Traveling to Canada - Need advice

[Travels with Yoly]

Hey there ... any Canadian pilots We're traveling to western Canada this spring and I was wondering if anyone with experience flying Phantoms in this area could pass on any advice they may have. Curious if the Canadian regs also use 400 feet as the ceiling limit ? Also, I'm assuming that flights are banned from the National and Provincial Parks ? Anything specific to Canadian laws that I need to be aware of ?

Thanks for any help you can provide

 

[Slackware]

Hey there ... any Canadian pilots We're traveling to western Canada this spring and I was wondering if anyone with experience flying Phantoms in this area could pass on any advice they may have. Curious if the Canadian regs also use 400 feet as the ceiling limit ? Also, I'm assuming that flights are banned from the National and Provincial Parks ? Anything specific to Canadian laws that I need to be aware of ?

Thanks for any help you can provide

I read on another post they are a 300 ft. ceiling yesterday. so definitely find out.

 

[Erised]

Check this. Flying your drone safely and legally - Transport Canada

 

[Travels with Yoly]

Just as here in the US there seems to be lots of vagueness relative to hobbiest's ability to find places to fly legally. Seems that in Canada it's even more complicated as there are more formal exemptions that allow flights in restricted places. For instance, you can get permits to fly in National Parks. Still very confusing non the less. I did manage to find a fundamental chart that is somewhat helpful ....

 

[Travels with Yoly]

Check this. Flying your drone safely and legally - Transport Canada

Heh heh .... just found that site myself .... thanks for the help I was hoping to hear from actual Canadian pilots about their experiences.

I also read that there is a provision to protect wildlife in other areas by having a restriction on any flights below 2,000 feet. So if we can't fly above 300 feet but must fly above 2,000 feet, that pretty much means UAV are not allowed in reserves or provincial parks either

 

[Erised]

I am Canadian Travels, National parks are NFZ, some provincial parks may have restrictions and you should ask if you can fly, they will be nice about it. If you want to see wild animals provincial parks will not deliver any thing bigger than a bird or a squirrel, too many people around. If you keep enough distance not to freak out the animals you shouldn't get bothered. Don't fly in peoples bubble and show respect and they won't bother you more likely ask you a few questions. You will have a better chance to see big game like moose somewhere out on the highway and they will be gone by the time you get your drone out. I have flown from Ontario to Newfoundland and never got bothered.(not in one flight! lol) I have Headplays and I usually take people I just met out for a ride. Don't fly over people and houses or cities and all should be fun. Canada has 3.8 million square miles I'm sure you will need a few batteries. Banff National park is huge(NFZ), and there are many many beautiful places outside the park. Drone or not you should drive the park end to end like from Calgary to Jasper (hike to the base of mount Robson) and drive back down in the park, if you keep going to Edmonton and then back down to Calgary out of the mountains, that's boring, stay in the mountains. If you like Colorado and Montana you will love the Canadian Rockies. And with your money you can stay 3 nights for the price of 2. We are celebrating our country's 150 years so National Park admission will be free this year! welcome and enjoy.

 

[Travels with Yoly]

I am Canadian Travels, National parks are NFZ, some provincial parks may have restrictions and you should ask if you can fly, they will be nice about it. If you want to see wild animals provincial parks will not deliver any thing bigger than a bird or a squirrel, too many people around. If you keep enough distance not to freak out the animals you shouldn't get bothered. Don't fly in peoples bubble and show respect and they won't bother you more likely ask you a few questions. You will have a better chance to see big game like moose somewhere out on the highway and they will be gone by the time you get your drone out. I have flown from Ontario to Newfoundland and never got bothered.(not in one flight! lol) I have Headplays and I usually take people I just met out for a ride. Don't fly over people and houses or cities and all should be fun. Canada has 3.8 million square miles I'm sure you will need a few batteries. Banff National park is huge(NFZ), and there are many many beautiful places outside the park. Drone or not you should drive the park end to end like from Calgary to Jasper (hike to the base of mount Robson) and drive back down in the park, if you keep going to Edmonton and then back down to Calgary out of the mountains, that's boring, stay in the mountains. If you like Colorado and Montana you will love the Canadian Rockies. And with your money you can stay 3 nights for the price of 2. We are celebrating our country's 150 years so National Park admission will be free this year! welcome and enjoy.

Thank you very much Erised I am actually a Canadian citizen living in the US since 1963. I traveled BC and AB extensively in a 1965 VW camper back in 1970. I actually swam in Lake Louise (I was just 21). We have traveled 10,000 miles a year for 7 years since retiring 10 years ago. We have a YouTube channel documenting our adventures and we've been to about 3 dozen US National Parks. We've camped in every state but Alaska and North Dakota. I was just using the wildlife references as that is the way the regulations in my research were slanted. We NEVER go out of our way to find wildlife as many do. We stumble across it regularly so no need to seek it out. We had a campsite once where the site across from us was inhabited by a momma moose and her three little ones (Colorado) My wife has never seen Canada and it's the one remaining jewel at the bottom of our "bucket list". Everything you have said is almost precisely as I have been describing it to Yoly. I am a very responsible pilot and take regulations and recommendations very seriously. I did read that the Provincial Parks are not uniformly regulated and it never hurts to ask permission. I also agree that there are vast areas well beyond restricted areas that will offer excellent footage I'm sure. The currency exchange rate helps I'm sure but at 12 mpg, I'm hoping it'll offset the higher gas prices in Canada I know the admission fees have been waived for 2017 and I've sent away for the annual park pass which had no cost associated with it. Probably going to be more than the average amount of tourists though

Thank you so much for your input and helpful insight