A Field Guide to Hiring Drone Operators in Canada

You need aerial data. Maybe it’s orthomosaic maps of a construction site, thermal inspection of a roof, progress photos for a development project, or survey-grade topographic data for an engineering firm. You’ve decided drones are the right tool. Now you need to find someone to fly them.

The challenge is that the Canadian drone industry ranges from hobbyists who passed a multiple-choice exam last weekend to sophisticated operators running complex programs for major industrial clients. From the outside, they can look surprisingly similar. Both have pilots with certificates. Both have drones. Both will tell you they can do the job.

This guide is designed to help you tell the difference and to help you understand what you should expect from a professional operator before, during, and after the work.

The Baseline: What Every Operator Must Have

Before evaluating whether an operator is good, confirm they’re legal. These are non-negotiable requirements under Canadian Aviation Regulations.

Pilot Certificate.

At a minimum, the pilot flying your project needs a valid Transport Canada RPAS pilot certificate. For most commercial work, this means an Advanced Operations certificate, which requires passing a written exam and a flight review. Basic Operations certificates exist but are limited to flights that stay far from people and controlled airspace, restrictions that rule out most professional applications. Ask to see the certificate. It should show the pilot’s name, certificate number, and the issue date. Recurrency must be renewed every 24 months in Canada so keep an eye on that.

Drone Registration.

Every drone used for commercial purposes must be registered with Transport Canada and display a registration number. This isn’t optional. An operator who can’t show you registration documentation for the specific aircraft they’ll use on your project is operating illegally.

Liability Insurance

Transport Canada doesn’t require insurance, but any operator working professionally should carry aviation liability coverage. Ask for a certificate of insurance showing coverage limits and the policy period. For most commercial work, $1 million to $2 million in coverage is standard. Some industrial clients require $5 million or more. If an operator can’t produce insurance documentation, walk away.

These are the bare minimums. An operator meeting only these requirements is legal but not necessarily competent. The certification exam tests knowledge of regulations, not operational skill. Registration proves ownership, not capability. Insurance protects you from liability, not from getting bad data.

Beyond the Basics: Signs of a Professional Operation

What separates operators who can legally fly from operators who can reliably deliver what you need?

They Have an Operations Manual or RPAS Operator Certificate

The RPAS Operator Certificate is a useful tell that’s just come into play. Under the November 2025 updates to Canadian Aviation Regulations, operators holding RPAS Operator Certificates are required to maintain operations manuals documenting their procedures, training programs, and safety management systems. Even operators not required to hold certificates should have documented procedures for how they conduct operations.

Here’s an important nuance: holding an RPOC doesn’t automatically mean Transport Canada has audited an operator’s documentation. Transport Canada may not have reviewed their operations manual, verified their training records, or inspected their safety management system. The certificate indicates the operator has submitted documentation and met application requirements, but the depth of regulatory scrutiny varies. So don’t just ask “do you have an RPOC?” Ask whether they’re operating under an RPOC and whether they have the associated documentation ready to show you: their standard operating procedures, training records for the pilots who will work on your project, and their safety management system documentation. A professional operator will have these organized and accessible. If they seem uncertain about what these documents are or need significant time to locate them, that tells you something about how systematically they approach their operations.

They Ask Questions Before Quoting

A good operator won’t give you a price without understanding the job. If someone quotes you a flat rate based on “drone photography” or “mapping” without asking detailed questions about what you actually need, they’re either planning to figure it out later or don’t understand how much the details matter.

Professional operators will want to know:

• What’s the site location and size?

• What are the deliverables: photos, video, orthomosaics, 3D models, point clouds, something else?

• What accuracy or resolution do you need?

• What’s the timeline?

• Are there site access restrictions or safety requirements?

• Will there be other activity on site during the operation?

• What will the data be used for?

These questions aren’t bureaucracy. They’re how the operator determines whether they can actually do the job, what equipment and approach to use, and what to charge. An operator who doesn’t ask is either planning to overcharge for contingencies they haven’t identified or undercharge because they haven’t thought through what’s involved.

They Understand the Regulatory Landscape Beyond Flight Licensing

Many operators think, “I’m licensed to fly, let’s go.” But drone operations often involve regulatory considerations well beyond Transport Canada’s flight rules, and a professional operator should know what questions to ask.

What are you flying over? Sensitive wildlife habitat may require disturbance permits from federal or provincial authorities before any aircraft, including drones, can operate. Nesting bird colonies, marine mammal haul-outs, caribou calving grounds, and similar sensitive areas often have seasonal or year-round restrictions that exist entirely separate from aviation regulations. An operator who doesn’t ask about the environmental context of your project may not understand that getting flight authorization is only one piece of the puzzle.

Similar considerations apply to operations near critical infrastructure, on Indigenous lands, within provincial parks, or in areas with specific land use agreements. A professional operator will ask about these factors early in the conversation, because discovering a permitting requirement after you’ve scheduled the work creates problems for everyone.

This doesn’t mean the operator needs to be an expert in every regulatory regime; the permitting landscape is genuinely complex. But they should know enough to ask the right questions and flag potential issues before they become expensive surprises.

They Can Walk You Through Their Planning Process

You can’t reasonably expect a prospective contractor to invest days of unpaid work before knowing whether they’ll get the job. Proper flight planning and site surveys take significant time to do well. But you can ask a prospective operator to take a quick look at your project location and share their initial considerations. This won’t give you a complete operational plan, but it will reveal whether they know how to develop one.

Ask where they would look and for what. A good operator should, at a minimum, be opening the Canada Flight Supplement to check for nearby aerodromes, NOTAMs, and frequency requirements. They should be looking at the VFR Navigation Chart to assess airspace classifications, controlled airspace boundaries, and any relevant airspace structures. They should be using satellite imagery, Google Maps or similar, to get a sense of the terrain, obstacles, and population density around the site. They should be thinking about who they might need to coordinate with, whether that’s NAV CANADA for controlled airspace, a nearby airport operator, or site personnel.

A prospective operator who can walk you through this process, even briefly, demonstrates that they understand flight planning as a systematic discipline rather than something they’ll figure out when they arrive. An operator who seems unfamiliar with these information sources or doesn’t mention airspace considerations unprompted may be operating more casually than your project warrants.

They Can Explain Their Process

Ask how they’ll approach the work. A professional should be able to walk you through their process: how they’ll plan the mission, what data they’ll capture, how they’ll process it, what quality checks they’ll perform, and how they’ll deliver the final product.

You don’t need to understand every technical detail, but you should get a sense that they’ve thought through the workflow. Vague answers like “we’ll fly over and take pictures” suggest limited experience with professional deliverables.

They Have Relevant Experience

Drone work is more specialized than it appears. An operator with extensive real estate photography experience may have no idea how to produce survey-grade mapping data. Someone who does agricultural monitoring may never have worked on an industrial site with active operations and safety requirements.

Ask about projects similar to yours. How many have they done? What challenges did they encounter? Can they show you examples of similar deliverables? If your project is their first in a particular application, that’s not automatically disqualifying; everyone has to start somewhere, but you should know that going in and adjust your expectations accordingly.

They Understand the Deliverable, Not Just the Flight

Flying the drone is often the easy part. What matters is whether the operator can deliver data that actually serves your purpose. This requires understanding what you’re trying to accomplish, not just what you’re asking for.

A good operator might push back on your initial request. “You asked for an orthomosaic, but based on what you described, I think you actually need a DSM with contours.” Or: “Those accuracy requirements need ground control points, which will add time and cost. Let me explain why.” This kind of pushback isn’t obstruction. It’s the operator making sure you get what you need rather than what you thought to ask for.

Questions to Ask

Here’s a list of questions that will help you evaluate an operator. You don’t need to ask all of them, but covering the key areas will give you a sense of who you’re dealing with.

Credentials and Compliance

• Can you provide copies of your pilot certificates and drone registrations?

• What liability insurance coverage do you carry?

• Are you operating under an RPAS Operator Certificate, and can you show me your operations manual, training records, and SMS documentation?

• Have you held any Special Flight Operations Certificates, and if so, for what types of operations?

• Are you registered with any pre-qualification systems like ISNetworld, Avetta, or ComplyWorks?

• Does your outfit hold a certificate of recognition (COR or SECOR)?

  
  

The last two questions matter primarily for industrial clients. If you’re hiring for work on a mining site, pipeline, or similar industrial operation, pre-qualification registration is often a practical requirement. Operators without it may not be able to access your site regardless of their technical capabilities.

Regulatory Awareness

Beyond flight authorization, what other permits or approvals might this project require? Have you worked on projects involving sensitive wildlife, protected areas, or similar environmental considerations? How do you approach identifying non-aviation regulatory requirements for a project?

These questions reveal whether an operator thinks beyond “can I legally fly here” to the broader regulatory context. For projects involving environmental monitoring, wildlife surveys, or work in ecologically sensitive areas, this awareness is essential.

Planning and Preparation

• Can you take a quick look at the project location and share your initial thoughts?

• What information sources would you consult when planning this mission?

• What airspace considerations do you see?

• Are there any coordination requirements you’d anticipate?

You’re not asking for a complete flight plan; that’s work that comes after engagement. You’re asking the operator to demonstrate that they have a systematic approach to mission planning and know where to find the information they need.

Equipment and Capability

• What aircraft and sensors will you use for this project?

• Why is that equipment appropriate for what I need?

• Do you own this equipment or rent it?

• What’s your backup plan if the primary aircraft has a problem on the day of the operation?

Equipment questions help you understand whether the operator has actually thought through the technical requirements. Someone proposing a consumer-grade drone for survey work either doesn’t understand the accuracy requirements or is hoping you won’t notice. A professional should be able to explain why their equipment choice matches your needs.

Process and Planning

• How will you plan the mission for my site?

• Will you conduct a site survey or use existing information?

• What flight parameters will you use: altitude, overlap, ground sample distance?

• How do you handle airspace authorization if required?

• What happens if the weather prevents flying on the scheduled day?

These questions reveal whether the operator approaches work systematically or just shows up and figures it out. Weather contingencies are particularly telling. A professional should have a clear policy about weather decisions, rescheduling, and how those situations affect timing and cost.

Safety

• What are your emergency procedures if something goes wrong during a flight?

• How do you conduct pre-flight inspections?

• Have you had any incidents or accidents?

• How do you approach risk assessment for each project?

  
  

Don’t expect operators to have had zero incidents; things happen, and honest operators will acknowledge close calls and what they learned from them. What you’re looking for is evidence that they take safety seriously and have thought through what to do when things don’t go as planned. An operator who seems confused by safety questions or dismisses them as unnecessary is waving a red flag.

Deliverables and Quality

• Exactly what deliverables will I receive?

• In what format?

• What accuracy or resolution should I expect?

• How do you verify the quality of your data before delivery?

• What’s your process if I’m not satisfied with the results?

Specificity matters here. “High-resolution photos” is vague. “20MP images at 1.5cm ground sample distance delivered as geotagged JPEGs” is specific. The operator should be able to tell you exactly what you’ll receive and how they’ll ensure it meets your requirements.

What Good Operators Will Ask You

The questions an operator asks you are as revealing as the answers they give. Here’s what a professional should want to know before committing to your project.

About the Site

• Where exactly is the project location?

• What’s the size of the area to be covered?

• What’s the terrain like: flat, sloped, vegetated, developed?

• Are there obstacles like towers, power lines, trees, or structures?

• Is the site near an airport, heliport, or other controlled airspace?

• Are there any temporary flight restrictions or ongoing activities that might affect operations?

  
  

Site questions help the operator plan the mission and identify potential complications. An operator who doesn’t ask about obstacles or airspace may not understand the regulatory environment or may be planning to show up and improvise.

About the Regulatory Context

• What’s the environmental context of this site?

• Are there sensitive species, protected areas, or seasonal restrictions we should be aware of?

• Will we need any permits beyond flight authorization?

• Are there land access agreements or Indigenous consultation requirements?

  
  

These questions indicate an operator who understands that drone operations exist within a broader regulatory landscape, not just aviation rules.

About the Deliverables

• What will you use this data for?

• What accuracy or resolution do you require?

• What file formats do you need?

• Do you need raw data, processed products, or both?

• Are there specific deliverable standards you need to meet, for instance, professional survey standards or client specifications?

  
  

These questions ensure the operator understands not just what you’re asking for but why you need it. The “what will you use this data for” question is particularly important. It helps the operator recommend the right approach and catch situations where what you’re asking for might not serve your actual purpose.

About Timing and Access

• What’s your timeline?

• Is there flexibility if the weather causes delays?

• Are there specific days or times when the site is accessible or when you need to avoid?

• Will there be other activity on site during the operation?

• Who will be our site contact?

• What’s the process for accessing the site?

Timing and access questions reveal whether the operator thinks through logistics. For industrial sites, access and coordination requirements can be substantial. An operator who doesn’t ask about site access probably hasn’t worked on many sites where access isn’t trivial.

About Safety and Coordination

• Does your site have specific safety requirements or orientation procedures?

• Will we need to coordinate with other contractors or site operations?

• Are there any hazards we should be aware of?

• Do you require specific PPE?

• What’s the emergency contact and procedure for your site?

  
  

These questions indicate an operator who understands they’re entering your work environment, not the other way around. For industrial clients, this mindset is essential. An operator who shows up without understanding site safety requirements creates problems beyond just their own work.

Red Flags

Some warning signs should make you pause before engaging an operator.

Instant quotes without questions. If someone gives you a firm price without asking about site details, deliverables, or requirements, they’re either planning to figure it out later or building in enough margin to cover anything. Either way, you’re probably not getting the best value.

Can’t produce credentials. Certificates, registration, and insurance should be readily available. If an operator has to “look for” this documentation or promises to send it later, something may be wrong.

Vague about experience. “We’ve done lots of this kind of work” without specifics, suggests limited actual experience. A professional should be able to describe similar projects in concrete terms.

Dismissive about safety. If safety questions are met with “we’ve never had a problem” or suggestions that you’re overcomplicating things, that operator hasn’t internalized professional safety culture.

Unfamiliar with planning resources. If an operator can’t articulate where they’d look for airspace information or seems unfamiliar with basic flight planning tools like the Canada Flight Supplement or VFR Navigation Charts, they may be operating more casually than they’re letting on.

Unaware of non-aviation regulations. If your project involves environmental monitoring or sensitive areas and the operator has never heard of disturbance permits or seems unconcerned about anything beyond flight authorization, they may not be equipped for the full scope of your requirements.

Promises everything. Be cautious of operators who never push back on requirements or raise potential complications. Either they don’t understand the challenges, or they’re planning to negotiate scope later. Professional operators identify problems early rather than discovering them mid-project.

Unusually low prices. Professional drone work involves real costs: equipment, insurance, training, maintenance, software, and time. Operators pricing dramatically below market are either cutting corners somewhere or don’t understand their own cost structure. Neither is reassuring.

No written proposal or contract. Handshake agreements might work for simple jobs, but any substantial project should have clear written terms covering scope, deliverables, timeline, price, and what happens if things don’t go as planned.

Green Flags

Conversely, some signs suggest you’re dealing with a professional operation.

Detailed questions before quoting. Taking time to understand your requirements before proposing a solution indicates systematic thinking.

Appropriate pushback. Operators who clarify your requirements, suggest alternatives, or identify potential problems are trying to ensure you get good results, not just trying to close a sale.

Clear documentation. Credentials, proposals, and contracts that are organized and professional suggest an operator who takes their business seriously. An operator who can immediately produce their RPOC documentation, operations manual, and sample SOPs has their house in order.

Systematic planning approach. Operators who can walk you through where they’d look for flight planning information and what considerations they’d assess demonstrate professional methodology, even before the formal planning process begins.

Regulatory awareness. Operators who ask about environmental context, permitting requirements, and non-aviation regulations understand that drone operations exist within a broader framework.

Specific experience examples. Being able to describe similar projects in detail, what was done, what challenges arose, and what was learned, indicates genuine experience rather than theoretical capability.

Safety-first mindset. Operators who discuss safety without prompting, ask about site hazards, and explain their emergency procedures have internalized professional practices.

Transparent about limitations. Professionals know what they’re good at and what falls outside their expertise. An operator who says “that’s not something we specialize in, but I can recommend someone” is being honest and probably knows people worth recommending.

What to Expect in a Proposal

A professional proposal should clearly cover the following elements.

Scope of work.

What exactly will be done? This should be specific enough that both parties understand what’s included and what’s not.

Deliverables.

• What will you receive?

• In what format?

• By when?

• What quality standards apply?

Timeline.

• When will the work be performed?

• When will deliverables be provided?

• What contingencies apply for weather or other delays?

Pricing.

• What’s the cost?

• What’s included?

• What might cost extra?

• When is payment due?

Assumptions.

• What conditions is the quote based on?

• Site access, weather, and cooperation from others on site?

• What happens if those assumptions don’t hold?

Terms.

• What are the contractual terms?

• Liability limitations?

• Insurance?

• Intellectual property ownership?

• Cancellation policies?

The level of formality should match the project size. A half-day photo shoot might warrant a one-page proposal. A multi-week mapping program justifies a comprehensive document with detailed specifications.

Pricing Reality

Drone pricing varies enormously, and understanding why helps evaluate whether quotes are reasonable.

At the low end, you’ll find operators pricing based on their time plus a small margin. They may own a consumer drone, have minimal overhead, and treat drone work as a side income. Their prices can be attractive, but their capability, reliability, and professionalism may be limited.

At the high end, enterprise operators price based on the value delivered and the full cost of maintaining professional capability. Their equipment costs tens of thousands of dollars. Their insurance, training, software, and overhead are substantial. Their prices reflect what it actually costs to run a professional operation reliably.

Neither is inherently right nor wrong. A real estate agent needing simple property photos may be well-served by a lower-cost operator. An engineering firm needing survey-grade data for a construction project needs professional-grade capability and should expect to pay accordingly.

What you should be skeptical of: operators at the low end claiming enterprise-grade results, or operators at the high end who can’t articulate why their premium pricing is justified. Price and capability should align.

After the Work

Engagement shouldn’t end when deliverables arrive. A professional operator should be available to answer questions about the data, explain anything unclear, and address any issues with the deliverables.

If something’s wrong, data quality issues, missing coverage, or format problems, a professional operator will work to resolve them. They won’t disappear after invoicing. Their reputation depends on satisfied clients, not just completed jobs.

For ongoing relationships, the best operators become partners who understand your needs over time, anticipate problems before they arise, and improve their service based on your feedback. Finding an operator worth keeping is worth the effort of careful initial selection.

A Note on Our Industry

The Canadian drone industry is still maturing. Transport Canada has progressively tightened requirements, but the gap between minimum legal compliance and genuine professional competence remains wide. This creates both challenges and opportunities.

The challenge is that clients must do more work to distinguish qualified operators from those who merely meet minimum requirements. The opportunity is that operators who invest in genuine professionalism, documentation, training, safety culture, and quality systems stand out from those who don’t.

As clients become more sophisticated about evaluating drone operators, the bar rises for everyone. That’s good for the industry. Projects that go wrong, deliverables that don’t meet requirements, and safety incidents that make headlines all damage client confidence in drone services generally. Operators who do it right benefit when clients learn to recognize the difference.

Aeria Solutions provides RPAS services across Canada for industrial, research, and environmental clients. We’re happy to discuss your project requirements and, when appropriate, recommend other operators whose specialties might be a better fit for your needs. A stronger industry serves everyone.