--- title: 'My Wife Always Wanted to Marry a Pilot' date: 2024-05-06 categories: - projects - general tags: - technology - photography - drones --- ### A Bit of Background I became interested in drones in the spring of 2021. My wife was preparing to retire from her teaching gig and considering a new career in real estate. After 15 years in our relatively small town in the mountains of North Georgia, we were planning a move to a little larger town with fewer challenging hills and more conveniences. We were building a new home in our soon-to-be new town. This was, I thought, a great time to explore my interest in drones. After all, I could document the progress of our new home and, if she did go into real estate, I would be positioned to do some of her photography. Win! Now, while you can fly your drone recreationally without needing a license, if you do anything that has the potential for profit, the FAA requires that you hold a license as a professional drone pilot. The fancy pants way of describing this is that you must hold an Airman certificate for small unmanned aircraft systems, more colloquially this is known as being Part 107 certified. If you were pursuing a private pilot license to fly a manned aircraft (for example, a Piper Cub) you would have to go through some fairly rigorous ground school training, learn a ton about weather, radio lingo, how to navigate between airports (and around an airport) and so on. After completing ground school you have to spend time actually flying an aircraft under the direct tutelage of a qualified instructor before being allowed to solo. In comparison to the manned aircraft certificate, the process for obtaining your unmanned certificate (Part 107) is a bit easier. You only need to take certain topics from the ground school and pass a knowledge test. No actual flight time required. The requirements for the test are laid out for you in the *Remote Pilot -- Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Study Guide ([FAA-G-8082-22](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/remote_pilot_study_guide.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiwuJ33u-eFAxWErIQIHU7lBIUQFnoECAYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3MXKA-tW2dc0bYz-JcA9Qh))* provided by the FAA. This study guide is fairly comprehensible, but sometimes simply reading the content isn't enough. I like to see and hear what I'm learning. So, to make life a bit easier (and easier to understand) I opted to take a paid course to prepare me for the exam. The cost of theses programs vary considerably and, so far as I know, unlike private pilot training, the FAA does not certify programs that prepare you for the exam. I chose one that seemed reasonable in cost and had good reviews: Pilot Institute. And started studying in earnest. I actually went through the entire training in a few weeks and was ready to take the test. During the interim, however, my wife decided that she didn't want to pursue real estate as a second career and with that motivation gone, I decided not to continue my pursuit of the license. After all, why pay for testing for a license that I wouldn't likely ever use? ### A Renewed Motivation Fast forward a couple of years. As I prepared for my own retirement, I began looking at my next chapter. I've always enjoyed writing and thought that I might get serious about blogging regularly. To add to that, I was fascinated by videography and realized that I could actually make videos that included drone shots. Motivation for obtaining my license was renewed! With that renewed motivation I again studied in earnest. In fact, I went through the material in about a week or 10 days. I found the information fun and interesting. There are several areas that I want to dig into a bit more deeply. #### Why do you need a license? At first, it seems like the need for a license is just a 'control' thing. The reality is that the FAA is concerned about safety -- for you and the general public. The license ensures that you are flying in a safe manner and understand what is needed to protect yourself and those around you. #### So, what is in the exam? The most obvious, and most applicable, is information on the actual regulations that govern the use of sUAS (small Unmanned Aircraft Systems). Other information I thought was pretty interesting, but much less useful. For example, in general you're not permitted to fly your UAS at an airport, yet the exam includes questions about the signage on runways and taxiways. Similarly, do I really need to know how to enter a landing pattern for an airport? Now, to be fair, *all* radio controlled aircraft are considered drones or UASs. This would include all radio controlled fixed wing model aircraft, so there is some potential applicability for this information. But to require that knowledge on a licensing exam seems a bit over the top. The more I studied and considered the exam, the more I began to think that perhaps the FAA felt they needed some type of licensing but didn't really have anything to test on, so they included material that was only tangentially relevant to most drone pilots. And, to be honest, I did find the information interesting and piqued my interest to learn more. ### So, What's on the Test? I alluded to some of the general concepts above. More specifically, the test covers five areas: - Regulations - Airspace and Requirements - Weather - Loading and Performance - Operations Each of those areas are broken down into submodules so that the overall test covers a dozen topics: 1. Applicable regulations relating to small unmanned aircraft system rating privileges, limitations, and flight operation 2. Airspace classification and operating requirements, and flight restrictions affecting small unmanned aircraft operation 3. Aviation weather sources and effects of weather on small unmanned aircraft performance 4. Small unmanned aircraft loading and performance 5. Emergency procedures 6. Crew resource management 7. Radio communication procedures 8. Determining the performance of small unmanned aircraft 9. Physiological effects of drugs and alcohol 10. Aeronautical decision-making and judgment 11. Airport operations 12. Maintenance and pre-flight inspection procedures ### Taking the Exam Once you've studied and feel prepared to take the exam, you: 1. Create an account on the FAA's Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application (IACRA) website. 2. Once you've created your account, you're assigned an FAA Tracking Number (FTN). This number stays with you throughout your aviation career and allows the FAA to keep all of your records together. 3. With your FTN in hand, you then go to the [Testing Center Website](https://faa.psiexams.com/faa/login) where you create yet another account. 4. Once you've created that account you simply look for testing centers that are near you. One of the challenges I ran into is that the information on testing sites is a bit confusing at first. I found several testing sites near me that I would have preferred but couldn't figure out how to register. What I discovered is that those sites, while official testing sites, either had no availability or were simply not accepting reservations. Scrolling a bit further down the page I finally found some (relatively) nearby sites that had availability. My closest one was about an hour away. Chose a time and date and I was set. I arrived about 30 minutes before my exam. One other person was there waiting to take the exam, as well. I strongly encourage you to arrive early if for no other reason than to gather your wits about yourself before testing. The testing site was quite nice and the people were great. They check you in, verify your identity and explain the process to you. You do have to give up anything that's in your pockets (wallet, phone, keys, etc) to ensure that you're not cheating. They also have cameras and a proctor watching, though I didn't feel intimidated by any of this. Once you're assigned a computer and test code, you go through a brief training program on the computer and, when you're ready, you click start and away you go! You're given two hours to complete the exam. I took about an hour and that included double-checking every answer. Most of the answers I knew right off -- my training was quite effective. There were a few answers that I wasn't sure about and one that I had absolutely no clue. The other guy that was there started about 5 minutes or so before me and was still there when I left. I have no clue how he did. One odd thing about the testing software: Once you complete all of the questions it returns you to the first question. I assume that is to allow you to review your answers before submitting. It wasn't exactly clear, though, how to exit that cycle and actually submit the exam. Once you've completed the exam and clicked submit you're taken to a survey. Once the survey is completed the software closes and you're directed back to the proctor's office for your score. I made a 92! The score report does provide feedback on the areas you missed. But, you're not done yet! With your score in hand, you go back to the IACRA website to submit your application for a license. You need your Exam ID number that is assigned when you complete the test in order to apply for your license. This ties your score to you in the IACRA system. If all goes well, within a few days you'll receive an email that includes your temporary airman certificate that indicates that you're a remote pilot of small unmanned aircraft systems! I haven't yet received my permanent certificate, but it should be coming in a few weeks. ### Do You Need to Renew your License? Yes, every two years you'll need to renew your license. Once upon a time (before 2021) you needed to re-test in order to renew your license. The rule has changed and now you simply need to take an online refresher course (provided by the FAA). You'll then receive a certificate showing the completion of the course and you're good for another 24 calendar months. One note, though, just as you'll need to have you Part 107 license on you when you fly, you will also need to keep a copy of the certificate of completion on you to demonstrate compliance with the regulations. So, now my wife can claim to be the wife of a pilot! (that was her idea, not mine.)