PeteGould
lvl.4
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These comments are fine as far as they go, but there's something major missing.
The self-study course offered by the FAA for Part 61 pilots is being offered specifically to pilots for an important reason: it's missing a lot of material that pilots already know. So you can take that course online for free, but it does NOT teach you everything you'll need to know to pass the knowledge test in August. As far as I know, no one is yet offering a comprehensive course that someone off the street can take and then pass the knowledge test.
Two areas I know for certain you'll be tested on are how to read navigation charts (specifically sectional charts) and how to read FAA weather briefings, such as Meteorological Terminal Aviation Routine ("METAR") forecasts. Personally I think it's a huge overreach to require drone pilots to know how to read either one, but this is the FAA we're talking about. They want you to be able to look at a sectional chart and not only see if you're flying near an airport or restricted area, but also see if you're flying in an area with greater traffic density (such as near a VFR checkpoint). Sectional charts use tiny symbols that have very precise meanings - the VFR checkpoint, for instance, looks like the flag flying at the hole on a putting green. And a METAR forecast is written as very precise notation - a typical METAR report looks like this:
METAR KTTN 051853Z 04011KT 1/2SM VCTS SN FZFG BKN003 OVC010 M02/M02 A3006 RMK AO2 TSB40 SLP176 P0002 T10171017=
Hopefully some time between now and the end of August the FAA will release (in reader-friendly terms) a precise list of exactly what you need to learn in addition to their online course, so you can self-study it on your own, AND some third-party providers will put together a complete Remote Pilot course that covers everything. In the meantime the online course for Part 61 pilots is free and may be taken by anyone, but just remember it is NOT a complete course and assumes you already have all the knowledge of a Private Pilot at the time you take it. |
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