2.3 Medium Drones (25–150 kg)

2.3 Medium Drones (25–150 kg)

Quick Answer: A medium RPAS is more than 25 kg up to 150 kg. Any medium-drone operation is Advanced (or higher). Under an Advanced pilot certificate, medium flights remain VLOS, with Standard 922 declarations matched to away/near/over people and controlled airspace. Level 1 Complex is a separate certificate path for lower-risk BVLOS—do not treat Advanced as a BVLOS ticket.

Canada's 2025 RPAS modernization (rules phased so new medium/EVLOS/sheltered privileges were not usable before the November 2025 operational date) expanded what Advanced pilots may fly—but it did not collapse Advanced and Complex into one certificate. Medium VLOS is an Advanced privilege set with heavier aircraft; BVLOS lower-risk operations live under Level 1 Complex (plus operator certification themes). Keep those lanes separate on the exam.

Weight band definition

Transport Canada and the CARs classify:

• Small RPAS: 250 g to 25 kg
• Medium RPAS: more than 25 kg up to 150 kg ("more than 25 kg to 150 kg" on the Advanced operations page)

A system that can take off at 25.1 kg is medium. Operators who remove a battery to "make it small" for a flight must still respect the maximum take-off mass and configuration rules that determine classification and declaration—gaming the scale is not a study strategy and is a poor operational habit. If the aircraft is operated as a medium RPAS, treat every flight as Advanced-or-higher.

Any medium operation is Advanced (or beyond)

Transport Canada states plainly: any operations using a medium drone are advanced operations (or beyond). There is no "Basic medium" category. That single sentence answers many true/false style items. Consequences:

1. The pilot needs Advanced (or a higher/complex path when applicable)—not Basic.
2. The aircraft needs the appropriate Standard 922 declaration(s) for the intended medium privilege.
3. Site survey, public risk, and performance planning must reflect medium kinetic energy, not small-multirotor assumptions.

"Or beyond" points to operations that exceed Advanced VLOS privileges—for example lower-risk BVLOS under Level 1 Complex, or special operations under an SFOC—RPAS. Medium does not automatically authorize those higher modes; it only means you are never in Basic.

Always VLOS under Advanced medium privileges

For medium drones under the Advanced certificate, Transport Canada requires that you always fly within visual line-of-sight. Advanced medium rules are built around VLOS detect-and-avoid by the pilot (with visual observers as required by general rules), not around BVLOS detect-and-avoid systems that appear in the Complex/BVLOS standards stack (for example broader 922.09–922.11 themes for BVLOS).

If a scenario asks whether an Advanced pilot may send a 60 kg RPAS beyond visual line-of-sight solely because it has a long-range C2 link, the answer is no—not under Advanced medium privileges alone. That concept belongs to Level 1 Complex (lower-risk BVLOS) or other special authorities, with their own exams, operator certificates, and declaration sets.

Declaration matrix recap for medium VLOS

Controlled airspace medium flight still needs permission from air traffic control (NAV CANADA RPAS Flight Authorization or DND as applicable). Declaration proves technical eligibility; ATC authorization grants the airspace access for that time and place. Neither replaces the other.

Performance, energy, and public risk

Medium RPAS change the risk math:

• Kinetic energy. Impact energy scales with mass and the square of speed. A 50 kg airframe at modest groundspeed can exceed human tolerance far more readily than a 1 kg camera drone. That is why medium near/over people demand the 922.07 formal safety assessment and PVD path.
• Energy management. Larger batteries or fuel systems mean longer flights but also longer thermal events in a crash, heavier packs under TDG rules, and more demanding pre-flight power planning. Lost-link and contingency battery reserves should be planned against the actual endurance profile, not a small-drone rule of thumb.
• Performance margins. Density altitude, wind, and payload bite harder on medium airframes near maximum mass. Climb rate, ability to abort a landing, and ability to offset away from people when a buffer shrinks all degrade as mass rises.
• Public risk buffers. Even when the legal minimum is "more than 152.4 m away," professional operators often add extra buffer for approach paths, emergency landing areas, and flyaway vectors. Legal minima are floors, not recommended planning targets for every site.

Launch and recovery templates

Medium aircraft often use launchers, runways, nets, or large VTOL pads. Advanced planning should treat launch/recovery as high-risk phases:

• Establish a dedicated launch/recovery site with controlled access.
• Keep uninvolved persons outside the applicable horizontal band for the entire evolution—not only during cruise.
• Brief abort points, rejected take-off, and emergency landing fields that do not put the public under the energy path.
• Confirm pilot and control station placement for take-off and landing phases (this also echoes sheltered-operation rules when those privileges are used with small aircraft).
• Verify that any launcher, parachute, or flight-termination system is part of the declared configuration if the safety case relies on it.

November 2025 modernization framing (careful wording)

Transport Canada's 2025 summary explained that expanded privileges—including medium RPAS within VLOS, small-drone EVLOS in uncontrolled airspace, and sheltered operations—were part of the modernization package, with operational use gated so pilots could not start flying those new modes before the 4 November 2025 date (earlier flights still needed SFOC paths). For exam study in 2026, treat those privileges as in force under the Advanced framework as described on the Advanced operations page (modified 2026-03-19).

Critical framing for the written exam:

• Medium VLOS + small EVLOS + sheltered → Advanced certificate privileges (with correct aircraft declarations / conditions).
• Lower-risk BVLOS → Level 1 Complex pilot certification and related operator requirements—not Advanced alone.
• Standard 922 grew to cover both Advanced VLOS declarations and Complex/BVLOS-related technical sections; matching the operation to the correct 922 slice remains the pilot's job when selecting an aircraft from the declared list.

Decision checklist before a medium flight

1. Confirm mass band: medium (more than 25 kg–150 kg).
2. Confirm pilot: Advanced (or higher path if the mission truly is BVLOS Complex).
3. Confirm VLOS can be maintained for the entire Advanced medium mission.
4. Map people proximity to away / near / over and select 922.08 vs 922.07 PVD.
5. If controlled airspace: add 922.04 + 922.08 declarations and ATC authorization.
6. Plan energy, launch/recovery, emergency landing, and public buffers for medium kinetic energy.
7. Verify the exact model/configuration on Transport Canada's declared-drone list.

If any step fails, redesign the mission (lighter aircraft, greater standoff, different airspace, or a higher authority path)—do not invent a hybrid privilege the CARs do not grant.