Resources we actually use

These are the YouTube channels, FAA documents, books, and communities I used while studying for the Part 107, and the ones I still come back to today. Some of them sell their own training and we don't make a cent if you go check it out. The point is to give you the real picture, not to keep you on this site.

Best YouTube channels and sites for drone education (free)

The Drone Girl

What it is: Plain-English explainer of what Part 107 is and how to get it.

Her getting-started article is the single best on-ramp I have found for anyone who is staring down the FAA process for the first time and wondering what exactly they are signing up for. If the whole thing feels overcomplicated, start here before you start studying. The rest of her site is solid drone journalism worth following after.

Mike Sytes

What it is: Free Part 107 prep videos plus drone reviews and real-world flying content.

I watched Mike's series while I was studying for the test. Clean production, direct delivery, no drama. He just teaches you the material. He sells his own paid membership separately if you are interested; the YouTube content is free and very much worth your time.

Pilot Institute

What it is: Free aviation and Part 107 explainers from a $249 paid course company.

Pilot Institute sells one of the most popular paid Part 107 courses on the market. Their YouTube channel is mostly free content covering airspace, weather, regulation updates, and the things people get wrong on the test. Watch it, learn from it. I didn't take the course, but you can if you want. The YouTube channel is worth subscribing to either way.

Drone Launch Academy

What it is: Another paid-course company with a strong free YouTube presence.

Their podcast and videos lean toward people who want to actually make money flying drones (operations, business, real-world workflows) but they also have good test prep content. If your reason for getting Part 107 is commercial work, not just curiosity, their channel is a good place to add some working depth after you understand the regulations.

Tony & Chelsea Northrup

What it is: Photography and video education channel that covers drones, with solid Part 107 test prep content too.

Tony does cover Part 107 test prep, and he is also the best free source I know for actually learning photography and cinematography. Useful both before the test and long after. Worth subscribing now, sticking around after you pass.

Joshua Bardwell

What it is: FPV / hobby focused. Long-running educational channel on FPV freestyle, racing quads, and the technical guts of multirotor flight.

Not commercial-drone content, but if you want to actually understand why a quad behaves the way it does (flight controllers, PIDs, motor selection, video latency, propulsion), Bardwell is the deepest free resource on the internet. Pairs with his structured curriculum at fpvknowitall.com if you want a paid path through it.

Apps and weather tools (free, mostly)

FlightReady

What it is: All-in-one preflight planning app for drone pilots.

My favorite. Pulls together airspace, weather, NOTAMs, and TFRs into one preflight check so you are not jumping between five tabs. The interface is the cleanest in the category. If you are only going to install one of the tools in this section, install this one.

Windy

What it is: High-resolution weather visualization, web and mobile.

The best free wind, precipitation, and cloud-cover map on the internet. Layer toggles for cloud base, gusts, and surface temperature. If you fly in mountainous or coastal terrain, the wind animation alone is worth keeping it on your home screen.

UAV Forecast

What it is: Drone-specific weather and go / no-go assessment.

Built for our use case, not general aviation. Tells you wind at altitude, satellite count, KP index (geomagnetic activity that messes with GPS), visibility, and gusts, and rolls it into a simple go or no-go indicator for the next few hours.

Flightradar24

What it is: Live manned-aircraft tracking, web and app.

See what is in the air near you right now. Useful before launching anywhere a low helicopter or medevac flight could surprise you, and great context for understanding how busy your local airspace actually is on a given day.

FAA official resources (free, current, what the test is built from)

FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide (FAA-G-8082-22)

The FAA's own free study guide for the test you're about to take. Read it. It is the most directly aligned source you can study from, and it costs you nothing.

UAS Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-10)

The official spec for what's tested and to what depth. If you've ever wondered "do I really need to know this for the test?" the ACS is the answer. Treat it as the contract between you and the FAA.

Sample UAG Test Questions

Sample questions in the FAA's own format. Not as many as a paid prep tool will give you, but they're the closest thing to the real exam you can find for free.

Become a Drone Pilot (FAA landing page)

The official process: how to register for the exam, find a testing center, and get your certificate after you pass. Bookmark it.

Part 107 Summary

Plain-English summary of Part 107 from the FAA itself. Not a substitute for reading the actual regulation, but a useful first pass.

B4UFLY

The FAA's official airspace lookup app for drone pilots. You'll use this every time you fly somewhere new. Free.

Chart reading: symbols, figures, and live charts

Aeronautical Chart User's Guide (ACUG)

What it is: The FAA reference that names every symbol on a sectional chart.

If a chart symbol confuses you, this PDF is the answer. Skim the sections about controlled airspace, special use airspace, obstructions, and airport markings.

Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement

What it is: The PDF the FAA prints and hands you at the testing center.

When the test asks 'see Figure 22 in the supplement,' this is that supplement. Print pages 53-59 and 100-111 if you want the same paper format you'll have in front of you on test day.

SkyVector

What it is: Free online sectional, IFR, and VFR charts with flight planning.

The most popular free chart viewer. Pan, zoom, and click any airport to see the chart supplement entry. Useful for studying real airspace near where you live, not just the test figures.

VFR Map

What it is: Lightweight web sectional viewer.

Faster to load than SkyVector, fewer features. Good when you just want to see the chart for a specific point without the planning overlay.

FAA Digital Visual Charts

What it is: The FAA download page for the official digital sectional, terminal, and helicopter charts.

The authoritative source. Updated on the FAA's 56-day chart cycle. Most pilots use SkyVector or ForeFlight as a friendlier interface, but this is where those services pull their data from.

Books & references we actually use

The actual Code of Federal Regulations. This is the part most people skip and shouldn't. The test isn't built from prep courses; it's built from the regulations. Read these directly:

FAR/AIM (current year edition)

The Federal Aviation Regulations and Aeronautical Information Manual in one volume. Pilots have used this for decades. The ASA paperback is on every working pilot's shelf; the FAA AIM PDF (https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim_html/index.html) is free if you'd rather read on a screen.

Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C)

Written for manned-aircraft pilots, free, and far broader than what Part 107 tests, but the chapters on weather, airspace, charts, and aerodynamics are the gold-standard explanations. Read the relevant chapters when something in a prep course doesn't quite click.

Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28B)

The FAA's full weather reference. METARs, TAFs, fronts, density altitude, the works. Free, current, and more depth than any prep course will give you.

ASA Remote Pilot Test Prep (current year)

The paperback test prep book from ASA. Useful if you study better off-screen. ASA also publishes the FAR/AIM and the Test Prep books for every pilot certificate, so the format is familiar to anyone who's been through other aviation training.