Air2You

Canadian UAS/UAV^* Aerial Photography & Video
service providers and other resources

  These organizations provide UAS/UAV based low altitude aerial photography & video services and claim to operate within Transport Canada's SFOC regulations.

• This listing is for your convenience. We are not affiliated with or endorse these service providers in any way.
• To be included in this list please send us an Don't forget to include your location, contact information and a link to your web site. If you have a small logo or a brief description you'd like to include with your listing, please feel free to send them with your request. All requests will be reviewed before being included.
• Are you a Canadian insurance broker or representative? Does your company offer coverage for this type of business? If you do, send us an and we'll include your information on this page.

* Transport Canada prefers to call them UAS or Unmanned Aircraft Systems since that definition includes the aircraft, base station, related equipment, software and ground crew.
  Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) & Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) are now (Jan '12) the terms preferred for usage by ICAO [instead of unmanned aircraft (UA) & unmanned aircraft system (UAS)]. There's no telling how long it'll take for these changes work their way through the system.

Alberta

Alberta Canada - Economic Development Website
Alberta's Robotics and Unmanned Vehicle Systems Industry

Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems - Medicine Hat
Contact: See website
Website: www.ccuvs.com
Email: See website

  Their Civil and Commercial UAS Safety Training Course provides training in all aspects of commercial UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) operations.
• It involves approximately 20 hours of pre-course, private study using materials supplied by CCUVS, a day of confirmatory training by a Transport Canada approved instructor, in-house testing to confirm the level of knowledge and a radio telephony course to train users to talk to air traffic controllers and other airspace users.
• This is followed by the practical phase with 2 days of ground school and 3 days of practical flight, which covers system components, system management and operation, flight file preparation, flight simulation, flight file uploading, safety check routines, flying missions, downloading flight files, post flight safety procedures and post flight data analysis.

JZAerial - Calgary
Contact: Jan Zalud
Website: www.jzaerial.com
Email: jzalud@jzaerial.com

  JZAERIAL provide cost-effective high-resolution, geo-referenced aerial images on-demand to central and southern Alberta. Our photography is ideal for low altitude aerial imagery of areas twenty acres and greater in size.
  Jan Zalud holds the Civil and Commercial Unmanned Aerial Systems Safety Training Certificate from the Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (CCUVS) in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and a Restricted Operator Certificate with Aeronautical Application (ROC-A) from Industry Canada.

Ontario

Canada Brokerlink Insurance (offices in Alberta & Ontario)
Website: www.brokerlink.ca

  Their Commercial Insurance Broker in the Thunder Bay office was very helpful when I needed an insurance policy for my Draganfly X6 system. Just a FYI, the policy I had was liability only and damage to my equipment was not covered.

RC Media - Peterborough
Contact: Shea Brown
Website: www.rcmedia.ca
Email: shea.rcmedia@gmail.com

  RC Media is currently offering close range aerial photography and video services to Ontario and surrounding areas in Canada. We are fully insured and follow strict Transport Canada guidelines of operation for each project to provide quality service. Please check out our pricing page for services and details.

Unmanned Systems Canada - Ottawa
Contact: see website
Website: www.unmannedsystems.ca
Email: see website

  Unmanned Systems Canada - the focal point for Unmanned Vehicle Systems in Canada. We are a Canadian-registered not-for-profit association formed in 2009 through the merger of UVS Canada and AUVSI-Canada.

Saskatchewan

Shadow Consulting
Contact: see website
Website: www.aerialimages.ca
Email: see website

  Shadow Consulting specializes in low-level aerial photography and can provide stills and video images through the use of a variety of cameras. Using the latest technology, we deploy a remote control helicopter as an aerial platform, integrated with live video feed to a wireless on-ground monitor so that images can be composed from the ground.

Web based (blogs 'n more)

Airover
Contact: see website
Website: kmcguig.blogspot.com
Email: see website

  A graduate of the St Francis Xavier University Bachelors of Earth Sciences program, he went straight to the Center of Geographic Sciences for an Advanced Degree in Remote Sensing.

AvCanada
Website: www.avcanada.com
Forums: AVCanada Forums

  AvCanada was founded in 1994 as a free resource to connect the Canadian aviation community. Their popular forums have established AvCanada as the busiest aviation resource in Canada.

Otom8 / Otom∞
Contact: see website
Website: www.otom8.ca
Email: see website

  The otom8 consortium is a group of organizations working together to deliver a wide range of benefits which unmanned systems and associated automation offer to commercial enterprises and civil government.

Suggested Reading:

Aeronautical Information Manual (TC-AIM)

  The Transport Canada Aeronautical Information Manual (TC-AIM) has been developed to consolidate pre-flight reference information of a lasting nature into a single primary document. It provides flight crews with a single source for information concerning rules of the air and procedures for aircraft operation in Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) of interest to pilots and is published twice a year in April and October. Available in electronic or printed format from Transport Canada. A complete catalog of Transport Canada publications and videos is available here.

Canada Flight Supplement (CFS)

  The Canada Flight Supplement is a joint civil/military publication. It contains information on Canadian and North Atlantic aerodromes and is used as a reference for the planning and safe conduct of air operations. Available from Nav Canada. It's tucked away on their website, this link may work otherwise follow these headings -> Aeronautical Information Products -> Aeronautical Publications -> Canada Flight Supplement (CFS).

From The Ground Up (Millennium Edition)

  From The Ground Up has long been considered an essential resource for all aviation enthusiasts, flight students-in-training, and established professional and recreational pilots. Millennium is the Canadian version, anything is else American and follows FAA rules (which are slightly different).
ISBN: 978-0-9680390-5-2. Available from Aviation Publishers.

Radio Operators Certificate

  Obtaining your Restricted Radio Operator's Licence (Aero) from Industry Canada will enable the operator to communicate directly with local airports, aerodromes and nearby aircraft. Further information is available on Industry Canada's website, look for the RIC-21 study guide.

Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC)

  The requirement for an SFOC is intended to ensure the safety of the public and protection of other users of the airspace during the operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle. Additional information on Canadian UAV / UAS regulations, Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARS) and SFOC requirements are available at Transport Canada's Civil Aviation website.

Transport Canada

  There appear to be some regulatory changes on the way. Under the proposed amendments, UAS operators will be required to write a modified PSTAR exam and obtain an Industry Canada Restricted Radio Operator's Licence (Aero). Don't be confused by the September 2007 date near the top of the page, that date refers to the Working Group Final Report. The remainder of the site is updated frequently.

Unmanned

  Adapted from the award winning From The Ground Up, in association with the Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems, your understanding of the basics of operating unmanned aerial vehicles starts here.
ISBN: 978-0-9730036-6-6. Available from Aviation Publishers.

2011 USC Conference (Nov 7-10 2011 - Halifax, NS)
UAS Regulatory Development Summary (see Conference Handbook for more info)

  Following a persistent effort by Unmanned Systems Canada and many of its members, Transport Canada has commissioned a working group comprising all interested stakeholders to develop the regulations necessary to integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into Canadian airspace. This is a controversial issue of great importance to our membership; accordingly, Unmanned Systems Canada is well represented - the working group charged with developing the regulations is co-chaired by Transport Canada and Unmanned Systems Canada and many of our members have positions in the actual working group. The work has been subdivided into three sub-groups concentrating on:
  • People (pilot, operator and maintenance training, competencies and licensing)
  • Product (registration, flight authority and airworthiness)
  • Operations and Access to Airspace.

  These sub-groups are currently meeting and have divided the exercise into 4 phases:
  • Phase 1 - UAS below 25 Kg and operated within visual line of sight
  • Phase 2 - UAS below 25 Kg operated beyond visual line of sight
  • Phase 3 - all operations of UAS between 25 and 150 Kg
  • Phase 4 - all UAS operations in Canadian airspace (file and fly)

  It is expected that the working groups will present a set of proposed regulations for the initial phase to the Transport Canada advisory committee by the spring of 2012 and that all phases would be addressed within 6 years. Formal UAS air regulations will be issued following government approval; however, it is anticipated that the results of the deliberations and recommendations will be reflected in internal guidelines for special flight authorizations on an ongoing basis as they are accepted. The sub-group chairs have agreed to participate in a workshop on Regulatory Advancements at the Unmanned Systems Canada Conference in Halifax in November 2011.

Economic Development Alliance of Southeast Alberta (Dec 21, 2010)
New Regulations and Standards Will Allow UAVs to Operate in Canadian Airspace

  On June 28th, Transport Canada (TC) granted permission for the Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Systems Program Design Working Group to proceed with a four phase recommendation process, to introduce new regulations and standards for the safe integration of routine UAV operations in the Canadian airspace.  During this four phased process the main working group and three sub committees (people, product and operations and access to airspace) will consider classes of recommendations based on: visual range operations, maximum weight of the aircraft and type of operation of the unmanned air vehicle system. The complete article is available here.

Odds 'n Ends....

  I became involved with UAV/UAS based aerial photography technology in August 2008. During the 3 year period following August 2008 I noticed the number of Canadian UAV aerial photography businesses seemed to take a nose dive. Many of the former UAV users have switched to tethered blimp technology or are offering "elevated photography" neither of which offer the flexibility of a UAV. Elevated photography involves a collapsible mast with a camera perched on top and is limited to about 15m-20m. The mast can be a free standing tripod arrangement secured with guy wires or more often it'll be supported by a vehicle trailer hitch.
  A common reason given for the switch away from UAV based systems were the problems involved in dealing with Transport Canada and the high cost of insurance. Hopefully Transport Canada (& others) will smarten up and allow this industry to take-off. One UAV (photography) operator said his insurance rates sky-rocketed after the "9/11" incident forcing him to cease operations and sell his UAV equipment.
  Here's an interesting collection of worldwide UAS/UAV flight rules and regulations.

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