, they did not include everything you need or would find helpful. Below I have included the extra items that the FAA should have included, which are in bold text.

I find it interesting the FAA did not note anything about Part 830 or the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). Both of those programs are focused on safety while the FAA’s accident reporting requirement in Part 107 is focused on safety and enforcement.  A pilot needs to know both of these programs. I find it also interesting the FAA didn’t mention anything about the NASA ASRS which is there for the pilot’s benefit, not the FAA’s, regarding enforcement actions.  Let that sink in for a second. This shows the importance of why you need to have a good aviation attorney in your corner to look after you, as the FAA won’t. Read What Do I Do After I Crash My Drone?

The total number of regulations and pages is very large. I chopped it up into what pieces of material you should know in entirety and what you should pick pieces and parts of based upon the ACS.

The total test will be 60 questions and you will have 2 hours to complete it. The minimum passing score is 70% which is a maximum of 18 questions wrong or a minimum of 42 questions right.

If there are any errors or broken links in here, for the greater good of everyone studying, let me know so I can correct them and inform everyone.

 

Reference

Title

Read Entirely
14 CFR 43.1 Applicability
14 CFR Part 45 (Subpart A & C) Identification and Registration Marking
14 CFR part 47 Aircraft Registration
14 CFR part 48 Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
14 CFR part 71 Designation of Class A, B, C, D, and E Airspace Areas; Air Traffic Service Routes; and Reporting Points
14 CFR part 73 [this should have been in there] SPECIAL USE AIRSPACE (Restricted and Prohibited Airspace).
14 CFR Part 89 Remote Identification
14 CFR Part 91 Sections Referenced in Part 107.  
14 CFR 99.7 § 99.7 Special security instructions.
14 CFR Part 107 Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
14 CFR 375.43 Application for foreign aircraft permit.
49 CFR Part 830 Notification And Reporting Of Aircraft Accidents Or Incidents And Overdue Aircraft, And Preservation Of Aircraft Wreckage, Mail, Cargo, And Records
SAFO 15010 (2 Pages) Carriage of Spare Lithium Batteries in Carry-on and Checked Baggage
SAFO 10015 (1 Page and 23 minute video) Flying in the wire environment
SAFO 10017 (3 Pages) Risks in Transporting Lithium Batteries in Cargo by Aircraft
SAFO 09013 (1 Page and a 10.5 minute Video) Fighting Fires Caused By Lithium Type Batteries in Portable Electronic Devices
AC 150/5200-32 (11 Pages) Reporting Wildlife Aircraft Strikes
AC 107-2A  (104 Pages) Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS)
FAA-S-ACS-10B (35 Pages) Remote Pilot – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airman Certification Standards
FAA-H-8083-24 Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operating Handbook (FAA-H-8083-24) (availability to be determined (TBD))
Articles I wrote that will help you understand some of the areas you need to know for the test. (12 web pages total)
Things you should NOT Read in Entirety but ONLY the relevant sections I list or ctrl +f the term in the document for the relevant sections. (The AC00-06, AIM, RMH, PHAK points came from the Knowledge Test Guide Pages 12-16)
Aeronautical Chart User’s Guide Aeronautical Chart User’s Guide (30 pages)

  • Pages 11-40, 57
FAA-H-8083-28 Aviation Weather Handbook (94 pages)

  • Thunderstorms (22-1 through 22-21) (22 Pages)
  • Winds / Currents (10-1 to 10-18) (19 Pages)
  • Density Altitude (8-6 to 8-10) (5 pages)
  • Effects – Temperature (5-1 through 5-12) (13 pages)
  • Effects – Frost Formation (21-5. 1 page)
  • Effects – Air Masses and Fronts (Section 11-1 through 11-11 – 12 pages)
  • Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) (27-7 through 27-21) (22 pages)
AIM Aeronautical Information Manual (54 pages. I’m estimating these pages because they are all online now and not in a PDF with pages).

  • General Airspace (3-1-1 through 3-5-10  – 26 pages?)
  • Authorization for Certain Airspace
  • Airport Operations (4-3-1 through 4-3-4  –  4 pages)
  • Aeronautical Charts (9-1-1 through 9-1-4 Don’t read past Caribbean VFR aeronautical charts.  – 3 pages)
  • Radio Communications – Non-towered & Towered  (4-2-1 through  4-2-8  6 pages)
  • Traffic Patterns
  • Traffic Advisory Services
  • Phonetic Alphabet
  • Scanning / See and Avoid  (4−4−14 & 8−1−6   –  4 pages)
  • NOTAMs (5−1−3  –  6 pages)
  • Temporary Flight Restrictions (3−5−3 Overlap)
  • Hyperventilation (8−1−3  – 1 page)
  • MOA (3−4−5  Overlap)
  • Sources – Weather Briefings / Sources (7−1−2   –  1 page)
  • Prescription and OTC Medications  (8−1−2   –  3 pages)
FAA-H-8083-2A Risk Management Handbook

·         Situational Awareness (2 pages)
FAA-H-8083-25 Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (76 Pages)

  • Loading/Performance –  Balance, Stability, Center of Gravity (Pages 5-33 through 5-43  – 11 pages)
  • Aeronautical Decision Making – Crew Resource Management (Pages 2-4 through 2-32  29 Pages)
  • Aviation Routine Weather Reports (METAR) (13-6 through 13-8  – 3 pages)
  • Military Training Routes
  • Other Airspace Areas (15-4 through 15-7 – 4 Pages)
  • Reading a Chart
  • Aeronautical Charts (14-3, 16-2 through 16-7 – 7 pages)
  • Informational Sources (1-9 through 1-12  4 pages)
  • Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAF) (13-9 – 1 page)
  • Hazardous Attitude (Page 2-4  through 2-6    –    3 Pages)
  • Crew Resource Management  (2-4 – 1 page)
  • Situational Awareness  (2-24  1 page)
  • Effective Scanning  (17-23   1 page)
  • Drugs and Alcohol  (17-15 through 17-18   – 4 pages)
  • Effects – Atmospheric Stability and Pressure   (12-12  through 12-17  – 6 pages)
  • Effects – Temperature
  • Weather Briefings / Sources  (13-5  1 page)
  • Prescription and OTC Medications
FAA-CT-8080-2H Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement for Sport Pilot, Recreational Pilot, and Private Pilot

  • Know how to use the two legends. Pages 1-19. This supplement will be provided to you when you take the test. If they do not, ask for it.
  • Know all the terms in Figure 1. (Look these terms up in the PHAK)
  • Figure 2 – Know how to use.
  • Figure 12- Decode these and study them. You should know how to read these for the real world, not just memorize these so you can pass the test.
  • Figure 13 – You should read over this and know what information is important for you as a drone pilot and what is not.
  • Figure 15 – This is important to know so you can plan operations.
  • Figure 55 – Picture 3 and 7.  This is how pilots dance at parties. After the party, if you ever have a flag and you need to hide it so it doesn’t get stolen at an airport, a great place to hide it is under the tail of an airplane. See Picture 4.
  • Study Figure 20-26, 59, 69-71, 74-76, 78, 80
  • Decode 31, 52, 63, 77, 79, 81,

 

Test Taking Tips

  • USE THE SUPPLEMENT LEGEND! A bunch of the questions on your test will be answered right by the legend in the supplement. You CAN refer to this while in the test. Make sure the test proctor gives you the correct one that is up to date prior to going into the test. I heard of one horror story where the person had an old one so the questions didn’t match up. Make sure you have a current one!
  • Go with the “spirit of the question,” not the letter of the question. Try and figure out what the FAA is trying to test you on. When I took the test, I remember a few questions that looked like they were written by someone who was up at 2 AM trying to crank out tons of questions. If you are stumped, then ask yourself, “What is the guy up at 2 AM in the morning trying to test me on?”
  • Always keep in mind how the answers can answer OTHER questions. If you don’t know the answer, or eliminate the wrong ones, keep moving on. Sometimes the questions and answers further down will provide you with the answers to the one you are having trouble with. When I took the test, I noticed that there were two questions that were very similar in topic. One of the questions had two really dumb answers which basically gave away the correct answer. If you knew nothing about the topic, just using common sense to eliminate the two bad answers, you could have used the correct answer to answer the first question.
  • Brain dump everything immediately onto your scrap paper when you start the test. You want to write down everything you think you will forget on a scrap piece of paper. Just dump it all out and any pictures and diagrams you have up in your head.
  • Try and answer the question BEFORE you read the answers so you don’t get tricked. The FAA likes to create answers where one is a slight “one-off” from the correct answer. By reading the answers, you can introduce doubt. For example, Federal Aviation Administration or Federal Aviation Agency? Which is it? They both seem like good answers.  Is it MSL or AGL?
  • Eliminate the wrong answers. You don’t have to always find the correct answer, just the wrong ones.
  • Read the test question AND answers carefully. I cannot over-emphasize this.
  • Sleep and eat well. I would just sleep 8-10 hours. Take the test around 10AM-12PM. This way you aren’t rushed and can miss rush hour traffic as you drive there.

Having Trouble Learning the Material?

All the material you need to pass the remote pilot knowledge exam is on this page.  To help speed up the learning process, I’ve been creating online training courses for the sister company Rupprecht Drones. Some people want to learn quickly or don’t have to read so I created online courses to meet their needs that are on Rupprecht Drones. I’m planning on creating many more online courses to help individuals quickly learn the material for the remote pilot knowledge exam so frequently check-in. These courses also are great for company training and recurrent training to keep the pilots and crew proficient. The courses on Rupprecht Drones are:

–Part 107 Regulations Online Training Course. 40 videos and 35 quizzes totaling to over 100 questions for the entire course!

–Night Operations Online Training Course. This training is designed to help you identify the hazards associated with night flying, their appropriate remedies, and the physiological conditions which may degrade vision.

This is Part of a Part 107 Series of Articles.