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If I have a UK PfCO...

Red90

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Hi Guys,

So on my ongoing travels I am heading over to the US & Canada next year. Having just seen the news about the new, very tight, laws in Canada - can someone (Big Al) shine any light on if this will go towards the FAA 107 in the US, and whatever regulation is now in place in Canada?

I will be flying for the military, in controlled airspace literally hundreds of miles in the middle of nowhere, so I don't know if this is a help or hindrance?

IF this not possible & I have to undergo the exams - how long will it take me to sit all the tests and be legal to fly?
 
Hi Guys,

So on my ongoing travels I am heading over to the US & Canada next year. Having just seen the news about the new, very tight, laws in Canada - can someone (Big Al) shine any light on if this will go towards the FAA 107 in the US, and whatever regulation is now in place in Canada?

I will be flying for the military, in controlled airspace literally hundreds of miles in the middle of nowhere, so I don't know if this is a help or hindrance?

IF this not possible & I have to undergo the exams - how long will it take me to sit all the tests and be legal to fly?

Currently our Part 107 (US FAA) laws have not yet changed and it seems like when they do, it's likely they will be a bit less stringent than they are now. I don't agree with this but they also did not ask for my approval on this LOL.

Re: Flights in Military Space ~ It depends on who/how you're flying. If you're flying for a Govt entity and they have a COA to cover the flights, and you meet all of their requirements to fly for them under said COA then you're good to go. If you're not under a special COA then you'll have to register your aircraft as Commercial and take the Part 107 exam.

Re:Testing ~ that depends on your level of understanding of the testing subject matter. I've heard of people passing in as little as 40 minutes but I think they "allow" you a couple or three hours to complete the test. It's an In-Person test at a designated Testing Facility.

Honestly this is well outside of my area of knowledge since it's dealing with Military flights etc. All I know is there are roughly (3) options for Commercial sUAS flights in the US:

a) Part 107
b) Public Use COA
c) Govt COA


The best advice I can give you is to either contact the entity you'll be working for and verify with them "sooner then later" what type of COA you'll be under or you can contact the FSDO (FAA Flight Standards District Office) who is over that area and pose the question to them. Here's a link to the FSDO listings where you can determine which one would be the best resource:

I'd almost best you'll be flying under their Govt COA but when dealing with our Govt nothing is a sure bet LOL.

Good luck, safe flights, and WELCOME to the US of A! I hope it's a GREAT trip for you.

Allen
 
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Reactions: R Martin
Thanks so much, that is exactly the kind of info I needed.

I flew in Sweden a few months ago & just had to get clearance from the base commandant there (to ensure that I wasn't overflying anything top secret!) and all was good.

They will control the airspace up to 40, 000ft AGL too - so I can't see it being an issue!
 
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Reactions: BigAl07
Hi Guys,

So on my ongoing travels I am heading over to the US & Canada next year. Having just seen the news about the new, very tight, laws in Canada - can someone (Big Al) shine any light on if this will go towards the FAA 107 in the US, and whatever regulation is now in place in Canada?

I will be flying for the military, in controlled airspace literally hundreds of miles in the middle of nowhere, so I don't know if this is a help or hindrance?

IF this not possible & I have to undergo the exams - how long will it take me to sit all the tests and be legal to fly?
I’m afraid your PfCO is a worthless piece of paper in the US (just the same as Part 107 is not recognized in the UK).

There is no reciprocal arrangement and the FAA do not adhere to or are party to CAP393.

Another ‘issue’ would be whether your current liability carriers accept commercial operation within North America (most wont) which means you would not only be operating outside of your PfCO permissions but potentially not be covered by your insurers as well!

I have found in the past it is far easier (and much cheaper) to get a US commercial crew/pilot to fly the US based missions and just hand over the footage - so that you basically act as DOP and have none of the administrative, logistical or legal headaches.
 
Just an update on this.

I’ve had a really helpful email back from the FAA, so all looks to be good. Due to the nature of the shoot, it’s not feasible to hire an outside US company - but it looks like I will take my test in the US too!!
 

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