Similar to a driver's license road test, a flight review is an in-person practical test. During the Flight Review, a drone pilot is required to demonstrate the ability to fly a drone legally and safely. A flight review is required for the Advanced Drone Pilot Certificate.
Your Transport Canada Drone Pilot Certificate - Basic, a piece of Government Issued ID, and drone equipment. The flight review takes place outdoors. Please dress accordingly. After registering for the Centennial College Flight Review, you will also have access to a prep course with more details.
Regardless of whether it's for fun or work, if you fly a drone in Canada you will need a drone pilot certificate. Whether your operation is in the Basic or Advanced category will depend on where and how close to people you fly.
You need a drone/RPAS pilot certificate to fly a drone legally in Canada. In addition, just like a driver needs to follow road laws, you need to follow air laws when flying a drone. You will need to pass an online written test to acquire your Basic Drone Pilot Certificate, and an in-person flight review to acquire your Advanced Drone Pilot Certificate.
Transport Canada requires a minimum of 20 learning hours for Ground School. On average Centennial College students can expect to complete the Ground School in 20—30 learning hours. You can choose to pace it out over several weeks or expedite it by completing it within a week.
Yes. Our Drone Ground School course includes a practice quiz to prepare you before taking Transport Canada's exam.
The written portion of Transport Canada's RPAS/Drone Pilot Exam is online. You can take it anytime, anywhere directly with Transport Canada. Our Drone Ground School includes all exam details.
If you operate in the Advanced category, you'll need to take a flight review after the written exam. The flight review is physically on-site.
Yes. You need to follow the new regulations and complete Transport Canada's exams to receive a Drone Pilot Certificate. As new regulations have fewer restrictions and are substantially different than previous ones, Transport Canada does not grandfather anyone with previous SFOCs.
Transport Canada is currently working on a business portal for drone registration. Sign up for the AlteX Newsletter here, from our partner institute AlteX, to receive updates on when the business portal is open.
Currently, a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) is only required for drone operations outside of the normal operational rules, or for foreigners — examples include: foreigners visiting Canada; flights beyond visual line of sight or above legal altitude; and flying drones more than 25 kilograms in weight. SFOC material is covered in the Training Library for our Ground School students.
The prep course is included with the Centennial College flight review. It includes all pertinent information regarding the flight review: booking schedule, weather contingency, location, expected competency level of the drone pilot, how pilot skills are evaluated, et cetera.
Currently, our courses are designed for drone pilots. We encourage spotters/visual observers to take the Drone Pilot Ground School to better understand their roles and tasks.
Our Drone Ground School provides training to assist drone pilots to acquire Transport Canada's pilot certificate, and also to learn practical knowledge for successful flight operations. We encourage students to complete all learning material and improve their operations efficiency.
Does the course include all information in Transport Canada's TP 15263E Second Edition?
Yes. Our Drone Ground School is a Transport Canada-compliant course that meets all regulatory knowledge requirements. We also include practical knowledge for successful flight operations.
You can enroll in the courses as a foreigner.
However, to operate as a foreign pilot in Canada, you need to apply for a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) instead of a Drone Pilot Certificate. To apply for an SFOC in advanced operations, you need to complete our Drone Ground School and book a Flight Review. We also have a guide to help you complete the SFOC as a foreigner.
Yes. Our Drone Ground School is completely online with live webinar components. You can learn at your own pace. You can also join a live webinar to interact with the instructor and other students. The webinars run on a monthly basis with weekday or weekend options.
After enrollment, you will receive system access to begin learning.
You can take Transport Canada's written Adv. Drone/RPAS Pilot Exam as many times as it takes to pass.
The same applies to Flight Review.
Note for both exams: you need to pay the same fee every time you retake it, and you need to wait a minimum of 24 hours between attempts.
Similar to a driver's licence road test, a flight review is an in-person practical test. A drone pilot is required to demonstrate the ability to fly a drone legally and safely, including airspace planning, operations plan for emergency, pre-flight and flight checklists, as well as pilot decision-making and navigation.
You will receive a flight review prep module upon registration to understand and prepare for your flight review. It includes detailed booking procedures, skills tested and more.
Centennial College is focused on training professional pilots. We offer Drone Ground School and Flight Review to assist pilots to acquire Transport Canada's drone pilot certificate. We also offer flight training and application-focused courses to help pilots go beyond regulation and run efficient, results-driven drone operations.
We recommend starting with our Drone Ground School and Flight Review. From there you can choose courses in media, video production and industrial applications.
You can book a Flight Review at any time, even before completing the Adv. Written exam. You only need to ensure that prior to taking your Flight Review you have successfully passed the Adv. Written exam.
Our live webinars are offered on weekday or weekend schedules to offer flexibility. They are also recorded for review if you miss them live.
This advanced Drone Ground School covers all fundamental knowledge for Transport Canada's Written Test for a pilot of small Remote Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), commonly known as drones. In addition, the course employs a practical approach by introducing students to real flight scenarios such as filmmaking, search and rescue, as well as inspections and mapping.
This comprehensive course includes both self-learning and live webinars. Learn at your own pace and build fundamental knowledge through our multimedia learning material. Then join webinars to have your questions answered live, learn from other students, and enjoy modern learning from virtually anywhere.
Currently, Transport Canada has a currency period of two years for Drone Pilot Certificates. Transport Canada has discussed a simplified renewal process that may include one of the following: completing a compliant refresher course; or retaking the written exam or flight review. However, the actual renew details have not been finalized. Sign up for AlteX Newsletter from our partner institute to receive regulatory updates.
No. Flight Review is not required to obtain a Basic Drone Pilot Certificate.
Unfortunately, we don't provide specific training for the basic exam. Centennial College is focussed on training professional pilots who require an advanced certificate to operate near people or within urban areas.
We recommend those in need of a basic pilot certificate to take the advanced written exam as well. Both exams are the same cost and share similar knowledge requirements. Upon completing the advanced written exam you will automatically receive a basic pilot certificate, with the option to complete a flight review for an advanced certificate.
Drone Flight Training is a three-hour in-person course that includes hands-on flight training in two knowledge areas: the first area is to prepare you for Transport Canada’s Drone Flight Review; the second area includes practical application training. You can choose one from media, video production or industrial applications. DJI Phantom 4 Pro or Mavic 2 are included with Flight Training. If you have your own drone, additional batteries or charging facilities are also provided.
Current physical requirements for a drone pilot are:
- not under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- able to navigate the drone to conduct collision avoidance
- able to communicate with other crew members, air traffic control or other related parties
- physically fit to perform pilot duties (ie. not under the influence of fatigue, hypoxia, jet lag, et cetera).
Colour blindness will not prevent you from being a drone pilot as long as you can navigate the drone safely in-flight.
Centennial College and our partner institute AlteX hold high standards for our service quality. We require our flight reviewers to understand the drone system and flight controls before conducting flight reviews. This ensures our flight review safety and quality live up to the highest standards. Given the number of drone models available today, we can only cover the major ones used for professional applications. Our current list represents more than 90 percent of these professionally used drones.
Our Drone Ground School includes 20 learning hours. You can complete it at your own pace and take Transport Canada's written exam. From there you can take Flight Review, which is 1.5 hours in-person.
It is feasible to acquire your Advanced Drone Pilot Certificate in two weeks. We recommend starting with Drone Ground School learning material and plan your schedule accordingly.
Centennial College's Drone Ground School meets TP15263 Drone Pilot Knowledge Requirements. As part of our Ground School course, Centennial College also provides SFOC material in the AlteX Training Library to assist with your SFOC application. You will need to complete all the course material, with the course progress marked 100%. From there you will receive a course certificate to include with your SFOC application.
Our Ground School is completely online with 20 learning hours. Register here.
Drone Flight Review is to verify a drone pilot's ability to conduct safe and legal flights. A flight reviewer cannot ask a drone pilot to fly a drone in a manner that does not belong in a normal flight operation.
ATTI mode, figure 8 flight or any other specific flight patterns are not required in a drone flight review. Our Flight Review prep module includes details on what is being tested in a flight review.
Drone Flight Review only requires flight documents that are legally required by Transport Canada. There is no specific format required for the flight documents. You can choose to use a digital or hard copy. Our Drone Ground School course provides all the necessary information and templates for flight documents. We also included a checklist in the Flight Review prep module.
Yes. Our Drone Ground School TC EXAM PREP course prepares you for both the basic and advanced written exams. Centennial College is focused on training professional pilots. We have Drone Ground School and Flight Review to assist pilots to acquire Transport Canada's drone pilot certificate.
We also offer flight training and application-focused courses to help pilots go beyond regulation and run efficient, results-driven drone operations.
We recommend starting with our Drone Ground School and Flight Review. From there you can choose courses in media, video production and industrial applications.
You can write the advanced exam right away. After successfully completing the advanced exam, you will automatically receive a basic certificate. The certificate will be updated to advanced after completing the flight review.
Since both exams share similar knowledge and cost the same, we recommend taking the Adv. Exam so you have the option to pursue an Adv. Pilot Certificate. Read this article to help you better understand the pilot certification process.
Transport Canada's Drone/RPAS Pilot Exam is online and can be taken anytime. You will receive results right after completing the exam. If you successfully pass the exam, you will also receive a digital copy of the pilot certificate right away.
Completing the Advanced RPAS Pilot Exam online automatically grants you a basic pilot certificate. You will need to successfully complete a flight review to receive your advanced pilot certificate.
Yes. Our Drone Ground School is the prep course for Transport Canada's Advanced RPAS/Drone Pilot Exam. You can enroll online and begin learning at any time.
You will receive an email one day prior to training day if the weather is unsuitable for your scheduled session time. The email will also confirm the rescheduled session date and time.
Transport Canada requires a minimum 15-minute flight for Flight Review. This can be a combination of flights or a single flight.
Centennial College provides candidates with the opportunity to practice on our Flight Field. We recommend bringing enough batteries for Flight Review and practice.