CAA online competency test (UK) - strange questions

[urbanbuzz]

Just tried to register as a PfCO holder I expect to be able to avoid the test... can't seem to do that. Perhaps it's an android issue???

Yes I found this to as a PfCO as well, you need to register as an organisation, use the name that you are trading as and all is good, but it’s not clear

 

[urbanbuzz]

Is it the same 20 questions every time or a random selection?

It’s the same questions every time,

 

[pogbellies]

I actually think that it’s a reasonable test and could to a degree be widened to add some basic met and technical aspects such as the effect of wind and technical deficiency’s.

I would also agree that it should be mandatory for retailers to check that a purchaser holds a Flyer ID number although extending this to second hand transactions would be problematic (we don’t do it for car sales for example) even if desirable.

 

[ajkm]

Nick is out flying a drone when it starts to snow.
What does he need to consider to stay safe?

You answered:

That other people can still see his drone.

Correct answer:

That he is not getting too cold to be able to use his controller.
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???? Surely maintaining view of the drone is more important than "getting too cold"

So, a number of things here:

1. There is no requirement for *other people* to be able to see the UAV/RPA. The VLOS requirement is for the pilot (or possibly Visual Observer) to be able to see the aircraft.
So the answer “That other people can still see his drone” is clearly not correct.

2. The question is essentially about Human Factors - so it’s about the ability of the pilot to continue safely to control his aircraft.

3. Of course, there would be other options for correct answers relating to safety in this situation, which would include the batteries of the aircraft or controller losing power faster in the decreased ambient temperature. However that doesn’t seem to be the intention of the question, imho.

 

[stevietee10]

Yeah, I answered the same for 'snow' question. Got all the rest correct. I thought, well the cold has never bothered me. Or wear gloves!! Just a bad question. But you always get the odd one like this in online muti-choice tests. ?

The point here was not the cold but being able to keep control, it’s assumed that if visibility reduces you would fly accordingly. The correct answer was the logical one for me ?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

In you first question, you misinterpreted the regulation .. you must insure YOU remain in VLOS not ‘other people’ hence that answer is not correct and the only viable answer is the cold hands one because you have to maintain control of your drone at all times.

Yes, picked that up, but again it just seems like a slightly odd thing to try and trick people up into missing these by putting in a slightly misinterpretable question.
Reading that, you'd think whoever wrote the questions had no idea . . . not inconceivable when you look at usual GOVCO efforts worldwide !

A bit like the old "If an electric train is travelling north at 50mph, and the wind is blowing 40mph to the north, which way and at what speed will the smoke blow ?" question.

Obviously it doesn't matter too much re the CAA test ?
Those with 18/20 passed ok, it's sort of an educational test ? Or there's some sort of acceptable pass rate ?

 

[old man mavic]

nearly all the correct answers can,be found in the drone code but perhaps they decided to put in a couple of questions to see if people could answer correctly by,using common sense,

the pass mark was 16 out of 20 so it was not a case of getting everyone correct i got the cold one right but i also got another one wrong and ended up with 19 out of 20

what caught me out was the fact that most of the distances were in metric ,and as an oldie who was raised in yards feet and inches many moons ago i miss read one of the questions

 

[Porky]

what caught me out was the fact that most of the distances were in metric ,and as an oldie who was raised in yards feet and inches many moons ago i miss read one of the questions

Totally agree with you on your last paragraph dad

 

[old man mavic]

hi son nice to hear from you again hope you and yours are all ok have missed you on the forum i am gettig the MM for christmas a prezzie off my daughter

 

[Jake 61]

I did my one the other day, usual script for anything costing money that I need to have, read up, read up again and read some more to make sure.
Every question was answered in the available revision documents, no matter how daft or stupid it seemed.
The CAA are just making sure that even the b/s was understood.

 

[stevietee10]

Yes, picked that up, but again it just seems like a slightly odd thing to try and trick people up into missing these by putting in a slightly misinterpretable question.
Reading that, you'd think whoever wrote the questions had no idea . . . not inconceivable when you look at usual GOVCO efforts worldwide !

A bit like the old "If an electric train is travelling north at 50mph, and the wind is blowing 40mph to the north, which way and at what speed will the smoke blow ?" question.

Obviously it doesn't matter too much re the CAA test ?
Those with 18/20 passed ok, it's sort of an educational test ? Or there's some sort of acceptable pass rate ?

Hi
Pass rate is 16/20
Cheers
Steve

 

[DanMan32]

I can't believe we in the USA are still on imperial scale. So many products and parts are already metric (2 liter bottle of soda, metric bolts), we might as well change. Might be uncomfortable for a while but we'll get accustomed to it soon enough.
The only tough part for me is that a foot is a nice sized unit of measure in so many circumstances where meters, which is closer to a yard, seems out of scale. A decimetre would help solve that but who uses that?

 

[Steve Fuller]

I just had a go through the CAA online test (Overview : Flying drones and model aircraft | UK Civil Aviation Authority). I got some really weird questions and dubious answers.
---------------------
Nick is out flying a drone when it starts to snow.
What does he need to consider to stay safe?

You answered:

That other people can still see his drone.

Correct answer:

That he is not getting too cold to be able to use his controller.
---------------------
???? Surely maintaining view of the drone is more important than "getting too cold"


And this one. None of the 4 answers seemed correct to me.
---------------------
Ameen wants to fly his drone over a flower show being held in a country field to get some good images from above. About 150 people are at the show.
Which of the following is correct?

You answered:

He can fly here, but he should remain at least 150m above the show to avoid invading people's privacy.

Correct answer:

He can fly here as long as his drone remains at least 50m away from the people at the show.
---------------------
Soooo.... a show of 150 people isn't a "busy area" that you need to keep 150m away from then? They seem to be saying you could fly over this group of 150 people as long as you are 50m up. This is not my interpretation of the "drone code" which is basically don't fly over anyone if you can help it, especially not any sort of event with a group of people.


I'm interested in what questions other people got that they might disagree with...

Hi - I know that this is late in the day, but to anyone else who is taking the competency test, and starts to get confused, there are two important points to remember:

1. Preparation: Make time to read the notes supplied, everything is in there. Have a copy of thee drone code to hand if you need to (latest version!)
2. Before answering: Read the question carefully and spot the traps to catch the unwary. In the case of the flower show, it says there are less than 1000 people and does not mention it is being held in a built up area. The drone code tells you that you can't fly higher than 120m (you would need an Operating Safety Case exemption from the CAA to fly at 150m). In snow, YOU need to be able to see your drone, and be in control of it at all times, no requirement for anyone else to see it, if your fingers are too numb to use the sticks you should not be flying, if the snow stops you seeing your drone get it down.

Yes, some of the questions are ambiguous, and sometimes you would like to have extra things added to the ideal answer, but in every case there was only one answer if you stick to the basics and do not rush.

Anyone taking their Drone and Model Aircraft Registration and Education Scheme test - hope you pass and fly safely!