April 15 2015 

## US DRONE AVIATION LLC

U.S. Department of Transportation

, Docket Management System

, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE

, Washington, DC 20590

RE: Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act

Dear Sir or Madam:

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 and 14 CFR Part 11,

US Drone Avia tion , LLC a Wyoming Corporation, hereby applies for an exemption from Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) identified below, to allow commercial operations of small

unmanned aerial s ystem ( i.e. , sUAS).

We have enclosed US Drone Aviation ’s Flight Operations Operations Manual 1

, the s UAS manufacturer's operations flight, instruction manu al, and maintenance manuals and any other requirements established by the FAA pursuant to Section 333 of the Reform Act.

The requested exemption would permit US Drone Aviation to pursue its commercial interests in providing services to clients using small advanced sUAS in rural or sparsely populated Wyoming

, with particular focus on the following commerc ial areas:

• Oil and Gas Infrastructure Monitoring and Inspection Services

• Mining Inspections

• Aerial Surveying

• Industrial Facilities Inspections

• Conservation Reviews

• General Video and Photography assignments

• Inspection of Power and Wind Towers

In addition to the waiver authority provided in Section 333 of the Modernization Act, the FAA may grant an exemption under 49 U.S.C. Section 44701(f) if it has determined that such an exemption is in the public interest.

Granting an Exem ption is in the Publ ic Interest.

Oil and gas personnel routinely inspect well heads, flare stacks and underlying infrastructure, such as pipelines. At present, primarily personnel in motor vehicles, or on foot do this work

. While the oil and gas industry does all it can to m ake these inspections as safe as possible, there is always an element of risk involved whenever employees are required to inspect structures.

Personnel may need to climb over or onto structures, which can be slippery, rough, and/or exposed to the elements. Some structures, such as Flare stacks, are high above the ground and require costly “shut downs” for inspections. The use of sUAS for infrastructure and general asset evaluation would reduce the risks to personnel by allowing for remote aerial review.

### !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 US Drone Aviation submits the US D rone Avia tion Flight Operations Manual as a Confidential document under 14 CFR §11.35(b)

, the entire content of the Manual contain confidential commercial and proprietary information that US Drone Aviation has not and will not share with others. This Manual contains operating procedures and training procedures that are not available to the public and are protected from release under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 USC § 552 (b) (4).Ad ditionally, the sheer amount of Oil and Gas assets and the widely dispersed locations

– in many instances far from sizeable population centers

– means that visual inspection in all instances by company personnel can be inefficient. For example, Oil and Gas infrastructure in the Upper

Green River Basin of Western Wyoming cover 100,000’s of acres

, remote from qualified analysts. Aerial analysis by traditional fixed wing aircraft is impractical because the required altitudes for safe flight reduce visibility b elow meaningful levels

– it is simply not possible to see

all ass et anomalies from such heights, plus it is cost prohibitive. By using sUAS for asset evaluation, US Drone Aviation will be able to substantially upgrade the industry’s capacity to

detect and address issues expeditiously and in a safer manner. Thus, the use of sUAS has the potential to improve efficiency, resulting in faster and safer delivery of oil and gas

, vital to the U.S. economy.

Regulations from which exemption is requested:

14 C.F.R. Part 21 14 C.F.R. 45.23(b) 14 C.F.R. 61.113(a) & (b) 14 C.F.R. 91.7(a) 14 C.F.R. 91.9(b) (2)

14 C.F.R. 91.109

14 C.F.R. 91.119

14 C.F.R. 91.121 14 C.F.R. 91.151(a) 14 C.F.R. 91.203(a) & (b) 14 C.F.R. 91.205(b)

14 C.F.R. 91.401

– 91.417

An exemp tion would allow US Drone Aviation to broadly evaluate assets and operations with sUAS, resulting in a safer and more efficient inspection and monitoring regime in the resource industries. Accordingly, the grant of an exemption is consistent with Congress’ intent, reflected in Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Modernization Act), that safe systems be permitted in the national airspace prior to the issuance of final regulations governing general use of these systems

This exemption would permit commercial operation by US Drone A viation, which uses DJI

Phantom , DJI S

- 1000, 3D Robotics 8+ & 8M sUAS ’ to conduct infrastructure inspections of oil and gas facilities and other inspections of infrastructure in the resource and communications industries in sparsely populated areas of Wyoming. USDA’s operation under the exemption will be subject to strict operating requirements and conditions to ensure an equivalent level of safety to currently authorized operations using manned aircraft and un der conditions as maybe modified by the FAA as required by Section 333.

US Drone Aviation states that all sUAS flights will occur over private or controlled access property, will do so with the property owner’s consent and knowledge, and only people who ha ve consented or agreed will be in the area where flights will take place.

Furthermore the petitioner will only operate its sUAS in line

- of

- sight ( VLOS) of a pilot and/or observer and will operate at sites in Wyoming that are ‘sufficient distance’ from populated areas

within the sterile area described in the US Drone Aviation ’s Operating Manual. Such operations will ensure that the sUAS will “not create a hazard to users of the national airspace system or the public.”

Additionally, US Drone Aviation’s crew will consist of a sUAS pilot who will hold a FAA

Private Pilots Licen se with a Class III Medical Certificate

. plus an Observer ( VO). If observersare not qualified pilots, they will attend a ground school to understand the proper roles of an observer, communication procedures, and proper visual scan techniques, operations at non

towered airports and appropriate sections of the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM).

In keeping with previous exemptio ns granted

, we will ensure that o perations will not occur within

5 miles of an airport

. The sUAS operated by US Drone Aviation all weigh less than 25 pounds, including payload (i.e. sensors, camera , lens, and stabilized gimbal), and operate at speeds below 50knots, and will not be operated at altitudes that exceed 400 feet AGL.

Given the s mall size of the sUAS and the restricted sterile environment within which it will

operate, US Drone Aviation ’ s operations adhere to the Reform Act’s safety requirements. The fact the pilot holds an FAA Private Pilot license demonstrates US Drone Avia tion ’s high regard for safe operations with an understanding of FARs, pre

- flight inspections, knowledge of operations and differences in airspace classifications, maintenance and repair, as well as being trained to high safety standards. Under the requested exemption, US Dro ne Aviation ensures all

crews have completed sUAS education and training programs including all applicable regulations and guidance documents; including aeronautical background information such as charts, NOTAMS and Aircraft Circulars; Rad io Communications Procedures; Human Factors and Crew Resource Management; Basic sUAS Aerodynamics; Weather factors; Airmanship and Decision

making and Safe Operations Procedures.

We respectively request exemption under Section 333 to enable US Drone Av i a tion to operate efficient, limited, low

- risk commercial sUAS operations for the activities stated

, respecting at all times the space and privacy of citizens and property while kee ping airspace safe.

Sincerely

Stephen Elms

US Drone Avia tion LLC
P.O. Box 7998

, Jackson, WY 83002

(307) 264

- 2959

steve@USDroneAviation.com

### EXEMPTION REQUESTS AND EQUIVALENT LEVE L OF SAFETY

US Drone Avia tion requests an exemption from the following regulations as well as any additional regulations that may technically apply to the operation of the sUAS System:

14 CFR Part 21, Airworthiness Certificates

This part establishes th e procedures for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate. While the FAA continues to work to develop airworthiness standards for Unmanned Aerial Systems, we request an experimental certificate be issued for the 1/ DJI Phantom 2, 2/ DJI S

- 1000 3/ 3D

Ro botics 8m, and 4/ 3D Robotics x8 + under either, or both, of the following provisions:

21.191 Experimental certificates. Experimental certificates are issued for the following

purposes: (a) Research and development. Testing new aircraft design concepts, ne w aircraft equipment, new aircraft installations, new aircraft operating techniques, or new uses for

aircraft

. (b) Showing compliance with regulations. Conducting flight tests and other operations to show compliance with the airworthiness regulations incl uding flights to show compliance for issuance of type and supplemental type certificates, flights to substantiate major design changes, and flights to show compliance with the function and reliability requirements of the regulations. Since the experimental certificate can be used for commercial purposes such as market surveys, sales demonstrations, and customer crew training, we would expect that an experimental certificate would permit our commercial purpose as well. The aircraft will not carry persons or property, will not carry fuel, and will only fly under strict operational requirements. Combined

with the UA ’ s lightweight , being constructed primarily of carbon fiber and plastic, we propose that the UA will be at least as safe, if not safer, than a conve ntionally certificated aircraft performing the same mission. If an experimental airworthiness certificate is not appropriate for this application, then we request an exemption of 14 CFR Part 21, Subpart H, and the requirement

for an airworthiness certifica te in general, citing the equivalent level of safety outlined in the previous paragraph.

14 CFR 45.23 Display of marks; general and 45.29 Size of marks

These regulations provide that each aircraft must display N and the aircraft ’ s registration number

in letters at least 3 inches high. Additionally, the aircraft must display the word EXPERIMENTAL in letters at least 2 inches high near the entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or pilot

station. The sUAV does not have an entrance in which the word EXPERIMENTAL can be placed, and may not have a registration number assigned to it by the FAA. We propose to achieve an equivalent level of safety by including the word EXPERIMENTAL in the placard on the top of the aircraft, as shown above, where the PIC, VO and others in the vicinity of the aircraft while it is preparing for launch will be able to see the designation. Additionally, we feel that the permanent placard discussed in the previous paragraph will provide the aircraft ’ s registration information at the ground stati on. Finally, we will display at the ground station a high contrast flag or banner that contains the words Unmanned Aircraft Ground Station in letters 3 inches high or greater. Since the aircraft will operate within VLOS or approx. 1500 feet of the ground s tation, the banner should be visible to anyone that observes the aircraft and chooses to investigate its point of origin.

14 CFR 61.113 Private pilot privileges and limitations: Pilot in Command and 61.133 Commercial pilot privileges and limitations

. The regulation provides that no person who holds a Private Pilot certificate may act as pilot in Command of an aircraft for compensation or hire. Subparagraph (b) allows a private pilot to act as pilot in command of an aircraft in connection with any bu siness or employment if: (1) The flight is only incidental to that business or employment; and (2) The aircraft does not carry passengers or property for compensation or hire. Our proposed operations require that the PIC must hold at least a Private Pilot Certificate issuedby the FAA and since the aircraft cannot carry passengers or property, we feel we meet the intent of 61.113 Subparagraph (b) even though the intent of this application is to conduct a business.

14 CFR 91.7 Prohibits the Operation of an aircraft without an airworthiness certificate

. As no such certificate will be applicable in the form contemplated by the FARs, this Regulation is inapplicable.

14 CFR 91.9 Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements.

This regulation provides that no person may operate an aircraft unless a current, approved flight manual is in the aircraft. We assume that the intent of this requirement is to ensure that flight manual information is available to the aircrew while operating the aircraft . We request an exemption to this requirement since the aircraft is not only too small to carry documentation, the documentation would not be available to the crew during flight operations. To obtain an equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91. 9, we propose that a current, approved sUAS Flight Manual must be available to the crew at the ground station anytime the aircraft is in, or preparing for, flight.

14 CFR 91.109 Flight Instruction; Simulated instrument flight and certain flight tests

.

T he regulation states, “ No person may operate a civil aircraft that is being used for flight instruction unless that aircraft has fully functioning dual controls ” . The sUAS System ground

based control station consists of a hand

- held radio transmitter and wh ile it does not offer a second set of controls, both the student and instructor can, and will, operate the single set of controls simultaneously. With both student and instructor having hands

- on the controls during flight, this technique meets the intent 9 1.109 and provides an equivalent level of safety.

91.119 Minimum safe altitudes: General.

The regulation states that over sparsely populated areas the aircraft cannot be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure. Since th e typical mission of the sUAS would

be inspection, photography or survey at close range it would be necessary to operate closer than 500 feet to the items listed. Operations will only be flown over property or persons where permission has been obtained and careful pre

- planning has been performed. The aircraft will be operated at a low altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface. Therefore we maintain that due to the small size of the UAS, the hazard to persons, vehicles and structures is minimal compared to manned aircraft, which should be considered in granting the exemption.

CFR 91.121 Altimeter settings.

The regulation requires that aircraft shall maintain cruising altitudes b y reference to an altimeter setting available within 100 NM of the aircraft. The sUAS will always fly below 400 feet AGL and will not need to maintain cruising altitudes in order to prevent conflict with other aircraft. An

Above Ground Level altimeter meas urement above the takeoff point is transmitted via radio from

the sUAS on

- board computer to the display screen held by the PIC, providing a constantly updated AGL readout.

14 CFR 91.151 Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions.

The regulation provi des that no person may begin a fl ight in an airplane under day

- V FR conditions unless there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing and to fly after that for at least 30 minutes. We feel the intention of this paragraph is to provide an energy reserve as a safety buffer for delays to landing. The sUAV is battery operated and the maximum duration of flight from a single battery charge is 12 minutes with a 20% reserve. Since the aircraft will never fly more than 1500 feet from the point of intended landing, a full battery charge at launchwill ensure that we meet the reserve energy requirement of this paragraph. We request an exemption to the word fuel and ask for an equivalent interpretation with the word energy.

14 CFR 91.203(a) & (b) Ci vil aircraft: Certifications required.

The regulation provides that an airworthiness certificate, with the registration number assigned to the aircraft and a registration certificate must be aboard the aircraft. Additionally, subparagraph (b) provides tha t the airworthiness certificate be displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew. At a maximum gross weight of 25 pounds, the sUAS is too small to carry documentation, does not have an entrance, and is not capable o f carrying passengers or crew. To obtain an equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91.203, we propose that documents deemed appropriate for this aircraft by the FAA will be co

- located with the crew at the ground control station and available for inspection upon request. In order to identify the aircraft, we propose that the information found on airworthiness and registration certificates be permanently affixed to the aircraft via placard containing the following information plus the word EXPERIME NTAL to satisfy the requirement of 14 CFR 45.23.

14 C.F.R. 91.205(b) Required Instruments

. This regulation provides for a minimum set of operational instruments for all powered aircraft operating VFR. The Command and Control station for the sUAS fulfills the operational equivalent.

14 CFR Subpart E 91. 401

- 91.417

- Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, Alterations

The regulation provides that the operator is primarily responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compliance with part 39 and 43. Paragraphs 91.407 and 91.40 9 require that the aircraft be approved for return to service by a person authorized under 43.7

, after maintenance and inspection. It is our intention that the PIC performs maintenance and inspection of the aircraft and be authorized to approve the aircraft for return to service. The PIC will ensure that the aircraft is in an airworthy condition prior to every flight and in addition conduct detailed inspections after every two hours of flight. Maintenance performed by the PIC is limited to repairing small cr acks, replacing a propeller, checking electrical connections and updating

software and firmware for the on

- board computer. All other maintenance will be performed by the manufacturer or their designated repair facility. The PIC will document work performed in accordance with 91.417. We feel that due to the size, construction, and simplicity of the aircraft, the PIC can ensure an equivalent level of safety.

### PUBLISHABLE SUMMARY

Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. Part 11, the following summary is provided for publicati on in the Federal Register, should it be determined that publication is needed:

Applicant seeks an exemption from the following rules:

14 C.F.R. Part 21 14 C.F.R. 45.23(b) 14 C.F.R. 61.113(a) & (b) 14 C.F.R. 91.7(a) 14 C.F.R. 91.9(b) (2)

14 C.F.R. 91 .109

14 C.F.R. 91.119

14 C.F.R. 91.121 14 C.F.R. 91.151(a) 14 C.F.R. 91.203(a) & (b) 14 C.F.R. 91.205(b)

14 C.F.R. 91.401

– 91.417

US Drone Avia tion proposes t o operate commercially a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) (25lbs or less).

Approval of exempt ions for US Drone Aviation LLC a Wyoming Corporation will allow commercial operations of sUAS ’ in the oil and natural gas well inspection industry, and other commercial activities, enhancing safety by removing the risk of physical harm to inspect ors otherwise expose d to potentially dangerous condi tions at the well heads. In contrast, a sUAS weighing fewer than 25lbs. and powered by batteries eliminates virtually all of that risk to the personnel involved and provides a maintenance record for r evie w by experts remotely

, if

req uired.

The operation of s mall UASs, weighting less than 2 5lbs., conducted in the strict conditions outlined, will provide an equivalent level of safety supporting the grant of the exemptions requested herein. These lightweight aircraft operate at slow speeds, close to the ground, and in a low risk, low population environment and, as a result, are far safer than conventional operations conducted with helicopters and fixed

- wing aircraft operating in close proximity to the ground and people. The intended use of the sUAS operations contemplated by this petition is in the public interest because it clearly satisfies exemplary uses of sUAS to replace work by humans that is potentially d angerous
, and at the same time provides an equiva lent or greater level of safety.