Documents, Maintenance, and the Flight Record
Carry required credentials, produce required records for authorized inspection, and protect every certificate, authorization, record, and report from falsification.
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
- 01Identify the rule, source, or principle behind this idea: The remote pilot certificate and identification must be in the holder's physical possession and readily accessible while exercising certificate privileges; aircraft registration may be paper or digital but must be in the operator's possession.
- 02Explain the operational effect of this idea: A Category 2 or 3 declaration submitter retains supporting information for two years after production ends, or for two years after a designer or modifier submits the declaration; a means-of-compliance submitter retains its description while the means remains accepted.
- 03Apply the lesson to a new mission and defend a go, modify, or no-go decision.
01 / MISSION
Begin with the operating problem.
An authorized official requests the pilot certificate, identification, registration, and an approval during a commercial operation, but the pilot's files are inaccessible.
02 / CORE BRIEF
What the remote pilot needs to know.
The remote pilot certificate and identification must be in the holder's physical possession and readily accessible while exercising certificate privileges; aircraft registration may be paper or digital but must be in the operator's possession.
A Category 2 or 3 declaration submitter retains supporting information for two years after production ends, or for two years after a designer or modifier submits the declaration; a means-of-compliance submitter retains its description while the means remains accepted.
Required documents and records must be produced when the applicable rule authorizes inspection, and falsifying or altering a certificate, authorization, record, or report can lead to enforcement.
03 / PILOT DECISION
Make the call.
Do not launch without required credentials and records in the form and possession required by the applicable rule; provide them to an authorized requester and never reconstruct or alter a record after the fact.
04 / FIELD CHECK
Put it into the flight plan.
Separate required records from voluntary logs, record each retention period, and audit names, dates, aircraft, serials, and approval conditions before departure.
05 / KNOWLEDGE CHECK
May a pilot alter a required record so it matches what was intended to happen?
Reveal the debrief
No. Intent does not permit falsification, reproduction, or alteration of a required certificate, rating, authorization, record, or report.
RELATED FAA REFERENCES
Verify before you fly.
- 14 CFR Part 107 — current eCFR
- FAA — Register Your Drone
- FAA — Remote Pilot Airman Certification Standards
Educational summary only. Current regulation, FAA approval conditions, manufacturer instructions, and site-specific facts control the operation.