Part 107 Cram Sheet
The highest-yield facts across all five exam areas. Study aid, verify at faa.gov. · droneworthy.com
THE EXAM
- 60 questions, 3 choices, 120 min, 70% to pass (42/60).
- Aim for a consistent 85%+ on three full practice exams. Take them on separate days before you book.
- Fee $175 to the PSI test center (not refundable). Closed-book except the FAA figure supplement.
- Five content areas: Operations, Airspace, Regulations, Weather, Loading. The FAA no longer publishes percentage weights: study all five.
AIRSPACE
- Do I need authorization? Controlled (B/C/D/surface-E) = yes (LAANC/DroneZone). Class G = no.
- Lines: dashed magenta=E to surface · dashed blue=D · faded magenta=E 700 AGL · faded blue=E 1,200 AGL · solid blue=B · magenta solid=C.
- 400 ft AGL ceiling. But you get +400 above a structure within 400 ft of it.
- Trap: chart alt = MSL; your limit = AGL (add field elevation).
- LAANC grid ceiling can be below 400. Altitude never exempts controlled airspace.
- Stadium TFR: 3 NM / ≤3,000 ft AGL, 1 hr before–after (30k+ seats). LAANC ≠ TFR.
- Restricted = controlling-agency OK when active · Prohibited/DC SFRA = no-fly. Check NOTAMs.
- Service ladder: B = separates all (needs a clearance) · C = advises + resolves (VFR gets sequencing/advisories/conflict resolution/safety alerts) · D = just talking (two-way comms, self-separate). "Separation from all" = a B thing.
WEATHER
- Stability = the mental model. Stable air = smooth, layered (stratiform) clouds, steady precip, haze/fog, poor viz. Unstable air = building (cumuliform) clouds, showers, turbulence/gusts, good viz. Read the clouds to know the air.
- Temperature inversion = warm-over-cold = a strong stable cap. Hanging off it: trapped fog/haze/smoke (poor viz), turbulence + low-level wind shear at the top (expect shear when winds are 25 kt+ at 2,000–4,000 ft AGL), and icing below freezing.
- Icing rank: freezing rain = fastest, heaviest structural ice (large supercooled drops spread & freeze on contact) > freezing drizzle > in-cloud icing.
- Only two things add moisture to the air: evaporation (liquid → vapor) & sublimation (ice → vapor). Condensation & precipitation remove it.
- Fog: radiation = clear, calm night over cool, moist low ground · advection = warm moist air moving over a cooler surface (coastlines). Small temp/dewpoint spread = fog likely.
- Minimums: 3 SM visibility · 500 ft below / 2,000 ft horizontal from clouds.
- METAR winds = knots; times = Zulu (UTC). Clouds in hundreds of ft AGL (OVC008 = 800 ft).
- METAR = now; TAF = forecast (FM groups = "from this time, changes to…").
- Density altitude: hot + high (+ humid) = thin air = less thrust/climb/payload.
- Thunderstorms: give them a wide berth. Gust fronts & microbursts reach miles ahead. Cumulonimbus = greatest turbulence; lightning is always present.
LOADING & PERFORMANCE
- Bank → load factor → stall speed. A steeper level turn raises load factor, and stall speed climbs with it: 30° ≈ 1.15g · 45° ≈ 1.41g · 60° = 2.0g (the structure supports double the weight). Tight turns near the ground can stall you.
- Heavier = slower climb, longer stop, less agility, shorter flight. Motors don't auto-compensate.
- Max gross weight = the limit; at max = worst-case performance.
- CG matters on multirotors, keep the load balanced. Aft CG = less stable/twitchier; forward CG = more stable.
- Cold cuts battery capacity/voltage; a swollen LiPo = retire it.
REGULATIONS
- Under Part 107, register every drone ($5 / 3 yr), number on the exterior; carry your certificate.
- Recurrent training every 24 months (free online) to stay current.
- Night OK: no waiver, with anti-collision lights visible 3 SM.
- Report to FAA within 10 days if serious injury/loss of consciousness or >$500 damage (not the drone).
- Any business purpose (paid or not) = Part 107, not recreational.
- Waivers via the Aviation Safety Hub (moved there June 2026); airspace authorizations stay in DroneZone: a waivered op in controlled airspace needs both. Only 107.205-listed rules are waivable.
OPERATIONS
- Yield to all manned aircraft, always. Keep unaided VLOS (goggles need a visual observer).
- Max groundspeed 100 mph (87 kt). No flying over non-participants without an Over-People category.
- Remote ID required on every registered drone (standard, broadcast module = VLOS only, or FRIA).
- No careless/reckless ops or dropping hazards (107.23); moving-vehicle ops only over sparsely populated areas.
- IMSAFE fitness check; no alcohol within 8 hrs / 0.04% BAC / while impaired.
- 5 hazardous attitudes → antidotes (anti-authority → "follow the rules; they're usually right").
- Preflight every flight; in an emergency, 107.21 lets you deviate as needed (report on request).
- Near airports: runway # = magnetic heading ÷ 10 (ends differ by 18); land into the wind (toward the windsock's open mouth). Left traffic = standard; the segmented circle flags right-traffic ends. ATC clock traffic = your ground track.
- Chart Supplement (an in-exam figure): read the AIRSPACE line for class + hours ("other times CLASS E" = reverts after hours), COMMUNICATIONS for CTAF/UNICOM, Ⓡ APP CON for radar.