Criticism Mounting over Transport Canada Drone Certification Exam Questions

[Hendricks]

Effective June 1st, this year Canadian drone operators will have to hold at least a Basic Drone Operator's Certificate. There is also an Advanced Operator's Certificate available.
In both cases, you are required to go ' on line ' and write and pass Transport Canada exams. These exams feature multiple choice questions with a time limit to complete the test.
My comments will centre on the Advanced Certification Exam which has 50 multiple choice questions and you have an hour to finish the exam.
I have written the test myself and have talked to others who have done so and we all agree there are at least a half dozen questions which have very little or nothing to do with the responsible flying of your Phantom. Obscure weather terminology that even seasoned aircraft pilots would be hard pressed to know doesn't seem to have a place on a drone certification test.
There are other examples of these out-of-place questions as well.
This type of question becomes quite significant because you are required to score 80% to pass the exam.
With 50 questions, that means you must get 40 correct to successfully pass.
A half dozen of these odd questions would be more than enough to tip the balance against a successful outcome.

I feel the certification process should be challenging, no question;however, I also certainly feel the questions used should be relevant and geared toward realistic drone piloting scenarios.

 

[Dan50]

Did you pass? What study material did you use?

 

[Hendricks]

I got 78% the first time I wrote the exam........it's difficult.

The material available from Transport Canada covers only part of what you will see on the Advanced exam.
There are a few common sense questions;questions from the Transport Canada material; and as many as 5 or 6 of these odd and obscure questions that you could not possibly know, even if you are a professional aircraft pilot with years of experience.

I have no doubt these 5 or 6 questions are on the exam(for now) to tip the balance against a successful outcome on this exam.
Remember, you have 1 hour to answer 50 multiple choice questions.......and.........you must get 40 of the questions correct to score the 80% pass mark necessary.

So, you can only get 10 incorrect answers.

And, if there are 5 obscure and odd questions included, then it absolutely tilts the odds against a successful outcome.

 

[Gregg Kielma]

Ohhhhh Canada.....not good.

 

[Capt. Joe]

Regarding the "Basic" test:
Soon as I saw some of the Qs my wife and I both exclaimed: "just to limit who gets it!"

Here is a good one in the Basic test: They ask what your max alt allowed; out of the multi-choice there is "300''" there is "400''" and 2 other heights. Right now we are allowed 300' / after Jun 1st, between 250 grams and 35 Kilograms in unrestricted airspace allows you to 400'!!
Which one to pick for a test you are doing today? I went for the 400', got the ticket but don't know if I got that one right or not, my thinking was that I am writing this test for regs coming into effect June 1st (thus 400' made sense).

I agree that competency and knowledge testing is needed to keep flying drones safely in our communities, but this kind of approach to testing can only result in less people flying legally......

 

[Rudder Bug]

I totally agree with Hendricks.

Over my 45 year pilot career, I wrote every TC exams, from Private, Commercial, Instructor, Instrument rating, Airline Pilot, chief pilot, Operation Manager Air Taxi 703, Dangerous Goods and Human Factors. All of them. Last week I gave a try at the Advanced drone exam. By far the most irrelevant and difficult written test I've ever seen. I failed at 64%. I failed matters I am completely familiar with, matters I used to teach. The pass mark is 80%, so you're allowed ten wrong answers out of 50. The next day I tried it again and got a little easier exam which I passed tight at 80.

I found so many questions that are not consistent with flying a UAV commercially, even in controlled airspace. Why are we questioned about hypoxia? A pilot on the ground can't get hypoxic, it's a syndrome caused by high altitude and oxigen deprivation. Go figure. There was a question about an ATC clearance while taxiing on a taxiway and crossing an active runway. I failed a question about thunderstorms, how to identify a nearby cell. It looked more like a matter of opinion than a matter of knowledge. I know, there is a need to educate people and prevent unsafe practice but those exams really need to be revised.

 

[hodgeshamm]

I completely agree with Hendricks and Rudder Bug

I just wrote the Advanced exam and I failed as well. My problem is that you have to go find various types of information sources to prepare for the exam. There is no study manual that is available which you can focus on. Trying to find all the information required to take the exam was exhausting and confusing. I hope that TC will come up with a study guide and/or a study manual. I think they really want you to attend a private flight training center to learn all the material that is involved in flying. I have decided to enroll in the next classes at the Halifax Flight Center. Hopefully I will then be successful to obtain my advanced Pilot Certificate.

 

[Rudder Bug]

Not only that, but a flight test with a TC approved inspector is required in order to get the certificate. I will book mine as soon as the temperature gets a little warmer. The rumor has it as the CQFA will have a study guide available by February.

 

[Hounddog]

I looked at local drone school for flight review and it costs 500 dollars and not allowed any mistakes otherwise pay again, that’s a load of crap

 

[Hounddog]

A roadtest for cars in Ontario costs around 50 dollars and allowed a few mistakes, this just crap the government is doing to us, no regulation outside of them collecting money

 

[Ryangodard]

I have no problem with the concept of minimal flight training for UAV pilots, but it seems like the government had a knee jerk reaction to the latest drone incidents and rushed into a test suited more for a private pilot.

I had the same argument with the ground school test I just completed, now that money has been thrown away and I'm forced to get a new certificate, and like Hodgeshamm say's, there is no complete study guide available anywhere online.

I've attempted the test twice and received a 76% both times.

I guess I should have known the correct amount of Nitrogen to Oxygen in the atmosphere as well as my Airports recommend deicing procedure for my P4P+

Just ridiculous.

 

[Hendricks]

Thank you to everyone who has replied to my comment on this.
There is no doubt the Transport Canada Advanced Drone Certification exam needs some revision.
Absolutely.
I would suggest there should be no question on the exam that does not relate directly to the safe and responsible operation of your Phantom.
After all, isn't that what we are all after here?
Trying to make sure those who fly drones have the necessary training to fly them responsibly and safely.

Inserting these bizarre and obscure questions that experienced pilots don't even know defeats the purpose of what the exam is supposed to be doing.

Transport Canada shouldn't be trying to 'weed people out', but should be trying to educate those who want to fly their drones responsibly.

When experienced airplane pilots are failing this exam, it tells you something........

It tells us there are questions on the exam that aren't in any way relevant to the safe operation of your drone.

 

[Rudder Bug]

I looked at local drone school for flight review and it costs 500 dollars and not allowed any mistakes otherwise pay again, that’s a load of crap

That is not fair at all, if not abusive. My local guy charges $150 for the test.

 

[Hendricks]

One question that comes up on the Transport Canada Advanced Certification exam deals with the amount of time a pilot should take between donating blood and flying.

The FAA and Transport Canada rule is 24 hours.
However, 48 hours is recommended.

I answered 24 hours on my exam.

I got this question incorrect because when I checked the exam results, I was told to 'review blood donation and flight duty'.

I guess the answer they are looking for here is the recommended rule.....as opposed to the stated rule.

See why so many people are finding this exam very difficult?

 

[crash480]

If the advanced is this difficult, and there isn't any real study material.
I guess the basic one might be the best choice. How difficult is this one? And how does someone get the flight review.
It doesn't make sense that you can get a boaters license, so much easier than it is to get one to fly a "toy" around.
And that's all I want to use it for.
Been too many years since I've had to study.

 

[Bad Andy]

I'm recalling the old Netware exams. Basically designed to keep schools in business. The exams would have questions that had to be answered wrong because the schools taught things that were wrong.

 

[Remote Pilots Australia]

I guess the answer they are looking for here is the recommended rule.....as opposed to the stated rule.

That would be consistent with how the RePL (Remote Pilot) exam works here in Australia. For example last year C.A.S.A. removed totally the hard set rules for operations around a "non controlled" aerodrome and now just leaves you to operate under the "shall not endanger life, property and other aircraft" stipulations..... BUT they still have a "recommended" set of operating rules and when you do the test it's the recommended rules you are expected to answer with.

That's all well and good of course but here the syllabus is well known, fully published and you must go through an approved training provider at the cost of around $1500 without any add on certifications to be certified fit to hold the licence. Yes, the exam includes some fairly advanced aeronautical theory, aviation law, meteorology, human factors, risk management, threat and error mitigation, navigation, reading aviation charts blah blah blah ad nauseam (but nothing about hypoxia! =-| )and then there is practical training and a minimum hours of flying assessment on top. It is considered a low grade pilots licence so I suppose fair enough.

If however you decide to pony up that price it's to operate commercially and you're pretty well committing yourself to some serious study for 3 months or so, you know what you're signing up for and you WILL get the training in a well defined syllabus, you're not left in limbo like you guys seem to be. The course study guide is fully 2 inches thick.

It's an 80 question exam with a 75% pass mark and you get 2 and a half hours. I passed it and the Aeronautical Radio Operators certificate as an extra (so I can fly in controlled airspace and right up to aerodrome boundaries) in 26 minutes with 100% but I sweated blood during the study process and I knew exactly what to expect. I wasn't doing it to fly as a hobbyist.

I may be misunderstanding the situation but if this is what you are required to pass to fly your R.P.A. as a hobbyist then someone has seriously slipped a gear in the government there IMO.

Best of luck for improved clarity in February!

Regards
Ari

 

[Hendricks]

Another question on the Advanced Certification exam:

"Who has the authority to request to see your aviation documents?"

A. The Chief Pilot, Flight Instructor, and a physician.

B. Customs Officer, Transport Canada Inspector, and Chief Pilot.

C. ATC, Transport Canada official, and immigration officer.

D. Chief Pilot, Customs Officer, and Transport Canada Inspector.


Anyone want to take a guess as to the correct answer to this one?

 

[Remote Pilots Australia]

Wow .... NO idea

Although as the word we got here is that if you're not a Canadian National you can't fly there I don't see how immigration or customs come into it unless it's from an importation perspective?

D ?

Regards
Ari

 

[Hendricks]

I will wait for a few others to weigh in on this before I let you know the correct answer..........