FAAST Blast — Week of April 19 – April 25, 2021
Biweekly FAA Safety Briefing News Update
Recurrent Testing for Drone Pilots Available
Drone pilots who already have part 107 Remote Pilot Certification can now take their required recency of knowledge training courses online. The training ensures that they have the updated knowledge necessary to operate in accordance with the Operations Over People rule which became effective on April 21, 2021. The training is free and available on FAASafety.gov. Be sure to follow the “Training Credit” instructions in the Introduction or Review sections of these courses, before you begin, to receive the appropriate credit. Here are the courses:
- Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent Non-Part 61 Pilots (ALC-677) — All individuals who hold a part 107 remote pilot certificate are eligible to take this course. If you don’t hold any other pilot certificates other than part 107, this is likely the course you need to take. http://bit.ly/ALC-677
- Part 107 Small UAS Initial (ALC-451) — Only part 107 remote pilots who are also certificated and current under part 61 are eligible to take this course. http://bit.ly/ALC451
- Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent (ALC -515) — Only part 107 remote pilots who are also certificated and current under part 61 are eligible to take this course. http://bit.ly/ALC515
- UAS Initial Aeronautical Knowledge Test — If you do not hold a current Remote Pilot Certificate and want to operate under part 107, you must take this test through an FAA-Approved Knowledge Testing Center (https://faa.psiexams.com). Please note that there is a fee associated with this test. Part 61 pilots who do not have a current flight review (per 14 CFR 61.56) and wish to operate under Part 107 are required to take this test as well.
Completing any of the online courses or passing the UAS Initial Aeronautical Knowledge Test will provide 24 calendar months of currency. A calendar month includes all days within that month. For example, completing the Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent Non-Part 61 Pilots (ALC-677) course on April 6, 2021, will permit a remote pilot to fly under part 107 through April 30, 2023. For more information, go to www.faa.gov/uas or see the FAA news release here: https://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsId=97201.
New Course Helps Pilots Conduct Preflight Self-Briefings
A new course developed by Flight Service and available on FAASafety.gov provides students and VFR pilots guidance on how to conduct a safe and regulatory compliant preflight self-briefing using automated weather resources. The objective of the course is to ensure that the pilot understands aviation weather basics and learns to apply meteorological and aeronautical information in a systematic manner to plan a safe flight. The course includes scenarios, real-life examples, videos, reference materials, and practice exercises for pilots to conduct on their own or with their flight instructor. Access the WINGS credit course here: http://bit.ly/ALC683.
Meet the FAA’s Runway Safety Professionals
At the FAA, runway safety spans several different domains. That’s why the agency takes on a collaborative approach in this area to ensure all the key players have a say in the decision process. And it’s because of these collaborative discussions among different areas of the FAA — and with airmen like you — that we’re able to realize many new safety-enhancing solutions at airports across the nation. Check out the article “Surface Safety Done Right” here: https://medium.com/faa/surface-safety-done-right-491c772d7f2f. Be sure to check out the entire surface-safety-themed issue at www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing.
Produced by the FAA Safety Briefing editors, www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing
Address questions or comments to: SafetyBriefing@faa.gov
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