Course Guide
How Long Are Our Drone Courses?
A realistic time budget for each course, from first login to holding the certificate.
This one belongs under FAQ, but it gets asked often enough to deserve a standalone answer. All of our courses are online and can be started as soon as you register. You will receive a welcome email that lets you log in for the first time, and you keep access to the material for 12 months. Because everything is delivered online, you can build a schedule that works around your job rather than the other way round.
“In theory, if you started in the morning, you could be flying your drone legally with a Basic Certificate within the same day.”
Basic Online Bundle
The Basic Online course allows you to fly a small RPAS in a Basic environment in Canada. It comprises just under two hours of video lessons and about one hour of written material. To be properly prepared for the Transport Canada exam, plan on another two hours of exam preparation and document review.
Once the course is complete you sit the Transport Canada Basic exam, for which Transport Canada allows up to 90 minutes. All in, including the exam, this course can be completed in about 6 to 7 hours.
Advanced Online Course
The Advanced Online course walks you through everything up to, but not including, the flight review. It suits pilots who do not plan to do the flight review immediately but want the knowledge in place.
It includes roughly 20 hours of video and about three hours of written material. Students should also budget up to four hours working through practice questions. In total, the course plus the one-hour exam comes to about 28 to 30 hours. After the exam you still need to complete a flight review before the Advanced Certificate privileges are granted.
Advanced Pilot Bundle
The Advanced Pilot Bundle carries the same content as the Advanced Online course, and adds the material you need for the flight review plus the pre-paid in-person review itself. The flight review preparation takes about three to four hours to work through.
That makes the bundle roughly 31 to 34 hours of work overall, and that figure includes both your written exam and your flight review.
Which One Should You Take?
Understanding the rules and regulations can be confusing, and the honest answer depends on where you intend to fly. Our article on where you can fly with a Basic certificate is the fastest way to work out whether Basic covers the flying you actually want to do, or whether you need Advanced from the start.
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Need More Information?
Grab our free e-book to learn what it takes to get a drone pilot certificate, along with a look at where the drone industry is heading.