What Qualification should you choose – BNUC-S or RPQS?

I decided after much deliberation that i was going to choose the BNUC-S qualification and training to gain my UAS Pilots Licence. It came down to two major factors. Cost and Scope.

In the UK you need to hold a CAA approved UAS Pilots licence to operate drones less than 150KG. There are a few other determining factors, such as MTOM etc, but in general for Aerial Photography, 3D Mapping, Surveying etc, As i said i was a total beginner when i decided this is what i wanted to do, and i still am!

The BNUC-S – Basic National Unmanned Aircraft Systems Certificate, is run by EuroUSC. The guys are the market leaders in the commercial UAS training world. They initially worked with the Civil Aviation Authority to write the qualification, and until recently, it was the only one they acknowledged.

http://eurousc.com/about-us/

The RPQ – Remote Pilot Qualification, run by The Resource Group. I did have a long chat with these guys before i made my decision to go with EuroUSC. Apart from the cost element which i will discuss in a later, the main factor was the training.

http://uas.resourcegroup.co.uk/

The EuroUSC course is run across the country, from Heathrow to Leeds, Manchester to Edinburgh. This means you can always find a course close to you. Secondly they run courses every month, so if you are unlucky enough to fail to theory, you can usually get another space sooner rather than later. The Resource group tend to run courses somewhere in Wales and Northern Ireland, and they are not as frequent.

The EuroUSC course was also cheaper at £740 plus VAT for the theory and £350 plus VAT or the flight assessment. Resource Group was £1600 inc VAT. That said the Resoucse group is a 3 day course, as opposed to the EuroUSC which is 2 days. Some of you will prefer to cram and get it over with, other will prefer a more relaxed approach.

Finally the last factor that made me opt for the BNUC-s run through EuroUSC was scope. EuroUSC use this course and operate with offices throughout Europe, Belgium, France, Malta, Spain, Netherlands etc. The RPQs certificate is not recognised by the Civil Aviation Authorities of those countries, something to bear in mind, fi you don’t want to be stuck working just in the UK?

I would like to say, that although i have completed BNUC-S theory, on Tuesday of this very week, i will defiantly be looking to train with the guys at Recourse Group, once i’m up and running and established. Firstly to expand my skill and knowledge base. Secondly to network more, we are quiet a small community and people know people. Finally, they know what they are talking about. EuroUSC has, to an extent had a monopoly on the training of UAV Pilots since 2010. The Resource guys just seemed a little less ‘salesy’ (if thats a word), the Resource Group, guys seemed to be very knowledgeable and precise – no waffle or sales jargon at all!. I reckon most of them are military, so you know your training will be first rate.

Till next time

See you in the sky!