FAA 107 Drone Test
- Thread starter Maureen
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i really have to question the veracity and the scope of the training you paid for and speak well of. You failed to pass the Airman’s Knowledge Test twice, even after study and review. You don’t understand why you need to know certain things. You fail to understand where you can fly. All of this should have been quite clear in the curriculum.
I’m not knocking you personally, I’m sure you’re quite capable....but questioning this training. It’s really sounding deficient. Effective training would allow you to correctly answer the questions even when worded in a way to test your understanding of the concept. (What you call “twisting”)
I’m not knocking you personally, I’m sure you’re quite capable....but questioning this training. It’s really sounding deficient. Effective training would allow you to correctly answer the questions even when worded in a way to test your understanding of the concept. (What you call “twisting”)
Phaedrus
Premium Pilot
No, it was the way your test prep failed to convey the proper understanding to you in order to pass the test. 100,000+ other people have passed the test fine, because they were prepared. Sorry, but I have no sympathy. Blaming the FAA is just silly.
PatR
Premium Pilot
Tough love time.
The problems that induced the test failures were neither the FAA, the testing location, the testing methodology, the test content or the test proctor. Everyone else that has obtained or re-certified through currency requirements has passed the same test.
Your college GPA is meaningless. We don’t know if you went to school for modern art or some other generally useless specialty, or if your courses were loosely administered. The problem in failing the test is you, you don’t understand the material and many of your previous comments reinforce that observation.
There’s an old saying about buying books and sending them to school and your test results exemplify that.
Now go to the FAA forum, look up the links for all the free FAA study resource material, sit back and start reading. Once you comprehend the content your chances of passing the test increase dramatically.
For the moment be grateful you failed. You are clearly not prepared to participate as a commercial operator.
The problems that induced the test failures were neither the FAA, the testing location, the testing methodology, the test content or the test proctor. Everyone else that has obtained or re-certified through currency requirements has passed the same test.
Your college GPA is meaningless. We don’t know if you went to school for modern art or some other generally useless specialty, or if your courses were loosely administered. The problem in failing the test is you, you don’t understand the material and many of your previous comments reinforce that observation.
There’s an old saying about buying books and sending them to school and your test results exemplify that.
Now go to the FAA forum, look up the links for all the free FAA study resource material, sit back and start reading. Once you comprehend the content your chances of passing the test increase dramatically.
For the moment be grateful you failed. You are clearly not prepared to participate as a commercial operator.
Excuse ME but you're very off base here! You have no idea the amount of training, studying, and hard work I put in to study this test. And your supposed to know the answers to 500-1,000 questions per batm, I don't think so. Check the quality of the training I did Drone Launch Academy and you tell me if its bad, I don't think so. You are knocking personally and don't appreciate it. I didn't knock you or anyone else here don't do it now
First off some companies are not up-to-date on their information and test questions. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep updating your database etc all the time. Many companies just don't take that time to stay current.
Also some companies are merely trying to teach you how to test rather than teach you the subject matter so you can use the information to acquire the right answer. It sounds almost like this "Academy" you mention falls into that category to some degree. There is a world of difference between seeing/recognizing the right answer and knowing how to come up with the right answer.
The FAA has long been known to use devious methods in testing. They will change up the questions and also give you "common wrong answers". All FAA Testing are done in a "Sterile Environment" in order to restrict sharing of answers/questions. They don't want you to know you missed question #23 answer a or you might share that as a common question to be missed.
Part 107 is bigger, MUCH BIGGER than just simple quads like Q500, Phantoms, and Mavics. There are sub 55lb sUAS that are not only operating near airports but there are some that operate FROM airport property. If you happen to be flying on/near and airport and you're instructed to remain clear of Runway 36L and do no go further than Taxiway HOTEL then you'll need to know how to read those markings on the map and FROM THE AIR.
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Don’t take offense, but see it as constructive. I did not take online courses. But rather, I was printing pages after pages. Creating flash cards, answering questions online. When I was studying and self testing, I aimed to fail, the more I failed, the more I learned. It took me a month to study. I dedicated my weekends and 5hrs a night every week, until I was really comfortable to take the test.
Take another approach and that is by learning how to fail, and embrace that. Once you’re good to go, always get 100% on those online sample questions.
Good luck on the next, you can do it.
Phaedrus
Premium Pilot
Well, yes.Because if you know the material you know the answers. I have no idea where you get 500-1,000 question pool, but no FAA test I know of has that large of a pool.
So no, you cannot memorize answers and likely pass. Learn the material and you pass easily. And since you failed it twice that is evidence that you do not know the material.
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Okay. I’m out on this one. Good luck. I’m beginning to see why you failed.
@Maureen
I was an avionics instructor and course developer while I served in the Air Force. I was one of the people that developed the tests to determine if the students truly understood the material being taught. Trust me when I tell you that I could write a multiple choice test that would give the best student reason to take pause. If you did not thoroughly understand the material presented in that portion of the course, you would find what appeared to be more than one correct answer to a question. My tests were not “tricky or twisted” they only required you to know the material and like the exam for the 107 certification all pertinent material was provided for the test.
The FAA provides all material you need free of charge in an online format. Take advantage of it and immerse yourself in the material you had trouble with on the exam. With due diligence you will be able to pass the test and will be a better pilot in the end for putting forth the extra effort.
Best of luck in your future as a Remote Pilot. ?
I was an avionics instructor and course developer while I served in the Air Force. I was one of the people that developed the tests to determine if the students truly understood the material being taught. Trust me when I tell you that I could write a multiple choice test that would give the best student reason to take pause. If you did not thoroughly understand the material presented in that portion of the course, you would find what appeared to be more than one correct answer to a question. My tests were not “tricky or twisted” they only required you to know the material and like the exam for the 107 certification all pertinent material was provided for the test.
The FAA provides all material you need free of charge in an online format. Take advantage of it and immerse yourself in the material you had trouble with on the exam. With due diligence you will be able to pass the test and will be a better pilot in the end for putting forth the extra effort.
Best of luck in your future as a Remote Pilot. ?
No one's saying you didn't do training, hard work, and studying. They're questioning whether the training, hard work, and studying that your prep class had you doing was germane to what you thought you were training for.
Put another way, I can go to "McDonald's University" (it's a real thing) and work very hard and learn how to prepare McDonald's hamburgers and french fries, but if I then try to get a job as a chef in a fine dining restaurant I'm screwed no matter how hard I worked because my studies didn't teach me what I need to know to work there.
You keep saying that your prep course was very good and thorough, but the only hard evidence available is that you twice failed the test the course was supposed to prepare you for. That suggests that either the course didn't do a good job preparing you, or you didn't absorb the materials from the course.
A quick Google of your academy didn't turn up all that much, good or bad, from sources that weren't DLA itself, but I did find a Reddit post where a guy did well on the DLA practice test, and then took a practice test from another vendor and did much worse - which sounds a lot like your situation.
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Exactly. I also did a quick search and found very little on DLA. On the previous page I posted a link to a site that has a lot of source material including sample or test exams. @Maureen may or may not have looked there but as I mentioned before, it would be a good idea to test your knowledge against other sources. There is a 60 question sample test along with the answers and explanations as to the 'why'. Click on the link below and scroll down and you will see there is an initial Knowledge test as well as a sample re current test. Can you pass this on the first go around?
Sample Test
Sample Test
PatR
Premium Pilot
The FAA does not publish test questions, in fact they prohibit copying and publication of test questions and answers. Anyone taking a course where all they do is study and memorize test questions and corresponding answers is not studying for an FAA written test. What they are doing is studying an estimation of the FAA test, developed independent of the FAA and the actual test. In essence, someone following that path has no assurance they learned anything at all relevant to the actual FAA exam. That condition is worsened if the student has chosen a recently established course developed by people with little or no previous history in developing or providing an aeronautical knowledge curriculum. Unless the “school” has been certified under part 61, 135, or 141 rules there are no standards, or penalties (other than for the student) for failure.
There are online courses available from reputable, long standing companies serving the pilot community that have 20 years or more of successful history in educating students. They aren’t the cheapest but the history of success with their students is indicative of the course quality. For the cost conscious there is no reason to buy a course at all. Everything needed to study for and pass the test is provided for free by the FAA. Downloading the books, reading them, then reading them several times more will provide the knowledge necessary to pass the test, the first time. If the student encounters things they don’t understand they can ask questions at forums such as this one.
As the OP has already failed the test twice, spent $300.00 plus the cost of his course and gotten nowhere in the process, perhaps it’s time to take a step back to review what has been done wrong. The only lesson learned thus far is that what has been done does not work. Was it the course chosen, lack of accurate and applicable material, inability to digest and comprehend the material, poor study habits, or any combination of the those? Blaming the FAA for requiring and providing a test and testing methods that every certificated pilot has successfully passed is only trying to avoid personal responsibility. “It can’t be my fault as nothing is ever my fault.” That’s not the way life, or aviation, works.
Something else to consider; passing the test does not mean you now know everything. Passing the test means you will be legally qualified to participate in an activity where the is much, much more to learn. Something you will be expected and required to do to survive. The certificate is but a license to learn.
The above was given the OP from the perspective of an FAA ground instructor. Only the OP can decide how he wants to make use of it.
There are online courses available from reputable, long standing companies serving the pilot community that have 20 years or more of successful history in educating students. They aren’t the cheapest but the history of success with their students is indicative of the course quality. For the cost conscious there is no reason to buy a course at all. Everything needed to study for and pass the test is provided for free by the FAA. Downloading the books, reading them, then reading them several times more will provide the knowledge necessary to pass the test, the first time. If the student encounters things they don’t understand they can ask questions at forums such as this one.
As the OP has already failed the test twice, spent $300.00 plus the cost of his course and gotten nowhere in the process, perhaps it’s time to take a step back to review what has been done wrong. The only lesson learned thus far is that what has been done does not work. Was it the course chosen, lack of accurate and applicable material, inability to digest and comprehend the material, poor study habits, or any combination of the those? Blaming the FAA for requiring and providing a test and testing methods that every certificated pilot has successfully passed is only trying to avoid personal responsibility. “It can’t be my fault as nothing is ever my fault.” That’s not the way life, or aviation, works.
Something else to consider; passing the test does not mean you now know everything. Passing the test means you will be legally qualified to participate in an activity where the is much, much more to learn. Something you will be expected and required to do to survive. The certificate is but a license to learn.
The above was given the OP from the perspective of an FAA ground instructor. Only the OP can decide how he wants to make use of it.
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My experience with practice tests is that they may cover the concepts well, but they don’t exactly match what you’ll see on the real test. I took over nearly 500 practice question. On the test maybe 5 were verbatim. The other 55 question test your knowledge, not if you can memorize practice questions.
My advise is totally understand the
concepts. Focus on understanding everything on the sectional charts, throughly understand weather and memorize airspace details and classes. The legend page in the Airman Testing Supplement in priceless. It’s the only thing allowed in the testing area (they’ll provide a copy at the testing center)
I followed this process and passed at 92% first try.
PatR
Premium Pilot
The FAA also allows common, non programmable calculators, plotters, straight edge rulers, E6B type and some other flight calculators. The list of allowed and prohibited materials is noted at the FAA website referencing written tests.
I studied the videos on YouTube on part 107 test, then studied airspace and reading the weather reports on YouTube and passed the first time. Reading the sectional chart was crucial. There was something on about every other question thT required me to use it even though the quests itself was a general knowledge question. Get comfy reading the charts and your weather reports. Tony North’s video covers most of the general knowledge.
Maureen
I have my part 61. I had to score 100 % to pass the written test. The questions
are worded to make you think about the rules. What parts of the exam did you find difficult?
Mike
Mike,
The full Part 107 is a good bit different than the online test for Part 61 operators. We've already proven proficiency in Airspace, Sectionals etc.
Allen
On the test, they list the questions you got wrong, and you can look the knowledge area up on the web site.
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