Just got a drone? Learn to fly it safely and confidently.
A friendly, confidence-building track for new and aspiring drone owners. Set up your aircraft the right way, learn where you can fly, avoid crashes, and build real flight confidence — at your own pace.
- Set up your drone, controller, and home point correctly
- Understand the FAA basics for recreational flyers: TRUST, registration, Remote ID, and airspace
- Run a preflight check and know where it's safe to fly
- Handle low battery, lost link, and emergency landings
- Work through a go/no-go checklist before your first solo flights
This is a personal-flying confidence track, not an FAA certificate. It builds safe habits for flying purely for fun and walks you through the FAA's recreational rules. It doesn't replace them: you still need to pass the free TRUST test, register your drone if required, and follow Remote ID and airspace rules. Any flight that isn't purely recreational, paid or not, generally needs a Part 107 certificate. Flying for anything other than fun? Start here.
Eight short modules to confident flying
From unboxing to your first solo flight — practical, jargon-light, and built for real beginners.
Drone Ownership Orientation
Recreational or Part 107? The eight rules for flying for fun, plus choosing and buying a drone.
Setup, Registration & Remote ID Basics
Registering and marking your drone, Remote ID in practice, TRUST, and first-flight setup.
Safety, Preflight & Where Not to Fly
A simple preflight, the 400 ft and line-of-sight rules, community-based safety guidelines, and flying at dusk and night.
Flight Controls & Basic Maneuvers
Stick layout, takeoff, hover and yaw, practice drills, flight modes, and FPV basics.
Beginner Airspace Awareness
Controlled vs uncontrolled airspace, LAANC and FAADroneZone authorization, and restricted places like stadiums, security areas, and parks.
Batteries, Maintenance & Emergencies
Battery care, emergencies, traveling with batteries, and what to do after a crash.
Camera, Content & Responsible Flying
Smooth camera work, privacy, Pennsylvania drone law, and when selling your footage makes it Part 107.
Safe Solo Flight Readiness
A go/no-go routine and a legal checklist (documents, drone, place, and time) for your first solo flights.
Ready for safe beginner flight
Just like the Part 107 track has a readiness gate, the Beginner track has its own goal: a confident, safe first solo flight. Reach 90%+ overall mastery on your beginner practice questions, or score 90%+ on a full practice check (a timed, full-length beginner exam), to be marked Flight Ready, then use the flight-confidence checklist before your first solo.
Flight Ready is the Academy's milestone, not an FAA authorization. Before you fly, the FAA also requires recreational flyers to pass the free TRUST test and carry proof, register drones that weigh more than 0.55 lb at takeoff, including anything attached (just under 250 g, so a 250 g drone counts), follow a recognized community-based organization's safety guidelines, and follow Remote ID and airspace rules. The track covers the basics; the FAA's recreational flyer pages have the full list.
- 1Run a complete preflight checklist
- 2Choose a safe, legal flight area
- 3Confirm GPS lock and a correct home point
- 4Take off, hover, and land under control
- 5Set, test, and supervise return-to-home (be ready to take over)
- 6Handle an emergency landing calmly
- 7Read the weather and wind before flying
- 8Manage battery levels across a flight
Get confident before you take off
Free during beta. Build the habits that keep your drone — and everyone around it — safe.