Drone course
Drones, or Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPA), have become popular in recent years. As they are defined as aircrafts, they are regulated by Transport Canada and pilots have to prove competency to fly.
Canada requires Basic or Advanced operations certificates for small RPAS operations.
The main difference being Advanced operations certificate required for controlled airspace (around GTA).
See Find your category of drone operation for an overview.
For our initial drone course offering, we will provide something for every level of interest.
Junior cadets get to explore drone flying at home in a simulator.
Older cadets with an eye on obtaining the basic (14 yrs of age) or advanced (16 yrs of age) operator certificate will have the
opportunity to attempt the Transport Canada small RPAS exam.
Flight review opportunities to complete the advanced certification process may be available after in-person
training resumes.
Some of the topic assumes some physics and general science background.
Much of the topic will be overlapping with the squadron ground school. Cadets who have experience with the
ground school will have some advantage.
The exams are known to be challenging and have a pass score of 65% for Basic and 80% for Advanced operations.
The topics are scheduled to start from generic to more specific.
There is no cost to attend this course with the squadron. However, a ground school such as this done commercially costs $100+ per person;
with the advanced certification process costs a further $400+.
Some incidental expenses may incur including:
- Optional: Xbox / PS3 / PS4 controller for the DJI simulator: borrowed or $30.
- Transport Canada exam fee: $10 per attempt (on avg 1-3 tries for adv).
- Advanced certificate: Transport Canada licensing fee: $25.
Resources
Find your category of drone operation
Knowledge requirement for small RPAS
Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) (Section: RPA)
Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) (Part IX: Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems)
DJI simulator (free)
Xbox gamepads on Amazon ($30)
PS3 / PS4 controllers on PC
Study guides
Civil tracker: How to Pass Transport Canada Advanced Exam (use the free resources)
Don's study guide for the Advanced sRPAS Exam
Schedule
* Sessions to be approx 2 hr long each; utilizing a virtual environment.
Week |
Date |
Topic |
Instructor |
1 |
13 Jan |
Introduction / DJI simulator |
Capt Li |
2 |
20 Jan |
Drone user manual / filming techniques |
Capt Li |
3 |
27 Jan |
Radiotelephony |
TBD |
4 |
3 Feb |
Theory of flight |
FSgt M. Lam |
5 |
10 Feb |
RPAS airframes, power plants, propulsion and systems |
Capt Li |
6 |
17 Feb |
Navigation |
2Lt Pei |
7 |
24 Feb |
Meteorology |
2Lt Pei |
8 |
3 Mar |
Human factors |
TBD |
9 |
10 Mar |
Air law, air traffic rules and procedures |
Capt Li |
10 |
24 Mar |
Flight operations |
Capt Li |
11 |
31 Mar |
Exam Prep |
TBD |
12 |
7 Apr |
Exam Prep |
TBD |