Who has to give way?

Know who yields when your aircraft and a manned aircraft are converging, and what counts as too close.

The rule here is unusual among the CARs in that it is absolute and unqualified. There is no "unless" and no SFOC override, which makes it one of the easiest marks on the exam and one of the hardest rules to argue your way out of in the field.

• You know whether the aircraft you are flying is a RPAS and what category it falls in, because the aircraft you must yield to are named. CAR 901.17
• You know that this rule is separate from the separation requirements around people and aerodromes — those are distances, this is about conflicting traffic. CAR 901.18 AIM 3.2.35

A pilot of a remotely piloted aircraft must give way to power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft, airships, gliders and balloons at all times. CAR 901.17

Read the list carefully, because the exam asks about its edges. It names four categories, and between them they cover aeroplanes, helicopters, airships, gliders and balloons. Two things follow:

• The duty is at all times. There is no altitude, airspace or distance at which it stops applying.
• It is the RPAS pilot who yields. Nothing in the section makes the other pilot responsible for avoiding you, and nothing in it depends on who saw whom first.

Separately from the yield rule, no pilot may operate a remotely piloted aircraft in such proximity to another aircraft as to create a risk of collision. CAR 901.18

This one is written as a prohibition rather than a direction to yield, and the test is a risk of collision rather than a specified separation. That means it can be breached even where you technically had right of way, or where the other aircraft took avoiding action.

The two sections answer different questions: 901.17 says who yields, 901.18 says how close is too close regardless.

The four named categories in 901.17 do not include other remotely piloted aircraft. That is worth knowing rather than assuming: there is no provision in these sections setting out RPAS-to-RPAS right of way, so an encounter with another drone is not governed by a yield hierarchy here. CAR 901.36 addresses formation flight by pre-arrangement between the pilots. CAR 901.36 AIM 3.2.24

The AIM states the yield rule in its own words — to all other aircraft, including balloons, gliders, airships and hang gliders — and then gives the reason it is written this way, which is the sentence worth remembering:

Pilots of other aircraft may not be able to see the remotely piloted aircraft as well as the RPA pilot can see and hear other aircraft. AIM 3.2.5

That asymmetry is the whole point. A crewed aircraft is looking for other crewed aircraft; a small remotely piloted aircraft is not what its pilot is scanning for, and it may be nearly invisible against terrain. So the duty to yield is placed entirely on the side that can see. It is not a courtesy, and it does not depend on the other pilot's diligence. AIM 3.2.5

The AIM turns the yield rule into action, and the actions differ by how close the situation is.

Situation	What the AIM requires
A traditional aircraft is approaching the area of the operation	Take immediate action to avoid any risk of conflict AIM 3.2.5
A conflict becomes likely	Take immediate action to exit the area by the quickest means possible — this often means rapidly reducing altitude AIM 3.2.5

Note what the second row asks for: not a manoeuvre to keep flying near the traffic, but leaving. The AIM's own example of the quickest means is to descend, which is the direction a crewed aircraft arriving at your altitude is least likely to be going. AIM 3.2.5

And the decision should be made before you need it: the AIM's traffic page says pilots should plan how they are going to react to a potential collision before taking off. That is what makes "immediate action" achievable at all. AIM 3.2.6

The consequences are worth stating plainly. Failure to give way, or to remain far enough away to avoid a conflict or the risk of a collision, may result in individual penalties of up to $1,000 and corporate penalties of up to $5,000 — and could constitute endangering an aircraft under the Criminal Code. AIM 3.2.5

You comply when all of the following hold:

• You yield to power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft, airships, gliders and balloons, at all times CAR 901.17
• No other aircraft is in such proximity that a risk of collision is created CAR 901.18
• If flying in formation with another aircraft, that is by pre-arrangement with the other pilot CAR 901.36

Situation	What applies
A helicopter is converging with you	You give way — you are the RPAS CAR 901.17
A glider is nearby	You give way; gliders are named expressly CAR 901.17
A balloon is drifting through your operating area	You give way CAR 901.17
Another drone is nearby	No RPAS-to-RPAS yield rule in 901.17; formation flight needs pre-arrangement under 901.36 CAR 901.36
You had right of way but flew close enough to create risk	901.18 is breached regardless of who yields CAR 901.18

Warning Having right of way is not the same as being safe. 901.18 makes proximity that creates a risk of collision a separate breach, so "he should have avoided me" is not a defence available under these sections. CAR 901.18

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
A manned aircraft appeared and you held course	901.17 requires you to yield at all times	Yield first, then reassess CAR 901.17
You thought a glider was not covered	Gliders are named expressly in the section	Treat it as covered CAR 901.17
You flew close to another drone expecting a rule	No RPAS-to-RPAS yield hierarchy exists in 901.17	Pre-arrange, as 901.36 requires for formation CAR 901.36
You judged the distance acceptable because you had right of way	901.18 turns on risk, not on priority	Increase separation regardless CAR 901.18

Practise: Right of way and collision avoidance

• CAR 901.17 — Right of Way
• CAR 901.18 — Avoidance of Collision
• CAR 901.36 — Formation Flight
• AIM RPA 3.2.5 — Right of Way
• AIM RPA 3.2.6 — Detecting and Avoiding Traffic
• Consolidation: CARs current to 2026-09-21