Lancaster & Co.

Michael L. Lancaster

Rodney J. Schmidt

PO Box 1612

Eureka, MT 59917

lancam1@yahoo.com

406

- 291

- 8622

29 Oct 2015

FAA

U.S. Department of Transportation

Docket Operations

West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12

- 140

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20590

RE: Docket Number FAA

- 2015

- 0150

Dear Sir or Madam,

In accordance with Section 333 of the FAA modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act) and 14 CFR Part 11, we at Lancaster and Company respectfully request an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) to allow business use (commercial operation) of its UAS, so long as such operations are conducted within and under the conditions outlined herein or as established by th e FAA as required by section 333.

Exemptions Sought

The requested exempted sections of 14CFR are as fol lows: parts 21 , 27, 45.23(b), 45.27(a ), 61.113(a) and (b), 91.7(a), 91.9(b)(2), 91.103, 91.109(a), 91.119, 91.121, 91.151(a), 91.203(a) and (b), 91.319(a )(1), 91.405(a), 91.407(a)(1), 91.409(a)(2), 91.417(a) and (b).

Extent of Relief and Reasons Relief Sought

Relief from these sections is requested to operate a DJI Phantom 2 UAS with associated camera equipment for obtaining digital video and photography in support of real estate sales for private owners of real property and other promotional purposes related to real estate in Northwest Montana. It is understood that such operations will only be carried out while operating over private property with thee xpress consent of the land owner. Film and images of the client’s property will be the only object of

UAS operations with the exception of incidental background images of surrounding property.

Public Benefit

Our operations are beneficial to the property holding public at large as it provides another avenue of publicity for the marketing of homes in our rural area of Northwest Montana which relies heavily on outside home purchasers looking for rural property. It is of further benefit to the economic
well

- being of communities that rely heavily on tourism to support local jobs and economy in an area of the country that has been hit hard by the collapse of the timber industry. The videos, images and community promotion that the use of this UAS will provide will allow those who have never been to Montana to see its beauty and kindle an interest in the properties and communities represented.

Public Safety

The public safety in the operation of UASs is of first concern. No operations shall ever be conducted when the opportunity of injury to the public may occur. No commercial use of a UAS is sufficiently important enough to forego potential hazards to the p ublic. As such, all flight operations will undergo a risk assessment before commencement. As these operations will be carried out on private property, with the permission of the land owner and under the supervision of a qualified Pilot in Command (PIC)

, the PIC and his assistant will have control over the flight area in addition to Operational Control over the UAS at all times. Any unsafe condition that may arise, such as the unauthorized entrance into the flight area of a spectator, will be grounds for immediate termination of the flight.

Thorough and standardized safety checks and inspections shall also be implemented both pre and post flight to minimize equipment failure and to identify any potential hazards to safe operation and to keep all equipme nt in safe and serviceable condition. A pre

- flight walkthrough of the airspace will also be conducted by the PIC and safety observer to identify any potential hazards to safe operation. Finally, a pre

- flight safety brief shall be conducted by the PIC pri or to flight operations. This safety brief shall include but not be limited to a review of the results of the preflight inspection, the pre

- flight walkthrough and an evaluation of the current and projected weather conditions. Under no
circumstances shall any flight operation commence in inclement weather, during conditions of reduced visibility or within 1 hour prior to sunset. The PIC and safety observer shall remain within sight and
verbal communication distance of each other at all times. Additional safety observers may be employed as necessary as dictated by the scope and complexity of the project. All safety observers utilized shall take part in the pre

- flight brief conducted by the PIC. Any safety observer shall have the right and
indeed the obli gation to halt the flight if any unsafe condition is observed. It is further acknowledged that operational risk is also mitigated by the nature of the location of these operations in rural Northwestern Montana where flight and population density are sign ificantly below average.

Radio frequencies utilized for control of the UAS and its associated equipment shall be that of the manufacturer and in full compliance with all applicable Federal Communications Commission regulations and shall not be altered by the PIC or any other flight participant.

Rodney Schmidt, the operational PIC is a single engine land private pilot with approximately 250 hours of experience. Additionally, he has approximately 30 hours of experience on the DJI Phantom 2UAS. His ass istant and safety observer, Michael Lancaster, has over 50 hours of experience on the DJI

Phantom 2.

All flight operations will be conducted in accordance with the blanket Certificate of Waiver Authorization (COA) requirements for flights below 200 feet for an aircraft of less than 55 pounds, operation during daytime Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions, operate within visual line of sight (VLOS) of the pilots, and stay certain distances away from airports or heliports as follows:

 5 nautical miles (nm) from an airport having an operational tower; or

 3nm from an airport with a published instrument flight procedure, but not an operational
tower; or

 2nm from an airport with out a publis hed instrument flight procedure or an operational tower;

or

 2nm from a heliport with a published instrument flight procedure

The blanket 200

- foot COA allows flights anywhere i n the country except restricted airspace and other areas, such as major cities, where the FAA prohibits UAS operations. The safety observer shall work with the PIC to ensure that VLOS is maintained during UAS operations.

Proposed Federal Register Summar y
The petitioner is seeking an exemption to operate an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) under the new FAA “Summary Grant” approach, announced on 9 April 2015 http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?news ld=82485 that will help streamline section 333 exemption approvals for many commercial UAS operators prior to finalizing the small UAS proposed rules. This request is based on the granting of exemptions for similar commercial applications.

Description of UAS

We will utilize a DJI Phantom 2 http://www.dji.com/product/phantom

- 2/spec . In the event of a loss of communications between the UAS and the PIC, the craft will rise up vertically to a safe hei ght before beginning an automatic return to home function. The control signal may be reconnected in flight and the pilot can take over safe operations again if communication is reestablished. In the case of a GPS failure, the UAS may be manually flown t o a safe landing by the pilot. The UAS utilizes electric propulsion and carries no flammable fuel, has an integrated GPS pilot system, provides location information including height AGL, speed, battery life, has programmed no

- fly zones for controlled airp orts, and provides direction of travel distance from the pilot.

Additional Information

The assistant to the PIC and safety observer, Michael Lancaster, understands adherence to procedural compliance and the need to ensure public safety. Michael served as the Quality Assurance Officer of a nuclear submarine and was a qualified engineer and navigator of a nuclear powered attack submarine. Additionally he has run an oilfield service company responsible for the high pressure testing of drilling rig Blowout P reventers and associated safety systems. This same experience and attention to detail will serve as the basis for safe operation of the UAS in the public domain.Based on the s ize and construction of the UAS, the experience of the PIC and safety observe r

and the operational goals, this request is suited for approval in accordance with the guidelines established by Section 333 of the FAA Modernization reform Act of 2012 (including new interim policies). We respectfully request the granting of the section 333 exemption.

V/R,

Michael Lancaster

Lancaster and Company

PO Box 1612

Eureka, MT 59917

406

- 291

- 8622

lancam1@yahoo.com