Canadian drone law

[pinoydrone]

I’m grounded for now cos of new Canadian drone law [emoji17][emoji53]

 

[BigAl07]

Ground now? But these new laws were announced a good while back so it shouldn't have been a surprise.

 

[John MacAulay]

LOL, get your license and keep flying, Dude. Why not?

 

[pinoydrone]

LOL, get your license and keep flying, Dude. Why not?

did you get yours?

 

[pinoydrone]

Ground now? But these new laws were announced a good while back so it shouldn't have been a surprise.

I’m not surprise at all,I was away for 3 mos just came back,they said its a hard test,feel like take the course(drone school)before take the exam.

 

[Casper52]

The Canadian tests, both basic and advanced if you so wish to go that route do require a reasonable amount of aviation knowledge. However, there is lots of information on Transport Canada’s website about how to find out the knowledge required to pass the tests and the process to register your drone(s). Taking a course from a drone school is indeed one way to go. Canada is a big place and we still have lots of uncontrolled Class G airspace to fly our drones in. Sorry to hear you were blind-sided a bit by the new rules. Good Luck!

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

Don't be too concerned with the difficulty to pass the "basic" exam. You have 90 minutes and can refer to the course material to assist you during the exam. Just have the required documents available (I recommend having OCR versions in PDF format) opened on your computer before starting the exam. There are usually 35 multiple choice questions. You need 65% to pass.

If you don't pass on the first attempt, you just have to wait 24 hours to try the test again.

Flight school is a good option but at a cost and if you want to get your "Advanced" license, would be a good investment.

Transport Canada has posted links to the basic course material that you will require.

I'm sure your grounded status will be very "short-lived" and you will be flying legally in no time.

 

[Ken K]

I’m not surprise at all,I was away for 3 mos just came back,they said its a hard test,feel like take the course(drone school)before take the exam.

The basic test is multiple choice, open book so have a separate tab open in your browser and Google a keyword or two from any answer you're not sure of.
Review "CARs", section IX, thoroughly ahead of time (Canadian Aviation Regulations)
The courses available are expensive and not necessary if you use common sense and a bit of online searching .

 

[John MacAulay]

did you get yours?

Of course, 3 birds registered and basic exam completed and passed. You can keep a search going to help with the answers.

 

[kingsnake11]

I used a great online resource on yt by a gentleman who's channel is Dondroneson, to study for and pass the basic certification a few months ago. He's put a series of video's together that give you a lot of important info and guidance...and point the way to the other info that you can get from transport Canada. Having said that, you have to be prepared to sit down and review the information. It is not a cake walk. on the plus side, you can repeat the exam after waiting 24 hours and there is no limit. If you do fail, look at is as a learning experience that highlights where you have to do more study. As someone pointed out, the pass is 65% and you have 90 minutes to answer 35 questions.

Now, the advanced certification is another issue all together. You have to pass another exam with 50 questions and only given 60 minutes to do it, and the pass is 80%. Even if you do pass, you also have to find a qualified flight reviewer and pass the flight review which is more than just showing that you can fly your drone. The certification for the advanced certification requires work. Are the rewards worth it? depends on where and what you do and plan to fly your drone. If you live in a high controlled airspace it is worth the certification. For example, in the greater Toronto area, unless you're flying at a MAAC (equal to an AMA) field, you will need an advanced certification and go through the process....or drive out until you find G class airspace and fly with a basic certification.

I just completed my flight review and received my advanced certification and while I did do a lot of study on my own, in the end, I decided to take advantage of a fathers day special with a reputable aviation school with certified drone instructors and take the course. Passed the exam on the first attempt, and the flight review a few days later. Yeah, it is a more expensive route, but there is a lot of information that I got from the experience of the instructors and other peers that I would not have easily found doing this on my own. Also the contacts and classroom setting in this case was great. Just my two cents worth. Regardless, do a little work and get the basic certification and keep flying...just my friendly advice. Cheers.

 

[TheWolfen]

I only wish they hadn't made so much harder for non-citizens to fly. My wife and I are thinking about going to Victoria next year and I've realized I'd just leave the Mavic at home! [emoji17]

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

Hi TheWolfen:

You raise a good point on how the new Transport Canada regulations discourage drone-photo-tourism.

This is an evolving area of law and I believe that what is needed is some sort of equivalency for other jurisdictions certification.

If another jurisdiction allows pilot certification, there should be a way to get a temporary permit based upon the fact that you have demonstrated your ability to fly safely according to the rules in your jurisdiction.

If you go into the reasons Transport Canada set up the permit system, it was to mitigate risk to the general public. I don't think the number of visitors using drones would pose a significant risk to the population in general.

Perhaps a visitor's permit with clear limits (120m upper deck, 500m VLOS range and 30m min distance over persons) and a temporary registration sticker to ID your drone would be the way to go.

We need to lobby for intelligent modifications based upon the demand and upon data.

 

[kingsnake11]

At the very least...some reciprocal agreement between the FAA and TC.

 

[TheWolfen]

Hi TheWolfen:

You raise a good point on how the new Transport Canada regulations discourage drone-photo-tourism.

This is an evolving area of law and I believe that what is needed is some sort of equivalency for other jurisdictions certification.

If another jurisdiction allows pilot certification, there should be a way to get a temporary permit based upon the fact that you have demonstrated your ability to fly safely according to the rules in your jurisdiction.

If you go into the reasons Transport Canada set up the permit system, it was to mitigate risk to the general public. I don't think the number of visitors using drones would pose a significant risk to the population in general.

Perhaps a visitor's permit with clear limits (120m upper deck, 500m VLOS range and 30m min distance over persons) and a temporary registration sticker to ID your drone would be the way to go.

We need to lobby for intelligent modifications based upon the demand and upon data.

Well said! I'll hope it improves in the future.

 

[TheWolfen]

At the very least...some reciprocal agreement between the FAA and TC.

That would be very helpful!

 

[Thomas B]

At the very least...some reciprocal agreement between the FAA and TC.

Exactly, same as driver’s licenses for automobiles. That should work... it did for me as a U.S. citizen when I rented an SUV in Beliz and when I drive into Canada or Mexico.

 

[bry_guy_2001]

IMO The new laws are very just considering the potential risks. No reason to feel grounded. As others have mentioned the basic exam is really not that difficult. Do the test, Register and continue to enjoy.

I found the new laws have actually opened up a lot of new potential. I have my advanced and can now fly in a lot of places and at new times that were not allowed prior to the new laws.

 

[kensteele]

Exactly, same as driver’s licenses for automobiles. That should work... it did for me as a U.S. citizen when I rented an SUV in Beliz and when I drive into Canada or Mexico.

not going to happen. america doesn't always accept canada license and certainly won't let you drive around the united states with a mexico license alone so it's hardly reciprocal. so all these drone licenses that have no form of verification certainly won't be accepted unless you feel words on a piece of paper is good enough to validate. at best, motorists should include an international DL with their home country license and still, with the thousands of arrogant jurisdictions around america, you're taking a huge risk.

around the border towns where people are spending money, folks can get a pass. but if you think you can cruise across america on a mexican driver's license.... lol lol

maybe we need an international drone license that meets the minimum standard for all countries who want to participate in the pact. and even better idea is no license required at all.

 

[trinimon]

I wrote the exam a couple weeks ago with 3 other buddies. We each had different exams, I had a couple identical questions with one friend but they changed the order of the answers. I had the two recommended regulation sites open and I think I only got 3 answers from them. The rest I found by google search and best-guess. We all used up most if the alotted 90min. I read some guys doing it in under 30min! Most of the questions weren't really related to hobby drone users. I respect and get the safety ones but the rest, ridiculous.

It's just a money grab and a way to deter drone users. It sure didn't stop the drone user at the Raptors parade and the idiot who flew theirs around Pearson airport on two days last week.

 

[rmd22360]

I’m grounded for now cos of new Canadian drone law ☹[emoji17][emoji53]

You can fly in the Philippines where is no Drone law for now. Anyway, the test is just $10 per exam. You can self review or go to school. I have not pass the exam yet but I will try pretty soon