Quick reference

Quick Reference

Every number and limit this book establishes, gathered on one page and grouped by the question you are actually asking. Each figure links to the section that teaches it.

The flight envelope

400FT
Maximum altitude
Above ground level — measured from the surface directly below the aircraft, not from sea level.
→ 1.2
400FT
Above a structure
Within a 400-foot radius of a structure you may fly up to 400 feet above its uppermost limit. Drift outside that radius and the ordinary ceiling applies again immediately.
→ 1.2
87KTS
Maximum groundspeed
100 miles per hour.
→ 1.2
3SM
Minimum flight visibility
Statute miles, observed from the control station.
→ 1.2
500FT
Cloud clearance — below
Below any cloud.
→ 1.2
2,000FT
Cloud clearance — horizontal
Horizontally from any cloud.
→ 1.2

Certificates and currency

16YRS
Minimum age
To hold a remote pilot certificate. You must also read, speak, write, and understand English.
→ 1.1
24MO
Currency window
Recurrent training within every 24 calendar months. The certificate itself never expires; the authority to fly on it lapses.
→ 9.4
13
Knowledge areas
Covered by the initial knowledge test and by the standard recurrent training.
→ 9.4
8
Areas in the Part 61 course
The alternate path for pilots who already hold a manned-aircraft certificate.
→ 9.4
14DAYS
Wait to retake the test
After a failed knowledge test.
→ 9.4

Registration and Remote ID

$5.00
Registration fee
Per aircraft.
→ 6.2
3YRS
Registration term
Before the certificate must be renewed.
→ 6.2
0.55LB
Recreational-only exemption
The weight below which only recreational flyers are exempt. Under Part 107 there is no weight exemption from registration at all.
→ 6.2
13YRS
Minimum age to register
To register an aircraft in your own name.
→ 6.2
2023
Remote ID required
Since September 16, 2023, Remote ID has been a condition of nearly every flight.
→ 6.3

Operations over people

4
Operational categories
Categories 1 through 4. Outside them, sustained flight over people is not permitted.
→ 5.1
0.55LB
Category 1 weight limit
Or less, held throughout the operation and counting everything attached — and with no exposed rotating parts.
→ 5.2
11FT-LB
Category 2 injury threshold
Kinetic energy transferred on impact from a rigid object.
→ 5.3
25FT-LB
Category 3 injury threshold
The higher ceiling is why Category 3 carries tighter limits on where you may fly over people.
→ 5.3

Night, twilight, and lighting

3SM
Anti-collision light visibility
The lighting must be visible for at least 3 statute miles, with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision.
→ 4.2
2021
Night qualification date
Night privileges require the knowledge test or training completed after April 6, 2021 — the date the current night rule took effect.
→ 4.1

When things go wrong

10DAYS
Deadline to report
To report a qualifying event to the FAA.
→ 11.1
$500
Property-damage threshold
Below this, no report is due on damage alone — but serious injury or any loss of consciousness makes an event reportable whatever it cost.
→ 11.1
LEVEL 3
Serious-injury thresholdGuidance
AC 107-2A explains a serious injury as one qualifying at Level 3 or higher on the Abbreviated Injury Scale. Part 107 itself does not define the term.
→ 11.2

Waivers

10
Waivable sections
Section 107.205 lists ten sections of Part 107 and no others. A rule that is not on the list cannot be waived through this process at all.
→ 8.2
2
Rules with a hard carve-out
No waiver of § 107.25 or § 107.31 will be issued to allow carrying another person's property by aircraft for compensation or hire.
→ 8.2