Let’s Go Flying — An Introduction to Canadian Drone Laws, Registration, and Licenses
In general, the order to follow to get started is:
- Review Transport Canada’s Drone Laws, Rules, and Regulations
- Get your required Pilot’s License
- Register your Drone with Transport Canada
- Time to fly!
Laws, Rules, and Regulations
Drone Pilot Certificate
There are two available pilot certificates: Basic and Advanced Operations. If you meet all 5 of these conditions, you’re conducting basic operations:
- You fly it in uncontrolled airspace
- You fly it more than 30 meters (100 feet) horizontally from bystanders
- You never fly it over bystanders
- You fly it more than 3 nautical miles from a certified airport or a military aerodrome
- You fly it more than 1 nautical mile from a certified heliport
If you do not meet any 1 of these 5 conditions, you are conducting Advanced Operations.
For Basic Operations, a prospective Pilot must complete the Small Basic Exam. The fee is $10, whereas additional attempts are the same price. The Small Basic Exam features:
- 35 multiple-choice questions
- 90 minutes to complete the exam
- A score of 65% or higher is considered a pass
For Advanced Operations, The fee is $10, whereas additional attempts are the same price. The Advanced Basic Exam features:
- 50 multiple-choice questions.
- 60 minutes to complete the exam. If you run out of time, your exam will be marked based on the answers provided.
- A score of 80% or higher is considered a pass.
For the Advanced license, in addition to passing the written exam above, the prospective Pilot will need to pass an in-person Flight Review at a nearby Drone flight school as well.
It is strongly recommended that the prospective pilot attend a UAV flight school before attempting the exam since it covers a lot of new rules.
Online exam questions are based on the Knowledge Requirements for Pilots of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS). The knowledge areas required to study are as follows:
- Section 1: air law, air traffic rules, and procedures
- Section 2: RPAS airframes, power plants, propulsion, and systems
- Section 3: Human factors
- Section 4: Meteorology
- Section 5: Navigation
- Section 6: Flight operations
- Section 7: Theory of Flight
- Section 8: Radiotelephony
It is noted that this document is not a study guide. If the online exam is failed, the prospective pilot must wait 24 hours before trying again. It can be re-taken as many times as necessary.
Drone pilots must always carry a valid Drone pilot certificate while operating their UAV. A valid Drone Pilot Certificate is a printed or electronic document issued by Transport Canada. No other form of certification will be accepted.
Validity Period
To remain certified, you will need to keep your skills up to date. Every 2 years (24 months), Pilot Certificate holders must complete one of the following recency requirements:
- Re-taking and passing either the Basic or Advanced Knowledge examination.
- Successfully passing a flight review; or
- Completing any one of the following training activities:
- Attend a safety seminar endorsed by Transport Canada Aviation.
- Completion of a UAV recurrent training program from a UAV flight school; or
- Completion of a Transport Canada-endorsed self-paced study program
UAV Registration
All UAVs or Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) with a maximum takeoff weight of 250 grams (g) up to and including 25 kilograms (kg) must be registered. UAVs under 250 g do not need to be registered. UAVs over 25 kg also do not need to be registered but require a special flight operations certificate instead. The fee to register the UAV is Fee: $5.
Registration is done through the Drone Management Portal from Transport Canada.
Marking the UAV
Pilots must clearly mark their UAVs with the following information prior to flight:
- Registration Number
- Registered Address
- Additionally, contact information is useful in case of loss (not required)
A fine may occur if the UAV is not marked with its registration number before flying it.
Penalties
Fines for corporations:
- up to $5,000 for flying without a UAV pilot certificate
- up to $5,000 for flying unregistered or unmarked UAVs
- up to $5,000 for flying where you are not allowed
- up to $15,000 for putting aircraft and people at risk
If you break more than one rule, you could receive multiple penalties.
Flight Requirements
General Rules and Regulations to Follow
To keep yourself and others safe, fly your UAV:
- Where you can always see it
- Below 122 meters (400 feet) in the air
- Away from bystanders, at a minimum horizontal distance of 30 meters for basic operations
- Away from emergency operations and advertised events
- Avoid forest fires, outdoor concerts, and parades
- Away from airports and heliports, 5.6 kilometers (3 nautical miles) from airports and 19 kilometers (1 nautical mile) from heliports
- Outside controlled airspace (for basic operations only)
- Far away from other aircraft
Flight Plan
Preparing a Flight Plan is a good practice to ensure all details of the flight have been thought out — especially when dealing with safety and privacy. Below are key items that can be included as recommended by the National Research Council of Canada:
- In addition to using the UAV site selection tool you should plan to fly where you can always see it (i.e., not behind obstacles), below 122 meters (400 feet) in the air, away from bystanders, at a minimum distance of 30 meters for basic operations, away from emergency operations and advertised events. Avoid forest fires, outdoor concerts, parades, etc.
- Perform a site survey as per 901.27. Here you must establish that the takeoff/landing site is suitable for the operation considering the boundaries of the operation, the type of airspace, the altitudes, and routes for approach/departure from the takeoff/landing area, the proximity to other aircraft, obstacles, weather, and the horizontal distances from people not associated with the operation. You may want to save a screen capture of your operation as part of the record-keeping requirements of 901.48
- When selecting a location for Take-Off/Landing, be mindful of 901.33 and ensure that there is no likelihood of collision with another aircraft, person, or obstacle and that the area is appropriate for the type of operation you are planning to conduct.
- Check the weather limits for your UAV as per 901.34 and ensure that you have adequate control margin to safely conduct the operation.
- Read the NOTAMs before commencing flight operations. The NOTAMS can be downloaded from Nav Canada. Enter the ID associated with the nearest aerodrome to your proposed operation and select the Aerodrome NOTAM file as well as the FIR NOTAM file. Alternatively, you can find a visual presentation of the NOTAMs at http://www.zuluforpilots.com/Map
- Establish a list of emergency contact information appropriate for the area, and consider the appropriate course of action/contact for events such as a fly-away, injury, etc.
- Ensure that your UAV is serviceable as per 901.29 and verify that your flight plan has been loaded correctly into the software. Before flying you should ensure that there is minimal risk of losing the wireless link to your UAV; be aware of any high-power RF transmitters in the area. A spectrum analyzer such as the RF Explorer can help identify potential congested channels, and sources of interference.
Allowable Flight Zones
The National Research Council of Canada has developed a simple-to-use interactive map to let pilots know the flyable zones based on their corresponding certification.
