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Free RPAS Basic Exam Prep

Transport Canada RPAS Basic Operations Exam (Small Basic)

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RPAS Basic Quick Facts

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100 Practice Questions

Covers CARs Part IX air law, uncontrolled airspace, METAR/TAF weather, RPAS systems, and VLOS flight operations with detailed explanations

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Get instant explanations of the 30 m bystander rule, 400 ft AGL limit, airspace classes, and METAR decoding

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What You'll Study

12 chapters covering the exam topics in this guide

RPAS Basic Exam Details

Transport Canada RPAS Basic Operations Exam (Small Basic)

Administered by Transport Canada

Official Source
65%
Passing Score
35
Questions
90
Minutes
CA$10 per attempt
Exam Fee
Study time: 10-20 hours of self-study
Prerequisites: At least 14 years old; ability to read the exam material; no prior aviation experience required
Valid for: Pilot certificate does not expire (24-month recency required)

Exam Content Breakdown

Based on the official Transport Canada content outline

Air Law, Rules & Procedures30%

CARs Part IX (901 series), registration and aircraft marking, the 400 ft AGL ceiling, 30 m bystander distance, 5.6 km airport and 1.9 km heliport stand-offs, right-of-way to crewed aircraft, alcohol/drug rules, and the 14-year minimum age

Airspace & Navigation20%

Airspace classes A-G, controlled vs uncontrolled (Class G) airspace, control zones, NOTAMs and NAV CANADA services, the Canada Flight Supplement, VFR Navigation Charts, latitude/longitude, magnetic variation, UTC time, and GNSS limitations

Meteorology16%

Reading METARs and TAFs, wind and gusts, density altitude effects on performance, icing, thunderstorms, turbulence (mechanical and convective), stability, fog and visibility, and temperature/dew point spread

RPAS Systems & Theory of Flight14%

Airframes, motors and ESCs, LiPo battery care, the command and control (C2) link, fail-safes and flight termination, compass and GNSS, firmware, the four forces of flight, lift generation, and angle of attack

Flight Operations14%

Pilot-in-command responsibility, pre-flight inspection and checklists, site survey and risk assessment, weight and balance, emergency and lost-link procedures, flyaway response, crew briefings, night-lighting, and post-flight actions

Human Factors & Radiotelephony6%

Fatigue, stress and workload, situational awareness, IMSAFE fitness, visual scanning and see-and-avoid, the visual observer role, the ROC-A radio certificate, standard phraseology, the phonetic alphabet, and 121.5 MHz

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12 Chapters

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What's Next After the RPAS Basic?

After passing the RPAS Basic, you can pursue these career paths

Transport Canada RPAS Advanced Operations Exam

Next step for flying in controlled airspace and near or over bystanders (Small Advanced exam plus a flight review)

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Air-regulation knowledge for crewed-aircraft student pilots in Canada

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RPAS Basic Exam FAQ

Official Transport Canada Resources

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