Passed "Small Basic" - Canada

[AlanTheBeast]

W/o reviewing the new rules and setting myself a 20 minute limit for 35 questions I got 77% (took maybe 25 minutes in reality). Per the "debrief" I need to review right-of-way and Flight Ops Rules and Telephony. (Pass requires 65%). This is for the most basic license in Canada.
I'm considering applying for the Small Advanced as well - but need to dig into the particulars first - I doubt I'd pass if I winged it like this one.

 

[Casper52]

Well Done! I passed both but funny I got zero feed back on the Basic. I doubt if I was at 100%, but maybe?? The Advanced is indeed harder from a question and time and pass grade perspective. Like you I took the Basic Cold, but I did read all the new ‘drone’ regs before I wrote the Advanced. I have not done the required Flight Review yet, for the actual Advanced Licence. I have the contact info of a person who does them in my area. I will do it in a while, I think it costs some $200, so I want to be sure I am ready. The $10 for the exams is fine but at $200 I want to not have to fork out another $200 if I somehow do not pass.

 

[Moose1967]

Excellent - have a trip planned for Newfoundland at the end of the month so I want to get it before I go there - I have been studying extensively so I am hoping it won't be that intense.

You mentioned "Per the "debrief" I need to review right-of-way and Flight Ops Rules and Telephony. " anything more in particular you can point me towards on those three things.
Thx

 

[AlanTheBeast]

You mentioned "Per the "debrief" I need to review right-of-way and Flight Ops Rules and Telephony. " anything more in particular you can point me towards on those three things.

Not really. Read the rules. Find resources and so on. I'm a licensed pilot (commercial - used to be an instructor - no longer active) so I didn't look far beyond what I could find online quickly about the new rules - then I just did the exam pretty much on a whim.

Most of it was just stuff I dredged out of my head, some was logical. Some I simply didn't know the answer offhand. I could have sat there searching the web but certainly didn't feel like it. A bunch of questions were so irrelevant to flying small drones that I was eye rolling my way through.

I was more worried about my soup boiling over than passing this idiotic thing.

The advanced is something else, more detail that you have to know. A lot of that I know from my flying days, but I'll still review.

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Well Done! I passed both but funny I got zero feed back on the Basic. I doubt if I was at 100%, but maybe?? The Advanced is indeed harder from a question and time and pass grade perspective. Like you I took the Basic Cold, but I did read all the new ‘drone’ regs before I wrote the Advanced. I have not done the required Flight Review yet, for the actual Advanced Licence. I have the contact info of a person who does them in my area. I will do it in a while, I think it costs some $200, so I want to be sure I am ready. The $10 for the exams is fine but at $200 I want to not have to fork out another $200 if I somehow do not pass.

For some reason my hackles are up over being "Flight Reviewed" by someone who may have a vested interest in me failing. I certainly want to see what the reviewer is looking for.

Once upon a time I was a flight instructor and about a week before the pre-flight test we gave a copy of the flight test sheet to the student to study so that he could be sure to ask his instructor for a chance to re-do any exercises he wasn't feeling confident about. Then there was the pre-flight test. Then the flight test. Everyone had a clear view of what was coming and if the student was ready. Commercial flight test preparation was pretty much the same thing (with more advanced things in it).

 

[Casper52]

I too have a background as both aircrew and ground maintenance support. Still own a Piper Mirage. I was also amused at some of the questions, trying to figure WTH they had to do with safely flying a small drone. I also agree on the general advise to read up on all the rules and regs, particularly if you do not have a background in aviation. In reality the questions they are asking in the Tests are pretty much at the true Private Pilots Licence level. TC does cover what you need to know for the Flight Review portion of the Advanced Licence. I have not spoken to the Examiner yet. I think I will be fine but I would not want to get blind sided.

 

[Moose1967]

Not really. Read the rules. Find resources and so on. I'm a licensed pilot (commercial - used to be an instructor - no longer active) so I didn't look far beyond what I could find online quickly about the new rules - then I just did the exam pretty much on a whim.

Most of it was just stuff I dredged out of my head, some was logical. Some I simply didn't know the answer offhand. I could have sat there searching the web but certainly didn't feel like it. A bunch of questions were so irrelevant to flying small drones that I was eye rolling my way through.

I was more worried about my soup boiling over than passing this idiotic thing.

The advanced is something else, more detail that you have to know. A lot of that I know from my flying days, but I'll still review.

LOL I hear ya.

My coworker is a commercial pilot and he was "eye rolling" at some of the questions !!!

 

[kingsnake11]

I too passed my small basic a while back and I'm working to brush up on long forgotten stuff so that I can do the advanced certification...however, my only reservation now is the quality, preparation, and cost of the flight review. I've already heard some feed back about unscrupulous reviewers who fail applicants so that they can charge again. TC has really screwed this one. As someone else pointed out, the goal is to have safe flying of drones...not put applicants at the mercy of potential reviewers who approach the issue from the position of making money. One of my flying buddies in Ontario told me that he was failed when he incorrectly answered an obscure question about weather...so he has to fork out another 200 bucks to redo the flight review....what really galled him was that the reviewer wasn't a RPAS pilot. Bad enough to be failed on some obscure question, but by someone who doesn't even fly an RPAS is a little much. I'm looking into feedback from folks who have taken the review and given positive feedback about the reviewer. I hope that TC does away with the flight review or lacking that, I can find a reputable reviewer. I'm sure that most are but nothing like a positive review to help make that decision.

 

[AlanTheBeast]

I too have a background as both aircrew and ground maintenance support. Still own a Piper Mirage. I was also amused at some of the questions, trying to figure WTH they had to do with safely flying a small drone. I also agree on the general advise to read up on all the rules and regs, particularly if you do not have a background in aviation. In reality the questions they are asking in the Tests are pretty much at the true Private Pilots Licence level. TC does cover what you need to know for the Flight Review portion of the Advanced Licence. I have not spoken to the Examiner yet. I think I will be fine but I would not want to get blind sided.

You "own" a Mirage? Do you fly it? That is my "I just won $10M and need a ride around N.America" dream...

 

[Casper52]

You "own" a Mirage? Do you fly it? That is my "I just won $10M and need a ride around N.America" dream...

Yes we do own an Mirage, we got it about 5 years back. C-GXHP Red/Black/Gold on White based at CYBW. Well I sorta fly it, I lost my Medical a while back, but the wife is the top Pilot in the family and she has to always take the Left Seat now. A great private ride, 215+ Knots at FL 240. Not a great load carrying machine, nor is it a home sick angel, but once above FL180 the TAS is good. Yes they are pricey to buy and operate, but the next step up is into the Turbine world and for that one we would also need to a lottery win.

 

[Moose1967]

Just passed the Canada Basic Drone Exam with an 80% - ya some real tricky questions only real pilots of aircrafts would know !!

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Yes we do own an Mirage, we got it about 5 years back. C-GXHP Red/Black/Gold on White based at CYBW. Well I sorta fly it, I lost my Medical a while back, but the wife is the top Pilot in the family and she has to always take the Left Seat now. A great private ride, 215+ Knots at FL 240. Not a great load carrying machine, nor is it a home sick angel, but once above FL180 the TAS is good. Yes they are pricey to buy and operate, but the next step up is into the Turbine world and for that one we would also need to a lottery win.

Colour me various tones of envious with rich hues of jealously.

Your wife could get her instructor's endorsements and then you could left seat under her "instruction". This could be tricky, however, as she'd have to qualify as instructor, instrument/night instructor and IFR instructor (based on how it was "back then" - not sure about now). If she had the basic instructor endorsement, you could SFVR to 17,500, but that's not where you want that airplane I guess - esp. eastbound...

And yes, my fantasy ride has a PT6 in the nose (and STC wingtip tanks). The new Cessna Denali would be better ... but the lottery winning would need to be a step up!

 

[AlanTheBeast]

I too passed my small basic a while back and I'm working to brush up on long forgotten stuff so that I can do the advanced certification...however, my only reservation now is the quality, preparation, and cost of the flight review. I've already heard some feed back about unscrupulous reviewers who fail applicants so that they can charge again. TC has really screwed this one. As someone else pointed out, the goal is to have safe flying of drones...not put applicants at the mercy of potential reviewers who approach the issue from the position of making money. One of my flying buddies in Ontario told me that he was failed when he incorrectly answered an obscure question about weather...so he has to fork out another 200 bucks to redo the flight review....what really galled him was that the reviewer wasn't a RPAS pilot. Bad enough to be failed on some obscure question, but by someone who doesn't even fly an RPAS is a little much. I'm looking into feedback from folks who have taken the review and given positive feedback about the reviewer. I hope that TC does away with the flight review or lacking that, I can find a reputable reviewer. I'm sure that most are but nothing like a positive review to help make that decision.

I haven't looked into it yet but until I know how the review is conducted I'm not doing it. I'll look into it later this summer, perhaps.