- It's now been a few years since the FAA
has started to required people
to have commercial drone licenses
if they're using their drones commercially in any way.
And commercial, as you probably know,
doesn't just mean that you're hired
by like a giant company and you're making tons of money.
It basically means, if you're getting something
in exchange for using your drone, that's commercial use,
so if you're putting a drone clip into a YouTube video
and you have ads turned on for that video,
that's commercial drone use.
If your friend is a realtor and they say,
"Hey, I'll take ya out to dinner if you get
"some drone shots of this listing that I have,"
that's commercial drone use.
So, in reality, anything beyond the most basic
hobby-level of drone use is commercial, and you should have
your Part 107 Commercial Drone Pilot's License.
Once you have your license, it is only good for two years,
so after the end of the 24th month,
you need to renew your license,
which means that, if you originally got your license
on July 10th, 2018,
it is good all the way through July 30th of 2020.
Now, the first video that I ever uploaded for this channel
was all about how to pass Part 107,
so if you've never taken the test
and you don't have your drone license,
go watch that video, because that's gonna give you
everything that you need to know
and point you in the right direction to pass that test.
This video assumes that
you've already got your drone license,
and now you just need to renew it
by taking the Unmanned General Recurrent Test.
The renewal process is actually pretty simple.
Basically, you just need to take and pass
the Unmanned General Recurrent Test.
It does cost $150, just like the original test did.
It's shorter, it's only 40 questions,
and you have 90 minutes to finish those 40 questions.
You do need to pass with an 80%,
which is 32 questions correct.
Fortunately, since you've already taken
and passed the first test,
this one is not any more difficult than that.
It's a lot of the same information,
and they've actually removed some sections.
For example, weather is pretty much totally gone,
so you don't really need to know anything
about like the METAR reports
and how to read all of those codes.
So, here's the three things that you need to do
in order to pass your recurrent drone exam.
The first one is watch and rewatch
and listen to and relisten to
Tony Northrup's Part 107 video.
This was one of the biggest resources
in my original drone video,
and it's still pretty much one of the best.
It's almost two hours long, and in that video,
Tony takes you through every single part of the test.
He explains it in detail,
and the best part about that video
is that he actually explains the why behind those things,
so he doesn't just tell you this and this and this.
He explains why.
You can't watch it just once,
so you might wanna sit down and watch it over an evening,
and then like have it play in your car
and listen to it when you're driving,
have it in your earbuds at the gym or something,
just like keep that info going into your brain.
Just listen and relisten to that video.
Once you've watched Tony's video
and you have all that info, the next thing that you need
is the Remote Pilot app for your phone or your tablet.
This is a $5 app, so this is the only extra money
that you would need to pay.
This video is not sponsored.
I just used this on both of my tests,
the first one and the recurrent one.
So, for $5, you get an app that has
an updated database of all the practice questions
for both tests, the original and the recurrent,
and each test has two parts,
a study guide and a practice test.
If you go through the study guide,
you can browse questions in all of the different categories,
and that's really what I recommend,
is that you go through the entire study guide
for the recurrent exam.
It's almost 200 questions, but my favorite part
about the app is when you go through each question
and you select your answer, whether it's right or wrong,
the app will tell you why the correct answer
is the correct answer.
Once you go through the study guide at least once,
then start taking the practice exams.
They work the same way as the real exam,
where there's the whole bank of questions,
and each practice exam just kinda pulls
a random assortment of those questions.
And that's the same way the real test works.
No two are exactly the same.
They're just a random assortment of questions
from this database of test questions.
And then, what you need to do is just keep taking
and retaking the practice tests
until you're consistently scoring 100%,
and not just that you're scoring 100%,
but you understand why you're choosing
the answers that you're choosing,
because at a certain point,
you might start recognizing a question,
but that's not gonna help you on the real test,
because, for the most part,
it's not the exact same questions on the real test.
So, you don't wanna just memorize
this specific question and answer.
You wanna understand the scenario
and what they're looking for in regards to that scenario.
And then, step three, once you're consistently scoring 100%
on the practice tests, now, just like before,
you need to call and register for your recurrent exam.
I'll put a link down in the description
that has all the information you need.
It's all through PSI.
You just find the closest testing center to you,
and then you can call that number.
Some, you have to call and schedule through an 800 number,
and others you have to call the testing center directly,
but the best thing to do is to start
by just calling the 800 number,
ask them about the testing center that you want,
and then they'll tell you if you need to call directly,
or you can just book the test right then.
You'll need to pay over the phone, so that way,
when you go to actually take your test,
you just walk in and take the test.
You don't need to worry about payment or anything like that.
And the test procedure is the same as before.
They don't let you take anything into the room.
They do provide you with scratch paper.
They give you a test booklet that has all the diagrams
and all of the reference material into it,
and that booklet also does have the chart legend
at the very front of it, so make sure,
if you're confused about airspace classifications
or you don't remember what this symbol means
on a sectional chart, that you go to the front of that book
and look at the legend, so that way,
you don't have to keep all that stuff in your brain.
You can just reference it right there,
and it kinda makes things a little bit easier.
There is a built-in calculator in the testing software
if you need to do any basic math.
I didn't during my test,
but you might need to, or you might wanna
double check something just to be sure.
So, those are the three things that you need
in order to pass the test.
Watch Tony's video, use the Remote Pilot app,
and then register for the test,
but based on my experience,
what I can tell you is I passed my first test with a 93%,
and I was really happy with that.
I passed this test with an 83%,
and I was not as happy with that,
which is why I kinda wanted to make this video.
Ultimately, your score doesn't matter,
because it's a pass/fail test,
so as long as you get above 80%, you're good to go,
but you really don't wanna fail the test,
because if you have to retake it,
then you have to pay the $150 again.
And the reason that I did what I consider poorly on the test
is because, when I sat down, I immediately went through
and did the tough questions,
so I found everything that I struggle with
and focused on those and answered those,
and then I went through and answered the easier questions,
and I was a little too confident in the easier questions,
because it ended up I got all of the tough ones right,
but the ones that I missed were all these little easy ones
that I just missed a word, or I didn't quite pay attention
to what they were looking for, or there was two answers
that seemed kind of similar, but really,
only one fits the question.
So, the best bit of advice I can give
is to really make sure you understand the question
on the test, really look at it,
and understand what exactly they're asking for
and which answer fits that,
because there is only one answer that actually fits
what the question is asking.
And then, I was in a hurry, 'cause I was super excited.
We were going out of town on a trip,
and I was like, yay, I just wanna be done,
but what I should have done,
and there was plenty of time for it, is gone through
and re-check every single question on the test.
I only re-checked the difficult ones,
and I should have just taken the extra time
and gone through every single question,
and I probably would have found
and fixed some of my mistakes.
And that's really all there is to it.
You've already gone through the first test,
which is really the scarier one,
because it's the first time that you're taking it.
This one is much more of a refresher.
It's not super scary, just knowing this info is good.
As soon as you're finished with the test,
there's nothing else you need to do.
They'll give you a certificate,
and then you just keep using your original license,
the same as before.
You don't need to go online and update any databases
or anything like that.
You're good for another 24 months.
And during that 24 months, I do just wanna remind
and encourage everybody to actually follow the rules
of the test that you just took.
There have been, in the past two years
since I got my original license,
so many more drone laws and restrictions
have come into play, and people are starting to crack down
a lot on drone usage,
and I think that it's really important,
as a licensed pilot, that you follow the rules,
but also act as a good ambassador for anybody
who's interested in drones, so that way,
people aren't scared and angry at drones.
They're interested and happy about drones,
and you can be the ambassador for making sure
that we can all continue to use these really awesome tools.
One last tip is I would really recommend,
if you haven't done it already,
add your Part 107 certification to your resume
or your website or your portfolio,
or whatever it is where people find out
about your professional skills and background,
because it is a really marketable skill
and a really marketable certification to have.
Don't be scared to let people know
that you are a licensed drone pilot.
I hope this was a helpful guide.
I would wish you good luck, but just like I said
in my very first video, if you follow these steps,
you really don't need any good luck,
because you're gonna pass and you're super prepared,
and I really hope this helps you pass
the Unmanned General Recurrent Part 107
Drone Recertification Exam.
(gentle hiphop music)