Why Do I Need An Exposition?

When you’re building a drone business, you’re not just worrying about getting your pilots certified. If you’re a drone operator looking to fly under any of the Part 102 exemptions (night flying, >25kg, above people/property without prior permission, spraying chemicals, beyond visual line of sight, low flying zones) then you’ll need your business to become certified as well.

 

The main steps to getting fully certified for pilots and an organisation are as follows:

1. Part 102 Unmanned Operator Certificate - get your business certified
2. Part 102 Pilot Certification - start getting your pilots certified
3. Operational Competency Assessment - ensure your pilots know your exposition

Additional steps for agricultural operations:

1. Aerial Pilot Chemical Rating - via Adroit Solutions or Educhem
2. Agricultural Rating - get your Ag Pilot certification 

Part 102 Unmanned Aircraft Operators Certificate (UAOC)

A Part 102 Unmanned Aircraft Operators Certificate (UAOC) shows that you’ve gotten the green light from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct the type of flying operations that you’re selling to your customers. You need this to comply with all the legal requirements that come with flying drones, but it also conveys a sense of expertise and capability to your clients. Trust is everything in this business. You’re trusted to be knowledgeable and capable of completing the jobs you’re hired to do, and also trusted to maintain a safe operation.

The largest part of this application is an Exposition — a document outlining the standard operating procedures, safety procedures, risk assessments, maintenance and certification schedules, etc for your organisation. 

It’s a document that takes time and expertise (that Drone Trust has developed over years) to write, not just something that you can whip up in an afternoon. Right now, we find the whole process takes 6-10 months, averaging out at 8 months. The fewer flaws in your initial submission, the quicker and more streamlined the process will be. Check out our Exposition Writing Service to find out more about how we can help!

Once you’ve completed the exposition document, it’s time for submission with the CAA.

 The required documents for your application include:

• 24102-01 Part 102 application
• 24102-03 compliance matrix 
• 24FPP Prime person application 
• Exposition 
• Supplementary Aircraft Manual 
• Your CV: last 10 years working experience 
• Justice Department prior convictions report (if applicable)
• Criminal record check (available here) 
• Waka Kotahi driving history (available here) 

Once submitted, you’ll be in the queue with the CAA to review your application. There will likely be some recommendations and adjustments they have for your Exposition. After making those adjustments, the process is nearly complete.

The final step is a Prime Person Interview with the CAA. A Prime Person is the person with primary responsibility for the organisation’s UA operations. The CAA assesses their knowledge and capabilities to fulfil this role, and ensure they are aware of the responsibilities that the role entails.

After the CAA signs off on the Prime Person, you’ll be awarded with your organisations UAOC. 

Time is money, and the longer your certification process takes, the longer until you get out and start completing jobs. With our experience, you can get your initial exposition draft ready for submission within days, giving a jumpstart to your application. 

Operational Competency Assessment

To give your Part 102 Certified pilots the ability to fly with the exemptions you’ve applied for in your Exposition, they will first need to complete an Operational Competency Assessment (OCA).

An OCA largely just assesses the pilot’s knowledge of the Exposition (standard operating procedures, maintenance protocols etc) for your organisation, and their ability to fly the specific drones listed under your UAOC. Our OCA combines a short online theory course, followed by an in person flight test with one of our experienced examiners across the country.

Agricultural Drone Operators

When you begin flying larger and heavier agricultural drones, alongside spraying agrichemicals, the certification requirements increase.

The first certification ag pilots need is an Aerial Chemical Handling Certificate. This covers all you need to know about handling agrichemicals in an aerial context, how to safely handle them, and how weather conditions can affect their deployment.

Currently there are two main providers for this certification - Adroit Solutions and Educhem. Both are multi-day classroom based courses costing approximately $5000.

The final hurdle before you can get your ag drone operations up and running is to get an Agricultural Pilot Rating, bringing together all that you’ve learned from your piloting skills to your exposition knowledge, to your chemical handling training. It’s what ensures you’re actually ready to head out into the world and be trusted to conduct safe and professional ag spray and spread operations. 

Agricultural pilots face enough hurdles and certification fees as it is, so we’re offering Agricultural Drone Association members our Exposition Writing Services free of charge! Sign up to the ADA for a $398 annual fee and unlock our full Exposition service. From writing the exposition and helping you get over the line with your submission to supporting you throughout the process with edits that need to be made, and being here to answer any questions or issues you may face now and in the future!