Frequently Asked Questions

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The University of British Columbia Uncrewed Aircraft Systems engineering student team (UBC UAS) is a multidisciplinary group of students spanning multiple faculties, including Engineering, Forestry, Science and Business. We strive to be at the cutting edge of unmanned aviation technologies, working with industry and government in making use of UAS in a broad spectrum of disciplines and applications.

UBC UAS provides our members with a chance to follow their passion for unmanned aviation and its applications. Positions and projects within the team range from aircraft design to network communications to image processing. Additionally, our team works closely with multiple faculty, industry, and government representatives to provide a wide range of educational and fun experiences for team members. This includes flight training, ground school, and chances to work with professors and research students.

YES! UBC UAS is fully insured and has a number of Advanced class licensed RPAS pilots. We are also fully authorized to conduct flight operations within Vancouver with our registered aircraft and our maintained relations with local Transport Canada and Nav Canada offices allow us to stay up to date with UAV standards and regulations. We’re happy to help advise UBC-affiliated professors and/or groups on Transport Canada licensing and restrictions.

As of June 1, 2019, any aircraft in flight weighing more than 250g requires the pilot to have at least a ‘Basic certificate’ from Transport Canada. Flying within built up areas or near airports requires an ‘Advanced certificate’. Please consult the Transport Canada website or a local drone flight school like Coastal Drone or 11alpha for more information.

No. Unfortunately, UBC UAS does not have the capacity to rent out drones. If you’re interested in renting a drone for your own projects, there are multiple companies in the Vancouver area that will rent out DJI drones and even provide training and licensing.

No. Unfortunately UBC UAS does not have the capacity to provide filming. If you’re interested in aerial photography or film, there are a number of companies in the Vancouver area that provide exceptional filming, photography, and mapping services.

As a student run competition team, we are always looking for sponsorships and donations to procure the parts we need to build our aircraft and ground systems, as well as get them to competition. If you or your company are able to help out in our mission, feel free to click that big friendly ‘Sponsor’ button or reach out to us at [email protected] !


Beetle Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Drone