14.2 Flight Review Exercises (Standard 921.02 / TP 15395)

14.2 Flight Review Exercises (Standard 921.02 / TP 15395)

Quick Answer: After you pass the Advanced written exam, book a designated flight reviewer and train the Standard 921.02 / TP 15395 exercise set: site survey, plan an operation, emergencies (including lost-link and flyaway and who to contact), when/how to inform TC and TSB, pre-flight checks, take-off/launch, navigate by visual reference and by GCS, recognize distances, and landing/recovery. After a successful review, apply via the Drone Management Portal (typical CA$25 certificate processing). Then maintain recency even though the certificate does not expire.

A written pass proves knowledge under a clock. The flight review proves you can apply that knowledge with a real aircraft, a real site, and a live evaluator. Candidates who only crammed multiple-choice often fail here on explanations—not on stick skills alone.

When and how to book

1. Confirm written exam pass in the Drone Management Portal.
2. Locate a designated flight reviewer authorized to conduct Advanced flight reviews (use Transport Canada’s published reviewer/resources pathways—do not invent an “any experienced pilot” substitute).
3. Book site, aircraft, and time with weather margins; treat it like a checkride, not a casual hover session.
4. Bring documentation readiness: identity consistency with the portal, aircraft registration/marking as required, manuals access, and any authorization paperwork you would use for a real Advanced flight.
5. Rehearse the exercise list below out loud until explanations are crisp without reading a script.

Fees: keep the split straight

The CA$25 is not “paying for a pass” and not a substitute for the review. Reviewer professional fees (if any) are separate from Transport Canada’s certificate processing amount—confirm commercial terms with your reviewer in advance.

What the reviewer is evaluating

Designated flight reviewers assess practical competence and decision quality against the exercise family in Standard 921.02 and guidance such as TP 15395. Expect a mix of:

• Ground oral / walkthrough items
• Live pre-flight and flight items
• Contingency “what if” probes even if nothing fails in the air

Hovering smoothly while giving wrong lost-link logic, wrong reporting paths, or unsafe site justification is still a fail profile.

Exercise checklist you must perform or describe

Train each item until you can do it and teach it in plain language.

1. Site survey process

Show a structured survey, not a glance at the pad:

• Obstacles (wires, towers, trees, buildings, temporary cranes)
• People and public access paths
• Airspace class, control zones, aerodrome proximity (5.6 km / 1.9 km themes)
• NOTAMs / restrictions as applicable
• Emergency landing zones (primary and secondary)
• RF/EMI environment that could degrade C2 or GNSS
• Landowner permission and public-safety coordination needs

Narrate go/no-go criteria: “If uninvolved people cannot be kept outside the risk area, we do not launch this privilege set.”

2. Plan an operation

Build a complete mini-plan:

Reviewers listen for limits and abort triggers, not only mission enthusiasm.

3. Emergency procedures: lost-link and flyaway (+ who to contact)

Be able to explain and, where appropriate, demonstrate settings/behaviour:

Lost-link

• Expected aircraft behaviour (RTH, loiter, land—as configured for this site)
• Why RTH altitude clears obstacles and respects people/airspace assumptions
• Pilot actions: maintain visual lookout, clear people, prepare ELZ, avoid making the problem worse with panic inputs if partial control remains
• When and how you would notify relevant parties (crew, ATS/FIC as applicable to the situation, client site control)

Flyaway

• Recognition cues (uncommanded departure, no effective control)
• Immediate priorities: people safety, traffic awareness, last known position/altitude/direction/energy state
• Who to contact themes: local ATS/FIC or emergency services as situation demands; follow Transport Canada occurrence reporting expectations; do not “hope it lands in a field” without a reporting plan
• Documentation: time, location, aircraft registration, pilot certificate details, weather, last commands

Exam and review posture: know the chain—aircraft automation behaviour, pilot control of the ground risk, and external notification—not only “press RTH.”

4. When and how to inform Transport Canada and the TSB

Reviewers can probe reporting knowledge even on a perfect flight:

• Distinguish incident vs accident concepts at the level taught in your knowledge chapters (severity, injury, damage, missing aircraft themes).
• Know that Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) have different roles—regulatory oversight vs independent safety investigation—and that certain occurrences require timely reporting through the correct channels.
• Be ready to describe what information you would capture (who, what, when, where, aircraft, injuries/damage, weather, phase of flight).
• Emphasize do not delay required reports to “protect the client brand,” and do not invent reporting exemptions because the aircraft is small.

If your study notes include specific thresholds or phone/online pathways from TC/TSB materials, rehearse those accurately; if unsure in the field, use official published contacts rather than social media guesses.

5. Pre-flight checks of the RPAS

Run a repeatable flow the reviewer can observe:

1. Documents / privileges / registration / authorization as required
2. Airframe, props, fasteners, payload security
3. Batteries (charge, temperature, condition)
4. Control link, GNSS/compass/IMU health, correct home point
5. Failsafe / lost-link / low-battery actions matched to this site
6. Control station power and correct aircraft model/profile
7. Crew brief complete

Voice critical items: “RTH altitude set to clear the crane; lost-link is RTH; ELZ-1 is the south field.”

6. Take-off / launch

Demonstrate a controlled departure:

• Clear prop area; call launching
• Stable climb within planned limits
• Transition to mission pattern without buzzing people or obstacles
• Immediate abort if link, aircraft, or site control degrades

7. Navigate by visual reference and by GCS only

Advanced pilots live in both worlds:

• Visual reference — unaided eyes keep VLOS (or the applicable visual scheme for the operation), traffic scan, and real-world obstacle awareness.
• GCS — map/telemetry for position, altitude, battery, mode; not a substitute for eyes when VLOS is required.

Expect tasks that force you to point to the aircraft in the sky, state position relative to the site, and also show competent GCS use (modes, RTH, map orientation). Channelized attention on the tablet is a human-factors fail cue.

8. Recognize distances

Show you can judge and respect:

• Horizontal distances from people and property risk areas
• Vertical limits (regulatory and performance)
• Aerodrome proximity concepts when the site is near airports/heliports
• Safety perimeter integrity as people move

Reviewers may ask you to estimate distances on the ground or explain how you would measure/control them (cones, maps, known landmarks, laser rangefinder SOPs, etc.).

9. Landing / recovery

• Planned approach path clear of wires and people
• Controlled descent and touchdown/recovery
• Secure motors, safe approach to the aircraft, battery handling
• Post-flight notes if something abnormal occurred

Tips for demonstrating Advanced airmanship

These extras separate “can fly a drone” from “ready for Advanced privileges.”

Authorization printout / proof

If the demonstration site or scenario sits in controlled airspace, bring and brief the written NAV CANADA RPAS Flight Authorization (NAV Drone workflow) as you would on a real job. Even when the review site is uncontrolled, be ready to explain the authorize-then-fly sequence fluently. Showing a blank “I’ll call someone if I need to” attitude is weak airmanship for Advanced.

Declared drone matching the operation

Match aircraft declaration / safety assurance status to the privilege set you claim in the plan. Do not brief a near-people profile on an undeclared or incorrectly configured system. If the review uses a simple training site away from people, still explain how declaration status would change the plan for a real client site.

Visual observer (VO) briefing if used

If a VO participates:

A silent VO who was never briefed is a CRM failure even if the hover looks pretty.

Professional communication

• Think aloud without rambling.
• Admit a no-go if weather or site control fails—reviewers reward judgment.
• Do not argue regulations from memory of a meme; cite the operational rule cleanly.

After a successful review: certificate from the portal

When the designated flight reviewer records success:

1. Complete certificate application in the Drone Management Portal.
2. Pay the typical CA$25 certificate processing fee.
3. Ensure identity, exam pass, and review records align.
4. Download / access your Pilot Certificate – Advanced Operations credentials from the portal once issued.
5. Only then exercise Advanced privileges—and still only with the authorizations, declarations, and recency the specific flight requires.

A successful hover demo without portal issuance is not a finished certificate.

Recency maintenance thereafter

The Advanced certificate does not expire like a short-dated licence sticker, but CAR 901.65-style recency concepts still apply. Plan ahead:

• Track a 24-month knowledge/competence window.
• Acceptable pathways conceptually include re-establishing knowledge (e.g., exam), another flight review, or recognized recurrent training/self-study paths—follow current CARs/TC guidance for what counts.
• Set a calendar reminder around 20–22 months so you are not grounded by surprise.
• Keep flying currency skills (site survey discipline, lost-link configuration, authorization workflow) alive with real operations and checklists—not only a portal PDF on your phone.

Flying with a certificate number while out of recency is an enforcement and safety problem.

One-week flight-review bootcamp (example)

Common flight-review failure modes

• Beautiful manual flying, empty emergency logic
• No real site survey (pad-only thinking)
• Wrong aerodrome distance numbers under oral quiz
• Lost-link settings that climb into obstacles or over people
• Cannot explain when TC vs TSB reporting applies
• VO present but unbriefed
• Privilege plan that needs a declaration the aircraft does not have
• Assuming written exam pass already “is” the certificate

Link back to the written exam strategy

Everything in Section 14.1 that felt abstract becomes concrete here: authorization sequence, people distances, weather minima, human factors, and emergency reporting are live. Use the same primary sources (TP 15263 themes, CARs Part IX, TC Advanced page) as your oral answer backbone, and keep free knowledge sharp at /practice/ca-rpas-advanced while you wait for the review date.

Bottom line: Book a designated flight reviewer, master the 921.02 / TP 15395 exercise set end-to-end, show Advanced airmanship (authorization proof, matching declaration, VO brief), apply and pay (~CA$25) in the portal after success, download the certificate, and maintain recency for the life of your Advanced career.