The Part 107 exam is 60 questions and you can miss 18 of them and still pass. That sounds fine until you realize a handful of those questions are genuinely designed to trip you up. Not because the FAA is being cruel, but because the concepts have real nuance that matters in the field. Here are the seven that catch people most often and how to handle them.
1. The Class E Surface Trap
The trap: Most people learn that Class B, C, and D require authorization and assume Class E is always fine. But Class E can extend all the way to the surface around some airports, and when it does, it requires authorization just like the others.
The fix: When a question involves Class E, ask yourself where the floor is. If a question mentions surface Class E or shows a dashed magenta circle on a sectional chart, treat it like controlled airspace. Do not assume Class E is always a free pass.
2. The Structure Exception to 400 Feet
The trap: Everyone knows the 400 foot AGL limit. What a lot of people miss is that within 400 feet of a structure, you can fly up to 400 feet above the top of that structure. The exam will describe a scenario near a tall tower and list an altitude that sounds too high, and the correct answer is that it is legal.
The fix: Any time a question involves flying near a building, tower, or structure, check whether the altitude in question falls within 400 feet of the top of it. If it does, it is probably legal and the exam is testing whether you know the exception.
3. AGL vs MSL on Obstacle Heights
The trap: Sectional charts show obstacle heights in MSL. Cloud ceilings in METARs are also MSL. The exam will give you a ceiling height and an airport elevation and ask whether you can legally fly. If you do not subtract the airport elevation from the ceiling to get the actual AGL clearance, you will get it wrong.
The fix: Always convert. If a METAR shows a ceiling of 2,500 feet MSL and the airport sits at 1,800 feet MSL, the actual ceiling above the ground is only 700 feet AGL. Do the math before you answer.
4. Thunderstorm Anywhere Means No
The trap: A METAR or TAF question will have mostly fine conditions, visibility looks okay, ceiling looks okay, and then TS buried somewhere in the middle. People skim past it and pick an answer based on the other numbers.
The fix: Read the entire METAR or TAF before you answer anything. If you see TS anywhere, the answer to any go/no-go question is no. It does not matter what else looks good.
5. Authorization vs. Waiver Confusion
The trap: The exam will describe a scenario where a pilot wants to fly beyond visual line of sight near an airport and ask what they need. A lot of people pick just "waiver" or just "authorization" when the correct answer is both.
The fix: Keep these two completely separate in your head. Authorization is about where you fly — controlled airspace requires it. A waiver is about how you fly — deviating from a Part 107 operating rule requires one. You can need both at the same time and they come from different processes.
6. The TEMPO Window in a TAF
The trap: TEMPO in a TAF means temporary conditions that last less than an hour at a time. The exam will describe conditions during a TEMPO window and ask if operations are legal. People either ignore the TEMPO entirely or treat it as guaranteed to happen.
The fix: TEMPO conditions are possible, not certain. But if those conditions would make flight illegal when they occur, the correct answer usually leans toward no-go or "pilot should be aware." When in doubt on a TEMPO question, caution wins.
7. Recreational vs. Commercial Edge Cases
The trap: The exam loves the gray area scenarios. A pilot flies their drone to get footage for their personal blog that has no monetization. Commercial or recreational? A volunteer flies a drone for a nonprofit event. Commercial or recreational? People guess wrong because they think about money too narrowly.
The fix: The FAA's definition of commercial is about whether the flight provides any business value or furthers any business interest, not just whether cash changes hands directly. When a question feels like a gray area, ask whether the flight benefits any organization or business in any way. If yes, lean toward commercial.
Want to practice the tricky ones before exam day?
FAA 107 Prep explains why each answer is right or wrong so you actually learn the concept instead of just guessing.