The FAA's Remote Pilot — Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems knowledge test (commonly called the Part 107 test) is the gateway to flying drones commercially in the United States. It's 60 multiple-choice questions, 2 hours of clock time, and a 70% passing score — meaning you can miss no more than 18 questions. The test costs $175 at any PSI testing center.
Most candidates fail not because the material is hard, but because they study with stale question banks and never practice reading sectional charts under exam pressure. This page gives you a smarter way to prep: realistic Part 107 practice tests that mirror the actual ACS subject areas, with every answer explanation tied back to a specific FAR 107 section or AIM paragraph.
What the Part 107 knowledge test actually covers
The FAA publishes the topic weighting in the Remote Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-10A). Your 60 questions will be drawn approximately as follows:
| ACS Area | Approx. % of test | Sample topics |
|---|---|---|
| Regulations | 15–25% | FAR 107.1 applicability, waivers, registration, reporting accidents |
| Airspace & requirements | 15–25% | Class B/C/D/E/G, LAANC, FAR 107.41 controlled airspace authorization |
| Weather | 11–16% | METAR/TAF decoding, density altitude, micrometeorology, stability |
| Loading & performance | 7–11% | Center of gravity, battery effects, payload limits |
| Operations | 35–45% | FAR 107.31 visual line of sight, FAR 107.51 operating limits, CRM, physiology |
The single biggest bucket is Operations — and within that, scenario questions about visual line of sight, visual observers, night operations, and operating limits dominate. If your practice test isn't loading you up on those, it isn't representative.
Eligibility and what you need before test day
Before you even register for a Part 107 practice test, confirm you meet the basic eligibility requirements in FAR 107.61:
- Be at least 16 years old
- Be able to read, speak, write, and understand English
- Be in a physical and mental condition to safely operate a small UAS
- Pass the initial aeronautical knowledge test
The test itself requires:
- An FAA Tracking Number (FTN) — created in IACRA before you schedule
- A government-issued photo ID matching the name on your FTN profile
- A scheduled appointment at a PSI testing center (psiexams.com)
- The $175 fee, paid at scheduling
You are not allowed to bring notes, phones, or your own calculator. The testing center provides a supplement booklet containing sectional chart excerpts, METARs, and figures referenced in the questions. Practicing with the official FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement (FAA-CT-8080-2H) is non-negotiable — every legitimate Part 107 practice test should pull figures from this exact PDF.
How a good Part 107 practice test should be structured
A practice test is only useful if it forces you to do the same cognitive work the real test demands. Look for these features:
- 60 questions per session (not 20, not 30 — train at full distance)
- 120-minute timer that mirrors the actual exam
- Sectional chart questions drawn from the FAA testing supplement, not generic stock charts
- Explanations that cite the regulation, not just "the answer is C"
- Performance breakdown by ACS area so you know whether to drill regulations or weather next
- Question randomization so you learn the concept, not the answer letter
The five Part 107 question types you must master
- Sectional chart interpretation — identifying airspace floors/ceilings, MOAs, restricted areas, and obstacle elevations. Expect 8–12 of these.
- METAR/TAF decoding — visibility, ceiling, wind, density altitude implications.
- Airspace authorization — when you need LAANC vs. a FAR 107.41 waiver vs. nothing at all.
- Operating limits — FAR 107.51 puts hard caps: 100 mph max groundspeed, 400 ft AGL (or within 400 ft of a structure), 3 statute miles visibility, 500 ft below / 2,000 ft horizontally from clouds.
- Crew responsibilities — the remote PIC's duties under FAR 107.31 (visual line of sight) and what a visual observer can and cannot do.
A realistic study timeline
Most candidates pass with 15–25 hours of focused study. A workable schedule:
- Days 1–3: Read the FAA's free Remote Pilot — Small UAS Study Guide and skim Part 107 in full.
- Days 4–7: Drill regulations and airspace using flashcards or adaptive question sets.
- Days 8–10: Take a full-length 60-question practice test under timed conditions. Score it. Note every missed area.
- Days 11–13: Targeted review on weak ACS subject areas. Sectional chart drills daily.
- Day 14: Second full-length practice test. If you score 85% or higher twice in a row, schedule the real exam.
Don't schedule the actual test until your practice scores are consistently above 85%. The 15-point cushion absorbs test-day nerves and the unfamiliarity of the PSI interface.
After you pass: recurrent training
Under the current rule, your remote pilot certificate doesn't expire, but your aeronautical knowledge recency does. FAR 107.65 requires you to complete a free online recurrent training course through the FAA Safety Team (faasafety.gov) every 24 calendar months. The in-person recurrent test was eliminated in 2021 — the online module is now the only path. You must keep a record of completion and present it on request.
If you let recurrency lapse, you can't act as remote PIC until you redo the training. The certificate itself stays valid; only your authority to fly under it pauses.
Common reasons candidates fail
From debrief patterns we see across thousands of attempts:
- Skipping the FAA testing supplement. Candidates practice on third-party sectional images and freeze when the real PSI screen shows the official figure.
- Memorizing answer letters from a stale 200-question bank instead of learning the underlying rule.
- Weak airspace fluency. If you can't instantly identify Class E floor transitions on a sectional, you'll lose 4–6 questions.
- Misreading FAR 107.51 limits, especially the cloud clearance numbers (500 below / 2,000 horizontal) and the 400-ft-above-structure exception.
- Confusing waiver vs. authorization — controlled airspace needs an authorization (often via LAANC); deviating from operating rules needs a waiver.
How GroundScholar helps with this
GroundScholar runs adaptive Part 107 practice tests that pull from the current ACS and the live FAA testing supplement figures. Every question explanation is verified against the regulation it cites — not paraphrased from a 2019 study guide. As you answer, the system tracks which ACS subject areas are dragging your score down and weights your next session toward those gaps, so a 15-hour study plan does the work of 30.
You also get a mock checkride-style oral simulator for Part 107 — useful if you're transitioning to commercial UAS operations where clients or insurers expect you to talk through airspace decisions out loud. The AI examiner asks follow-up questions based on your answers, the way a real Part 141 chief instructor would. Every cite it gives you links to the exact FAR or AIM paragraph.
If you want a free, accurate Part 107 practice test that actually predicts your real-test score within a few points, this is the cleanest place to start.