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 re-certify 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 forgoes 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 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, who have their own certification, review, and recurrent testing process.
