Can I fly more than one drone at once?

Know the four conditions that permit a pilot to operate more than one remotely piloted aircraft at a time, know the two cases that need an SFOC instead, and know why a formation flight has a pre-arrangement rule of its own.

Operating several aircraft from one control station is permitted, and the permission is narrow and conditional. The conditions are a conjunction: failing any one of them does not make the operation riskier, it makes it unauthorised. CAR 901.40

• You know whether the operation will be VLOS or not, because that single fact decides which route applies. CAR 901.40
• You know your system's operating manual, because one of the conditions is that the operation be conducted in accordance with it. CAR 901.40
• You know whether the system is designed to fly multiple aircraft from a single control station, which is a design question rather than a capability question. CAR 901.40

No pilot shall operate more than one remotely piloted aircraft at a time unless all of the following hold: the aircraft are operated to conduct a VLOS operation; they are operated in accordance with the operating manuals applicable to the system; the system is designed to permit the operation of multiple aircraft from a single control station; and no more than five aircraft are operated at a time. CAR 901.40

Read condition (c) precisely: not that the system can do it, but that it is designed to. And note what the four conditions are collectively doing — they describe a supervised formation of aircraft the pilot can see, on a system built for it, in a number they can manage. CAR 901.40

A pilot may operate more than five remotely piloted aircraft at a time if the operation is conducted in accordance with a special flight operations certificate — RPAS. CAR 901.40 AIM 3.6.1

A pilot may operate more than one aircraft at a time to conduct an operation that is not a VLOS operation if the operation is conducted in accordance with an SFOC — RPAS. CAR 901.40

So there are exactly two ways out of the four conditions, and they are different in shape: one is a number (above five) and one is a kind of operation (not VLOS). Everything else — the manuals, the design, staying within five — is not waivable by an SFOC; it is simply the price of the permission. CAR 901.40

Situation	What it needs
One aircraft	Nothing from this section CAR 901.40
Two to five aircraft, VLOS, designed system, per the manuals	Permitted by 901.40(1) CAR 901.40
More than five aircraft	An SFOC — RPAS CAR 901.40
More than one aircraft, not a VLOS operation	An SFOC — RPAS CAR 901.40

Pilots may operate up to five aircraft from one control station provided the system is designed for such an operation, but the AIM adds a warning that is worth taking literally: special care must be taken because there is a significant risk the pilot can become distracted and lose track of one or more of the aircraft. AIM 3.2.28

Its mitigations are operational rather than administrative: careful pre-planning and site surveys, and taking extra care to ensure that sufficient visual observers are employed to keep each aircraft within VLOS and monitored. AIM 3.2.28

That is the same sight condition as always, now multiplied: VLOS must be maintained by the pilot or a visual observer, and with several aircraft that means the question is not whether anyone can see them but who is watching which one. CAR 901.11

A visual observer shall not perform visual observer duties for more than one remotely piloted aircraft at a time unless the aircraft are operated in accordance with subsection 901.40(1) or in accordance with an SFOC — RPAS. CAR 901.20

So the one-aircraft-per-observer default is lifted precisely where this section applies. That is not a contradiction: the prohibition exists because an observer watching two aircraft is watching neither properly, and 901.40(1) is the set of conditions under which the operation has been arranged — designed system, manuals, VLOS, five or fewer — to make that workable. CAR 901.20 CAR 901.40

No pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft in formation with other aircraft except by pre-arrangement between the pilots of the aircraft in respect of the intended flight. CAR 901.36

The AIM says it plainly: formation flights between two or more RPAs, or between an RPA and another aircraft, are permitted — but impromptu formations are not permitted. The purpose of the pre-arrangement is to ensure that all the pilots involved are aware of how the aircraft are to be flown, to eliminate the risk of collision, and to identify and mitigate the risks of the flight. AIM 3.2.24

Underneath it sits the rule the pre-arrangement is protecting: no pilot shall operate an RPA in such proximity to another aircraft as to create a risk of collision. CAR 901.18

And the two rules meet at the count: formation flights of more than five RPAs at a time are authorised only under an SFOC — RPAS. AIM 3.2.24 CAR 901.40

Note also what a formation is not. Flying six aircraft from one control station and flying six aircraft in formation are different questions: the first is about one pilot's workload and one control station, the second about the proximity of the aircraft to each other and the agreements between whoever is flying them. A crew can fail either independently. CAR 901.40 CAR 901.36

Question	Answer
May I fly more than one aircraft at a time?	Yes, if all four conditions of 901.40(1) hold CAR 901.40
What are they?	VLOS; per the manuals; a system designed for it; no more than five CAR 901.40
More than five	An SFOC — RPAS CAR 901.40
More than one, not VLOS	An SFOC — RPAS CAR 901.40
One observer per aircraft	Lifted under 901.40(1) or an SFOC CAR 901.20
Formation flight	Pre-arrangement between the pilots; no impromptu formations CAR 901.36
Why the pre-arrangement	So every pilot knows how the aircraft will be flown, to eliminate collision risk AIM 3.2.24
Formations of more than five RPAs	Only under an SFOC — RPAS AIM 3.2.24

Warning Failing one of the four conditions does not mean "fly carefully instead". Two to five aircraft in a VLOS operation on a system designed for it, per the manuals, is permitted; the same flight on a system that merely tolerates multiple aircraft is unauthorised, and the risk level of the flight has nothing to do with which of the two it is. CAR 901.40

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
You plan six aircraft from one station	More than five needs an SFOC	Apply, or reduce to five CAR 901.40
You want two aircraft in a BVLOS operation	Non-VLOS multi-aircraft needs an SFOC	Apply before flying CAR 901.40
Your system can fly several aircraft but was not designed for it	901.40(1)(c) is a design condition	Treat the permission as unavailable CAR 901.40
You lost track of one aircraft in a group	The AIM warns of exactly this	Pre-plan, survey the site, use sufficient observers AIM 3.2.28
Another pilot joins your flight without arrangement	Impromptu formations are not permitted	Pre-arrange, or separate CAR 901.36
One observer is watching three aircraft	Permitted only under 901.40(1) or an SFOC	Check which regime you are in CAR 901.20

Practise: Multiple remotely piloted aircraft

Practise: Ops formation flight

• CAR 901.11 — Visual Line-of-sight
• CAR 901.18 — Avoidance of Collision
• CAR 901.20 — Visual Observers
• CAR 901.36 — Formation Flight
• CAR 901.40 — Multiple Remotely Piloted Aircraft
• AIM RPA 3.2.24 — Formation Flight
• AIM RPA 3.2.28 — Multiple Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA)
• Consolidation: CARs current to 2026-09-21