107 Exam (commercial drone pilot)

[CristianDesperado]

Hello, fellow drone pilots and hobbyists,

I'm getting mixed feelings about the exam when it comes to needing a prep school, based on what I've seen here. Some say they were just fine without it (meaning "you don't really need it"), some mean "the school really made it a lot easier and it was worth every penny". I have been able to find a lot of resources here (I'll make sure to compile them into a single thread, but I haven't done it yet. Or maybe there is one like that and I missed it?)
So the question is, sure, "should I sign up for one of the prep schools or not?" Which cost between $150 to $200, which I would put towards a better drone.

Thanks a lot
Christian

 

[flockshot]

When you can score 90% on this practice test you are good to go.

https://3dr.com/faa/drone-practice-tests/

Every bit of information required to pass the test is free and public, but then so is how to do surgery. It depends on what you want to accomplish.

I you want a quick way to pass the test, and get on with your life, then I suggest a school. I can not name a school, but I would suggest that they all have the same information regardless of their cost to the consumer.

If you really want to learn and understand the information it will take you a little longer but you will know it better by taking one area of study at a time and stick with it until you understand it completely.

My 2c

 

[CristianDesperado]

When you can score 90% on this practice test you are good to go.

https://3dr.com/faa/drone-practice-tests/

Every bit of information required to pass the test is free and public, but then so is how to do surgery. It depends on what you want to accomplish.

I you want a quick way to pass the test, and get on with your life, then I suggest a school. I can not name a school, but I would suggest that they all have the same information regardless of their cost to the consumer.

If you really want to learn and understand the information it will take you a little longer but you will know it better by taking one area of study at a time and stick with it until you understand it completely.

My 2c

Thanks for your reply, Flockshot. Makes sense.
I guess I'll go with a school.
I wouldn't like to wait for months until I passed the exam.
But I see what you're saying, it's important to understand some concepts well.
I guess I can consolidate the terms in time.

 

[BigAl07]

Gold Seal is an industry leader and their membership is for LIFETIME! You can't beat their level of knowledge and professionalism. And if you don't pass they have a money back guarantee
Gold Seal – Pass Your Drone Test or We’ll Pay For It

Best of all they are a SPONSOR here so they help keep our forum running and FREE for us. That's a WIN-WIN any day of the week.

Gold Seal - Lifetime Membership - "You Pass or We Pay!"
Course Delivered by FAA Certificated Flight Instructors

Save $50 with promo code "PhantomPilots50" - - www.UAVGroundSchool.com

 

[flockshot]

I would like to make one suggestion. When you start your studies, start with Class G airspace. It is one of the most important things for drone pilots to understand. If you completely understand Class G airspace, it will go a long way towards being able to fly without messing up.

 

[skyeboysteve]

Does anyone know how soon we can start taking the test to renew; or is that TBA?

 

[BigAl07]

The FAA told me this morning they plan to "release those details" possibly next week. I would imagine they will give us a date that will fall sometime in August since that's when the first ones issued will need to be bought to currency.

FAA:
We should be announcing the recurrent plan next week. It's going to look very similar to the original certification process. No online version unless you are a current Part 61 airman. Sorry.

 

[CristianDesperado]

Gold Seal is an industry leader and their membership is for LIFETIME! You can't beat their level of knowledge and professionalism. And if you don't pass they have a money back guarantee
Gold Seal – Pass Your Drone Test or We’ll Pay For It

Best of all they are a SPONSOR here so they help keep our forum running and FREE for us. That's a WIN-WIN any day of the week.

Gold Seal - Lifetime Membership - "You Pass or We Pay!"
Course Delivered by FAA Certificated Flight Instructors

Save $50 with promo code "PhantomPilots50" - - www.UAVGroundSchool.com

Thanks, BigAI07, good to know they're the sponsor of our forum, I'll go with Gold Seal, especially if they have a discount for us.
I read a lot of good things about them. I liked Remote Pilot 101, too, but now I'll go with Gold Seal.

 

[CristianDesperado]

I would like to make one suggestion. When you start your studies, start with Class G airspace. It is one of the most important things for drone pilots to understand. If you completely understand Class G airspace, it will go a long way towards being able to fly without messing up.

Thanks, Flockshot. I'm sure it will be very helpful. Is there a way to star your comment somehow? (so that I'll find them easily later on)

 

[BigAl07]

It's interesting to note that as of today (June 1st, 2018) the FAA is reporting 91,146 Remote Pilots. That's up 4,708 since 5/1/18.

It's interesting to note that we added 49,321 over the past year.

And Gold Seal has trained over 10,000 so that's a pretty significant percentage IMHO.

 

[CristianDesperado]

It's interesting to note that as of today (June 1st, 2018) the FAA is reporting 91,146 Remote Pilots. That's up 4,708 since 5/1/18.

It's interesting to note that we added 49,321 over the past year.

And Gold Seal has trained over 10,000 so that's a pretty significant percentage IMHO.

That's true, impressive, about a tenth of the total national number!

Also, I see that the forum is not running ads (no Facebook Pixel installed). If trying to attract new members, that's the first thing I would do. I'm biased, though, as a digital marketer

 

[BigAl07]

Thank you Cristian. I'll forward that information to our ADMIN. He can take it from there

 

[clackey]

Thanks for the heads up. I use that on some of my other sites but not here (yet). C.

 

[Wilbur]

It's interesting to note that as of today (June 1st, 2018) the FAA is reporting 91,146 Remote Pilots. That's up 4,708 since 5/1/18.

It's interesting to note that we added 49,321 over the past year.

And Gold Seal has trained over 10,000 so that's a pretty significant percentage IMHO.

Those commercial pilots? I think it'd be interesting to see the breakdown of commercial/recreational/drone sales numbers.

 

[BMF-P4P]

My advice. Study Maps. Study maps. Study maps.

 

[BigAl07]

Those commercial pilots? I think it'd be interesting to see the breakdown of commercial/recreational/drone sales numbers.

Yes Commercial only.

There is no 'record' of Non-Commercial operators and going by registration is skewed as well because some (ok many) still have not registered their sUAS.

Our sUAS should be registered at the Point of Sale like our company does with Outdoor Power Equipment. It takes about 5 minutes (really more like 2-3min) and is so simple. Guess that's why it's not done LOL.

 

[livefreeanddrone]

Hello, fellow drone pilots and hobbyists,

I'm getting mixed feelings about the exam when it comes to needing a prep school, based on what I've seen here. Some say they were just fine without it (meaning "you don't really need it"), some mean "the school really made it a lot easier and it was worth every penny". I have been able to find a lot of resources here (I'll make sure to compile them into a single thread, but I haven't done it yet. Or maybe there is one like that and I missed it?)
So the question is, sure, "should I sign up for one of the prep schools or not?" Which cost between $150 to $200, which I would put towards a better drone.

Thanks a lot
Christian

I used the freely available FAA study guide and purchased a book for $15 called Test Prep 2018. The book was more than adequate to educate me and get me through the test. Passed with 95%

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1619545594/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_jJZeBbQ57F3Z2

On the other hand if you can afford a course then do it.... you can never get enough education IMO.

 

[N42742]

Here's a free practice exam you can try so that you can see what type of material is on the FAA exam. It provides explanations to wrong answers so you'll probably learn something in the process:

Gold Seal – Pass Your Drone Test or We’ll Pay For It