Canadian BVLOS RPAS Operations for Wildfire Hotspot Detection

No. There is no Transport Canada pilot-certificate prerequisite to register for this course. Prior RPAS experience is strongly beneficial, and familiarity with Advanced-level concepts will help you get the most from the training.

The course does not grant BVLOS operating privileges. Anyone conducting actual wildfire RPAS operations must meet the Transport Canada, operator, employer and wildfire-agency requirements applicable to that operation. The course itself is operational-readiness training, not an authorization to fly.

No. The course prepares you to better understand the work, but it does not qualify or approve you to work for Provincial Wildfire or any other wildfire agency.

Course completion does not provide Hinton/grid qualification, agency acceptance, employer onboarding, contract eligibility, regulatory approval or permission to conduct RPAS operations. Those requirements remain separate.

What the course does provide is practical preparation in the mission system that wildfire RPAS contractors need to understand: tasking, planning, field readiness, thermal interpretation, hotspot products, reporting and professional integration.

No. You do not need an aircraft to participate in the Live Online course.

The course uses mission examples, planning exercises, thermal imagery, operating scenarios and common RPAS workflows to teach the decision-making process. You will not be required to fly an aircraft during the course.

No. This is an operational-readiness course, not beginner flight training or a Transport Canada flight review.

The focus is on how a wildfire hotspot mission actually works around the aircraft: interpreting tasking, designing the scan, assessing field and mission risk, operating within the incident environment, interpreting thermal information, quality-checking the results and delivering useful products. 

If you need hands-on pilot training or a flight review, IFD offers those separately.

The operational concepts are platform-neutral, but many of the practical examples use DJI Enterprise aircraft, controllers and thermal payloads because these systems are widely encountered in commercial and public-safety RPAS operations.

The course teaches the underlying mission logic rather than memorizing a particular set of buttons. Aircraft, controller, firmware and payload interfaces will change, but the principles of tasking, scan design, coverage, thermal interpretation, verification, data management and reporting transfer to other suitable RPAS platforms.

Yes, online, but it is designed to confirm understanding rather than test obscure memorization. 

After Class 2, students complete a 20-question online, open-book knowledge assessment in Google Classroom. A score of 80% or higher, or 16 out of 20 questions, is required for successful completion. Correct answers and feedback are provided after the assessment is submitted. 

Not achieving 80% on the first assessment does not mean the learning process ends. You will not receive the Certificate of Successful Completion until the required standard has been achieved.

IFD will identify the areas that need review and provide an appropriate reassessment opportunity so you can demonstrate that you understand the required course material.

Yes. Students who complete the required course attendance and achieve at least 80% on the final knowledge assessment receive an IN-FLIGHT Data Certificate of Successful Completion.

The certificate records successful completion of Canadian BVLOS RPAS Operations for Wildfire Hotspot Detection and includes a unique certificate ID.

The certificate documents training achievement. It is not a Transport Canada pilot certificate, flight review, wildfire-agency qualification or authorization to conduct RPAS operations. 

Yes. Organizations can register multiple employees or team members into a scheduled public cohort.

IFD can also discuss private organizational delivery for agencies, municipalities, Indigenous Nations, contractors, public-safety organizations and other teams that want to train a group together. Contact IFD for group registration, billing and private-course options.

A replay of the live course is not included with Live Online registration. Students should plan to attend both scheduled live sessions so they can participate in the discussions, exercises and instructor-led application work.

IFD is developing a separate self-paced version of the course based on the live program. That will be offered as its own training product when available.