Finally passed on try number 4 - Advanced Exam

[fjc]

Well it took me four times but finally got it. The small advanced exam so now it's just a matter of passing the in person flight review next week, and I'm good to go for commercial work! What a relief! Don't know about you guys, but the advanced exam is no cake walk. Anyway... good to go! (Peterborough Ontario - Kawarthas region, Canada)

 

[Jay241]

Congratulations and good luck on the in person review!

 

[MARK (LI)]

Hope you do well with it...good luck

 

[wardtom084]

Advanced Exam, you mean 701?

 

[fjc]

Advanced Exam, you mean 701?

No, I'm in Canada, we don't have Part 107 that's what you are referring to right? Here we have Basic and Advanced, the advanced requires an in person review by Transport Canada approved reviewer, that's after you take the written. Once you have the Advanced Certification, then you are good to go for commercial work. Without that, you cannot earn money in any way shape or form using a drone. It also qualifies you to apply for Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) to fly in National Parks, cover advertised events, like concerts, fly over people with (approved drone) carry dangerous goods payloads, etc etc.

 

[halifax]

Outstanding!

 

[Prop Wash]

Congratulations on passing this part. Now that you have, the interview will probably go well.

 

[hychewright]

Congrats on passing your exam!

 

[Robert Prior]

No, I'm in Canada, we don't have Part 107 that's what you are referring to right? Here we have Basic and Advanced, the advanced requires an in person review by Transport Canada approved reviewer, that's after you take the written. Once you have the Advanced Certification, then you are good to go for commercial work. Without that, you cannot earn money in any way shape or form using a drone. It also qualifies you to apply for Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) to fly in National Parks, cover advertised events, like concerts, fly over people with (approved drone) carry dangerous goods payloads, etc etc.

Actually, you can do commercial work with a Basic sRPAS license. You're just more restricted in where/how you can fly. The Advanced license lets you fly in controlled airspace (with permission), closer to people, etc — but it is not required for commercial work.

Find your category of drone operation

Categories of operations for drones

tc.canada.ca

 

[manc54]

Well done congratulations

 

[hychewright]

Congrats on passing the exam! You should be able to fly commercial soon.

 

[fjc]

Actually, you can do commercial work with a Basic sRPAS license. You're just more restricted in where/how you can fly. The Advanced license lets you fly in controlled airspace (with permission), closer to people, etc — but it is not required for commercial work.

Find your category of drone operation

Categories of operations for drones

tc.canada.ca

Yes, I was mistaken somewhat when I stated that in Canada you can't do commercial work without a license, sure you can say with a mini which requires no license but in all reality if you are looking to do serious commercial work you will not qualify to get liability insurance without an Advanced License from Transport Canada, and without liability insurance most commercial job opportunities with construction companies, mining companies, movie companies, even real estate brokers will not hire you because the risk is too high. Anyone wanting to do "real" commercial work and become reputable will need to go the full distance....cheers.

 

[vindibona1]

Congratulations! I'm sure you're relieved.

It seems that the Canada Advanced exam is more rigorous than the US' Par 107. What sorts of questions/scenarios caused you to fail the first three times?

I know what a let-down it is when you don't pass an important exam. I failed the Level III Professional Ski Instructors exam FIVE times (3 day exams!) and finally passed on the sixth.

 

[Robert Prior]

Yes, I was mistaken somewhat when I stated that in Canada you can't do commercial work without a license, sure you can say with a mini which requires no license but in all reality if you are looking to do serious commercial work you will not qualify to get liability insurance without an Advanced License from Transport Canada, and without liability insurance most commercial job opportunities with construction companies, mining companies, movie companies, even real estate brokers will not hire you because the risk is too high. Anyone wanting to do "real" commercial work and become reputable will need to go the full distance....cheers.

Actually, I was referring to your statement that "Without that, you cannot earn money in any way shape or form using a drone." I shoot mostly landscapes, and having only a Basic license wasn't a problem for getting insurance last time I checked*, and mostly hasn't been a problem** for where I want to fly.

Most of what you described would need an Advanced license because of the conditions — proximity to people, controlled airspace, etc — no matter what pay you receive.

Not arguing that the Advanced license doesn't give you much better opportunities for earning money, just that whether or not a flight is made for money makes no difference to the legal licensing requirement.


*I was checking Skywatch because they had hourly rates, which are perfect for someone who only flies a few times a month.

SkyWatch.AI Drone Insurance Canada

Drone Insurance by SkyWatch.AI ✅ Liability and hull ✅ Flexible annual, monthly and hourly plans ✅ Commercial liability coverage for part-107 pilots. Trusted by thousands of drone professionals. 5⭐service.

www.skywatch.ai

**An exception being national parks — there are iconic views I'll likely never capture — but I'm old enough that I'll never photograph everything on my list anyway.

 

[John Lueck]

Well it took me four times but finally got it. The small advanced exam so now it's just a matter of passing the in person flight review next week, and I'm good to go for commercial work! What a relief! Don't know about you guys, but the advanced exam is no cake walk. Anyway... good to go! (Peterborough Ontario - Kawarthas region, Canada)

Good for you! i just passed the Advanced exam too, but I really have to get on that flight review before its too cold to operate! Good luck on your review!!

 

[fjc]

Good for you! i just passed the Advanced exam too, but I really have to get on that flight review before its too cold to operate! Good luck on your review!!

I did my flight review just a week afterwards, and it was a piece of cake, really, nothing to worry about but then again I suppose it hinges on the reviewer. My guy was pretty basic, nothing drastic. Good luck.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Yes, I was mistaken somewhat when I stated that in Canada you can't do commercial work without a license, sure you can say with a mini which requires no license but in all reality if you are looking to do serious commercial work you will not qualify to get liability insurance without an Advanced License from Transport Canada, and without liability insurance most commercial job opportunities with construction companies, mining companies, movie companies, even real estate brokers will not hire you because the risk is too high. Anyone wanting to do "real" commercial work and become reputable will need to go the full distance....cheers.

I think you should actually go back and retake your advance exam. Your statements are not true as you stated a lot wrong. Taking the exam 4 times to pass perhaps you should have used one of the qualified courses like Drone Certification | Learn To Fly Like A Pro! | Coastal Drone

 

[fjc]

I think you should actually go back and retake your advance exam. Your statements are not true as you stated a lot wrong. Taking the exam 4 times to pass perhaps you should have used one of the qualified courses like Drone Certification | Learn To Fly Like A Pro! | Coastal Drone

Ok, so what exactly do you think I stated incorrectly, you say a lot but don't really specify. Give me just one example to back up your comments.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I think Robert Prior has stated the your mistakes, no need to bring it up again.

 

[vindibona1]

Well it took me four times but finally got it. The small advanced exam so now it's just a matter of passing the in person flight review next week, and I'm good to go for commercial work! What a relief! Don't know about you guys, but the advanced exam is no cake walk. Anyway... good to go! (Peterborough Ontario - Kawarthas region, Canada)

Congratulations! I know what it feels like to fail such an exam multiple times before passing and I know the relief you're feeling. Do you have any idea how different the test is in Canada compared to the US, with the exception of the in person flight review, which we don't have? Is the written part on par of flat out more difficult?