CAA approved A2 Certificate of Competency

instructor led drone course

This CAA affiliated course qualifies you to fly in the

Open Category, A2 Subcategory.

We have over 40 years of unmanned aircraft operating experience with over 4,000 flying hours.

Manned Aviation Commercial Pilot - Air Traffic Control - World Wide Drone Flying Experience - 10 Years CAA Instructor

What is an A2 Certificate of Competency?

The CAA A2 Certificate of Competency (A2 CofC) is a drone qualification that permits you to fly small drones, or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) “close to people” and within congested areas where you wouldn’t otherwise be able to fly.

The A2 Certificate of Competency (A2 CofC) is now the first building block of a drone pilot training for anyone wishing to start a drone business or for organisations with a requirement to operate drones commercially as part of their ongoing strategy.

You will still be able fly older 'Legacy drones’ that weigh less than 2kg such as the DJI Mavic series, DJI Phantom series and Parrot Anafi can be flown under your A2 Certificate of Competency (A2 CofC).

Fly in congested areas up to 50m horizontally from uninvolved persons, the A2 Certificate of Competency (A2 CofC) is a very advantageous qualification.

Right now under the CAA’s Transitional Arrangements, with a drone that is less than 2kg, drone pilots are able fly effectively to the same separation distances as a current CAA Operational Authorisation holder with a GVC, this is huge.

Your A2 CofC lasts for 5 years.

The choice is yours - Classroom or Personal 1 to1 Training

With our instructor led A2 Certificate of Competency (A2 CofC) drone training course you can become qualified from only £159 or £199 for our personal 1 to 1 training option and you can become qualified in 1 day!

Our online A2 CofC course is only £99 if you prefer the online learning process.

If you have any questions or want to book your course, please contact Rich on 07961 771418.

Current ‘Transitional Arrangements’

Once you have completed Spectrum Drone Services A2 CofC drone course you will be able to:

• Fly drones that weigh less than 500g in congested area as close as you feel is safe from uninvolved persons, but flight above uninvolved is not permitted.

• Fly drones that weigh between 500g - 2kg within congested areas to a horizontal distance of 50m from uninvolved persons.

It should be noted that is a person/s are ‘under your control’, you can fly as close as you feel is safe.

This provides greater flexibility when flying your drone (UAS) in congested areas allowing you to maximise potential earnings.

There currently is no requirement for a flight assessment but you must be competent in the operation of your drone. This can be dome in a sterile non complex environment before you move into congested areas.

A2 CofC - Instructor Led Course

With our instructor led CAA A2 CofC courses you will be learning direct from an experienced drone instructor and operator.

Many of or clients prefer to be taught in a classroom environment or via webchat as it provides the best interactive learning environment. Online eLearning is not for everyone, so if you are one of those people who prefer to be taught and have the direct instructor interaction, one of our instructor led courses is the one for you.

1 to 1 Personal Training

If you wish a more personal level of training, we provide personal 1 to 1 classroom based Instructor Led training course options.

South West Regional Drone Training Centre

We provide A2 CofC courses from our regional training centre located 2 miles from Bristol Airport.

In a safe classroom environment with ample distancing, you can be taught everything you need to meet the requirements for the A2 CofC qualification.

Experienced Instruction

With our instructor led CAA A2 CofC courses you will be learning direct from one of the countries most experienced drone instructors and operators to answer all your questions there and then. With thousands of hours flight experience and over 1,500 students trained you can rest assured you'll get the best learning experience.

The Course

It will take around 4-5 hours to complete the theory phase and we go through everything thoroughly.

The course covers the theory syllabus as set by the CAA comprising of;

• Meteorology

• Drone Flight Performance

• Drone Operating Principles

You will not be expects to go through lots of reference documents, the course is clearly laid out and all the information is easy to absorb.

Presentations are available for future reference should you wish.

Examination

On competition of the theory modules you will then have the option to sit your exam straight away or make an appointment at a later date should you feel you want to do some more study.

The exam consists of 30 questions covering the content of the modules.

A2 CofC - Video Conference Course

The same course format as our classroom based course but everything is done via video conference.

After completion of the course you will then have the option to sit your exam at our South West regional training centre near Bristol, or to sit it online.

This is a great option for those wishing to have indirect instructor training and the flexibility of doing it at home or work.

If you opt to for video conference instructor A2 CofC training you will require a computer/laptop with webcam, speakers and microphone.

A2 CofC Self-Declaration of flight competence

Whichever instructor option suits you, before we issue you an A2 CofC certificate, the CAA requires you make a declaration you are competent to fly in the Open Category of current UAS Legislation. For this, you need to ensure you are practised in the type of operations you will be using the A2 CofC for.

Remember that should something go awry, you may well have to prove to the CAA you were competent at the time. We therefore believe it is important for you to obtain suitable commercial standard hands-on flying training. Our regional based expert Instructors can provide you with bespoke flight training to meet your needs and help to ensure you are fully capable to operate competently within the Open Category be it for commercial or hobbyist reasons.

Bolt On Modules

We offer a range of additional bolt on modules you can add to your course. You can pick and mix and these are great if you want to expand your knowledge and skills.

Bolt on modules can be carried out after the course, so you can relax and learn new skills, or you can come back at a future date.

• Advanced Flight Training.

• Basic & Advanced Photography.

• Complex Area Operations.

• Industrial Inspections.

• Photoshop/Image Editing.

• Thermography.

• Video Editing.

Additional custom training can be provided at any time, please contact us for details.

Latest Student Feedback

Just like to say a Massive Thank You to Rich and Spectrum Drone Services. I struggle with learning stuff and find it difficult most of the time and I wanted to do my A2CofC, so contacted Rich to see if he could help me accomplish getting my A2CofC.

Rich booked me in and I went this Saturday to do it (edit 3rd June 2023). I was a tad nervous about doing it to be honest, but there was no need to be nervous or worried, because from the moment I met up with Rich he was very Professional and at the same time put me at ease he of course didn’t know how I was feeling but the whole day was very interesting and Rich made the whole experience fun and at the same time very serious. Rich knows a lot of stuff and a very clever bloke and I didn’t just learn what was needed to pass the exam I learnt a lot of other things to and I will definitely include in the future.

I would like to say again Thank You to Rich and Spectrum Drone Services for helping me get my A2CofC and I will definitely use Rich and Spectrum Drone Services again when I am ready to further my Drone qualifications.

So if you are reading this and Thinking about doing your A2CofC or any other drone qualifications Look No Further you won’t go wrong give Rich and Spectrum Drone Services a call.

Safe and Enjoyable Flying Everyone

Gerry (Fairford, Gloucestershire)

I could not imagine doing my Drone training with anyone else. Richard provided me with a 1-1 training that not only taught me everything I needed to pass the course but also build my confidence in the whole commercial process. His background in the industry means he knows the ins and outs to all things flying. He goes above and beyond the normal course requirements providing resources for your future career to make things a lot easier and quicker to do. I can not thank him enough for all the support during the course and beyond. (KW)

Richard is a first class tutor; he has a wealth of knowledge and experience, with an exceptional teaching methodology. (GS)

Richard has a huge amount of knowledge and vast experience in the aviation and drone world. It was a pleasure to have a bit of training and take the GVC flight test with him, thank you. Highly recommend him and Spectrum Drones. (JB)

Thanks Richard, the training was amazing and it has helped me to become more confident with how the drone works. The knowledge/experience you have passed onto me will stand me in good stead. A very professional company and fully recommended. (GK)

Very interesting and informative. Learnt so much in a short time. Highly recommend this course for anyone. (JS)

COVID safe - 1 to 1 classroom options available

A2 CofC Courses - Online - Instructor Led - Total Flexibility

For more information call us on

07961 771418

or email us at

info@spectrum-drone-services.co.uk

A2 CofC - GVC - Multirotor - Fixed Wing - eLearning - Classroom - Cost Effective - COVID Safe Training

Spectrum Drone Services is a training partner of 3iC Ltd.