In Command: The Part 107 Podcast

You’ll never taxi, takeoff, or land at an airport — but the FAA still expects you to understand exactly what’s happening there. In this episode we break down airport operations from a drone pilot’s perspective, covering runway numbering and what those numbers actually mean, how traffic patterns work and why understanding them keeps you out of serious trouble, the difference between towered and non...

Turns out the FAA cares about what’s going on inside your body just as much as what’s going on in the sky. In this episode we cover the one Part 107 topic that catches almost everyone off guard — human physiology. We break down how fatigue, stress, and common medications affect your performance as a remote pilot, why the 8 hour bottle to throttle rule applies to drone pilots too, how your eyes act...

Sometimes following the rules and keeping your drone in the air are two different things — and the FAA actually has a plan for that. In this episode we cover emergency procedures and aeronautical decision making, two of the most scenario-heavy topics on the Part 107 knowledge test. We break down when you can legally deviate from Part 107 in an emergency, what you have to report afterward and when,...

Most drone pilots unbox their aircraft, charge the battery, and immediately start flying — and most drone pilots are skipping one of the most tested topics on the Part 107 knowledge exam. In this episode we break down small UAS maintenance and inspection procedures, covering the remote pilot in command’s responsibility for airworthiness before every single flight, what a proper preflight inspectio...

Surprise — every drone flying in the United States is now required to broadcast its location in real time like a digital license plate in the sky. In this episode we break down Remote ID — one of the newest and most misunderstood rules in the Part 107 knowledge test. We cover Standard Remote ID, broadcast modules, what information gets transmitted and when, what an FAA-Recognized Identification Ar...

Here’s something nobody tells you when you buy your first drone — the FAA expects you to understand aviation radio communications even though you’ll never touch a radio. CTAF, UNICOM, ATIS, squawk codes, the NATO phonetic alphabet — it’s all on the Part 107 knowledge test and it will absolutely catch you off guard if you skip it. In this episode we decode every radio communication concept the FAA...

Test day is here. Your palms are sweaty. You’re sitting in the parking lot of the testing center wondering if you studied enough. This is the episode you want playing in your earbuds right now. In this rapid fire cheat sheet episode we blast through every number, limit, and rule that the FAA loves to put on the Part 107 knowledge test. Maximum altitude — 400 feet AGL. Maximum speed — 87 knots or 1...

You’ve got a drone, a sectional chart, and absolutely no idea what those numbers around the edges mean. Don’t worry — you’re not alone. In this episode we tackle one of the most overlooked skills on the Part 107 exam — reading latitude and longitude coordinates on a sectional chart. We start from absolute zero, covering what latitude and longitude actually are, how degrees minutes and seconds work...

urns out the FAA has some pretty strong feelings about flying a drone over people’s heads. Shocking, we know. In this episode we dive into one of the newer and most misunderstood sections of Part 107 — operations over human beings. We break down the four categories that determine whether you can legally fly over people, what kinetic energy limits actually mean in plain English, what a Declaration...

Sorry to break it to you, but Google Maps isn’t going to cut it when the FAA asks you to identify an airspace boundary on your knowledge test. Sectional charts are the official aviation maps that every Remote Pilot in Command needs to read — and they look nothing like anything you’ve seen before. In this episode we decode the colorful, symbol-packed world of VFR sectional charts. We cover airport...

Ever wondered why your drone feels sluggish on a hot summer afternoon, or why adding a camera payload suddenly cuts your flight time in half? Welcome to loading and performance — the smallest section on the Part 107 exam but the one that explains why your drone does what it does. In this episode we break down how payload weight affects flight time and handling, why center of gravity matters even o...

Weather kills flights — and sometimes pilots. As a drone pilot you don’t need to be a meteorologist, but you do need to know what the sky is telling you before you ever unbox your drone. In this episode we decode the two most important weather reports you’ll see on the Part 107 exam — METARs and TAFs. We’ll show you how to read them without a decoder ring, what the Part 107 weather minimums actual...

If there’s one episode you can’t afford to skip, it’s this one. Operations makes up a whopping 35 to 45 percent of the entire Part 107 knowledge test — meaning nearly half your exam score lives right here. In this episode we break down everything from preflight planning and crew roles to emergency procedures, aeronautical decision making, night operations, and reading sectional charts like a pro....

Ever opened a drone app and seen a big red circle over your flying spot and wondered why? Welcome to the National Airspace System — the invisible architecture that governs every inch of sky above the United States. In this episode we break down the alphabet airspace classes from A through G, what each one means for drone pilots, which ones will get you in serious trouble without authorization, and...

Before you ever spin up those rotors, you need to know the rules. In this first episode of In Command: The Part 107 Podcast, we break down the FAA Part 107 regulations that every Remote Pilot in Command must know. From who needs a certificate to what operations are allowed, what can be waived, and what happens when pilots break the rules — we cover it all. Whether you’re studying for the exam or j...