What to Expect at Your RPAS Flight Review
An RPAS flight review is an in-person practical assessment with a Transport Canada-recognised reviewer, required for the Advanced pilot certificate. It has four phases: pre-flight briefing, aircraft and document check, in-flight assessment, and post-flight procedures. There is no fixed duration — most run one to two hours. You must have passed the written Advanced exam before booking. The most common reason for a re-attempt is a weak pre-flight briefing, not poor flying.
It isn't a flying test
The single most useful thing to understand before your review is that the reviewer is not evaluating whether you can fly. They are evaluating whether you operate like a pilot — whether you plan, brief, assess risk, and respond to problems in a structured, defensible way.
Candidates who arrive expecting to demonstrate smooth stick work and instead face twenty minutes of questions about why the operation they've proposed is legal tend to have a difficult morning.
The four phases
Phase 1 — Pre-flight briefing
You brief the reviewer on the operation you intend to conduct. Expect to cover the site survey, the airspace you'll be operating in and what permission it requires, current and forecast weather, relevant NOTAMs, the hazards you've identified, and the mitigations you've put in place.
The reviewer will probe. If you say the site is in uncontrolled airspace, be ready to explain how you established that. If you've identified a hazard, be ready to explain why your mitigation is adequate. Vague answers here are the single biggest predictor of a poor outcome.
Phase 2 — Aircraft and documents
A check that the aircraft is registered, correctly marked with the registration number, in airworthy condition, and appropriate for the operation. You'll also need your documentation: proof of your exam pass, the registration certificate, the manufacturer's safety assurance declaration where applicable, and your operating procedures.
This phase is pure preparation. Nobody fails it for lack of skill — people fail it for arriving with a drone whose registration number has worn off.
Phase 3 — In-flight
You fly the operation you briefed. The reviewer watches for positive control of the aircraft, maintenance of visual line of sight, airspace scanning, and adherence to the limits you set out in your own briefing. Departing from your briefed plan without good reason is a problem even if the flying itself is fine.
Expect at least one simulated abnormal situation — a lost link, a low battery, an unexpected intruder in the area. The reviewer wants to see a considered response, not a fast one.
Phase 4 — Post-flight
Securing the aircraft, battery handling and storage, completing the flight log, and debriefing the flight. Candidates who have mentally finished at touchdown lose marks here for sloppiness. Treat it as part of the operation, because it is.
The mistake that costs most candidates
Walk in prepared. Our Site Survey & Authorization Kit is a fillable record built on the eight factors of CARs 901.27 — complete it for your review location and you've done the single thing reviewers most want to see. CA$19.
An incomplete pre-flight briefing. Not nerves, not stick skills. Candidates who haven't genuinely researched the airspace, or who can't articulate the regulatory basis for their operation, are in trouble before the aircraft leaves the ground — and a strong flight afterwards rarely recovers it.
The fix is unglamorous: build a real site survey for the review location, as though it were a paying job. Research the airspace properly. Check the NOTAMs on the day. Write down the hazards and what you're doing about each one. Then practise saying it out loud, because explaining it fluently under mild pressure is a different skill from having thought about it.
How to prepare
- Pass the written exam first. You can't book a review without it. See how to pass the Advanced RPAS exam.
- Register and mark your aircraft. Any RPA of 250 g or more must be registered, with the number visible on the airframe.
- Build a genuine site survey for the review location — airspace, obstacles, bystander exposure, emergency landing options.
- Assemble your documents in one place so you're not searching a phone for a PDF in front of the reviewer.
- Rehearse the briefing aloud. Twice. It's the difference between knowing something and being able to present it.
Common questions
How long does it take?
No set limit — it depends on your performance. Most reviews run one to two hours including briefing and debrief. Budget half a day so you aren't watching the clock.
Do I use my own drone?
Yes. The review assesses you operating the aircraft you actually fly. It must be registered with Transport Canada, correctly marked, and in airworthy condition.
What if the weather is bad on the day?
Reviews get rescheduled — and correctly identifying that conditions are unsuitable is itself a demonstration of judgement. Proposing to fly in marginal conditions to avoid rescheduling is a worse outcome than the rescheduling.
What happens if I fail?
You get a debrief identifying what didn't meet standard, and you can re-attempt after further preparation. There's no cap on attempts, though each is a separate booking and cost. It isn't a permanent mark against you.
We conduct Advanced RPAS flight reviews. CA$300 for the full in-person assessment, or CA$150 for the preparation guide if you want to walk in knowing exactly what's coming. Details and booking →