I Passed the Pilot Institute TRUST Test. You Can Too!
A couple of weeks ago I was playing tennis with some friends. Alan, the one who taught me how to juggle, also happens to read the news everyday, unlike me. That particular day, I brought my drone to fly around to capture some video of our tennis game. I thought it would be fun. However, Alan mentioned that he had seen only the day before that there was a new course that the FAA put in circulation, requiring everyone to take a test that flew a drone. This was a brand new test, meant for even recreational flyers. I wondered why I hadn't heard of it, so I started my research.
I was hoping that I was not included in whatever audience this new certification test was intended for. I was wrong. There is some good news and some bad news.
The bad news wasn't that bad. Several test administrators had been approved by the FAA, over 10. This is listed on the website along with some other requirements. Alan had sent me a news article about the new requirement, and also a website to the test, which would be Pilot Institute. They are the one that I chose to go with, but it really didn't matter as the same test would be given no matter which test administrator was chosen. I'm not even sure why there are as many approved test administrators as there are if the test is going to be the same. Are they trying to drive traffic to their website? It might be that they are as there are other certifications, like this one, that are available and cost money. This is actually the good news…
There is another certification called Part 7, that is way more in-depth than the TRUST certification that I was required to take. Part 7 is for drone flyers who are flying for non-recreational purposes, or rather anything else that's not recreational. This includes, but is not limited to: work where you get paid, work where you don't get paid AKA volunteer work, community journalism, and so on. Fortunately, I am uploading to YouTube for fun, for a recreational purpose. However, I know that this will change in the future. I know that someday my YouTube channel might become monetized, and when that happens I will definitely need a Part 107 license. It might also happen if I need, or want, to use any of my drone footage for contract work. But none of that has come my way, so I'm not concerned.
The course was released in June 2020, and it being July, I felt like I was ahead of the curve. When I bought my drone in June, there was no mention of trust, or having to pass trust. However, I do wonder if, since then, DJI and / or Amazon have since added any wording to that effect. I'm guessing not, because it usually takes a while for this type of regulation trickled through all of the avenues, and I'm not even sure if they would be held responsible if they didn't mention it. I know that both are international companies, and this new course is for the FAA which is a federal issue.
The trust certification was extremely easy, and no preparation is needed. It only took 30 minutes to complete, less than that even. This includes the time that I took to type my name and download the certification at the end of the course. Top of the tests provided all of the information that you would need for the multiple-choice questions, which were the other half of the test. Some of the multiple-choice questions felt a little intuitive, or common sense, while others needed the guidance from the information provided within the course. At the end, the certificate had to be downloaded immediately because all user information is deleted, per the FAA, when the test is complete. This also means that if you lose your certificate, then you will need to take this test again. In my opinion, it's better to save this certificate, once you download it, to the cloud. I use Google Drive, so once it has been saved, I can find it when I need to. Further, I would recommend saving that particular document locally, so if you are in a remote location, and you get questioned about your certificate, and you don't have any mobile signal, then you won't need it because you'll have saved your certificate locally.
I'm not sure why the FAA wants this information deleted after the test is taken. Perhaps since they are not the one administering the test, then they want the users to feel able and free to give their information, while not worrying about whether or not the test administrator is going to use their information for some other purpose. But either way, download the certificate and save it in a safe place.
I do think that the trust certification is a good idea, and as well intended. It's not difficult, it doesn't take long, I think the only issue is getting the word out that it needs to, or should, be done. I think it's also a good idea to get a bit of practice time flying the drone on a regular basis, because even from not flying the drone for 2 weeks, my control abilities faltered. They were just more jerky movements than I would have wanted for any footage to be actually usable.
When I flew the drone at the tennis match a few weeks ago, I didn't know that I needed to check the airspace to make sure that it was not a controlled airspace. I have not downloaded the app to check that information. Luckily, it was not a controlled airspace, and I will be bringing my drone there again to get some more good footage of a tennis match so that I can upload, for fun.
I hope this encourages others to get trust certified because I know that all of the airspace rules are not exactly obvious. And it's not many rules that you need to know anyway, but it's just a good idea to be safe, and responsible. I'm also further excited to get the Part 107 license, when that comes around. However, I know that it's a more in-depth course and also costs money even just to take. Stay tuned!
“Drones overall will be more impactful than I think people recognize, in positive ways to help society.” - Bill Gates
What do you think about recreational drone flyers needing to pass a test?
