I am not a pilot of manned aircraft, but I've been flying my P3A for a little over a year, and have reluctantly passed on multiple opportunities to fly for $.
So I've been waiting impatiently for the 107 stuff to shake out, and on July 28th I paid my $150 to CATS and am now scheduled for the 107 certification exam at the AKT in Concord, CA on Sept 2nd.
The following is information I wish I'd have found all in one place, so I hope it helps those in the same 'boat as me (I may be feeding my future competition, but 'what the hay, it's a big tent ;o)
I first considered a company that provides online 107 exam prep for $299 (discounted to $249 for early signer-uppers). With more of a thirst for knowledge than money, I passed on that, and after more online research, I found the "Part 107 sUAS Course", online training and sample test on FAASafety.gov (free, but registration is required).
I quickly devoured the course and got 100% on the sample test, feeling quite smug. Then I read the fine-print -- the training and sample test were designed for LICENSED PILOTS who want a 107, so a lot of more traditional manned-pilot stuff that will be in the REAL 107 exam were not covered AT ALL. I then downloaded the Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement PDF that provides the reference material for the real 107 exam -- 'No help at all by itself, except making me realize it was gonna be much more difficult than I thought.
I then rooted-out a free link to this shortened, but more complete sample test, with randomized questions every time you take it, supposedly from the "real" bank of 107 exam questions. I took the sample test 4 times and failed twice ;o< 'Lots of navigation map-reading with obscure symbols to memorize, weather terminology, and tons of acronyms. With no reference materials for failed answers, I was not so smug, in fact felt a little panicky.
A blog article by the wonderful Drone Girl, Sally French, suggested a pilot's bible from the FAA, "Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge", $34.95 on Amazon.com, but I finally ordered the book "The Pilot's Manual: Ground School: All the aeronautical knowledge required to pass the FAA exams and operate as a Private and Commercial Pilot" for $33.50.
Now, 2-day shipping from Amazon Prime is just not quick enough (where's drone delivery when you really need it?), so I searched on... and...
**** BINGO ****!
I found a free link to the FAA's, "Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge" in PDF form, which I'm glad to share with you. If you are taking the 107 exam, and can stand to study the 524 pages on your PC or tablet, you can thank me for saving you $35 bucks over the hardcopy version!
Anyway, with a month to study, and armed with the Ground School book, the FAA Pilot's Handbook PDF and the sample test questions (links above), I feel very confident that I'll ace the 60 question exam on Sept 2nd.
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BTW, if you are a Litchi user hoping to go-professional, I'd also like to recommend The Phantom Film School series of online courses.'Best way I've found to get completely competent with waypoints, POIs and all pre-programmed aerial video techniques with Litchi. I also learned some great post processing/color correction techniques in Premiere Pro. I found the courses to be very enjoyable and well worth the money -- Laurence Seberini is not only a great instructor, but provides personal guidance, help, and encouragement to the alumni on their Facebook page, and is constantly updating and adding to the course material. 'Great stuff, and a great guy.
==
Anyway, good luck with your 107 exam prep, and I look forward to your stories on how you are preparing-for the exam, and are coping-with pre-exam jitters.
'Exciting times... Cheers!
So I've been waiting impatiently for the 107 stuff to shake out, and on July 28th I paid my $150 to CATS and am now scheduled for the 107 certification exam at the AKT in Concord, CA on Sept 2nd.
The following is information I wish I'd have found all in one place, so I hope it helps those in the same 'boat as me (I may be feeding my future competition, but 'what the hay, it's a big tent ;o)
I first considered a company that provides online 107 exam prep for $299 (discounted to $249 for early signer-uppers). With more of a thirst for knowledge than money, I passed on that, and after more online research, I found the "Part 107 sUAS Course", online training and sample test on FAASafety.gov (free, but registration is required).
I quickly devoured the course and got 100% on the sample test, feeling quite smug. Then I read the fine-print -- the training and sample test were designed for LICENSED PILOTS who want a 107, so a lot of more traditional manned-pilot stuff that will be in the REAL 107 exam were not covered AT ALL. I then downloaded the Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement PDF that provides the reference material for the real 107 exam -- 'No help at all by itself, except making me realize it was gonna be much more difficult than I thought.
I then rooted-out a free link to this shortened, but more complete sample test, with randomized questions every time you take it, supposedly from the "real" bank of 107 exam questions. I took the sample test 4 times and failed twice ;o< 'Lots of navigation map-reading with obscure symbols to memorize, weather terminology, and tons of acronyms. With no reference materials for failed answers, I was not so smug, in fact felt a little panicky.
A blog article by the wonderful Drone Girl, Sally French, suggested a pilot's bible from the FAA, "Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge", $34.95 on Amazon.com, but I finally ordered the book "The Pilot's Manual: Ground School: All the aeronautical knowledge required to pass the FAA exams and operate as a Private and Commercial Pilot" for $33.50.
Now, 2-day shipping from Amazon Prime is just not quick enough (where's drone delivery when you really need it?), so I searched on... and...
**** BINGO ****!
I found a free link to the FAA's, "Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge" in PDF form, which I'm glad to share with you. If you are taking the 107 exam, and can stand to study the 524 pages on your PC or tablet, you can thank me for saving you $35 bucks over the hardcopy version!
Anyway, with a month to study, and armed with the Ground School book, the FAA Pilot's Handbook PDF and the sample test questions (links above), I feel very confident that I'll ace the 60 question exam on Sept 2nd.
===
BTW, if you are a Litchi user hoping to go-professional, I'd also like to recommend The Phantom Film School series of online courses.'Best way I've found to get completely competent with waypoints, POIs and all pre-programmed aerial video techniques with Litchi. I also learned some great post processing/color correction techniques in Premiere Pro. I found the courses to be very enjoyable and well worth the money -- Laurence Seberini is not only a great instructor, but provides personal guidance, help, and encouragement to the alumni on their Facebook page, and is constantly updating and adding to the course material. 'Great stuff, and a great guy.
==
Anyway, good luck with your 107 exam prep, and I look forward to your stories on how you are preparing-for the exam, and are coping-with pre-exam jitters.
'Exciting times... Cheers!