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Have any of my Canadian spark family written the Transport Canada exam?

SkiAmigo

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Feb 9, 2019
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Have any of my Canadian spark family written the Transport Canada exam?

Knowledge Requirements for Pilots of Remotely Piloted Aircraft
Systems 250 g up to and including 25 kg, Operating within Visual
Line-of-Sight (VLOS) (TP 15263)
 
You might find this video helpful:

 
We need the advance correct?
Are you still flying with the basic?
Take a course?

Please and Thanks

No, if you are a hobbyist (that's all I am currently) then the basic is all you need. If you want to fly commercially, then you would need the advanced. On top of that, you would need a special operations flight certificate if you were looking to fly over public events, or in certain restricted airspaces.

I probably wont take a course, self study is not so expensive, but for the flight review, I will of course have to pay.

Here's some resource info for you.
 
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No, if you are a hobbyist (that's all I am currently) then the basic is all you need. If you want to fly commercially, then you would need the advanced. On top of that, you would need a special operations flight certificate if you were looking to fly over public events, or in certain restricted airspaces.

I probably wont take a course, self study is not so expensive, but for the flight review, I will of course have to pay.

Here's some resource info for you.

Thanks I have a friend who is a hobbyist too and thats his take
I did register it though
 
Ok, there are some misconceptions here. I did my basic back in early May and just finished my advanced exam and flight review...so I am fully qualified by TC as a professional RPAS pilot. That is what they tell you and expect you to perform piloting in a professional manner. There is no longer a distinction for commercial applications. You can fly commercially with a basic certification but can only do so in G airspace and some F class airspace. If you live anywhere near a place with an airport then the 5Km around it are basically closed to you if you have the basic certification. What the advanced certification does, is give you the tools and certification to apply to fly in controlled airspace, not only for commercial, but also non commercial flying. However, you will have to get permission from NavCanada and there is a process to go through. There are specific rules that govern when you need a special flight operating certificate...for example, if the flight is beyond visual sight, or if the RPAS weight is greater than 25Kg, or if you're not a Canadian citizen....and getting an SFOC from Transport Canada requires more paperwork and specific indications and parameters of the planned flight. Also, even if you have your advanced certification for RPAS...and right now it's only for visual line of sight...meaning that you must maintain the RPAS within visual range ( they are working on a BLOS certification (beyond line of sight)), your RPAS has to not only be registered, but it also must be certified for advanced operations. My little spark for example is certified for both flight in controlled airspace and flight within 5 meters of people(bystanders), however, it is not certified to fly over people(bystanders).

As for the basic certification test, the information that you need is easily available on the net. There is a great YT channel (DonDronesOn) who has some great video's and aids. I used this and a few other sources to pass my basic certification. Before you take the exam, you need to register with TC on their portal. The basic exam allots you 90 minutes to answer 35 questions and it's open book multiple choice. The pass is 65%. That may sound like it shouldn't be too bad, but the questions are tricky so you have to really be patient and read the questions carefully, and you really have to know the 900 section (the section on RPAS's) in the CAR's (Canadian Aviation Regulations) really well. The other areas that you need to know should be studied too.

The advanced certification process is a two step process. The first is that you need to know far more detail than in the basic test, and in some different areas. To be honest, it felt very much like the exam for a private pilot exam as you need to know much of the same information...flight operations, weather and how to decode the info, navigation, human factors etc . The test allots you 60 minutes to answer 50 questions and the pass is 80%....so yeah...you need to know your stuff as you don't have a lot of time to go googling for your answer. I have been told that it is much harder than the part 107 test that the FAA administers in the US for commercial pilot certification. If you manage to squeak by the advanced exam and are jumping for joy...well you are half way there. To get the certification, you have to find and schedule a flight review by a TC qualified flight reviewer. I can tell you that to pass the flight review, it's a hell of a lot more than showing that you can start, take off, fly your RPAS around without hitting anything, returning and landing. The actual flying is the easy part as if you're taking the advanced certification it's safe to assume that you have some flight experience. The hard part is knowing how to set up a site survey, the procedures to get the documentation necessary for the flight, understanding the weather conditions of your planned flight, checking with the CFS(Canada flight supplement), the DAH(Designated Airspace Handbook), the VTA and VNC charts for your area on any airport and radio frequency information and possible traffic conflicts, having a transceiver or at the minimum in some F class airspace, the ability to monitor the local air traffic frequency, checklists for normal and emergency procedures, etc. When you set up a flight zone when operating under the advanced certifications, you essential have established an aerodrome under the CARS and as such needs to be treated that way. It's way overboard in my personal opinion, but those are some of the rules that TC has laid down.

While you can use online sources to get through the basic certification; that is what I did. I really recommend taking a course with a classroom setting by an instructor who has RPAS experience. I had to spend some extended time in Toronto this year so I did my advanced certification there. I was very fortune to have chosen a good course and even more fortunate to have a really good instructor. Learned an awful lot that you won't easily find in an online course. The interaction between peers and the instructor was key to understanding some of the more thick stuff. For my old grey cells, this was the best way for me. I am not sure if I can put down where I took the course but if anyone is interested they can pm me. I have no affiliation with them but I do recommend them.

hope that answers your questions.
oh...one more thing...the Canadian certification is recognized by ICAO...so other than the US, it is an internationally recognized license. I hope that there is some reciprocal recognition with the US sometime soon as it would make cross boarder visits so much easier...both ways. I've had to tell some of my American friends to leave their RPAS at home as they would need an SFOC to fly here...even if only on vacation....aarrrrrghhhh
 
Finally took it. What a stupid waste of time and money. Ignorant questions that have NOTHING to do with flying a drone. Garneau MUST have had something to do with it, show off his astronaut knowledge. Went overboard to the point of being ludicrous. Reminds me of the old oxymoron: "I'm from the government, I'm here to help". Did it in less than an hour (lot of Googling) and got 2 wrong. Like the way they advertise everything in Kilometers then ask about nautical miles. WTF is a nautical mile!!! Well...now I know. Think I should be qualified to fly a plane now. Why do I need to know telephony to fly my drone? When will I EVER contact the control tower, and how? ? Maybe the advanced license I can see it, but not basic. Don't forget to check the regs on killing wildlife:oops: and brush up on cloud formations?, the Bournelli principle, ?electric motors?, airport warning signs? and a bunch of other crap you will never need to know to fly your expensive toy?. Squandered a golden opportunity to do it right and actually educate the flying public and ensure the hobby is safe and the pilot has basic knowledge.
Don Drones on videos are a great primer. Keep Google handy.
 
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Congratulations on passing.
 
Have any of my Canadian spark family written the Transport Canada exam?

Knowledge Requirements for Pilots of Remotely Piloted Aircraft
Systems 250 g up to and including 25 kg, Operating within Visual
Line-of-Sight (VLOS) (TP 15263)

I passed the basic exam in August and received my certification
 
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Have any of my Canadian spark family written the Transport Canada exam?

Knowledge Requirements for Pilots of Remotely Piloted Aircraft
Systems 250 g up to and including 25 kg, Operating within Visual
Line-of-Sight (VLOS) (TP 15263)
yes, took and passed my basic exam in August 2019 after studying material with help of several helpful on line sources.
 

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