## Balloonacy, ltd. LLC

School of Applied Aerostation FAA Part 141 SU9S747J
FAA C ertificated Repair Station SU9R747J d/b/a Parts Authority, FAA Parts Manufacturing Authority PQ4173CE
125 Redwood Circle Fayetteville, Georgia 30214
770.719.9492 / 678.357.3271 i nfo@balloonacyltd.com

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Repairs

- - Commercial Promotions

- - Flight Training BFA Master Flight Instructor

- BFA Distinguished Aeronaut Designated Examiner SO

- 11

- 60PE, FSDO

- 11 December 8 , 2015

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Avenue Washington, D.C. 20591

In Re: Petition for Exemption Under the Provisions of 14 CFR Part 11 and Section 333 of the

FAA Modernization and Reform Act

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act) and 14 CFR Part 11, Balloonacy, LLC, a Georgia Limited Liability Corporation, current holder of multiple FAA Air Agency certificates, and operator of sma ll Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“sUAS”) equipped to conduct aerial photography hereby applies for exemptions from the below listed Federal Aviation Regulations to allow commercial operation of its sUASs, so long as such operations are conducted within and un der the conditions outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA as required by Section 333.

It is Balloonacy, LLC’s intent to develop and promote a Special Course of Instruction to be marketed under the currently held Part 14 1 Air Agency certificat e. It is our firm belief that education, both regulatory and hands

- on training, will significantly enhance safety, and insure the appropriate and regulatory compliant operation of sUAS within the National Airspace System. Our course material is being dev eloped pursuant to the guidelines of the proposed Part 107, currently issued as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).

As described more fully below, the requested exemption would permit the operation of small, unmanned and relatively inexpensive sUAS un der controlled conditions in airspace that is 1) limited, 2) predetermined, and 3) controlled in access. Approval of this exemption would thereby fulfill the Administrator’s responsibilities to “...establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircr aft systems in the National Airspace System”, under Section 333 of the

Reform Act.

Name and address of the applicant is:

Balloonacy, ltd, LLC

David W. Sullivan

125 Redwood Circle Fayetteville, Georgia 30214

Phone: 770

- 719

- 9492 office / 678

- 357

- 3271 cell

E

- mail: info@balloonacyltd .comRegulations addressed or for which exemption is requested:

14 CFR Part 21 14 CFR 45.23 (b) 4 CFR 91.7 (a) 14 CFR 91.9 (b)(2)

14 CFR 91.103

14 CFR 91.109

14 CFR 91.119 14 CFR 91.121 14 CFR 91.151 (a)

14 CFR 91.203 14 CFR 91.405 (a) 14 CFR 407 (a)(1) 14 CFR 409 (a)(2) 14 CFR 417 (a) & (b)

AIRCRAFT AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

The applicant Balloonacy proposes that the exemption requested herein apply to civil aircraft that have the characteristics and that operate with the limitations listed below . These limitations provide for at least an equivalent or possibly higher level of safety for operations under the current regulatory structure, because the proposed operations represent a safety enhancement to the already safe training operations conduc ted with conventional aircraft owned by this company.

These limitation s and conditions to which Applicant agrees to be bound when conducting commercial operations, to include both training functions as well as commercial photography, under the provisions of an FAA issued exemption include:

1. All flight operations will be conducted utilizing the DJI Phantom 3 sUAS, arguably the most commonly used sUAS on the market. This aircraft weighs 2.82 pounds / 1280 grams with payload.

2. Flights will be operated manual ly within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) of the Operator/Student Pilot and the Instructor Pilot/Observer.

3. Maximum flight time per flight period will be eighty (80) minutes, in twenty (20) minute increments, utilizing multiple batteries/power sources. Flights will be terminated at 20%

batter y power reserve.

4. Flights will be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet above ground level (AGL), in consonance with current guidance promulgated by the Federal Aviation Administration; however, most operations will be conducted within 75 of the ground.

5. Minimum crew for flight training missions will consist of two individuals. One individual will be designated as an Operator/Student Pilot; the second will be designated

as an Instructor Pilot/Observer. The sUAS Instructor Pilot will be an FAA c ertificated pilot with a Commercial Pilot rating, for operations under the provisions of this exemption. The sUAS Instructor Pilot will serve as PIC for training flights.

6. Minimum crew for photography missions will consist of two individuals. One indiv idual will be designated as an Operator; the second will be designated as an Observer. The sUAS Operator will be an FAA certificated pilot with a Commercial Pilot rating.

7. The sUAS will only operate within an area as defined necessary for photography

oper ations, or as defined within the school’s approved Special Course of Instruction. Additionally, the sUAS will only operate under 400 feet AGL and outside a 3 statutemile radius of any airport. The sUAS will never enter any MOA or restricted/prohibited

a irspace, nor shall it violate any Temporary Flight Restriction as outlined by the FAA.

8. A preflight briefing will be conducted in regard to the planned sUAS operation prior to each planned flight/photography/training activity. It will be mandatory that all personnel who will be performing duties as “flight crew”, that being defined as operator, instructor pilot, student pilot or observer, are present for the preflight briefing.

9. The Operator and/or Instructor Pilot will obtain the consent of all persons inv olved in photography and/or training flights, and insure that only consenting persons will be allowed within 100 feet of flight operations; this radius may be reduced to 30 feet based upon an equivalent level of safety determination.

10. The Operator and/or I nstructor Pilot will have been trained in operation of sUAS generally and received up to date information on the particular sUAS to be operated as required.

11. Flight crew participants will at all times be able to communicate by voice. Written and/or oral p ermission from the relevant property holders will be obtained.

12. If the sUAS loses downlink capacity/communications, onboard systems provide for a return to home function; the sUAS will return to a predetermined location and land.

14 CFR Part 21, Subpart H: Airworthiness Certificates, 14 CFR §91.203 (a)(1)

With respect to the most recent guidance published by the Federal Aviation Administration, no airworthiness certificate is required for sUAS operations. However, discussion is warranted.

Subpart H, ent itled Airworthiness Certificates, establishes the procedural requirements for the issuance of airworthiness certificates as required by 14 CFR §91.203 (a)(1). Given the size and limited operating area associated with the aircraft to be utilized by the App licant, an exemption from Part 21 Subpart H meets the requirements of an equivalent level of safety under Part 11 and Section 333 of the Reform Act. The Federal Aviation Act (49 USA §44701 (f)) and the Reform Act both authorize the FAA to exempt aircraft from the requirement capability, and proximity to airports and populated areas, of the particular sUAS. In all cases, an analysis of these criteria demonstrates that the sUAS operated without an airworthiness certificate, in a restricted

environment and u nder the conditions proposed will be at least as safe, or safer, than a conventional aircraft (fixed or rotary

- wing) operating with an airworthiness certificate without the restrictions and conditions proposed.

The sUAS to be operated hereunder, a Phantom 3, weighs 2.82 pounds / 1280 grams in a standard flight configuration fully loaded, carries neither a pilot nor messenger, carries no explosive materials or flammable liquid fuels, and operates exclusively within a limited radius area as defined during th e preflight briefing, utilizing VLOS only. Unlike other civil aircraft, operations under this exemption will be tightly controlled and monitored by both the Operator/ Student Pilot and the Observer/ Instructor Pilot, pursuant to safety requirements and un der the requirements of and in compliance with local public safety requirements, and with security provided in the area of operations as is now done with conventional aircraft. Application of these

same criteria demonstrates that there is no credible threa t to national security posed by the sUAS, due to its size, speed of operation, location of operation, lack of explosive materials or flammable liquid fuels, and inability to carry a substantial external load.14 CFR §45.23 (b), Marking of Aircraft

The c urrent familiarization aircraft owned by this organization is already registered as N629JS, and is appropriately marked. Future aircraft acquired by Applicant in the furtherance of the training function will be similarly registered and marked.

However, t he regulation requires that when registration marks, including the Roman capital letter “N” and the registration number, are displayed on a limited, restricted or light

- sport, experimental or provisionally certificated aircraft, the operator must also disp lay on that aircraft near each entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or pilot station, in letters not less than 2 inches nor more than 6 inches high, the words “limited”, “restricted”, “light

- sport”, “experimental”, or “provisional” as applicable.

Even though t he subject sUAS will have no airworthiness certificate, an exemption may be needed as the sUAS will have no cabin entrance, nor cockpit or pilot station on which the word “Experimental” can be placed. Given the size of the sUAS, two inch lettering will be impossible. The word “Experimental” will be placed on the fuselage shell as appropriate, in compliance with §45.29(f).

An alternate means of compliance will be provided by having the sUAS marked on its fuselage as required by §45.29(f) where the operato r and others working with the aircraft will see the identification of the sUAS as “Experimental”. The FAA has issued the following exemptions to this regulation in Exemptions 10700, 8738, 10167, and 10167A.

14 CFR §91.7(a), Civil Aircraft Airworthiness

The regulation requires that no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is in an airworthy condition. As there will be no airworthiness certificate issued for this aircraft, should this exemption be granted, no FAA regulatory standard will exist for determining airworthiness. Given the size of the aircraft and the requirements contained in the aircraft Operating Manual for maintenance and the use of safety check and checklists prior to each flight, as set forth in the Operating Manual, an equivalent level of safety will be provided.

14 CFR §91.9(b)(2), Civil Aircraft Flight Manual, Marking, and Placard Requirements

Section 91.9 (b)(2) provides, “No person may operate a US registered civil aircraft.....(2) for which an Airplane or Rotorcraft Manual is required by §21.5 of this chapter, unless there is available in the aircraft a current approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual, approved manual material, markings, and placards, or any combination thereof.”

The sUAS, given its size and configuratio n, has no ability or place to carry such a flight manual on the aircraft, not only because there is no pilot on board, but because there is no room or capacity to carry such an item on the aircraft.

An alternate means of compliance will be to retain the O perating Manual at the ground control point where the pilot flying the sUAS will have immediate access to it. The FAA has issued the following exemptions to this regulation: Exemption Nos. 8607, 8737, 8738, 9299, 9299A, 9565, 9565B, 10167, 10167A, 10602, 32827, and 1070014 CFR §91.103, Preflight Action

This regulation requires that each pilot in command take certain actions before flight to insure the safety of flight. As there will be no FAA approved flight manual for the aircraft, an exemption may be needed. The PIC will take all actions including weather information review, NOTAM review, flight requirements with respect to power/battery requirements, and aircraft performance data before the initiation of flight.

14 CFR §91.109, Flight Instructio n

Section 91.103 provides that no person may operate a civil aircraft (except a manned free balloon) that is being used for flight instruction unless that aircraft has fully functioning dual controls. SUASs, by design, do not have fully functional dual c ontrols. Flight control is accomplished through the use of a control box that communicates with the aircraft via radio communications. The FAA has approved exemptions for flight training without fully functional

dual controls for a number of aircraft and for flight instruction in experimental aircraft. See Exemptions Nos. 5778K and 9862A.

14 CFR §91.119, Minimum Safe Altitudes

Section 91.119 establishes safe altitudes for operation of civil aircraft. Section 91.119(d) allows helicopters to be operat ed at less than the minimums prescribed, provided the person operating the helicopter complies with any route or altitudes prescribed for helicopters by the FAA. As this exemption is for a sUAS, Applicant requests authority to operate at altitudes up to a nd including 400 feet AGL, per current guidance for sUAS operations. As set forth herein, the sUAS will never operate at higher than 400 feet AGL. It will however be operated in a controlled area where buildings and people will not be exposed to operati ons without prior

consent.

No flight will be taken without the permission of the property owner. Because of the advance notice to the property owner and participants in the photography/flight training activity, all

affected individuals will be aware o f the planned flight operations as set forth in the appropriate Operations Manual. Compared to operations with aircraft or rotorcraft weighing far more that the maximum 5 lbs. proposed herein, and the lack of flammable fuel, any risk associated with

these operations is far less than those presently conducted with conventional aircraft operating at or below 500 feet AGL. In addition, the low

- altitude operations of the sUAS will ensure separation between these small UAS operations and the operations of conv entional aircraft that must comply with Section 91.119.

14 CFR §91.121, Altimeter Settings

This regulation requires each person operating an aircraft to maintain cruising altitude by reference to an altimeter that is set “..to the elevation of the depar ture airport or an appropriate altimeter setting available before departure”. As the sUAS does not have a barometric altimeter, but instead a GPS altitude read out, an exemption may be needed. An alternate means of compliance will be achieved by the oper ator pursuant to the sUAS Operating Manual and School Safety Check List, confirming the altitude of the launch site as shown on the GPS altitude indicator before flight.14 CFR §91.151(a), Fuel Requirements for Flight in VFR Conditions

Section 91.151 (a ) prohibits an individual from beginning “a flight in an airplane under VFR conditions unless (considering wind and forecast weather conditions), there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing, and, assuming normal cruising speed

– (1) During the day, to fly after that for at least 30 minutes.....” The battery powering the sUAS provides approximately 20 minutes of reliable powered flight. Given the limitations on the sUAS’ proposed flight area and the location of its proposed operations within a predetermined area, a longer time frame for flight in daylight VFR conditions is reasonable. No night operations are authorized nor anticipated, per the language of the draft Part 107.

Applicant believes that an exemption from 14 CFR §91.151 (a) falls within the scope of prior exemptions. See Exemption 10673 (allowing Lockheed Martin Corporation to operate without compliance with 14 CFR §91.151(a)). Operating the small UAS in a tightly controlled area where only people and property owners or of ficial representatives who have signed waivers will be allowed, with less than 30 minutes of reserve fuel, does not engender the type of risks that Section 91.151 (a) was intended to alleviate, given the size and speed of the sUAS. Additionally, limiti ng sUAS flights would greatly reduce the utility for which the exemption will be granted.

Similar exemptions have been granted to other operations, including Exemptions 2689F, 5745, 10673, and 10808.

14 CFR §91.203 (a) and (b), Carrying Civil Aircraft Certification and Registration

The regulation provides in pertinent part: (a) Except as provided in §91.715, no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it has within it the following:

1) An appropriate and current airworthiness certificate..... (b) No person may operate a civil aircraft unless the airworthiness certificate required by paragraph (b) of this section or a special flight operation issued under §91.715 is displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew.

The sUAS t o be utilized by Applicant, fully loaded, weighs less than 5 pounds, and is operated without an onboard pilot. As such, there is no ability or place to carry certification and registration documents or to display them on the sUAS.

An alternate means of regulatory c ompliance will be achieved by keeping these documents at the ground control point, where the operator piloting the sUAS will have access to then, to the extent they are applicable to the sUAS, and upon request of the appropriate authorities. The FAA has

p reviously issued numerous exemptions to this regulation. A representative sample of these exceptions includes Exemption Nos. 9565, 9665, 9789, 9789A, 9797, 9797A, 9816A, and 10700.

14 CFR §91.405 (a); 407 (a)(2); and 417(a) & (b), Maintenance Inspections

These regulations require that an aircraft operator or owner “shall have that aircraft inspected as prescribed in subpart E of this part and shall between required inspections, except as provided in paragraph C of this section, have discrepancies repaire d as prescribed in Part 43 of thischapter....” . There are no required inspections, other than preflight checks, currently stipulated

by the manufacturer; therefore, an equivalent level of safety will be achieved because these small UASs are very limited in size, carry a small payload and operate only in restricted areas for limited periods of time. If mechanical issues arise the sUAS can land immediately, and will be operating f

rom no higher than 400 feet AGL. As provided in the Operating Manual, the operator / PIC will ensure that the sUAS is in working order prior to initiating flight and perform required maintenance. Moreover, the operator is the person most familiar with th e aircraft and best suited to maintain the aircraft in an airworthy condition to provide the equivalent level of safety.

Privacy

All flights will occur over private or controlled access property with the property owner’s prior consent and knowledge, or over public lands. Image capture of people will rarely take place, but in the event of such, consent will be obtained prior to photography/filming, or otherwise have agreed to be in the where data collection may be taking place.

Airborne Image Capture

With regard to airborne filming or photo capture, Applicant will adhere to all FAA regulations. Further, Applicant’s training and operations personnel operate under the principles of: safety first, accountability, reporting and training. When approved by the FAA, Applicant’s mandate is to treat all sUAS operations with the same level of professionalism and accountability as that of

conventional manned aircraft.

Approval of exemptions allowing commercial operations of sUAS in the photographic mission

envi ronment, as well as providing an approved, substantial training and education program will enhance safety by reducing risk, and increasing awareness of issues and responsibilities when operating in the National Airspace System. With respect to aerial phot ography, conventional filming or photo operations using large powered aircraft present the risks associated with vehicles weighting in excess of 2,000 pounds carrying large amounts of fuel. Such aircraft, when used in close proximity of the subject of a p hoto shoot, present hazard to persons or property that are difficult to mitigate to the level of acceptable risk. Conversely, the use of the sUAS for the same photo mission significantly reduces the immediately hazard to an almost negligible level.

The sUAS is transported to the photo location by vehicle in a hand carried case, and is never flown to the location, thereby eliminating that aspect. Additionally, the sUAS will carry no passengers or crew, eliminating that hazard and risk exposure to those participants in the

process.

The operation of small UASs, weighing less than 5 pounds, conducted in the manner and under the strict conditions outlined above, will provide an equivalent or superior level of safety supporting the grant of the exemptions re quested herein, to include exempting the Applicant from the requirements of Part 21 and allowing commercial operations. These aircraft operate at slow speeds, close to the ground, and a relatively sterile environment, and as a result are far safer

than si milar operations which may be conducted with certificated aircraft.

The primary market of interest for Balloonacy, LLC is in the training and education of sUAS operators within the structure of an FAA approved program under an already existing Air Agency certificate authorization; a second focus is the conduct of aerial photography as a possible business interest within the structure of the company.Summary

Satisfaction of the criteria as provided in Section 333 of the Reform Act of 2012

– size, weight, speed, operating capabilities, proximity to airports and populated areas, and operation within visual line of sight, as well as national security

– provide more than adequate justification for the grant of the requested exemptions allowing for commercial operation of the Applicant’s sUAS in the aviation training community. Balloonacy, LLC is prepared to support the FAA, as well as the rapidly expanding sUAS community in its endeavor to establish proper regulatory guidance and protocols for the safe integr ation of these aircraft into the National Airspace System.

Pursuant to 14 CFR Part 11, the following summary is provided for publication in the Federal Register, should it be determined that publication is required:

Applicant seeks exemption from the fol lowing rules: 14 CFR §21, Subpart H; 14 CFR §45.23 (b); 14 CFR §91.7(a); 91.9 (b)(2); 91.103 (b); 91.109; 91.119; 91.121; 91.151 (a); 91.203 (a) & (b); 91.405 (a); 91.407 (a)(1); 91.409 (a)(2); and 91.417 (a) & (b) to operate commercially a

small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) (5 pounds or less) in aviation training and photograph activities/operations.

Respectfully submitted,

David W. Sullivan Managing Member, Balloonacy, LLC