The FAA has selected twelve organizations to advise the agency as it develops test administration requirements for an aeronautical knowledge and safety test for recreational Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS/drone) operators. Among the organizations that will be advising the FAA are Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, DJI, King Schools, the Unmanned Safety Institute, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Academy of Model Aeronautics. This part of the process will focus on establishing requirements and selection criteria for test administrators, not the test itself which is also still in the works.
As previously reported by AVweb, development of a UAS aeronautical knowledge and safety test and associated testing requirements are part of the FAA’s incremental implementation of the recreational drone use requirements set out in Section 44809 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. In addition to seven other conditions, Section 44809 requires that a recreational drone operator “has passed an aeronautical knowledge and safety test and maintains proof of test passage …” According to the FAA, there are currently more than one million recreational drone flyers registered with the agency.
