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How To Guides

How To Register Your Drone with the FAA: Step by Step Guide

What Types of Drones Need to Be Registered with the FAA?

The FAA requires both commercial and non-commercial drone pilots to register their drone as a small UAS if the weight of the drone is between 0.55 pounds and 55 pounds.

Registering an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone is a simple and straightforward process. All you will need as a drone pilot is the UAS type, manufacturer name, serial number, nickname, and model.

The cost to register each drone is $5 and the registration is valid for three years from the date of issuance.

Logging into to FAA Drone Zone

Click the “Register” button on the top (black arrow) if you are a commercial drone pilot flying under part 107. Click the “Register” button on the bottom (orange arrow) if you plan to fly for recreational purposes only and are not a Part 107 drone pilot.

Create Account in FAA Drone Zone

The next page you will see is the “Create Account” page as shown below. Enter your email and password twice and then click the “Create Account” button on the bottom of the page.

  • Once you click “Create Account” you will receive a confirmation email that looks like the illustration below.

Click the link in the email (the link will be shown where the black rectangular box is). Once you click the link, your account will be verified, and you will be able to login to your new FAA Drone Zone account.

Manage UAS Inventory

Upon logging in to the FAA Drone Zone Portal, new drone pilots will see a screen like this.

New and existing commercial and hobbyist drone pilots will be able to register their drones through the FAA Drone Zone portal as well as apply for Part 107 waivers and authorizations.

  • New users will be prompted to enter their contact information upon account activation to complete their account profile.
  • To register a new drone, click “Manage sUAS Inventory” (See the arrow in the diagram below)

Adding Your Drone

  • Once you click on “Manage sUAS Inventory” you will see a screen that looks like the diagram below. Existing Part 107 drone pilots will see their UAV inventory listed under “Your Registered Inventory.”
  • After clicking “Add UAS” button, a window will appear prompting you to enter your drone information.  See diagram below.

Under “UAS Type” choose “Home Built” if you built your own drone. Otherwise choose the “Purchased” option if you bought your UAV from a manufacturer such as DJI, Autel, or Skydio for instance. Enter manufacturer name, serial number (see note below on how to find your drone’s serial number), nickname (this can be anything you want that references your UAS or drone). Finally, enter your drone’s model (ex. Mavic Air 2, Phantom 4, etc.) Click add UAS and then the FAA Drone Zone page will prompt you to enter your payment information to legally register your drone. As mentioned previously, the cost to register your drone is $5 and the registration is good for three years.

How to Find Your Drones Serial Number

For most DJI model drones, UAV pilots can find their drone’s serial number on the bottom of the box or in the DJI Fly App or DJI Go 4 app under the settings page.

For the DJI Mini 2 and DJI Fly App, the drone serial number will be located in the profile section under the “device management” tab. Currently, the DJI Fly App is compatible with the Mavic Mini, Mavic Air 2, DJI Mini 2, DJI FPV and DJI Air 2S, according to DJI.com.

How to Find Drone Serial Number with DJI Fly App

  1. Click “Profile” on the Home Screen
  • Click “Device Management”
  • Aircraft Serial Number will be shown here.

Finding Drone Serial Number with DJI Go 4 App

To find the serial number for a drone using the DJI Go 4 App, tap the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Drones that use the DJI Go 4 App are the Spark, Mavic Air, Matrice 210 and 210 RTK, Matrice 200, Inspire 2, Mavic Pro and Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom, and all Phantom 4 Models.

Scroll down to the bottom and select the “About” button. Your drone’s serial number will be shown in the “About” section in the DJI Go 4 App.

Finding Your Drone’s Serial Number with a non-DJI Drone

Drone operators that are flying a non-DJI drone should refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for finding their serial number. If you have any questions about how to find your UAS/UAV serial number or specific inquiries related to registering your drone with the FAA, please contact us or leave a comment in the comments field below.

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DJI Mini 2 Drone Review – The First 50 Miles

          

Drone Pilots Are Not Required to Register the DJI Mini 2 with the FAA

The DJI Mini 2 is a lightweight mini drone that works great for new commercial drone pilots and/or recreational drone flyers. Weighing in at only 249 grams, DJI Mini 2 owners are not required to register this drone with the FAA. Drones that are required to be registered are between 0.55 and 55 pounds. That being considered, the DJI MINI 2 does not have to be registered since it falls just below the FAA’s minimum weight requirement for drones of 250 grams.

Getting Started

When first unboxing your new DJI Mini 2, you will notice how small and lightweight the drone is. The DJI Mini 2 is a great drone for when you are traveling and want to get photos of the scenery because it is compact and not big and bulky. Before you fly, you will unfold the wings and take off the gimbal protector. The gimbal is the component where the camera is located and moves in tandem with the drone to capture optimal photos and video while flying. The power button is located on the bottom of the drone. When turning on and off, you will push the button once and then hold for three seconds (same for the remote controller). The DJI Fly app will give you instructions on pre-flight tasks such as calibrating the compass and making sure the GPS signal is good. Here is a great YouTube tutorial for more details on getting started with your DJI Mini 2.

DJI Fly App

DJI Mini 2 pilots will download the DJI Fly app in order to remotely pilot their drone from their phone and remote controller. The DJI Fly app is compatible with most of the latest phone models. See DJI’s phone compatibility list here for a full breakdown of phones that work with the DJI Fly app. Once the DJI Fly app is downloaded, the drone pilot will just need to connect their phone to the remote controller with the connecting cable that comes with the controller. There is a list of guides on how to get your phone set up and start flying your DJI Mini 2 once you are ready to fly your drone. For new drone pilots, the DJI Fly app gives users a basic flying tutorial on how to operate their DJI Mini 2 drone.

Flight Modes and Video Performance

The DJI Mini 2 is sleek, agile, and one of the most capable drones on the market. The DJI Mini 2 drone compares favorably in terms of battery life with some of DJI’s higher end drones such as the DJI Mavic 2 Pro or Phantom 4 Pro Version 2.0. The DJI Mini 2 features a battery life of roughly 30 mins depending on the mode it is flown in and wind conditions. The DJI Mini 2 features HD 4K resolution and shoots videos and pictures at up to 30 frames per second. The DJI Mini 2 can be flown in three flight modes – cinematic, normal and sport. Cinematic mode is best for drone pilots who want slow, smooth flight performance in order to capture aerial footage in the most efficient manner possible. Normal mode is the default flight mode and works well for most flying conditions. Sport mode (also known as “speed mode”) enables DJI drone users to fly the Mini 2 at higher speeds. I have flown my DJI Mini 2 as high as 36 mph when in sport mode. DJI drone pilots can also gain altitude faster when flying in sport mode.

DJI Fly More Package

The DJI Mini 2 is powered with a lithium-ion battery that is stored inside the fuselage of the drone. With the fly more package, DJI Mini 2 users get three batteries with the charging pack, propeller guards, and six pairs of propellers along with a small screwdriver to replace the propellers. The propeller guards are a must have because the DJI Mini 2 propellers are delicate and are susceptible to breaking if not handled and packaged with care. The propeller guards will give drone pilots peace of mind because they will not have to worry about the propellers being damaged while carrying their DJI Mini 2 drone in the carrying case. Here is a link to the DJI Mini 2 (plus fly more package) on Amazon’s website.

Flight Records

After every flight, DJI automatically saves your flight records which is helpful so you can demonstrate your flying experience to family, friends and/or clients. I have already flown my DJI Mini 2 more than 50 miles in 49 flights. See below.

SD Card is Not Included and I Recommend Purchasing One With Your DJI Mini 2

In order to upload and save your pictures/videos to your PC or tablet, I recommend purchasing an SD card. When I first purchased my DJI Mini 2, I bought this 128 GB SanDisk SD card and adapter. The SD card is easily inserted into the back of the drone so you can capture and store stunning aerial 4K photography and videos. The SD card does not come with the DJI Mini 2 and fly more package. The SD card is required if you want to upload photos and videos to your computer.

DJI Care Refresh Package – Cheap Insurance for Your New Drone

When I purchased the DJI Mini 2 drone, I bought the DJI Care Refresh package and it is a wise investment because it will give newer drone pilots peace of mind. The DJI Care Refresh Package offers an insurance policy for your drone in case you crash it. According to DJI’s website, “DJI Care Refresh (1-year plan) includes up to 2 replacements in 1 year. DJI Care Refresh (2-year plan) includes up to 3 replacements in 2 years and extends the original warranty up to 2 years from the date of purchase.” The only thing to keep in mind is that if you crash your drone, you must send in the damaged “carcass” for DJI to send you a new one. That is why it is risky for newer drone pilots to fly their new drone over water when first starting out.

Takeaway

The DJI Mini 2 is the perfect starter drone for both commercial and non-commercial aerial photographers. The performance, quality and reliability is unmatched when compared to other small consumer drones. If you are planning on capturing high quality photos and/or creating a photography business, then the DJI Mini 2 is a great way to get started. It is not quite as expensive as a higher end DJI Mavic 2 or Phantom 4 Pro and you can learn how to fly the drone without worrying about crashing a $1,500 drone like the Phantom 4 or DJI Mavic 2 Pro.

Happy flying!

Nick Clayton

Evergreen Skyworks

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How To Guides

How-To Guide for Obtaining Your FAA Part 107 License

FAA Part 107 allows drone operators to fly their drones for commercial purposes.  This guide outlines the steps to take in order to pass your FAA Part 107 exam the first time and receive your Part 107 License.

Create an IACRA Account

The link to the IACRA website can be found here: https://iacra.faa.gov/IACRA/default.aspx 

IACRA stands for Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application. 

  1. Click the Register button if you do not already have an account or login if you already have one. 
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  1. Click on “Applicant” at the top of the screen and then “Agree to TOS and Continue.” Graphical user interface, text, application Description automatically generated
  1. Leave the First Section blank since you do not yet have your Airman Certification Number, assuming you are a new drone pilot. 
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  1. Fill out your personal information, two security questions, username, password, confirm password, and then click the “Register” button at the bottom of the screen. 
  1. Once you have completed your IACRA profile, you will receive an email that looks like this.
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Your Username and FTN number will be included in the email.

Study Resources

There are a few helpful study guides that we would recommend. You can enroll in an online course if you wish but you do not necessarily need to if you are on a budget. 

Online Ground School

Two popular online courses are Drone Pilot Ground School (This online course costs $299) and Pilot Institute ($149 for lifetime access, which is a $100 discount off their normal rate of $249).

Both courses state their students have a 99% pass rate and they will refund the course cost and your exam testing fee if you do not pass the FAA Part 107 exam on the first attempt.

If you are on a budget and not looking to sign up for an online course, there are some free and lower cost options available so you can pass your FAA Part 107 exam.

FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide

This is the FAA’s official study guide and provides everything a drone pilot needs to know to pass their Part 107 exam. Here is a link to the PDF: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/remote_pilot_study_guide.pdf

Prepware Remote Pilot 

This app only costs $5 and we would highly recommend buying it if you do not choose to enroll in an online course. This app provides 340 practice questions and practice tests – many of which are straight from or similar to the questions on the actual Part 107 exam. 

When to Schedule Your Exam

Once you read through the material and/or follow your online course guides and have gotten at least 90% on two practice exams – we recommend scheduling your test. 

How to Schedule Your Exam

  1. Drone pilots can schedule their Part 107 exam online through PSI. Here is a link to the website: https://faa.psiexams.com/FAA/login
  1. Click register if you are a new user and fill out the information to setup your account. They will ask you for your personal information and FTN tracking number that you received after creating your IACRA account. Here is a helpful YouTube video to walk you through how to set up and schedule your Part 107 exam through the PSI software.
  1. Once you have scheduled the exam, you will receive a confirmation email with all the applicable testing appointment details. The cost to schedule the FAA Part 107 exam is $150. 
  1. After you have passed the 107 exam, you will receive a test report with an Exam ID.
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  1. The last step is to submit your application for a Part 107 license through your IACRA profile that you created in step 1. Remember that you are not legally certified to fly your drone for commercial purposes until you receive your temporary Part 107 license. 

Applying for Your Part 107 License

  1. To apply for your FAA Part 107 license, start by logging into your IACRA account. Click on “Start New Application”, then Application Type “Pilot”, Certifications “Remote Pilot”, “Other Path Information”, and “Start Application.”  Continue to work your way through the application and enter the 17-digit Exam ID from the knowledge test report when prompted. Do not worry about the drop down that asks for your certificate number, as you will receive this after your application receives FAA approval.
  1. Once the FAA processes your application, it will take approximately 10 business days for them to run your TSA background check. They will mail you out your official license once they have completed processing your application. 

Once you receive your Part 107 License, you can begin flying your drone for commercial operations. Congratulations and safe flying!

*Note: The FAA a final ruling outlining some changes for drone pilots operating under Part 107. These changes include requirements for operating over people and flying at night. The executive summary can be read in its entirety here.