Hi guys,
I'm curious of your thoughts on this. I would like to buy a drone - mostly for fun and photography. The
MA2 is probably what fits my needs the most. However, I'm turned off by all the restrictions we have in the country. It seems like it may be quite the hassle to do anything with it. In the current legal climate, do you think the mini is a better choice - despite its limitations?
The Mini is awesome! It's so good that I almost immediately bought a Mavic Pro. ? Seriously, that thing can fly!
If you fly the Mini outside and you have the prop guards on it, it'll weigh more than 250g and you'll need to be licensed and it will need to be registered.
Fly without prop guards and you risk pruning of one of the trees in your sister-in-law's yard. (not that I would know anything about that)
The Basic exam is not terribly difficult. There are a number of questions on it that don't apply to rotary wing drones but the exam is for anyone flying remote controlled aircraft. The exam costs $10. It's 35 questions, you have an hour to complete it, and it's open book (including being allowed to do online searches). There are a couple of PDF documents you'll want to have open and ready to search, as well. When you get your results, it tells you what areas you got wrong, so that you can be better prepared for your next try. If you fail, you can try again after 24 hours. A really good starting point is to look at the Don Drone On Youtube channel for his study guides.
Registering your over-250g drone costs $5.00, and the registration never expires.
The 'restrictions' in Canada pretty much boil down to don't fly in a way that endangers people or property. Don't fly too close to any airports, prisons, jails, military bases or other places that are typically off-limits to the general public. Don't fly too close to people. Don't transport dangerous goods (or live animals) with your drone. Keep out of the way of aircraft that have people in them. Don't fly over advertised events like outdoor concerts. Don't fly where there are emergency operations underway.
Unlike the US, for example, we don't need a special licence to fly non-recreational missions. The Basic certificate allows us to fly commercial missions, although we are more limited in how close we can fly to people and certain kinds of airspace. If we have Advanced certification and are planning a mission that would usually be against the rules (e.g. an advertised event, flying in support of emergency services), we can apply for permission (Special Flight Operations Certificate).
I have friends whose drone have become inoperable because they were so worried about the exam that they put the drones away and now the batteries are now so dead they won't take a charge (and new ones are impossible to find).
Even if you never go with a drone that has a takeoff weight of 250g or more, just go for the certificate - preparing for it will help you get a better understanding of flying and flight safety.
