From crewed to uncrewed aviation
Originally flying crewed aviation in Africa, Nicola migrated to Australia in 2017 and applied for a remote pilot position.
‘At the time, I thought this is at the forefront of where aviation is going, I have to throw my hat in for this opportunity.’
‘Fortunately, I got the job and this was my first taste of RPAS,’ she said.
After another stint of flying crewed aviation in Australia, when the Covid pandemic hit she stepped back into the world of RPAS and began working at Hover UAV as a consultant specialising in complex operations.
In addition to operational support, Hover UAV also offers training courses to remote pilots.
‘What we are trying to achieve at Hover is to promote drone education and safety within the industry.
‘I’ll be training other remote pilots in the future, so I thought it was important to sit the exam myself to ensure I’m providing accurate information about what’s required to successfully pass the exam.
‘It’s our mission that we train good BVLOS pilots who can pass the exam, not just pilots who can pass the exam,’ she said.
The exam is not a paint by number approach
After sitting the new exam Nicola believes the BVLOS OCTA exam makes candidates think about different scenarios and how they’d react.
‘It’s not a whole heap of true or false statements. The questions are cleverly written to make you think about what makes sense in different scenarios and how you would react.
‘It wasn’t a paint by number approach, it really tests if the candidate understands BVLOS operations.’
An incredible step forward
Nicola believes the new exam will benefit more remote pilots to develop their BVLOS capabilities, especially those without a crewed aviation background.
‘When the option is between the BVLOS OCTA exam or the IREX, the BVLOS OCTA is much more appropriate, accessible and cost effective for remote pilots to develop their BVLOS skills than sitting the IREX.
‘The new BVLOS OCTA exam is an incredible step forward in the industry and I would highly recommend it’.
