Small drone guide: Pass the FAA remote pilot test - Paperback

by Eliot O. Sprague (Author), Henry H. Perritt Jr (Author)

The FAA has significantly relaxed regulatory requirements for flying small unmanned aircraft. Commercial entities or freelancers need not apply individually for waivers or authority to fly for commercial purposes. Now, anyone can fly a drone weighing less than 55 pounds and get paid for it as long as he registers the drone, a simple web-based process costing only five dollars, and passes a written test. This book is designed to help anyone pass the written test. Even the holders of regular pilots' licenses must complete an online course containing much of the same material covered by the written test. The book packages the material into the same categories that the FAA has specified for the written test. It includes the FAA's 40 sample questions published in late July, and has review questions at the end of each chapter. Someone who reads the book, understands the material, and completes the review questions should have no difficulty passing the FAA's Remote Pilot - Small Unmanned Aircraft Rating knowledge test.

Author Biography

Henry H. Perritt, Jr. is a Professor of Law and former Dean, Chicago-Kent College of Law, the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, which he served as Vice President and Chief Academic Officer for the Downtown Campus from 1997 to 2002. Mr. Perritt is a commercial helicopter and private airplane pilot with an instrument rating. He has qualified for his remote pilot - small unmanned aircraft rating. He received his bachelors of science degree in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT in 1966, his masters degree in management from MIT's Sloan School of Management in 1970, and his juris doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1975. He worked on the White House Staff and served as Deputy Under Secretary of Labor. He did several studies for the Administrative Conference of the United States, including one on the aviation civil penalty system. He has written twenty books and nearly a hundred articles, many of them on administrative law and law and technology. He is a member of the bar of Virginia (inactive), Pennsylvania (inactive), the District of Columbia, Maryland, Illinois, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He is an extra-class radio amateur (K9KDF). Eliot O. Sprague is a Professional ENG helicopter pilot; Director of Market Development and Commercial Pilot, AM Air Service; and a helicopter flight instructor, at Midwestern Helicopter. He has qualified for his remote pilot - small unmanned aircraft rating. He is a member of the board of directors of Midwest Helicopter Association. Mr. Sprague is a graduate of Hillsboro Aero Academy and holds helicopter CFI, CFI-I, and commercial pilot ratings, and a commercial single engine and multi-engine instrument airplane rating. Mr. Sprague taught Mr. Perritt how to fly helicopters. Mr. Sprague flies yacht photography, commercial and industrial photography, drug interdiction surveillance, powerline and pipeline patrol, charter, and rides and tour helicopter missions. He regularly troubleshoots and maintains electronic news gathering equipment. He grew up doing farm work and started a successful business when he was 14. They have co-authored a dozen magazine and law-review articles on drones and recently complete DOMESTICATING DRONES: THE TECHNOLOGY, LAW AND ECONOMICS OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT, published by Routledge.