Drone Training NZ

DroneTrust is a CAA Part 141 certified training organisation, certificate #TR104722. The theory and exams are completed entirely online, at your own pace, with no classroom to attend.

First, the thing most training sites get wrong

Part 101 does not require a pilot certificate. It is a set of operating rules anyone may fly under, and it makes no difference whether you are being paid. As the CAA puts it, a wide range of commercial activities can be conducted under Part 101 with no interaction with the CAA at all.

So the question is not “am I allowed to fly commercially without certification” — usually you are. The question is what your particular work needs.

What a Part 101 certificate actually unlocks

The Part 101 Pilot Certificate lets you operate within 4 km of an aerodrome boundary. Given how many aerodromes are published in the AIPNZ, that covers a great deal of useful airspace.

It is not the only condition, though. At a controlled aerodrome you still need ATC authorisation. At an uncontrolled one you need the aerodrome operator’s agreement, an observer in attendance while you fly, and a 400 ft ceiling unless the Director has approved otherwise.

Beyond the rules, it is the qualification most employers, councils, landowners and insurers ask to see before they let you fly on their behalf. That is a commercial reason rather than a legal one, and it is the honest reason most people buy it.

When you genuinely need Part 102

Part 102 is triggered by the type of operation, not by money changing hands. You need it for aerial spraying, topdressing or dropping vertebrate toxic agents, an aircraft over 25 kg, flying beyond visual line of sight, or flying over people and property without consent.

One thing worth being clear about: Part 102 certification is held by an organisation, as an Unmanned Aircraft Operator Certificate. Pilots fly under someone’s UAOC — an employer’s, or their own company’s — having completed training acceptable to the CAA. Each operator’s exposition sets its own pilot requirements, so check what yours asks for; our Part 102 course is designed to meet that requirement and includes all the Part 101 content.

Compare our drone training courses

Flying under Part 101 does not require a certificate at all. What follows is what each qualification actually unlocks, so you can buy the one your work needs. Prices are current and exclude GST.

The two certification levels

  1. Part 101 Pilot Certificate Course

    Not legally required to fly under Part 101. What it gives you is the ability to operate within 4 km of an aerodrome, and it is the qualification most employers, councils and landowners ask to see.

    $695excl. GST
    Course details

  2. Part 102 Pilot Certificate Course

    Needed when the work itself falls outside Part 101 — spraying or dispersing agrichemicals, aircraft over 25 kg, flying beyond visual line of sight, or over people and property without consent. You fly that work under an organisation's UAOC.

    $1,295excl. GST
    Course details

Add-on ratings and assessments

Prices exclude GST; 15% is added at checkout for New Zealand buyers. The Part 101, Part 102 and OCA courses each include an in-person practical flight assessment with one of our examiners, arranged nationwide; the UAV Survey Course does not. Agricultural and Aerial Asset Management ratings are quoted separately — enquire for those.

Common questions

Do I actually need Part 101 or Part 102?

Possibly neither, at least to start. Part 101 is a set of rules anyone may fly under — there is no certificate requirement, and it makes no difference whether you are paid. A wide range of commercial work is done lawfully under Part 101 with no CAA involvement at all.

A Part 101 Pilot Certificate is worth having for what it unlocks rather than what it compels: it lets you operate within 4 km of an aerodrome boundary — still with ATC authorisation at a controlled aerodrome, or at an uncontrolled one the operator's agreement, an observer in attendance, and a 400 ft ceiling unless the Director has approved otherwise, and it is what most employers, councils and landowners want to see before they let you fly.

Part 102 is triggered by the type of operation, not by money: aerial spraying, topdressing or dropping vertebrate toxic agents, an aircraft over 25 kg, flying beyond visual line of sight, or over people and property without consent. Part 102 certification is held by an organisation as a UAOC — pilots fly under it having completed training acceptable to the CAA.

Not sure where your work sits? Take the course quiz.

What does it cost to get certified in total?

For most people it is the course fee plus the practical flight assessment, and nothing else. The CAA does not issue or charge for pilot certificates — those come from CAA-approved training organisations like us.

CAA fees apply to whoever applies for a UAOC, whether that is a company or a sole trader. Budget for the exposition document, CAA assessment time charged at their standard hourly rate, plus Part 102 training per pilot and a recurrent OCA per pilot. Our UAOC guide walks through the components; check CAA's published fee schedule for the current hourly rate.

How long does it take?

The theory is self-paced online, so it depends on you — most people work through it over a few weeks.

Your course access runs for 12 months from purchase, so theory, exam and flight test all need to be done inside that window. That is our policy rather than a CAA rule.

After the online exam you book your practical flight assessment. We have examiners across New Zealand.

Is the training really fully online?

The theory and the exams are, yes — on any device, at your own pace, with no classroom to attend.

The one in-person part is the practical flight assessment, flown with an examiner. That is a condition of the CAA-approved syllabus we issue the certificate under, not something we can waive.

Not sure which course you need?

Answer a few questions about what you want to fly and where, and we will point you at the right certificate.

Take the course quizTalk to us