September 13, 2015

Name and A d dress of Pet i tioner:

Timothy Hicks

909County Rd. 77

Tallassee AL, 36078

334

- 5243601

Hickstc@gmail.com

Request for E xemption, Sec t ion 333 of the F AA Reform A ct pertaining t o Federal Avia t ion

Regulations 14 CFR, Part 21

, 91.7(a), 91

. 119(c), 91.121

, 91.151(a)(1)

, 91.405(a), 91

. 407(a)(l) &

(a)(2), 91.409( a )(l), 91.417(a ) &(b)

I, Timothy Hicks , the petitio n er, request e x emptions in or d er to legally o perate an Un m anned

Aircraft Syste m s (UAS), a D J I Phantom 3 P rofessional, and DJI Inspire 1, in the National

A irspace Syste m . The DJI Phantom 3 Professional

, and DJI Inspire 1, t his petitioner s eeks

exemp t ion to use will b e referred to as ‘Named UAS’. All fligh t s of the ‘Name d UAS’ will be flown

by line o f sight (LOS) a nd performed u nder 400' above gr o und line (AGL ) . The ‘Named UAS’

does ha v e GPS guida n ce and "return to home" safety f eature installe d . The ‘Named UAS’ also

us e s a smartpho n e to enhance c ontrols by showing cu r rent AGL and visua l location of the

‘Named UAS’ to the s u bject and its surroundings

. The petitioner w ishes to be g r anted the

exe m ption for use of the ‘Named UAS’ for commercial vi d eography and photography o f:

1. Residential and Co m mercial Real E state, for mar k eting the sale of each.

2. Construction Proce s s (Residential a nd Commerc i al), providing a visual review of the

construction p r ocess to be u s ed for marke t ing of a cons t ruction company or

documentation to be provide d to the owner

.

3. Property Survey, pr o viding a visua l r eview of the p roperty to the land owner t o be sold,

purchased, or p rior to cons t ruction.

4. Property Inspection

, providing a vi s ual review o f existing condi t ions to the land owner.

5. Property Landscape

, provide visu a l documenta t ion of ‘before a n d after’ impro v ement to

a land owner

. 6. T ake photographs and videography/cinematography of weddings, events, activities.

The Petitioner believes the u s e of the DJI P hantom 3 Pro f essional

, and DJI Inspire 1, is mo r e

economical a nd safe to use than a m anned aircra f t for the afore m entioned pur p oses. In the

past, a manned a i rcraft would be used to provide a v i sual review o f land and prop e rty, which

inv o lves pilot fees

, inspections, a nd use of an air p ort. Use of the ‘Named UA S ’ rather than a

m anned aircra f t is more economi c al to the cons u mer, and be n eficial to the g e neral public d u e

to its small s ize, low noise, and mi n imal potential f or accident.

Additionally, I the petitioner, would like to p o int out that in o rder to have a successful b u siness it

is in my bes t interest to be s a fe. That safe t y will directly b e nefit the public because tha t safety

relates to pro t ecting my inve s tment in a U A S. If the UAS is damaged, so is my means o f

providing a se r vice and pro f iting from it. Als o , if I don’t pro v ide a safe ser v ice to my cus t omers,they will be le s s likely to rec o mmend me t o their neighbor s . So I have t o provide a sa f e service

in order to gain the trust of o t her potential c u stomers.

My request for the following e xceptions are based on thos e provided to E xemption No

. 11623,

11650, 11664

, 12028 , 12795 and 11734. I reviewed and q uote these pu b lic letters bec a use of

the si m ilarities to the use of a UAS to cap t ure photography and videogra p hy of real es t ate and

cons t ruction as well a s photographing and recording video of weddings, activities and other

events for hire.

. Request for E xemption, Sec t ion 333 of the F AA Reform A ct pertaining t o Federal Avia t ion

Regulations :

14 CFR Part 2 1

Certification P rocedures For P roducts and P arts

REASON FOR EXCEPTION

It has been de t ermined tha t similar UAS’s d o not require a n airworthiness certificate as granted

in Exemption N o. 11623, 11 6 50, 11664, 12028 , 12795 an d 11734.

14 CFR 91.7( a )

Civil Aircraft A irworthiness: ( a ) No person m ay operate a c ivil aircraft unl e ss it is in an a irworthy

condition.

REASON FOR EXCEPTION

It has been de t ermined tha t similar UAS’s d o not require a n airworthiness certificate, h o wever

the petitioner w ill ensure air w orthiness thro u gh the combi n ed use of the m anufacturer ' s

Operations M a nual and pre f light checks.

14 CFR 91.11 9 (c)

Minimum Sa f e Altitudes : ( c) O ver other than congested ar e as. An altitud e of 500 feet a b ove the

surface, exce p t over open w a ter or sparsely populated ar e as. In those c a ses, the aircr a ft may

not be opera t ed closer than 5 00 feet to any person, vesse l , vehicle or s t ructure.

REASON FOR EXCEPTION

The use of ‘N a med UAS’ will be flown no hi g her than 400’ AGL in LOS o v er developed and

developing re s idential areas t hat may be c o nsidered cong e sted areas. T hat will not al w ays be

the case when providing a ‘ P roperty Surve y ’ flight becaus e they could be conducted ov e r empty

lots or acreag e s with no stru c tures. This wil l minimize the a mount of bys t anders prese n t or in

the surroundin g area. In the c ase of flying o ver or near ex i sting private p r operty while p r oviding

a ‘Residential a nd Commerci a l Marketing’

, ‘Construction P rocess’, ‘Prop e rty Inspection ’ , and

‘Property Lan d scaping’ land o wners will be n otified in pers o n by the pe t itioner, or by a c a rd left

behind by the p etitioner, of a n occurring ‘N a med UAS’ flig h t. The petition e r also propos e s to

display a cau t ion sign on si t e while a ‘Nam e d UAS’ fligh t is ongoing. The petitioner will r eview

with the lando w ners of asso c iated risk s to p eople and pro p erty. Due to t he small size o f the

‘Named UA S ’ the associated risk to person s , vessels, veh i cles, and stru c tures is not

comparable t o manned aircr a ft and should b e taken into c o nsideration

.14 CFR 91.12 1

Altimeter Se t tings:

REASON FOR EXCEPTION

The ‘Named U AS’ does no t have a barome t ric altimeter

. It does have a G PS that will c a lculate

altitude. The p e titioner will li m it flights to a m aximum alti t ude of 400 fee t AGL as gran t ed in

Exemption No

. 11623, 116 5 0 , 11664, 12028 , 12795 and 1 1734.

14 CFR 91.15 1 (a)(l)

Fuel requirem e nts for flight in VFR conditio n s:( a) No pers o n may begin a flight in an ai r plane

under VFR co n ditions unless (considering w ind and forec a st weather co n ditions) there is

enough fuel t o fly to the firs t point of intend e d landing and

, assuming nor m al cruising s p eed( 1)

During the da y , to fly after t hat for at leas t 30 minutes.

REASON FOR EXCEPTION

The ‘Named U AS’ provides l o w battery war n ings to indica t e when you s h ould return the ‘ Named

UAS” to the la u nch point. A f ail safe autom a tic landing will occur if the b a ttery reaches c ritical

low voltage. T he ‘Named U A S’ will be land e d upon the 1s t low battery al e rt. The peti t ioner will

not initiate a f light unless (co n sidering wind and fore cas t weather condi t ions) there is e n ough

power to fly a t normal cruisin g speed to the intended landi n g point. All f lights will be do n e during

the day and a t an appropria t e time as to no t be a nuisance to others.

14 CFR 91.40 5 (a)

Maintenance r e quired: Each o wner or oper a tor of an aircr a ft

- (a) Shall h a ve that aircra f t

inspected as p rescribed in S ubpart E of this part and shall between requ i red inspection s , except

as provided in paragraph (c) o f this section

, have discrep a ncies repaired as prescr ibed in part

43 of this cha p ter.

REASON FOR EXCEPTION

The petitioner s hall inspect t he aircraft prior to every fligh t . The petitioner plans to follow

manufacturer ' s recommende d preflight che c klist. Referen c e given to the Operations M a nual.

14 CFR 91.40 7 (a)(l)

Operation af t er maintenance

, preventive m a intenance, re b uilding, or al t eration: (a) No p erson

may operate a n y aircraft tha t has undergon e maintenanc e , preventive m a intenance, re b uilding,

or alteration u n less( 1 )It has been approve d for returned t o service by a person author i zed

under 43.7 o f this chapter

REASON FOR EXCEPTION

The petitioner w ho has the r e sponsibility f or the operation and safety o f the ‘Name U A S’ will

follow the ma n ufacturer's su g gestions for m aintenance an d repair. Inclu d ing the use o f

suggested rep l acement par t s.14 CFR 91.40 9 (a)(l) & (2)

Inspections: ( a ) Except as pr o vided in para g raph (c) of this section, no p e rson may op e rate an

aircraft unless

, within the pre c eding 12 cale n dar months

, it has had (1) A n annual insp e ction in

accordance w i th part 43 of t his chapter and has been app r oved for return to service by a person

authorized by 4 3.7 of this ch a pter ; or (2) A n inspection for the issuance o f an airworthi n ess

certificate in a c cordance wi t h part 21 of t his chapter. No i n spection per f ormed under p a ragraph

(b) of this sec t ion may be su b stituted for any inspection re q uired by this p aragraph unl e ss it is

performed by a person auth o rized to perform annual insp e ctions and is e ntered as an " annual"

inspection in t he required m a intenance rec o rds.

REASON FOR EXCEPTION

The petitioner w ill follow ma n ufacturer’s su g gestions to e n sure that the ‘ N amed UAS’ is in a

condition for s a fe flight.

14 CFR 91.41 7 (a) & (b)

Maintenance R ecords: (a) E xcept for work p erformed in a c cordance wi t h 91.411 and 9 1 .413,

each registere d owner or op e rator shall ke e p the following records (l)(i) ( i i)(iii) (2)(i)(ii)(ii i )(iv)(v)(

vi) for the peri o ds specified in paragraph (b) of this sectio n : ( 1 )(2)(3)

REASON FOR EXCEPTION

The petitioner w ill keep a rec o rd of all repai r s and modific a tions. The pe t itioner also pr o claims to

use approved m anufactured p arts for repai r s and modific a tions.

SUMMARY

I, Timothy Hicks, the petitio n er request for e xemption, S ection 333 of t he FAA Reform Act

pertaining to F ederal Aviation Regulations 1 4 CFR, Part 2 1 , 91.7(a), 91

. 119(c), 91.121

, 91.151(a)(1)

, 91.405(a), 91

. 407(a)(l) & (a)( 2 ), 91.409(a)(l)

, 91.417(a)&(b) in order to le g ally

operate an Un m anned Aircr a ft Systems (U A S), a DJI Pha n tom 3 Profes s ional, and DJI Inspire

1, in the N a tional Airspace Sys t em in order to t ake aerial vid e o and photogr a phy of real es t ate

and cons t ruction processes as well as photographing and recording video of weddings,

activities and other events.