CertboundWhich free official materials should you open?
- Remote Pilot – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Study Guide, FAA-G-8082-22. Use it for concepts and worked figures; its 2016 publication predates later rule changes.
- FAA-CT-8080-2H testing supplement. Find the free FAA PDF and the figures used by the published UAG sample questions. Use its charts as study material, not current flight-planning information.
- Remote Pilot ACS, FAA-S-ACS-10B. Use the current FAA download to identify knowledge topics and codes.
- 14 CFR Part 107. Check current regulatory wording rather than treating an old video or study-guide paragraph as the rule.
- AC 107-2A, Small Unmanned Aircraft System. Read its explanations of certification and operations, including night operations and operations over people.
- FAA ALC-677 recurrent course. This free course is for certificated remote pilots' recency. Its completion is not a replacement for a first-time applicant's initial UAG test.
The FAA's remote-pilot certification page explains the separate first-time and Part 61 paths. It also links the free recency courses. Certbound does not issue certificates.
What is the FAA Remote Pilot study guide?
The FAA Remote Pilot – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Study Guide (FAA-G-8082-22) is a free 88-page PDF from the FAA Flight Standards Service, dated August 2016. Its preface says it was published "to communicate the knowledge areas you need to study" for the remote pilot knowledge test. The FAA lists it on its aviation handbooks and manuals page.
Its chapters follow the test topics: regulations, airspace and flight restrictions, weather sources and effects, loading, emergency procedures, crew resource management, radio communication, performance, physiological factors including drugs and alcohol, decision-making, airport operations, and maintenance and preflight inspection. Use it for concepts and its worked figures. Check rules against the current regulation, because night operations, operations over people and recurrent training changed after 2016. Certbound's plain-English Part 107 walk-through cites each current section.
No FAA rule requires a paid class before the test. If you are weighing one, read Part 107 course or self-study.
What belongs in ACS area I, Regulations?
Read the ACS Regulations area alongside Part 107 and AC 107-2A. Learn who is responsible for the operation, certification and recency requirements, aircraft and operating limits, waivers, night operations, and the conditions for operations over people and moving vehicles. Study Remote ID using the FAA's Remote ID guidance, which points to Part 89.
Separate a general limit from an exception and from an authorization requirement. The question's conditions matter. The Part 107 rules summary links each section on eCFR. Use the Regulations reference group in the 46-question set, then read the cited current rule for any older sample.
What belongs in ACS area II, Airspace?
Use the ACS Airspace Classification and Operating Requirements area, the study guide's airspace chapter and the FAA Chart Users' Guide. Identify Class B, C, D, E and G, sector floors, surface areas, special-use airspace and flight restrictions. Distinguish a chart boundary from an authorization to operate.
Read the sectional legend guide, then try airspace practice and sectional-chart questions. State whether each altitude is MSL or AGL before calculating anything.
What belongs in ACS area III, Weather?
The ACS Weather area and the FAA study guide cover weather sources and weather's effects on small aircraft. Learn stability, fronts, thunderstorms, fog, wind, visibility and density altitude. Connect the reported conditions to the operation rather than memorizing abbreviations alone.
Use the METAR and TAF decoder to work through report groups. Explain the observation time, wind, visibility and cloud base before looking at the decoded answer. Weather samples in the 46-question set include supporting FAA excerpts. The decoder is a study aid, not a weather briefing.
What belongs in ACS area IV, Loading and performance?
Read the ACS Loading and Performance area and the corresponding FAA study-guide material. Study how loading, center of gravity and environmental conditions affect performance. Work through load-factor and density-altitude figures with their axes and units visible.
For a graph question in the sample set, identify the input, trace the plotted line, and read the output with its unit. An aircraft's operating instructions govern its actual limits; a study graph is not an aircraft-specific performance guarantee.
What belongs in ACS area V, Operations?
Read the ACS Operations area, the FAA study guide and AC 107-2A. Review emergency procedures, crew coordination, radio communications, airport operations, judgment, human factors, maintenance and preflight inspection.
Use the Operations reference group in the sample set. Ask what the remote pilot must decide or check, not just what an acronym means. A chart's historical radio frequency should be understood as a training example.
How should you divide your review time?
The PSI UAG bulletin, effective September 29, 2025, lists Regulations 48%, Airspace 20%, Weather 5%, Loading and Performance 2%, and Operations 25%. These are examination allocations, not instructions to neglect a weak area or operationally important subject.
Keep a short list of concepts you cannot yet explain. For each, record the ACS code, a source and one worked example. Answer again without looking at the same choices. A strong score on a familiar set does not predict a pass on unseen questions.
What should you check before booking?
Read the October 26, 2026 image-question change and practice with unfamiliar charts. Review the cost and booking guide for the PSI entry point, ID requirements and retest rules. If you already have a test report, the ACS code lookup explains its missed-topic codes.
This page links official free materials and Certbound's sample explanations. It does not promise complete current-exam coverage or a passing score. Sources checked October 17, 2026; FAA study guide details checked October 21, 2026.