The A2 covers all of that apart from air navigation… Forgot about that 
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And yet none of these training courses teach you how to actually fly a drone 
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Exactly, liken it to the kids taking the driving theory test then self certifying their own driving.
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A little like when you take a driving test, you pass the test and then learn.
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Yeah but you’ve actually been seen driving a car by an examiner.
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True but not like I drive now!!
That can be taken as a good thing or bad thing depending on who you talk to.
I guess we are treated like adults, if you can be bothered to put in the time to learn the information they assume you won’t lie on the declaration.
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Mine is a Mavic Air 2. I’m not interested in flying close to people and I tend to fly in unpopulated / rural areas anyway. For me, this is about building up my knowledge to add to the practical skills I’m developing.
Thanks to all who have commented earlier. This has been helpful for me in deciding what to do next. I intend to sign up for the A2 CofC with UAVHUB.
I’ve found GADC to be really helpful as a place to pick up valuable information like this as well as the fun stuff.
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GVC requires a flight test though. So if you don’t learn how to fly (safely) you might have an issue passing it…
When I did the GVC, I also booked some 1 to 1 flying tuition. Yes, I could fly a drone but as with driving a car, I wanted to improve what I was doing. I learnt a huge amount from the 1 to 1 tuition, well worth it for someone in my situation of wanting to go the commercial route in a safety-critical industry.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the new Regs coming in, my guess is that irrespective of what the Regs say, many types of commercial operators need to have a minimum level of insurance (clients will require it and procurement depts will check it just like they check PI/PL insurance for other types of work) and insurers will in turn eventually require a robust means of proving competence particularly if flying close to structures etc, so either A2C with extra tuition or GVC will become the default for that sort of work anyway over time. Similarly, the A2C will probably replace the DMARES test over time. In between there will be some operators who do a bit of commercial work uninsured and (possibly unknowingly) take the risk of being sued if it goes wrong.
That’s about the same pattern for other “technical services” type sectors anyway. Most will manage the risk (of being sued) and so be a Limited Company with relevant insurances in place and meet the conditions required for such, but a handful will take the risk (often unknowingly) of losing their livelihood/home etc and work in the margins. (Obviously if they do lower risk bits of work in less critical sectors the possibility of the latter scenario is greatly reduced).
GC
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Hey Rich just wondered what happened with the A2 CofC poll for the possible club discount course?
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It was only up for 24hrs Steve. We just needed to make sure there was enough interest before we started speaking to various service providers.
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Ah ok, that’s why I couldn’t find it again lol. Was there enough interest Rich?
Sorry yes, there was indeed.
We’re currently talking to a couple of providers at the moment to see what we can do.
Not much will happen over Christmas so anyone thinking of taking this should just crack on 
More news mid-Jan maybe.
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Hi I will be taking the A2 cofc exam in the new year. I am doing the course with pigs can fly and although the course is very good their mock only has 10 questions. Does anyone know where I can get more exam like questions please? I looked online but I can not find much. Thank you
I’m not aware of any - as I wasn’t comfortable with the 10, although that is double what they had before - they didn’t inform that the mock exam had been altered.
I’ve actually switched to UAVHub who have 30 each time and I got 29 on my first attempt. Every time you do their mock test the questions differ.
I am so much happier now, although it did cost me another £99.
To be honest having done both, it would seem that they are two totally different courses!
I might go back to the Pigs Can Fly slides and see where they differ.
One difference is PCF does a whole section on airspace classes and these feature in their mock exam - yet UAVHub do not cover this - and only do so I guess in respect to FRZ. So how accurate is the PCF mock exam? (pretty sure they do not cover it - and hope I didn’t miss it!)
To be honest - even if I used PCF for the test, I have learnt so much more with UAVHub over and above the A2 CoC that I consider it £99 well spent - even if you decide to watch the videos a 2x speed.
If I were to go on to the GVC - not sure I will need it, but if if I did, then it would increase my knowledge and confidence greatly. That to be is important in a hobby that helps me relax!
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So is the A2 course worth it I have mavic air 2 drone so my question is what can I do with out and with it
Hi Stephen, moved your post here, loads of advice around the same subject.
Simple questions:
- do you want to fly close than 50m to people with your MA2? The A2 CofC doesn’t allow that, that’s currently only possible if a PfCO or OA covers it
- do you want to fly in residential, industrial, commercial or recreational areas, staying at least 50m clear horizontally from people? If so, that’s what the A2 CofC is for (until the end of 2020 anyway)
Thank you I have just signed up for A2 just need same rules I fly with now
Not quite the same though, still restrictive around (above) people.