Glossary

Every definition is either a VERBATIM statutory definition with its section cited, or explicitly marked as not defined in the corpus. Nothing is invented. A glossary that paraphrases a legal definition is worse than no glossary, because a reader will rely on it.

CARs 101.01 Interpretation defines most terms; Part IX defines the RPAS-specific ones.

5 of 13 are verbatim statutory definitions. The rest are marked as what they are — an operational description, or a term the corpus does not define — rather than being dressed up as law.

airport verbatim from the regulation

An aerodrome in respect of which an airport certificate issued under Subpart 2 of Part III is in force.

CARs Part I — Interpretation · 101.01 · see also: heliport, registered aerodrome, aerodrome

heliport verbatim from the regulation

An aerodrome in respect of which a heliport certificate issued under Subpart 5 of Part III is in force.

CARs Part I — Interpretation · 101.01 · see also: airport, aerodrome

registered aerodrome verbatim from the regulation

An aerodrome registered by the Minister pursuant to Subpart 1 of Part III.

CARs Part I — Interpretation · 101.01 · see also: airport, heliport, aerodrome

crew member verbatim from the regulation

A person who is assigned to duty in an aircraft during flight time, or assigned to duty related to the operation of a remotely piloted aircraft system during flight time.

The second limb is the RPAS-specific one. A visual observer is therefore a crew member when assigned to duty related to the operation.

CARs Part I — Interpretation · 101.01 · see also: visual observer

certified airport not defined in the corpus

Not a defined term in the corpus. The CARs define "airport" (an aerodrome with an airport certificate in force under Subpart 2 of Part III), and an airport certificate is what makes an aerodrome a certified airport in ordinary usage.

The phrase "certified airport" appears in Transport Canada guidance, not as a statutory definition. Use "airport" when citing the regulation.

CARs Part I — Interpretation · 101.01 · see also: airport

military aerodrome operational description

Not defined as a standalone term in CARs 101.01. CAR 901.47 sets a three nautical mile separation from an aerodrome operated under the authority of the Minister of National Defence, and the authorization that lifts it comes from that department rather than Transport Canada or NAV CANADA.

The lesson states the operational rule because the statutory definition is not in the corpus.

CAR Part IX — Operations at or in the Vicinity of an Aerodrome · 901.47 · see also: aerodrome

aerodrome not defined in the corpus

Not extractable as a standalone statutory definition from the corpus. CARs 101.01 defines the specific kinds — airport, heliport, registered aerodrome — by their certificate or registration, and those are the definitions that carry legal weight.

Stated honestly rather than paraphrased. If a definition is needed for an exam answer, cite the specific kind.

CARs Part I — Interpretation · 101.01 · see also: airport, heliport, registered aerodrome

nautical mile operational description

A unit of distance used by CAR 901.47 for aerodrome separation. The regulation states the distances in nautical miles; metric equivalents in study material are conversions. One nautical mile is 1,852 metres, so 3 NM is 5.6 km and 1 NM is 1.9 km.

The conversion is ours and is labelled as such; the regulation uses nautical miles and the lesson teaches those first (doc 29 D1).

CAR Part IX · 901.47

visual observer operational description

A crew member assigned to duty related to the operation of the RPAS during flight time, whose function is to maintain visual contact with the aircraft and the surrounding airspace. CAR 901.20 sets out the visual observer's duties.

Derived from the statutory definition of "crew member" plus CAR 901.20's duties, because no standalone definition appears in 101.01.

CAR Part IX · 901.20 · see also: crew member

RPAS verbatim from the regulation

A set of configurable elements consisting of a remotely piloted aircraft, its control station, the command and control links and any other system elements required during flight operation.

Note that the definition covers the whole system, not just the aircraft. This matters for maintenance and serviceability rules, which apply to the system.

CARs Part I — Interpretation · 101.01

VLOS not defined in the corpus

Visual line-of-sight. Not defined as a standalone term in the corpus. What the regulation does is require it: under Division IV and Division V the pilot or a visual observer must be able to see the aircraft and the surrounding airspace unaided, and the operation must be conducted within that sight.

Do NOT source a VLOS definition from the Transport Canada guidance page that begins 'VLOS means flying a small drone that is not in visual line-of-sight...'. That sentence describes EVLOS, not VLOS, and the corpus copy appears to be a truncation of an EVLOS entry. A study aid that quotes it as VLOS teaches the opposite of the rule.

CAR Part IX — Division IV/V general operating rules · 901.11 · see also: BVLOS, EVLOS, visual observer

BVLOS not defined in the corpus

Beyond visual line-of-sight. Not defined as a standalone term in the corpus. It is the name of the regime that permits operations outside visual line-of-sight under Division VI, which carries its own requirements — a declaration under Standard 922, and for anti-collision lights the specification in CAR 901.38.1.

The absence of a definition is normal: the regulations define the prohibitions and the authorizations, not every term of art.

CAR Part IX — Division VI · 901.38.1 · see also: VLOS, EVLOS, RPAS

EVLOS operational description

Extended visual line-of-sight: an operation in which the pilot cannot see the aircraft directly, but one or more trained and certified visual observers maintain visual contact and detect and avoid other aircraft and hazards on the pilot's behalf.

Grounded in the Transport Canada guidance page in the corpus, which describes this arrangement. The phrase there is printed as "VLOS means...", which is a mislabel: the sentence it introduces describes EVLOS. Recorded here rather than repeated as a VLOS definition — see the VLOS entry.

CAR Part IX — Division IV general operating rules · 901.11 · see also: VLOS, BVLOS, visual observer