20 free Part 107 practice questions

Correct answer: C · 650 feet AGL, which is 400 feet above the tower's top

14 CFR 107.51(b) caps altitude at 400 feet above ground level, with one exception: the aircraft may fly higher if it stays within a 400-foot radius of a structure and does not fly more than 400 feet above the structure's immediate uppermost limit. This flight stays within 200 feet of the tower, inside that radius, so the ceiling is the tower's top plus 400 feet: 250 + 400 = 650 feet AGL. Treating 400 feet AGL as an absolute limit ignores the structure exception. Adding 200 feet confuses the horizontal distance with the vertical allowance, and no rule doubles the limit. The other limits in 107.51 still apply, including 3 statute miles of visibility and the cloud clearances.

Look for this next time: Within a 400-foot radius of a structure, a small UA may fly up to 400 feet above the structure's top.

Correct answer: A · 200 feet AGL, keeping 500 feet below the cloud base

14 CFR 107.51(d) requires the small unmanned aircraft to stay at least 500 feet below a cloud and at least 2,000 feet horizontally from it, and 107.51(c) requires at least 3 statute miles of flight visibility from the control station. Visibility is 5 miles, so that limit is met. With the cloud base at 700 feet AGL, the highest altitude that keeps 500 feet of clearance is 700 − 500 = 200 feet AGL. That is lower than the general 400-foot limit, so the cloud rule decides. Flying at 400 feet AGL would leave only 300 feet below the clouds. The 500-foot answer confuses the required clearance with an altitude. Flying up to the cloud base ignores the clearance entirely. These limits can be waived under 107.205, but only with a certificate of waiver.

Look for this next time: Stay 500 feet below and 2,000 feet horizontally from clouds; subtract 500 from the cloud base to find your ceiling.

Correct answer: D · A report to the FAA within 10 calendar days of the operation

Under 14 CFR 107.9, the remote pilot in command must report to the FAA, no later than 10 calendar days after the operation, any operation involving serious injury to any person, any loss of consciousness, or damage to property other than the small unmanned aircraft, unless the repair cost, including materials and labor, does not exceed $500, or the property's fair market value does not exceed $500 if it is a total loss. The car is property other than the aircraft, and its repairs cost $850, more than $500, so a report is due within 10 calendar days. The destroyed drone does not count toward the threshold. Thirty days is not the Part 107 deadline, and telling the owner or an insurer does not replace the report to the FAA.

Look for this next time: Report to the FAA within 10 calendar days for serious injury, loss of consciousness, or more than $500 of damage to other property.

Correct answer: B · 7:30 a.m., eight hours after her last drink

14 CFR 107.27 requires the remote pilot in command, the person at the controls, and any visual observer to comply with 14 CFR 91.17, which bars acting within 8 hours after consuming any alcoholic beverage, while under the influence of alcohol, or with an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater. Counting 8 hours from 11:30 p.m. gives 7:30 a.m., so a 6:30 start is one hour too early, however she feels. Four hours is not the aviation rule. A breath test below 0.08 is not the standard either: 0.04 is the aviation limit, and the 8-hour rule applies even when a test reads below it. The client's start time has to move, or another certificated remote pilot has to fly.

Look for this next time: Under 91.17, do not fly within 8 hours of a drink, while under the influence, or with an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more.

Correct answer: C · May 31, 2027, the end of the 24th calendar month

14 CFR 107.65 lets a person exercise remote pilot in command privileges only if, within the previous 24 calendar months, they passed an initial knowledge test or completed recurrent training (or, for eligible Part 61 pilots, the FAA's training). Calendar months run to the end of the month: AC 107-2A's example has a pilot who passed on September 13, 2020 complete recurrent training no later than September 30, 2022. Counting the same way from May 14, 2025 gives May 31, 2027. One year is too short, and stopping on May 14 ignores the calendar-month count. The certificate itself does not expire, but its privileges lapse without the recurrent training, which the FAA offers online at no cost as course ALC-677.

Look for this next time: Recurrent training is due within 24 calendar months, counted through the last day of the month in which the cycle ends.

Correct answer: D · Lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles

Outside Alaska, 14 CFR 107.29(c) defines civil twilight as the 30 minutes before official sunrise and the 30 minutes after official sunset, so this evening's period runs from 7:42 to 8:12 p.m., and 8:05 p.m. falls inside it. During civil twilight, 107.29(b) requires lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles, with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision; the pilot may dim it for safety but may not turn it off. After 8:12 p.m. the flight would be at night, which also requires a remote pilot who completed the initial test or training after April 6, 2021. Twilight does not extend an hour past sunset, 1 statute mile is not the rule's figure, and navigation lights alone do not meet it.

Look for this next time: Civil twilight is the 30 minutes before sunrise and after sunset; it requires anti-collision lighting visible for 3 statute miles.

Correct answer: A · The visual observer who is directly participating in the operation

14 CFR 107.39 bars flight over a human being unless that person is directly participating in the operation, is located under a covered structure or inside a stationary vehicle that can provide reasonable protection from a falling small unmanned aircraft, or the operation meets one of the categories in subpart D. A 2-pound drone is over the 0.55-pound limit for Category 1 in 107.110, and without a declaration of compliance it cannot use Category 2 or 3. That leaves the visual observer, who is directly participating. A site worker who is not part of the crew is not participating just by being nearby. A passerby's consent creates no exception. An open, uncovered cab is not the protective structure or stationary vehicle the rule describes.

Look for this next time: Without a subpart D category, fly over only people directly participating, or people under cover or inside a stationary vehicle.

Correct answer: B · Yes, over a sparsely populated area with no property carried for hire

14 CFR 107.25 bars operating a small UAS from a moving aircraft in every case, and from a moving land or water-borne vehicle unless the small unmanned aircraft is flown over a sparsely populated area and is not transporting another person's property for compensation or hire. Open farm fields along a gravel road, with no property carried for hire, meet both conditions, so the flight is allowed from the moving truck without a waiver, as long as the other Part 107 rules, including visual line of sight, are met. A waiver is needed only to go beyond those limits, and 107.205 says no waiver of 107.25 will be issued for carrying another's property for hire. A moving helicopter is ruled out entirely, and nothing requires the truck to stop for turns.

Look for this next time: From a moving vehicle, fly only over sparsely populated areas without carrying others' property for hire; never from a moving aircraft.

Correct answer: D · The person at the controls must be able to see the drone at all times

Since September 16, 2023, 14 CFR 89.105 requires remote identification, met either with a standard remote ID aircraft or with the alternatives in 89.115. With a broadcast module, 89.115(a) requires the module to broadcast the message elements from takeoff to shutdown, a preflight check that it is working, landing as soon as practicable if the broadcast stops, and that the person manipulating the flight controls be able to see the aircraft at all times. FAA-recognized identification areas are a separate option for aircraft with no remote ID equipment. Mounting the module does not end the requirements, and the broadcast is required for the whole flight, not only near airports. Part 107's visual line of sight rule in 107.31 applies as well.

Look for this next time: A remote ID broadcast module must broadcast from takeoff to shutdown, and the pilot must keep the drone in sight.

Correct answer: A · Give way, not passing over, under, or ahead of it unless well clear

14 CFR 107.37(a) requires each small unmanned aircraft to yield the right of way to all aircraft, airborne vehicles, and launch and reentry vehicles, and it defines yielding as giving way without passing over, under, or ahead of the other aircraft unless well clear. 107.37(b) also bars flying so close to another aircraft as to create a collision hazard. So the remote pilot moves the drone away from the airplane's path, for example by descending or landing, and keeps it clear until the airplane has gone. Being there first gives no priority. Climbing over the airplane is the kind of crossing the rule forbids. And the rule puts the duty to give way on the small unmanned aircraft, not on the crewed aircraft.

Look for this next time: A small UA yields to every aircraft and stays well clear rather than crossing over, under, or ahead of it.

Correct answer: C · Prior ATC authorization, for example through LAANC or FAA DroneZone

14 CFR 107.41 bars operating in Class B, C, or D airspace, or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport, without prior authorization from air traffic control. Most Class E airspace starts well above the ground, but a Class E surface area extends down to the surface around its airport, so this job needs ATC authorization before the flight. The FAA grants these airspace authorizations through LAANC, where it is available, or through FAA DroneZone. Calling the airport manager may be courteous, but it is not ATC authorization. A NOTAM filed by the pilot is not how Part 107 grants airspace access. Separately, 107.43 bars interfering with traffic at the airport.

Look for this next time: Class B, C, D, and Class E surface areas need prior ATC authorization, such as through LAANC or FAA DroneZone.

Correct answer: B · No ATC authorization needed; it must not interfere with airport traffic

14 CFR 107.41 requires ATC authorization only in Class B, C, and D airspace and in Class E surface areas designated for an airport. Class G airspace is not on that list, so this flight needs no ATC authorization. 14 CFR 107.43 still bars operating in a way that interferes with operations and traffic patterns at any airport, heliport, or seaplane base, and 107.37 requires yielding to all aircraft, so the pilot watches for arriving and departing traffic and may monitor the airport's common traffic advisory frequency. A 5-mile authorization rule is not part of Part 107. An airport does not make nearby Class G airspace off-limits. And the CTAF is a frequency where pilots announce their own positions; no one there grants permission.

Look for this next time: Class G needs no ATC authorization, but Part 107 still bars interfering with airport traffic and requires yielding to aircraft.

Correct answer: D · Stay out and comply with the TFR unless its terms allow the flight

14 CFR 107.47 requires the remote pilot in command to comply with 14 CFR 91.137 through 91.145 and 99.7, the rules for flight restrictions designated by NOTAM, including temporary flight restrictions around disasters such as wildfires. Under 91.137, aircraft generally may not enter such an area unless they meet the conditions the rule and the NOTAM set, such as taking part in the relief effort under the direction of the official in charge of on-scene emergency response. A TFR applies to small unmanned aircraft, so the photographer stays out. Staying below 400 feet does not help: wildfire TFRs protect firefighting aircraft that fly low. A phone call to fire crews is not one of the rule's conditions. Checking NOTAMs belongs in the preflight assessment under 107.49.

Look for this next time: Temporary flight restrictions apply to small UAS; check NOTAMs before every flight and stay out unless the TFR's terms allow you in.

Correct answer: A · Permission from the restricted area's using or controlling agency

14 CFR 107.45 bars operating a small unmanned aircraft in prohibited or restricted areas unless the operator has permission from the using or controlling agency, as appropriate. Restricted areas often contain hazards to aircraft, such as artillery firing or military flight activity, so when one is active the remote pilot needs that agency's permission before entering it. Restricted areas are not limited to altitudes above 400 feet; their vertical limits come from their published designation. LAANC provides authorizations for controlled airspace near airports, not permission to enter restricted areas. A remote ID broadcast module satisfies the identification rule in part 89, but it grants no access to any airspace.

Look for this next time: Enter an active restricted or prohibited area only with permission from its using or controlling agency.

Correct answer: B · Visibility of 2 statute miles is below the 3-mile Part 107 minimum

In a METAR, 2SM is the visibility in statute miles, BR is mist, and OVC009 is an overcast layer at 900 feet above ground level, because cloud heights are coded in hundreds of feet; the FAA's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge explains this format. 14 CFR 107.51(c) requires at least 3 statute miles of flight visibility from the control station, so a 2-mile report means the flight should wait unless visibility at the site is actually 3 miles or more. Even then, the 900-foot overcast would hold the aircraft to 400 feet AGL under the 500-foot cloud clearance rule. Light wind does not offset low visibility. Reading 009 as 9,000 feet adds a zero too many. Mist is not a prohibition by itself; the visibility it causes is what matters.

Look for this next time: METAR cloud heights are in hundreds of feet AGL; compare the reported visibility with Part 107's 3-statute-mile minimum.

Correct answer: C · South of the runway, flying east, parallel to it

A runway number is its magnetic direction rounded to the nearest 10 degrees with the last zero dropped, so runway 27 points to about 270°, west. The downwind leg is flown parallel to the landing runway, opposite the landing direction, so here the airplane is heading east, about 090°. In a left-hand pattern, the standard pattern shown in the FAA's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, all turns are to the left, which keeps the runway on the pilot's left. Flying east with the runway on the left puts the airplane south of the runway. North of the runway is where a right downwind would be, and it too would be flown east, not west. Over the runway climbing west is the departure; east of the airport heading west is final.

Look for this next time: Downwind is flown parallel to the runway, opposite the landing direction; in standard left traffic the runway stays on the pilot's left.

Correct answer: A · The deviation is allowed for the emergency; report in writing if the FAA asks

14 CFR 107.21(a) lets the remote pilot in command deviate from any rule of Part 107 to the extent necessary to meet an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action, and 107.21(b) requires a written report of that deviation if the FAA asks for one. A helicopter converging on the drone is such an emergency, and 107.37 already requires the drone to give way, so descending and landing, even with a brief pass over two bystanders, was a deviation to the extent necessary. The 10-day report in 107.9 is for serious injury, loss of consciousness, or more than $500 of damage to other property, and none of those happened. Holding the hover would have kept the collision risk. No waiver is needed for an emergency deviation.

Look for this next time: In an in-flight emergency, the remote PIC may deviate from Part 107 as needed and must report in writing if the FAA asks.

Correct answer: D · Anti-authority; the antidote is "Follow the rules. They are usually right"

Chapter 2 of the FAA's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge describes five hazardous attitudes and their antidotes. Anti-authority, "Don't tell me," is the attitude of people who resent being told what to do or who regard rules, regulations, and procedures as silly or unnecessary; its antidote is "Follow the rules. They are usually right." Brushing off the rated wind limit and the observer's warning with "nobody tells me when I can fly" fits it. Macho, "I can do it," is about proving oneself by taking risks. Impulsivity, "Do it quickly," is acting without stopping to think. Resignation, "What's the use?", is feeling unable to make a difference. Good crew resource management means taking the observer's input seriously.

Look for this next time: Anti-authority ("Don't tell me") rejects rules and advice; its antidote is "Follow the rules. They are usually right."

Correct answer: B · Not act as remote pilot in command while the drug affects her faculties

14 CFR 107.27 requires remote pilots to comply with 14 CFR 91.17, which bars acting while using any drug that affects the person's faculties in any way contrary to safety. 14 CFR 107.17 also bars acting as remote pilot in command, visual observer, or the person at the controls when a person knows or has reason to know of a condition that would interfere with safe operation. The FAA's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge notes that common over-the-counter antihistamines can cause drowsiness and other impairing side effects. Feeling foggy after a dose labeled for drowsiness is reason to hand the flight to another certificated remote pilot or reschedule it. The rules make no exception for nonprescription drugs, and a shorter range or a visual observer does not fix impaired judgment.

Look for this next time: Do not fly while any medication, prescription or over-the-counter, affects your faculties; 91.17 and 107.17 both apply.

Correct answer: C · Do not use it; set it aside for inspection and safe disposal

14 CFR 107.15 requires the remote pilot to check before each flight that the small UAS is in a condition for safe operation, and 107.49 requires ensuring enough power for the intended flight. AC 107-2A's inspection guidance lists a distorted, bulging battery casing as a condition that may indicate impending failure, with abrupt power loss or explosion and a possible fire hazard, and the circular notes that lithium batteries can catch fire when damaged or improperly charged. A full charge reading says nothing about the case's integrity. A short flight still risks a sudden loss of power over people or property. Taping the case hides the defect without fixing it. The safe call is to fly with a sound battery and follow the manufacturer's guidance for handling the damaged one.

Look for this next time: A bulging lithium battery means the system is not in a condition for safe operation; take the battery out of service.