Free Part 107 Study Guide: All Five Exam Areas in Plain English

Everything on the FAA Part 107 exam fits into five areas. This free guide walks through each one in plain English. It gives you the numbers to memorize and ends with a study plan. Bookmark it, work through it, and back it up with a few practice questions. That's a real path to passing.

The exam at a glance

The Part 107 knowledge test is 60 multiple-choice questions, three choices each, 120 minutes, 70% to pass (42 of 60). It's taken in person at a PSI center and is closed-book except the official FAA testing supplement, which supplies the sectional-chart figures. You must be at least 16 and pass TSA vetting to get the certificate.

1. Regulations

The rules of who can fly, what must be registered, and what's allowed without a waiver.

• Under Part 107, every drone must be registered regardless of weight (the 250 g exception is for recreational flyers only). Max sUAS weight is 55 lb including payload.
• Remote ID (14 CFR Part 89) broadcasts your drone's identity and location; most operations require a Remote ID solution.
• You may waive certain rules (night was folded into standard rules; think operations over people, beyond visual line of sight) via FAA authorization.
• The certificate never expires, but you must complete free online recurrent training every 24 calendar months.

2. Airspace & sectional charts

The biggest fail area, and also the most learnable. You need to identify airspace classes on a sectional. You also need to know that controlled airspace (Class B, C, D, and surface E) requires LAANC or FAA authorization before you fly.

Class	On the sectional
Class B	Solid blue lines
Class C	Solid magenta lines
Class D	Dashed blue lines
Class E to the surface	Dashed magenta
Class E starting at 700 ft AGL	Faded magenta band
Class E starting at 1,200 ft AGL	Faded blue band
Class G (uncontrolled)	No authorization needed, but all Part 107 rules still apply

3. Weather

Enough meteorology to fly safely and to decode an aviation weather report.

• Read a METAR (current conditions) and TAF (forecast): winds are always in knots, visibility in statute miles, and remember Z is UTC/Zulu time.
• Standard atmosphere: 29.92 inHg and 15 °C at sea level.
• A small temperature/dew-point spread means moisture, so watch for fog and low ceilings.
• Part 107 minimums: 3 SM visibility from the control station, and stay 500 ft below / 2,000 ft horizontally from clouds.

4. Loading & performance

The smallest area, and formulaic once you get it.

• Weight & balance: added payload shifts the center of gravity; keep it within limits or handling suffers.
• Density altitude: hot, high, and humid air is thinner, so props make less lift and the aircraft climbs slower. Even electric motors feel it, because the propeller depends on air density.
• More weight = longer to launch, shorter flight time, reduced maneuverability.

5. Operations

The heaviest area. Real-world judgment and procedures.

• Aeronautical Decision-Making (ADM) and crew resource management: recognizing hazardous attitudes and managing risk.
• Physiology: dehydration, stress, fatigue, and the alcohol rules: 0.04% BAC limit and 8 hours "bottle to throttle."
• Emergency procedures, maintenance, and preflight inspection.
• Visual line of sight: you (or a visual observer) must keep the aircraft in sight at all times without a waiver.
• Night operations require anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles.

The number set: memorize these

If you lock in one thing, make it these. They're the facts the exam tests over and over, and pairing each number with its unit defuses the classic traps.

Number	What it is
400 ft AGL	Max altitude (or 400 ft above a structure within 400 ft of it)
100 mph (87 knots)	Max groundspeed
3 statute miles	Minimum visibility from the control station
500 ft below / 2,000 ft horizontal	Cloud clearance
0.55 lb (250 g)	Recreational registration threshold
55 lb	Max sUAS weight under Part 107
0.04% BAC · 8 hrs	Alcohol limit · bottle-to-throttle
29.92 inHg · 15 °C	Standard atmosphere at sea level
24 calendar months	Recurrent (free online) training interval
16 years	Minimum age for the certificate

Confirm every figure here against current FAA sources before your exam: faa.gov, 14 CFR Part 107, and the ACS (FAA-S-ACS-10). Rules change.

A simple study plan

1. Days 1–2: Regulations + the number set. Quick wins that build confidence.
2. Days 3–5: Airspace and sectional charts, the big one. Do worked chart reads, not just definitions.
3. Days 6–7: Weather (practice decoding METARs) and Loading (a couple of density-altitude and CG examples).
4. Days 8–10: Operations, then full-length practice exams. Retake missed questions, spaced out.
5. Before you book: score 85%+ on two full 60-question exams, including one under a real 120-minute clock.

A static guide like this gets you the knowledge. An adaptive app gets you there faster by drilling your weak spots instead of a generic sequence. That's what DroneWorthy does. It teaches each area, tracks the patterns that catch you, and shows a dated readiness verdict so you book the exam knowing, not hoping.

Frequently asked questions