I just finished taking the FAA 107 test and passed with 90%, but it felt like some of the questions weren’t in the study material at all. On the flip side, a lot of what I studied didn’t show up on the test.
For example, one question was about which drone classifications can fly over non-participating people, but there was nothing about thunderstorms, cloud types, or calculating cloud base.
Could it be because I was using 2024 study material, but the test has already been updated for 2025?
Check out the guide on this forum about the 107 test. It has some solid advice and might clear up your concerns.
The test pulls from a big question bank, so it’s normal to see questions that weren’t in your study materials. You also end up studying stuff that doesn’t show up, thanks to the random question selection.
@Zhen
When I took a ham radio test, they made sure to include a specific number of questions from each category. I thought the 107 would be similar, but I ended up with lots of repeats on one topic and barely any weather questions. The system could definitely improve.
It depends on the study material. I used Pilot Institute, and almost every question on the test was covered in their practice exams.
Wynn said:
It depends on the study material. I used Pilot Institute, and almost every question on the test was covered in their practice exams.
Same here. Most of what I studied through Pilot Institute showed up on the test.
Wynn said:
It depends on the study material. I used Pilot Institute, and almost every question on the test was covered in their practice exams.
I studied with them for two months and still had about eight questions that weren’t covered. It felt like my test centre was using an older version. I passed with 83%, but I was scoring above 90% on the practice tests.
@Hollis
Most people seem to drop about 10 points between practice tests and the real exam. It’s why aiming for 90%+ in practice is good advice.
The rules about flying over non-participants are definitely in the study materials.
Payton said:
The rules about flying over non-participants are definitely in the study materials.
And they are heavily focused on.
I had the same feeling after my test. A lot of the questions seemed unfamiliar, even though I had been doing great on multiple practice tests. When I mentioned this to the proctor, they said most people have the same reaction.
I think it’s because the test pulls from a large pool of questions. I was ready for stuff about airport signage and patterns, but none of that showed up on mine.
I was scoring 100% on practice tests, but on the real thing, 80% of the non-map questions felt brand new to me.
I got a question about the requirements for flying Cat 3. I immediately thought of ILS Cat 3 approaches and answered incorrectly. The options threw me off.
Only about 70% of the possible test questions match what’s in the study materials.
Zen said:
Only about 70% of the possible test questions match what’s in the study materials.
That depends a lot on the study source you use.
What do you mean by ‘study material’? The FAA doesn’t offer an official study guide. How did you prepare?
victorblake said:
What do you mean by ‘study material’? The FAA doesn’t offer an official study guide. How did you prepare?
There’s a document on the FAA Drone Zone that’s supposed to cover everything, but I had a similar experience.
victorblake said:
What do you mean by ‘study material’? The FAA doesn’t offer an official study guide. How did you prepare?
I just read the FAA’s 107 study guide.
Here’s the link I used:
FAA Small Unmanned Aircraft System Study Guide
@Gracen
It’s from August 2016? There’s your problem.