YDQA Ep 8

John Dickow: [00:00:00] You mentioned briefly the consequences for not taking these exams. If

Kara Murphy: you're doing well in getting gigs, your competitors are watching you, and so they, if they go on to that airman registration portal on the f a A and see that you're not current, That's where you and they report you. That's where you get in trouble.

John Dickow: Hi, and welcome back to another episode of Your Drone Questions Answered. Today we're answering the question, what license do you need to start making money with your drone? Today I'm joined by Kara Murphy. She's a commercial drone pilot, photographer, writer, and contributing writer for DP Review. Kara, thank you for joining me today.

Thank you for

Kara Murphy: having me on.

John Dickow: Well, first of all, Kara, I just wanna know a little bit about you, your background with drones, particularly how you're making money with drones.

Kara Murphy: So I started flying drones for fun in 2014 and I lost [00:01:00] the first one I borrowed on its third flight. It was a DJ I fandom one. Uh, I didn't look at it.

Career-wise until late 2016 when Drone 360 Magazine asked me to start writing for them. And then in January, 2017, I got my first commercial job, my first paying job, and this was shooting the Embarcadero buildings in downtown San Francisco for a filmmaker. And I had to pass a certain test that we're gonna talk about today in order to make money, um, turn a profit using my drone since.

2017, I have worked with a variety of clients, big and small. My business is Cara e Murphy Imagery, and it's a combination of aerial photography for clients, videography. I also sell some of my personal work as prints, and then I am a contributing [00:02:00] writer for DP review and. I, um, have some clients that I do social media marketing for as well.

The idea is to stay out of an office and stay flexible since I have a 12 year old daughter.

John Dickow: You stay busy, clearly. Yeah. Um, and you're the right person to answer this question, so let me just go ahead and throw it out there. Um, what license do you need to start making money with your drone?

Kara Murphy: So to start making money with your drone, you need to pass your part, the Part 1 0 7 Exam, accepting money and flying for profit.

Without my, um, certification being current, I could be fined in excess of $30,000 for each violation, and you do not want that. Obviously, I did not have a background in aviation. I got into flying drones because, I, uh, did photography and I wanted to expand to aerial photography. So I didn't know anything about sectional charts and any other aviation rules that other people, um, who came [00:03:00] from the aviation world might have been familiar with.

You can't just cram for the part 1 0 7. It's not like college where, okay, you know, it's two hours before the test. I'm just gonna cram in this information and hope for the best. It's not how this works. And also you don't wanna cram. And just hope that you pass because this is your career and you have to be knowledgeable in passing the part 1 0 7.

That doesn't mean okay, I'm done. I don't need to learn anymore. I don't need to do anything. You are always learning. You are always iterating. Cause when you get out on the field, And if something, um, goes awry or if there's an emergency, you better know what to

John Dickow: do. Um, one question I have is just kind of between the two exams, the part 1 0 7, and then the recurrent exam that you'll be taking every, every two years afterwards.

Um, Is there a difference in intensity between those as the recurrent exam, a lot, a little lighter than the part 1 0 7, or are they both essentially kind of the

Kara Murphy: same? [00:04:00] Well, I wouldn't say they're essentially the same. So the part 1 0 7 is a big hurdle because you are going in. To a testing center. Mm-hmm.

You don't have, when you take the online recurrent, you can pop up, you can pop up a window and you know, Google something if you're looking at a question, uh, when you take the part 1 0 7, all you can bring into that testing center is a valid ID proving that it is you taking this test and you can bring a magnifying glass.

Because of the 60 questions that are are asked on the part 1 0 7, at least a third of those involve sectional charts. And if you've looked at a sectional chart, there's tiny little figures on there, and you may need a magnifying glass to see. Um, What it is you are looking for, um, what kind of information you are trying to find.

So, um, part 1 0 7 is definitely more intense. You get 60 questions, you need a 70% [00:05:00] to pass, so that's like a C minus, um, if you think of it that way. So you have up to 18 questions to get wrong. And that means, you know, if you do the math, you have to get 42 of those 60 questions right in order to pass the first time.

Now the good news is, uh, if the facts and figures are accurate, I think they say like, between 90 and 95% of test takers pass their first time, you get three multiple choice questions, um, of these 60 questions. And so I always tell people if you feel stumped, There's always one that is obviously wrong, eliminate that and then you have a 50 50 chance of getting the question right.

But again, you are sitting, there, you are in an exam room, there's no internet on these computers, there's nothing to look for. Mm-hmm. So you have two hours. It took me about an hour, but they do give you two [00:06:00] hours to go through and double check, um, the person. At the P s I testing center, administering the exam is gonna walk, uh, walk in there with you and just walk you through really quickly how you select the proper answers and everything.

And, um, Once you're done, you wave your hand. They come in and uh, they click a button and then it calculates your score. So you know right there whether you have passed or failed. They give you a printout and it doesn't end there. You do have to go to Iacra. Iacra is basically where you go in and register and you tell them that you have passed your exam and this starts the process of getting you that u a s card that you show.

Um, saying, stating that you are a certified remote pilot, so you need to d take that extra step because if you do get a approached, um, either by a client or an authority figure or anything, this is also your way to prove that. Yeah, [00:07:00] I am part 1 0 7 certified, so it's a little bit more intense. The online recurrent exam not as intense.

Um, it's 45 questions. Both tests have questions. On flying at night, I believe. Um, both tests have questions on hazardous attitudes, but the 45 questions, you don't look at any sectional charts in this one. It's just a basic list from top to bottom, and you have to score 100% on the recurrent exam, but you have three opportunities to get that question right, so you go through the first time, it's gonna show you exactly the questions that you got wrong.

You go back and you select another option, and then once you hit a hundred percent, congratulations, you have passed the recurrent exam and now you can also fly at night under part 1 0 7 without having to apply for a waiver.

John Dickow: That's great. So this is, this is really important. This is a really important exam to take.

You mentioned. [00:08:00] Briefly the consequences for not taking these exams. If

Kara Murphy: you are operating, um, a drone for profit and you are accepting money and you are not current, so let's say maybe you passed your part 1 0 7 2 years ago and those 24 calendar months are up, and now you're just like, oh, whatever. I already passed it.

I know my stuff, but someone asks, and you cannot prove. Because the F AA keeps track of it in their system. You can go to the Airman's database and you can look up anyone's first and last name and see if they are current with their certification. And so let's say a client just looks you up and, oh, they, they're not current, you know, and they're disgusted by that and they say something to the f aa, or even if a competitor.

Uh, sees that you're out there making money and maybe you're getting more business than, than them, and they look and find out, again, the [00:09:00] f a a, if they come after you, that is a $30,000 fine per violation. So it's not just one blanket 30,000. Wow. Yes. This is so don't

John Dickow: do it.

Kara Murphy: Yeah. If you're, if you're doing well in getting gigs, your competitors are watching you.

And so they, if they go onto that airman registration portal on the f AA and see that you're not current, that's where you, and they report you, that's where you get in trouble. But, and it's also just ethically running a business. It's the right thing to do, to stay current, to ensure that, um, you know what you are doing because you are flying.

An aircraft that has the potential to damage property or possibly injure someone. And so, um, it's good to know this stuff. Just, just stay current and it's easier than ever now. I mean, I tell people if I took the part 1 0 7 3 times in person and then immediately after went and got my online [00:10:00] recurrent exam, you can do it one time.

And now you have that luxury of. Taking the online recurrent, it's, it's that easy and the recurrent is easier. Um, to be fair, even though you do have to get a perfect 100%

John Dickow: score. When you think about these testing centers, are they pretty accessible? I mean, would somebody have a hard time finding a center or have to travel far to get to a center to,

Kara Murphy: to take a test?

When I was taking them, I think there were 800 centers around the country. A PSI testing center. They administer tests for a lot of different, Uh, things. It's not just a remote pilot exam. There's people looking to get certified in cosmetology. They have it certifications. Um, there's a whole row of computers and there are barriers between them.

Um, there is someone. Who sits outside this testing center, they have cameras in there, so they monitor you, make sure you didn't sneak a phone in or you're not [00:11:00] doing anything, um, that you know, you're not, you're not cheating. Um, but I just recommend to people schedule it out in advance. And that is also gonna motivate you to continue studying and just work that time into study and you won't be procrastinating.

Cuz I, you know, I have a few friends right now. Oh well. You know what's gonna happen And I said, just get the soonest appointment. Um, I never had a problem scheduling out two weeks in advance within a 50 mile radius myself. Um, I didn't have a problem personally, but I live out in West Michigan. I don't know if you're in a busy, a major metropolitan area now.

I lived in the Bay Area when I took it for the first time in 2017. But even in 2017, there weren't nearly as many as remote, nearly as many remote pilots as there are right now. So, um, it, you know, I, I would just tell you, if you [00:12:00] wanna pass it, see when you can schedule it, and scheduling that, having that date on your calendar is gonna motivate you to buckle down and study and go walk through all that material and make sure that you know it.

Very

John Dickow: important. Uh, before I let you go, is there any other tips you wanna share with our audience and when it comes to this topic, you're, you're very knowledgeable.

Kara Murphy: Oh, well, I appreciate that. I, I guess I've been doing it long enough. Um, no, I, I guess don't be nervous when you get in there because I'm a terrible test taker and I passed it all three times, but, I just, you know, I, I kind of flashback to high school when I was taking the a c t and the s a t and just, you know, just clamming up and being nervous and just take a deep breath.

And I would say, make sure you have two hours. So go back. And just double check the answer because sometimes they will try to trick you. And I do believe, um, the f AA throws in three extra [00:13:00] test questions that they, uh, are testing out for future exam use. Well, I,

John Dickow: I. Really, really appreciate this. I mean, there you have it.

It's, it's, if you, if you wanna start making money with your drone, you need to take the part 1 0 7 exam and then you need to take the recurrent exam every 24 months. It's very important. Yes. Uh, car Kara, thank you so much for joining me today, answering this question. It's important for our audience to know, uh, and to our audience.

If you have a drone question that you want answered, you can submit that question@ydqa.io and we'll do our best to get that question answered for you. In the meantime, we'll just see you in the sky.