Micro-Drone Operations

The “This Feels so wrong it must be illegal” category.

Micro-drone operations fall under the *ahem* radar of normal small drone laws (Canadian Aviation Regulations Part IX) with an exemption that precludes them from going any deeper than the preliminary rules published in CARS 900.  (There are subparts published in 901 for 250g+ operations, 902 (BVLOS when???) and 903 for SFOCs)

Here’s the entire book of rules that apply to Micro-Drones as of publishing this article:

1 – Don’t be an idiot.

Ok, so that’s paraphrased, but wouldn’t life be simple if that were the case?  The actual CARs referenced is 900.06 – Reckless or Negligent Operation – which is quoted as to say:

“No person shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft system in such a reckless or negligent manner as to endanger or be likely to endanger aviation safety or the safety of any person.”

Further, micro-drones are considered navigable aircraft, so flight into Class F Restricted (CYR on the Map) airspace is also forbidden without permission from the airspace operator.  Typically, this airspace exists surrounding forest fires, natural disasters, airshows, prisons, and military facilities.  You can find a directory of all airspace in Canada in the TP1820E – Designated Airspace Handbook (DAH).  Here’s an example of Class F Airspace:  

From the graphic above, Orange shaded areas represent blocks of airspace where you can operate a micro-drone, but you should exercise extreme caution.

Hazards in those areas include:

• Uncontrolled aircraft operating in class G airspace from 500′ and up, or as low as the surface in some areas.  There is no lower legal altitude limit for airplanes and helicopters when training, in remote areas, or conducting a landing or take-off, and a drone must always give way to manned aircraft.
• Operations in Class F CYR and CYD airspace are prohibited to drones of all sizes.  You will find this airspace around prisons, wildfires, military training areas, or other areas on short notice as prescribed by NOTAM.  Class F CYA airspace you should exercise caution as there will likely be low-flying aircraft in the area.

• You can fly a micro-drone as close to people as is safe, including over the top of them, as long as you respect CARS 900.06.  A parachute is not required for sub-250g drones, but best to ensure your micro-drone does not pose the risk of laceration or critical injury on impact.
• You can fly a micro-drone within 3NM of Airports and 1NM of certified heliports, but you should review CARS 901.73 and use it as guidelines in addition to CARS 900.06.
• Flying in controlled airspace above 400′ is really not recommended, as you’re likely to put your drone in the path of airplanes and helicopters transitioning to and from airports.  Spotting a drone while flying is nearly impossible, and despite its diminutive size, a sub-250g drone could still do serious damage to a windscreen, incapacitating the pilot.

Free drone tools you should use:

Every drone flight, regardless of size, needs to have a site survey conducted prior to takeoff.  This should also apply to sub-250g operations.  Just because you can fly nearly anywhere, you need to know what hazards are above you, and how you intend to fly safely.

A site survey, at minimum, must consist of reviewing the airspace above you and identifying the nearest aerodromes and sources of manned aircraft activity.  You can use the NRC Site Selection Tool, and set it into “Micro” operations mode, to get a better idea of relevant limitations and nearby restrictions.  At this time, Nav Canada’s NAV Drone does not differentiate between micro- and small-drone operations.

Another great free drone tool we recommend is UAV Forecast, which quickly helps you identify hazardous weather conditions in your area, as well as KP Index readings, which can impede the GPS in your drone.

Small Drone Operations

Most drone operations in Canada will fall under this category.

The entirety of CARS 901 (Part IX Subpart 1) is dedicated to small drone operations which means, any remotely piloted aircraft system that weighs from 250 grams up to 25 kg.

These operations are broken down into two categories:  Basic Operations, and Advanced Operations.  Basic Operations are intended for low-risk drone flights that are well separated from urban activity and airport operations, and outside of controlled airspace.  In order to fly any 250g+ drone in Canada, the pilot must have at least a Basic Pilot Certificate, in addition to registering the drone with Transport Canada.

Within the small drone weight category, operations are categorized under a risk-based approach, in the sense that the closer you get to risk, the higher the certification and oversight required becomes.  As you get closer to people, airports, heliports, and controlled airspace, you will need to obtain an Advanced Pilot Certificate.

Basic RPAS Operations:

Upon registration of a drone weighing 250 grams or more, and upon completion of the Basic Online exam, a drone pilot in Canada may perform the following flights with a Basic Pilot Certificate:

• More than 3NM (5.6KM) away from Airports.
• More than 1NM (2KM) away from Heliports.
• Outside of Controlled Airspace.
• More than 100 ft (30 Meters) horizontal distance away from persons not considered essential to the drone operation (bystanders).
• Drone must be kept within visual line of sight at all times. (This includes FPV, where a spotter must be used.)
• Drone must not be flown more than 400′ above ground at any time, except within 200′ of a structure, and only 100′ above that structure.

Advanced RPAS Operations:

In order to qualify for Advanced Drone operations in Canada, there are several requirements on both the pilot and the drone (RPAS) to be used for the advanced flight.

Advanced Pilot Requirements:

To conduct advanced operations, the pilot in command must complete the Advanced Online Exam with a passing score of 80% or better and subsequently complete a TP15395 Flight Review, which is an in-person knowledge and proficiency exercise.

The flight review is required before an Advanced Pilot Certificate can be issued.  The flight review typically takes about 90 minutes and involves a document and procedure review, a verbal knowledge confirmation, and finally a flight skill demonstration.

Advanced Drone Requirements:

Transport Canada considers 3 drone operations (within the scope of 250g-25kg flights) to be routine Advanced Operations:

1. Flights Near People (Less than 30M horizontal distance to bystanders, but not closer than 5M)
2. Flights Over People (Less than 5M horizontal distance to bystanders, at any approved altitude)
3. Flight in Controlled Airspace (Class A, B, C, D, E)

In order to qualify for flights in any of the three above scenarios, the drone must be accompanied by a Manufacturer’s Safety Assurance Declaration specific to the category of flight that the drone has been proven to be safely operated.  There are specific criteria that the drone must demonstrate capabilities in, in order to be accurately declared considered safe to fly.

For example, to fly in Over People operations, most multi-rotor quadcopters would require some sort of ballistic recovery device, such as a parachute, in order to arrest the rate of descent in the event of a systems failure and prevent injury to persons below the drone.  This declaration often includes a minimum operating altitude to allow for the parachute to deploy safely.

You can’t just fly anywhere:

Holders of an Advanced Pilot Certificate and approved drone aren’t automatically approved to conduct Advanced operations wherever they see fit.  In order to fly in controlled airspace, approval from the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP), Nav Canada for the most part, is required prior to take-off.  This usually involved NavDrone, which is an app submitting for time-limited, region-specific flight authorization requests.

Advanced RPAS Operations:

Upon registration of a drone weighing 250 grams or more, and upon completion of the Advanced Online exam and in-person flight review, a drone pilot in Canada may perform the following flights with an Advanced Pilot Certificate:

• Flights near and over Airports with coordination with the operator.
• Flights near and over Heliports with coordination with the operator. 
• Flights in controlled airspace with approval from the Air Navigation Service Provider
• Flights near and over people, with appropriate manufacturer’s safety assurance declaration.
• Drone must be kept within visual line of sight at all times. (This includes FPV, where a spotter must be used.)
• Drone must not be flown more than 400′ above ground at any time, except within 200′ of a structure, and only 100′ above that structure.

The Special Flight Operations Certificate

CARS 901, or IX Subpart 1, covers normal drone operations, or VLOS drone operations within the 250g to 25kg weight category.  The limitations within that category are well defined, as well as the consequences for ignoring the laws.

However, there may be a legal need for you to break the law, so to say, or fly beyond the limits of CARS 901.  Enter CARS 903, or IX Subpart 3, which is a section of drone laws reserved for complex drone operations that require a special flight operations certificate, or SFOC.

SFOCs are issued by Transport Canada in a limited fashion for novel circumstances that justify flights beyond current routine operations.  This may include emergency services, testing, agriculture, and cinematography.

Typically, as of most recent information from Transport Canada, these SFOCs are issued for a 12-month period and take a minimum of 30 business days to process, upon receipt of the complete application package.

As of recent stats, only about 150 or so SFOCs have been granted in the preceding year, so you can certainly understand the level of complexity and novelty required for the certificates to be issued.

SFOCs are typically requested for flights:

• beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS),
• flights near military aerodrones,
  
• over 400′ in uncontrolled airspace,
• aerial application of agriculture products,
• heavy-lift operations over 25kg,
• flights carrying hazardous payloads,
• or for flights over and near advertised events or special aviation events.

Foreign pilot SFOCs are also regularly requested, in order to operate a drone that is not domestically owned.  More information about the updated foreign pilot information can be found in our Foreign Pilot SFOC guidance package.

 The Beauty of Drone Photography

Drone photography involves flying your camera high up in the sky to take a snapshot of a striking object or landscape but from a different vantage point. It’s all about capturing different perspectives of things that are not visible from where we stand, and *ahem* elevating our images to a new level. 

Aerial photography is still a new enough field for most pictures to look appealing. However, it isn’t as simple as just flying a drone high up and clicking a picture. In fact, the changing perspective, the atmospheric differences, and having the ability to position your drone and your lens exactly where you want them to be can add a whole bunch of challenges to getting that perfect shot. 

Read on for some of our top tips on how to get started with drone photography:

Drone Photography Tips for Beginners

Most drones come with a straight ‘fly right out of the box feature. This is easy enough – purchase the drone, download the app on your tablet or phone, sync the devices and you’re good to go! Providing you have the appropriate drone pilot licence of course.

Starting off:

Drones can be hazardous if your attention is diverted. So, begin your photographic experiments in a small and safe environment like grassy fields and hilltops at odd times so you avoid crowded areas. Make sure you are well-versed in all the rules and regulations concerning Line of Sight (LOS), Restricted Airspace, Municipal no-fly zones, etc.

Weather Conditions:

Keep an eye out for the weather. Clear sunny days can help you capture incredible sights with superb clarity and contrast between elements and colours. Foggy, misty weather can have its own charm on the camera, but you might need to learn about the various settings your camera has and your drone might have a limit to the kind of weather you can fly in. Getting your lenses fogged up won’t help your pictures either. While some drones are water resistant, flying them in heavy rains, fog, or icing conditions is obviously a no-no and potentially illegal.

Get Used to the Camera:

Most drone cameras have wide-angle lenses, meant to capture a wide frame. If you aren’t used to wide-angle lenses, the perspective can sometimes be misleading in terms of the distance from objects. Get used to this perspective before getting overly creative! Get familiar with the different settings, file types, etc., that you may want to use before you set off on your photography adventure.

Charge those batteries:

This one may be obvious but must be said. Make sure you’ve charged your batteries. Finding amazing sights and then having to emergency land because of a low battery is always a bummer. Never take off with less than a sufficiently charged battery, and be aware that in cold temperatures or hot summer days you will likely have less endurance than advertised in the flight manual.

Add Your Own Perspective:

Look for perspective. The most important quality of a good video or picture is how it is framed. Drones will no doubt show you unimaginable views of a subject or a terrain, but it’s an art to pick what looks best. Train yourself to find interesting patterns and contrasts between elements and you’ll have some stunning photographs.

The more you practice drone photography, the better you’ll get at handling the drone and clicking the best pictures. Use the digital factor to your advantage – click many pictures during the flight time. You can always sift through them to identify the best ones. Try and analyze what makes the ones you’ve chosen better than the rest too.

Nadir (Vertical) – An image shot directly pointing at the ground below the center of the camera, at a vertical angle (90-degrees from horizontal).  The opposite of Nadir, or straight up, is Zenith.  Most drone mapping or orthomosaics are made from a series of nadir photos being captured in sequence with automated mapping software.