Great report by CTV News Vancouver Island featuring David Carlos of Victoria Air Photos!
Learn to fly drones/RPAS safely and legally. Register now!
New TC Regulations link here,
Small RPAS pilot knowledge requirements
Knowledge requirements for
sRPAS pilots operating
VLOS
are shown in the following tables. The applicable type of operation
(basic and advanced) is shown to the left of the topics. Sample learning
objectives are listed after the topics. The list of sample objectives
is not all-inclusive, its purpose is to illustrate the depth of
knowledge required to operate
sRPAS in Canadian airspace.
Types of operation (basic operations, advanced operations) are set out in the
Canadian Aviation Regulations, Part IX. There are minimum knowledge requirements for the pilots of
sRPAS operating in each of those groups.
Applicants for the pilot certificate – small remotely piloted aircraft (
VLOS)
– basic operations shall demonstrate their knowledge by writing the
Transport Canada multiple choice examination based on the indicated
applicable subjects contained in this guide and covering the subjects
set out in Standard 921.01.
Applicants for the pilot certificate – small remotely piloted aircraft (
VLOS)
– advanced operations shall demonstrate their knowledge by writing the
Transport Canada multiple choice examination based on the indicated
applicable subjects contained in this guide and covering the subjects
set out in Standard 921.02.
Applicants for the flight reviewer rating attached to the pilot certificate – small remotely piloted aircraft (
VLOS)
– advanced operations shall demonstrate their knowledge by writing the
Transport Canada multiple choice examination on the indicated applicable
subjects contained in the “Knowledge areas” section of this guide
related to advanced operations and “Appendix A: Flight review guide -
sRPAS exercises” related to conducting a flight review covering the subjects set out in Standard 921.03.
Regulatory history
The Canadian Aviation Regulatory Advisory Council (
CARAC) Unmanned Aircraft System Program Design Working Group made recommendations for the safe integration of
sRPAS operations within visual line-of-sight (
VLOS) in Canadian airspace.
The key principles for
sRPAS-related regulatory changes were approved by the
CARAC Technical Committee in June 2012 and then by the Transport Canada Canadian Aviation Regulatory Committee (
CARC)
in October 2012. They were adopted as best practice guidance for
Transport Canada Inspectors and applicants for a Special Flight
Operations Certificate (
SFOC) - Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
Those Best Practices have now been incorporated into regulations and
standards that normalize the operation of
sRPAS operating
VLOS.
This document is provided to guide trainers and pilots in the
training required, and the examinations subjects to be covered when
operating
sRPAS VLOS under the new
CAR Part IX.
New regulatory structure for RPAS
- RPAS will be regulated according to the CARs. Part IX of the CARs will deal with RPAS according to the divisions of mass and operating environments in the diagram below. The immediate regulations will cover RPAS with a MTOW of 250 grams (0.55 lb) up to and including 25 kg (55 lb) operating VLOS.
- Operating environments will be subdivided in to basic operations and advanced operations
- Other operations using RPAS that do not fall within the scope of the regulations will require a Special Flight Operations Certificate–RPAS from Transport Canada. This includes operations during which the RPAS is operated beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS).
Recommended study material
Transport Canada publications (
TP), including the following, may be purchased from retailers, or at the following web site:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/publications/menu.htm.
-
Human Factors for Aviation - Basic Handbook (TP 12863), and Advanced Handbook (TP 12864)
The Study Guide for the Radiotelephone Restricted Operator Certificate - Aeronautical (RIC-21) is available free of charge from district offices of Industry Canada - Examinations and Radio Licensing (
http://www.strategis.gc.ca).
Canadian Aviation Regulations (
CARs) are available online at:
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-96-433/index.html
NAV CANADA publications, including the following, may be purchased from retailers, or at the following web site:
http://www.navcanada.ca/EN/products-and-services/Pages/aeronautical-information-products.aspx
- VFR Navigation Charts (VNC )/VFR Terminal Area Charts (VTA )
- Canada Flight Supplement
The NAV CANADA
VFR Phraseology guide is available for download at
https://www.navcanada.ca/EN/media/Publications/VFR%20Phraseology.pdf
Some NAV CANADA regions have developed Best Practices for dealing with
RPAS. Those documents are available for download at
https://flitelab.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/vr-fir-uav-best-practices-vruav-2015-final.pdf
A copy of the Vancouver Flight Information Region UAV Best Practices can be requested by e-mail from
uav_vr@navcanada.ca
Information on the Transportation of Dangerous Goods is available from Transport Canada.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/tdg/safety-menu.htm
Text books and other publications produced by commercial
publishers can be obtained through local flying training organization,
bookstores and similar sources.
