Pilot Certification: A Video Walkthrough

Welcome to the course. Before we dive into regulations, let's get the big picture of how you actually become a remote pilot. There are two paths into the system. If you've never held an FAA certificate, you'll take the Unmanned Aircraft General test — sixty questions, multiple choice, seventy percent to pass, at a testing center near you. If you already hold a Part 61 certificate and you're current on your flight review, you skip the test and take a free online course instead. Either way, the application happens in a system called IACRA, where you'll fill out Form 8710-13. Before you can even start, you'll generate an FAA Tracking Number — your FTN — so do that first. After you pass and submit your application, the TSA runs a security background check. Once that clears, you print a temporary certificate and the plastic card arrives in the mail a few weeks later. Remember three numbers as we go: under fifty-five pounds defines a small UAS, four hundred feet is your altitude ceiling, and twenty-four calendar months is your recurrency window. We'll unpack all of those in detail. Let's get started with the rules that shape every flight you'll ever make under Part 107.