Singer's Creations 

4075 Linglestown Road 

PMB #333 

Harrisburg, PA 17112 

717-576-2707 

mike@singerscreations.com 

Zui5 ;.:·.q ~)o " ,:. l·, ••••• J .1--\ ti• ,. 1 

March 17, 2015 

U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations 

West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE . I 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Application for Amendment to Exemption 11191, Singer's Creations Regulatory Docket 

No. FAA-2014-Q915 

Dear Sir or Madam: 

Onr~ar~h 3.,. :~~~~-•. th'~:·FAA :i~s~~xe~pti6n':1~·19.1 :(~er~i-~a~~~-r! ~~~e~~ti~n·~~;-.t~ 'Singer's 

Creation's; allowing comm~rciaJ:oper"ations Of-it{StJA uiide'(Section' 3'33 of-the'FA'A' ,, 

M'oClen1ization··aii"d Reform Act of. 2012: Singer's·Creations:is re<fuesting·that'the exemption 

be amended since some of the requirements imposed by the FAA are (1) not required in 

orde·r to pr~vide ~ level of s·afety that is equal to the safety provided by existing rules, (2) 

create a dangerous situation that greatly reduces the safety provided by existing rules, (3) 

create an unnecessary burden that is detrimental to Singer's Creations' operations, and/or 

(4) are not in the public interest. 

•• 

__ S_ingeL._s_Cr.eati_o_l}_s iss~qu_esting th.at th~.FAAji..!Jlend the exe.mgtio.n...!;>_y_r:_emo_vLng_andLo.r__ --~~­

modifYfng· the following requirements: (1) the require'me.nt for the PIC to hoid a pri.vate pilot 

certificate, (2) the requirement for a visual observer (VO) to be used in all UAS operations, 

and (3) the requirement to obtain a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) prior to 

conducting any operations. 

Private P_ilot Cert!ficate Require~ent . . .. --~· "" - .. '• l I 

' ' 

Siri'ger''s'Cre.atfo'ns requests thadhef'exemption be amended tora'llovit. operations without 'a· 

phvate;pilot.certifi-·cafe. Per 49 ·lJSC § :44 7i'l, ·Singe·r• s' Cre'a'tion·s~may ·not ser:'ve:in ariy 

capacity ·as an ail:'ma·n:with' respecffo·a ·Civil :aifcr:aft in"air· c·o·mmerce withoUt a'n·arrmari 1- :.-

certif~ca~e author~zing the airman to serve in the capacity for which the certificate was 
issued. The FAA does not possess the authority to exempt Singer's Creations from this 

statutory requirement. However, the FAA has been tasked with deciding which airman 

certificate authorizes the airman to serve in the capacity for which the certificate was 

issued. In the approved exemption, the FAA determined that a private pilot certificate is the 

airman certificate that was issued for the intended operation-- using an unmanned aircraft 

system (UAS) to conduct aerial photography and videography for homeowners, realtors, 

home builders, home contractors, and/or home inspectors for real estate marketing and 

inspections of home exteriors. 

On February 15, 2015 (16 days prior to when the exemption was approved}, the FAA 

announced new proposed rules for SUAS1. In that document, the FAA stated the following: 

--"In addition to obtaining an aii·worttliness certifiC-ate, an{ person servingas-an -- -

airman in the operation of a small UAS must obtain an airman certificate. 49 U.S.C. 

44711(a)(2)(A). The statute defines an "airman" to include an individual who is "in 

command, or as pilot, mechanic, or member of the crew, who navigates aircraft 

when under way." 49 U.S.C. 40102(a}(8)(A). Because the person operating the small 

UAS is in command and is a member of the crew who navigates the aircraft, that 

person is an airman and must obtain an airman certificate. 

Under current pilot certification regulations, depending on the type of operation, the 

operator of the small UAS currently must obtain either a private pilot certificate or a 

commercial pilot certificate. A private pilot certificate cannot be used to operate a 

small UAS for compensation or hire unless the flight is only incidental to the 

operator's business or employment. Typically, to obtain a private pilot certificate, 

the small UAS operator currently has to: {1) Receive training in specific aeronautical 

knowledge areas; (2) receive training from an authorized instructor on specific areas 

of aircraft operation; {3) obtain a minimum of 40 hours of flight experience; and (4) 

- obtain~a-third-dass-airman-medic;al-c::ertific;ate:-Gonversely holding-at-least-acommercial pilot certificate allows the small UAS to generally be used for 

compensation or hire, but is more difficult to obtain. In addition to the requirements 

necessary to obtain a private pilot certificate, applicants for a commercial pilot 

certificate currently need to also obtain 250 hours of flight time, satisfy extensive 

testing requirements, and obtain a second-class airman medical certificate. 

While these airman certification requirements are necessary for manned aircraft 

operations, they impose an unnecessary burden for many small UAS operations. This 

is because a person typically obtains a private or commercial pilot certificate by 

1 http://www .gpo .gov /fdsys/p kg/F R-2015-02-23/pdf/2015-03544.pdf 
--~--~---~--------------,-----------------~ 

learning how to operate a manned aircraft. Much of that knowledge would not be 

applicable to small UAS operations because a small UAS is operated differently than 

a manned aircraft. In addition, the knowledge currently necessary to obtain a private 

or commercial pilot certificate would not equip the certificate holder with the tools 

necessary to safely operate a small UAS. Specifically, applicants for a private or 

commercial pilot certificate currently are not trained in how to deal with the "seeand-avoid" and loss-of-positive-control safety issues that are unique to small 

unmanned aircraft. Thus, requiring persons wishing to operate a small UAS to obtain 

a private or commercial pilot certificate imposes the cost of certification on those 

persons, but does not result in a significant safety benefit because the process of 

obtaining the certificate does not equip those persons with the tools necessary to 

mitigate the"public~r:isk-posed by-smaii-UAS-operations~!' --- -~--

In addition to the FAA's recent findings, Singer's Creations believes requiring a private pilot 

certificate is not in the public interest because (1) the expenses incurred by obtaining a 

private pilot license and maintaining it will have to be passed on to Singer's Creations' 

customers, (2) flying manned aircraft is harmful to the environment, (3) flying manned 

aircraft poses a higher risk to people, property, and other aircraft than flying UAS, and (4) 

since Singer's Creations has no interest in flying manned aircraft, the bare minimum will be 

done in order to satisfy the requirement of obtaining and maintaining a private pilot 

certificate. Pilots whom are not deeply invested in flying manned aircraft pose a much 

greater risk to people, property, and other aircraft. 

Since 49 USC§ 44711 requires an airman certificate authorizing the airman to serve in the 

capacity for which it was issued, requiring a private pilot certificate does not satisfy this 

statutory requirement. This is evident since the FAA stated that obtaining a private pilot 

certificate for the purpose of operating a UAS (1) does not result in a significant safety 

benefit, (2) does not equip those persons with the tools necessary to mitigate the public 

risl< posed~oysniaWO:L\S operati~anao-(3') mucnoftliafl<i1owleage woula noCoe 

applicable to small UAS operations because a small UAS is operated differently than a 

manned aircraft. Furthermore, Singer's Creations believes requiring a private pilot 

certificate will (1) create an unnecessary burden that is detrimental to Singer's Creations' 

operations, (2) will not increase the level of safety, (3) will introduce dangerous situations 

that pose a much higher risk to people, property, and other aircraft, and (4) is not in the 

public interest. Furthermore, the FAA does not require a private pilot certificate for noncommercial operations that perform the same flights, so removing this requirement will still 

allow Singer's Creations to operate within a level of safety that is equal to the level of safety 

provided by existing rules. For those reasons, Singer's Creations would like this requirement 

to be removed from the exemption and for the FAA to require a certificate that allows the 
airman to serve in the capacity for which it was issued so that Singer's Creations is able to 

satisfy the statutory requirement in 49 USC§ 44711. 

Visual Observer Requirement 

Singer's Creations requests that the exemption be amended to allow Singer's Creations to 

operate without aVO. Singer's Creations feels this requirement is not necessary for its 

proposed operations since (1) operations will always be conducted on private property, (2) 

operations will always be conducted in areas that are clear of~ people not involved in the 

operations, (3) the PIC will maintain VLOS at all times, and (4) requiring an additional staff 

member will burden Singer's Creations and is not in the public interest since it will add 

additional costs to the operations. Furthermore, the FAA does not require a VO for non-

- commercial operations- thatperforni-tiiesame fiig-hts,-so removing t~Ts recfuiremen·t wi!r"stiil 

allow Singer's Creations to operate within a level of safety that is equal to the level of safety 

provided by existing rul~s. For those reasons, Singer's Creations would like this requirement 

l 

to be removed from the exemption. 

Certificate of Waiver or Authorization Requirement 

Lastly, Singer's Creations requests that the exemption be amended to allow Singer's 

Creations to operate without a COA in Class G airspace, at 400 feet AGL or below, and at 

least five nautical miles from the geographic center of an airport unless a letter of 

agreement with the airport's management is obtained. The FAA does not require a COA for 

non-commercial operations in Class G airspace that perform the same flights, so removing 

this requirement will still allow Singer's Creations to operate within a level of safety that is 

equal to the level of safety provided by existing rules. Furthermore, this requirement 

creates an unnecessary burden that is detrimental to Singer's Creations' operations since 

most operations will take place in Class G airspace, at 400 feet AGL or below, and at least 

_______ five nautical mile~n:!_ th~ _g~g@R~ic ce~_ter Qf -'m}irQort. F_~pse reason~. Sing~e'-r'.;;:.s~~--.,.-..~ 

Creations would like the exemption to be amended so aCOA is only required when not 

operating in Class G airspace. 

If you have any questions, please contact me at your earliest convenience. 

Sincerely, 

Mike Singer 

Founder, Singer's Creations