Part 102 Pilot Certificate Course (Pacific Island)

If you intend to undertake any of the following activities, then you intend to fly under Part 102 rules (CAR 102) and as such, you are required to personally hold a Professional RPAS Pilot Certificate to Part 102 standard and operate in accordance with a Part 102 UAOC held by an organisation.

• Operating in the hours of darkness (and not under a shielded operation)
• Flying over people without their permission
• Flying a drone with an unladen weight greater than 25 Kgs
• Operating over property without the landowner’s permission
• Agricultural operations including spraying, fertiliser application, and bait dropping
• Other conditions that CAA may impose from time to time

Introduction

This course is designed to equip you with all of the knowledge and skills required to safely operate as a professional UAV pilot in the Pacific Islands.

The course is broken up into two sections.

First is the Part 101 section that will teach you everything you need to know about safely operating your drone within the CAA Part 101* drone rules. This section is important because all drone pilots must have knowledge of airspace when operating within close proximity of airports. This will be covered in detail later in the course.

The second section covers the Part 102 requirements which is specific to professional drone pilots operating for an individual or organisation who has a Unmanned Air Operators Certificate (UAOC).

* Throughout this course, you will see reference to New Zealand and the Civil Aviation Rules (CAR), specifically Rule Parts 101 & 102. Most of the Pacific Island states have aviation rules based off these, with the exception of Fiji, which has its own rules called the Air Navigation Regulations (ANRs). The content and intent of the rules, whether CAR Parts or ANR, is very similar, so we will mostly just reference the Part 101 & 102 rules. The exception to this is where there is a variance in the rules, in which case we will state the difference. As well as studying this course, you should also obtain a copy of your local state’s rules and become familiar with these. Most states have their rules available online.

Course Outline

Modules covered in Part 101

• Civil Aviation Rules
• Understanding the concept of airspace
• Measuring Drone Altitude
• Airspace Categories
• Special Use Airspace
• Runways and Aerodrome Operations
• Finding Airport Contact Information
• 101 Exam

Modules covered in Part 102In this module, we look at why you need to know the Part 102 rules, the requirements to obtain the Professional RPAS Pilot Certificate, and what additional drone operations are allowed with the certificate.

• Certification
• Other UAOC Requirements
• NOTAMs and AIP Supplements
• Basic Meteorology for UAV Operators
• GPS Basics
• Plan and Document a Part 102 Flight Operation
• Currency Period and Flight Assessment
• Final exam for Part 102

Flight Assessment

If you would like to learn more about the flight assessment requirements watch our detailed Flight Assessment and ATTI Mode videos.