Sections 13-15: Exam Day, the Certificate, and Staying Current

UAG: 60 independent multiple-choice questions (3 options), 2 hours, 70% to pass (48 right), administered in person exclusively by PSI at recording. Cost $160 - $96 at PSI-owned centers, the difference being a $64 proctor convenience fee. Content weighting to aim your review: Operations 35-45%, Regulation and Airspace 15-25% each, Weather 11-16%, Loading 7-11%. Figures come in the testing supplement booklet: Appendix 1 holds the legends ('like having your own cheat sheet'), Appendix 2 the numbered figures - unaligned with page numbers, and some belonging to other certificates entirely. Strategy set: arrive early; read EVERY question fully (practice-lookalikes swap details); take the closest answer on calculations; use the whole clock; bring the unlit magnifying glass.

The course's practice exam draws 60 at random from ~350 questions (at recording). The doctrine: it MEASURES readiness, it doesn't build it - same-day repeats teach you the database, and the FAA's differently-worded questions then find the gap. The gate: 80%+ on at least two attempts before scheduling, deliberately above the 70% bar to absorb exam-day stress and rewording. The tells of self-deception: the 99-attempt student, and any practice run finished under 20 minutes - speed that means recognition, not reasoning. Supplements included free: the flashcard app and cheat sheet. Vendor caution on record: some third-party practice exams never updated for the 2021 rules - and 'I would avoid actually the King School exam.'

The pipeline: IACRA (iacra.faa.gov) first - free account, yields your FTN (Flight Tracking Number), later hosts the certificate application. PSI (fa.psiexams.com) second - built WITH the FTN and an exactly-matching name; search centers by zip within 50 NM, exam type UAG, first-timers enter '1' for attempt count. FAAsafety.gov joins at recurrency time. Exam-day kit: government photo ID, pen, eraser, ruler, simple memory-free calculator, magnifying glass.

The application after passing: IACRA -> Start New Application -> Pilot -> Remote Pilot Initial. The two flagged traps: basis of issuance is 'completion of a KNOWLEDGE TEST' - the training-course option does not qualify; and 'have you ever been denied a certificate' takes a NO even if you failed an exam previously. Enter the Knowledge Test Exam ID (give the database a few hours if it's fresh), view the Pilot's Bill of Rights, submit. Then the clocks: temporary certificate in IACRA within 5-7 days, valid 120, its number reading 'pending' (use literally that where forms demand a number); the card in 30-40 days, number appearing in IACRA days before it ships.

Since March 1, 2021 the paid recurrent exam is gone; currency = free online training at FAAsafety.gov every 24 CALENDAR months, counted from the LAST EXAM OR TRAINING DATE - not certificate issuance (which lags a month). His worked example: exam September 15, 2021 -> deadline September 30, 2023 (calendar-month rounding to month-end, per section 3's pumpkin rule). Lapsing is undramatic but binding: no Part 107 privileges - recreational only - and commercial flight while lapsed means full liability, likely insurance denial, and FAA fines. Recovery is generous: take the training whenever, no deadline, no fees, no re-exam. Completion yields a certificate-of-completion to keep; no new card is ever issued.

DRONEZONE (faadronezone.faa.gov): 0.55-55 lb aircraft register here - at 55 and above you're into manned-style N-number registration. The Part 107 account is DISTINCT from the hobbyist dashboard; flow is add-a-UAS (manufacturer, serial, nickname), $5, and the number physically on the aircraft. The same dashboard files waivers, authorizations, and the 10-day accident reports.

UAS FACILITY MAP: the controlled-airspace ceiling grid - each cell's number is the maximum LAANC-approvable altitude; 0 means nothing is approvable in that cell; clicking shows class, effective date, coordinates. His worked tour: Prescott's Class D at 400-ft cells, Winslow's surface E2, Sedona absent from the grid entirely (its Class E starts at 700 - above drone territory). Cross-check shapes on SkyVector - and the caveat that matters: the Facility Map shows NO TFRs and not every airspace type; it is one source, never the only one.