Systems Pilots

What’s that in the sky? A bird? A plane? Neither, actually. It’s a quad-rotor drone weighing less than 25 kilograms.

Residents of St. Honoré, Que., will soon be seeing these small craft buzzing around local skies, once a light drone pilot’s course is launched by Centre québécois de formation aéronautique (CQFA) later this summer. Founded in 1968, CQFA is the largest publicly-funded flight training school in Canada, and one of five Quebec National Schools.

The school is also a member of the Unmanned Aerial System Centre of Excellence (UAS CE), founded in 2011 in nearby Alma, Que. The Centre is a community of about 20 aviation-related organizations that aims to offer a complete range of services relating to the operation, regulation and maintenance of unmanned aerial systems (UASs).

CQFA brings training expertise to the table at the UAS CE. “We were tasked to develop college accredited (UAS) training programs that would lead to some sort of a college certificate,” explained Jean LaRoche, director of research and development at CQFA. Along the way, that work led to the realization that there was a need for a shorter, non-certificate program targeted at light drone operators.

Currently, regulations state that Transport Canada must issue a special flight operations certificate or an air operator certificate before an unmanned air vehicle can be flown in Canadian airspace. A government working group is now studying the issue in order to make further recommendations for regulatory amendments and standards in this area.

In the meantime, drones of all sizes – including those in the “light” category under 25 kilograms – can pose a hazard for aircraft, especially since the smallest ones are virtually invisible.

“We looked at what was going on in Europe and France as far as training,” LaRoche told Canadian Skies. “I found that the European solution was essentially based on the private pilot’s licence, and that covers a little too much that isn’t needed (by the drone operator), such as CFIT, stalls, etc. Our course tries to merge what the drone pilot really needs with what the Europeans were providing.”

CQFA partnered with Beloeil, Que.-based KoptR Image Inc., the province’s first manufacturer of aerial video units built for professional use. Together, the two companies created a 130-hour educational program that is specifically focused on the operation of light drones weighing 25 kilograms or less. The curriculum covers the knowledge that low-level drone operators need, including drone-specific theory of flight.

“We expect the market will be police, firefighters, structural engineers, land surveyors, crop and forestry applications, and, of course, cinema imaging,” said LaRoche.

Students in the program will begin with an at-home e-learning component, followed by a week in the classroom. Then it will be time for the actual in-field flight training. KoptR will provide each student with their own drone for the duration of the course – a light, quad-rotor DJI Innovations Phantom model. They will learn how to program, maintain, calibrate and operate their drone.

Candidates who successfully complete the CQFA light drone pilot’s course will have the option to pay a little extra and take their drone, valued at about $700, home with them. “They can buy it, bring it home and start a business, with support from KoptR,” said LaRoche.

He expects each class to have no more than five students, in order to allow for one-on-one field instruction. There will also be a fast-track option for those who already hold a pilot’s licence – they’ll go right into the simulator for a few hours and then proceed to hands-on training. CQFA expects to accept its first intake of licensed pilots in August, with the first class of students without prior aviation experience scheduled to begin this September. Classes will be offered in English and French.

Tuition fees range from $3,634 for those with prior aviation experience to $4,538 for those with no aviation knowledge, plus taxes. If students choose to buy out their drone, an additional fee (less than the cost of a new drone) will be added.

LaRoche and his colleagues have structured their program to include the knowledge and skills they believe are necessary for the safe operation of light drones under 25 kilograms. However, the program is in its infancy, and CQFA is prepared to make amendments to comply with future regulations.

“We want it to be very serious,” said LaRoche. “We decided to move forward with this program; and then we’ll start running it, and then we’ll decide if we have to change something once the regulations come out. It’s my opinion on what the good operator should know; but it’s just one view. We do feel it’s a very complete short course for small drones.”

For its part, Transport Canada told Canadian Skies it “will continue to work cooperatively with the UAV/UAS community to support the highest possible level of safety and efficiency in aviation.” The regulator is also working with its counterpart in the U.S. to develop a common standard for unmanned aerial systems, through the Regulatory Cooperation Council.

“We hope this (course) will be perceived as serious enough to be taken as a standard,” said LaRoche. “We think those devices deserve a nation-wide waiver, in the sense that they won’t need to request a special flight operating certificate each time – provided they comply with conditions such as: not in an airport environment, not over a crowd, and with sufficient training with an exam. Then, TC can release these devices (under 25 kg), and concentrate on the bigger drones that represent much, much more risk (to flight safety).”

As for the college-accredited certificate program that is being developed in conjunction with UAS CE, LaRoche said it will likely run for one year, or about 500 hours, and will hopefully get rolling in early 2015. It will cover instruction on the operation of all sizes of drones, including those that weigh 150 kg or more.

“It’s going to be quite a different game for the heavier drones, as far as pilot’s licence and background,” he added. “We expect that those (operating drones) in the heaviest category will have an IFR rating requirement. They’re huge. They can fly for seven hours, away from line of sight.”

The CQFA’s accredited program plan recently received funding from the Quebec Ministry of Education. “We’ll be partnering with other institutes specializing in areas such as thermal imagery and cinema imaging,” said LaRoche.

There’s no doubt that drones are getting a lot of attention these days. The Government of Canada announced in late May that it was contributing $2.4 million in the form of a non-repayable financial contribution to the Alma-based UAS CE. The money is coming from the Canada Economic Development Agency’s Quebec Economic Development Program.

“There’s a whole industry network being incubated by these drones,” said LaRoche. “Camera work – you can get photos with drones that you could never get with a helicopter, and at a fraction of the cost. Taping, finding someone, infrared sensor work…. it could even carry loudspeakers. I even saw one demonstration with an iPhone using FaceTime – they were simulating the rescue of someone who went through the ice. While the firefighters were getting dressed, they sent the drone out (with an iPhone attached) to deliver an ice pick. Using FaceTime, they talked to him and told him to take it and try to get out.”

The CQFA light drone pilot’s course has already attracted attention from prospective students in California, France, Georgia, Texas and Alberta. LaRoche says there is clearly a demand for drone operator education, and with good reason: “Without training, I see it as riding a bicycle with no understanding of the rules of the road – then you are a danger to everybody.”