Passing the FAA 107 Unmanned Aircraft General — Small (UAG) Exam 2021
I recently studied and passed my FAA 107 aeronautical knowledge exam “Unmanned Aircraft General — Small (UAG)”.
This exam is required for any drone operators who wish to fly a drone or any Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) commercially or for a business.
The certificate received when passing the exam, demonstrates that you as the remote pilot in command understand the regulations, operating requirements, and procedures for safely flying drones.
Here are a few tips and lessons I learned.
- Start reviewing the Study Material/Practice Tests early and create a schedule to stick to for consistent studying. I reviewed the study guide and additional study resources for about a week. The material the FAA expects you to know is extensive and can initially feel a bit overwhelming when you first dive into it.
- Schedule the FAA 107 exam using the PSI web portal. (https://faa.psiexams.com/faa/login) Scheduling the exam date created a hard deadline which helped motivate me to stick to my study schedule. The PSI web portal is very user friendly and gives you the ability to see if there are any local FAA Approved Testing Centers around your area. Once a testing center and the correct exam are selected, you will be required to pay $150 + tax to confirm your testing appointment.
- Review and get comfortable with the Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement for Sport Pilot, Recreational Pilot, Remote Pilot, and Private Pilot. (https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/supplements/media/sport_rec_private_akts.pdf) This is the specific reference book that the testing center will give you when you are taking the exam. Review and practice reading the Legend, Sectional Charts, TAF and METAR Reports in this book. During the exam, there were multiple questions that made me reference figures and reports from this specific book.
- Practice, Practice, Practice. Take online practice tests. There are a plethora of free online practice exams you can practice with. This will help hone your knowledge and help build your confidence as it gets closer to your actual test date. It’s important to understand the concepts behind the questions as the actual exam will have some variation to the practice exams online.
- Utilize online resources such as YouTube. YouTube is a great resource with videos where you can review specific content with examples if you are having trouble understanding any of the sections.
Specific topics to hone in on
- Understand how to reference and use the legend in item 3 mentioned above.
- Understand the use of anti collision lights which are required for night missions.
- Memorize the different airspace classes and colors.
- Understand how to read Sectional charts, what elevation different controlled airspaces start and end.
- Locating airports using lat and long on Sectional Charts.
- AGL vs. MSL
- What is the purpose of CTAF?
- Where to find more information about the parachute icon shown on the sectional chart.
- Bank angle physics
- Center of gravity moved aft or rear and how it affects aircraft performance and stall.
- How does Humidity and altitude affect aircraft performance?
- Unstable vs stable air
- Weather what’s a front.
- Thunderstorm stages
- Unicom vs. Multi-com
- Remote id needs to be broadcasted from start to landing.
- What is Hyperventilation and how does it affect the pilots performance.
- How does low oxygen affect your night vision?
- What altitude does wind shear occur?
Test Parameters
When test day arrives, you will have 2 hours to complete 60 multiple choice questions. Each question has 3 multiple choices (A,B,C). You will need to earn a minimum passing score of 70% meaning you’ll need to get at least 42 questions right out of 60.
Test Taking Strategy
While taking the test a great tool to use is the “bookmarking tool”. This allows you to mark a question that you may get stuck on and will notify you which questions have not been answered. I like to keep the momentum going from the beginning and answer all the questions that you know first, while skipping the questions you may not know or are 50/50.
This is a useful strategy, as the later questions may give you clues to any initial questions you may get stuck on.
Also, be sure to use the process of elimination if you get stuck on a question. By removing one answer you are sure is not correct, you give yourself a 50/50 chance of selecting the correct answer.
Good luck studying and remember to always fly within your safety limits as the Remote Pilot in Command.
Happy Flying!
Helpful resource links
https://northrup.photo/free-faa-part-107-suas-drone-certification-study-guide/(Great Study Guide)
https://www.altitude-university.com/login (At the time they provided free up to date video content broken down by sections.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI0Z-G2VHH8 (Sectional Charts Review)
https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/remote_pilot_study_guide.pdf (FAA Study Guide)
https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/test_questions/media/uag_questions.pdf (FAA Practice Exam)
