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May 31, 2018 | FAA

The FAA Will Require Recertification for Commercial Drone Pilots

Commercial drone pilots who received their Remote Pilot Airman Certificate under Part 107 may remember it only has a 24 month shelf life before they need to recertify their knowledge. Yesterday, the FAA announced an update to its Remote Pilot – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airman Certification Standards which detailed the process for recurrent testing.

The recurrent knowledge test eschews the Weather, and Loading and Performance questions of the original certification knowledge test. Test takers are expected to be up to date on regulation and airspace requirements. Those two categories take up 70% -80% of the test questions with the remaining focusing on remote operation knowledge, emergency procedures, and drone maintenance.

Pilots planning to take the recurrent test should make sure they have all the required paperwork in order before applying for a test date and are expected to achieve a score of 70% to pass. Those who fail will be able to apply for a retest. The recurrent test does not apply to non-remote pilots, flight instructors, and ground instructors which have their own certification, review, and recurrent testing process.

If you’re looking to bolster your knowledge before taking the recurrent test or are seeking to be certified for the first time, there are great online resources like Drone Pilot Ground School available. You can use the code INTERDRONE for a $75 discount on the course. Also this September 4th, Enrico Schaefer and Tony Sauerbrey will be teaching a Part 107 Training course as a preconference session for InterDrone. You can use code PROMO10 for a 10% discount on the 3-Day Plus Preconference Pass if you’re interested in attending that or combine them both and get great training online and unrivaled networking and extended education at InterDrone.