MAIN OFFICE (CENTRAL OHIO) AKRON/CANTON OFFICE EASTERN OHIO OFFICE

642 BROOKSEDGE BLVD ONE CANAL SQUARE PLAZA, STE. L103 530 EARLEY RIDGE ROAD

WESTERVILLE, OHIO 43081 AKRON, OHIO 44308 NEW MATAMORAS, OHIO 45767

PHONE: 614.942.6040 PHONE: 330.376.9360 PHONE: 740.538.3648

September 23, 2015

U.S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management System 1200

New Jersey Ave. SE

Washington, DC 20590

Re: Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act

Dear Sir/Madam,

This petition is being submitted on our own behalf without legal counsel or consulting services. Pursuant to 

Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act), and 14 C.F.R. Part

11, Gandee Heydinger Group, LLC (“GHG”), an Ohio-based registered civil engineering and land surveying firm

operating Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) equipped to conduct aerial photography and survey for 

various industries, hereby applies for an exemption from the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) listed below to 

allow operation of our sUAS commercially in airspace regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) so 

long as such operations are conducted with and under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established 

by the FAA as required by Section 333.

The requested exemption would permit GHG to pursue its commercial interests in providing services to 

consumers interested aerial data capture using a small advanced sUAS in the following areas:

• Aerial Mapping for engineering and surveying services

• Infrastructure Survey

• Agricultural Surveying

• Aerial Photography (not including closed-set filming)

• Aerial Videography

• Real Estate Photography

• Product Demonstrations

GHG states that all sUAS flights that will occur over private or controlled access property will do so with the 

property owner's prior consent and knowledge and that only people who have consented or otherwise have 

agreed to be in the area where photography and videography will take place will be captured.

Additionally, GHG pilots will hold FAA Private Pilot Licenses with Class Ill Medical Certificates and if observers 

are not qualified pilots, they will be trained by GHG pilots to understand the proper roles of an observer, 

communication procedures, proper visual scan techniques, operations at non-towered airports, and appropriate 

sections of the Aeronautical Information Manual.

Regulations from which the exemption is requested:

14 C.F.R. Part 21, 14 C.F.R. 45.27, 14 C.F.R. 45.23 (b), 14 C.F.R. 61.113 (a) and (b) 14 C.F.R. 91.7 (a), 14

C.F.R. 91.9 (b) (2), 14 C.F.R. 91.105, 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. 91.215, and 14 C.F.R. (91.401-

91.417)
U.S. Department of Transportation Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act

September 23, 2015 Gandee Heydinger Group, LLC

Page 2 of 6

Unmanned Aircraft System

sUAS are a feasible method to obtain information of agricultural cropland to determine optimum inputs that 

result in cost savings to farmers, yield security, and reduce environmental impact of excess fertilizers and 

chemicals in the soil. They have proven to save lives in dangerous situations such as flarestack 

inspections and search-and-rescue missions.

We are petitioning for exemption to enable GHG to operate a DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ multi-rotor equipped

with a three-axis gimbaled camera, a DJI Phantom Vision 3 Professional multi-rotor equipped with a threeaxis gimbaled camera, a SenseFly eBee fixed-wing aircraft, and an E384 fixed-wing aircraft. These sUAS 

all weigh less than 25 lbs., have a built-in capability to limit the height it flies above the ground, to limit the 

radius of the distance it flies from the operator and include a no-fly-zone feature. Each system also has the 

failsafe function of the autopilot system, which means when the communication between the main 

controller and the transmitter is lost; the system will automatically trigger Return-to-Home and will land 

safely. The above specifications meet standards listed below, some derived in accordance with the Model 

Aircraft Operating Standards:

• The petitioner will only operate its sUAS in line of sight of a pilot and/or observer and will operate at sites 

that are a 'sufficient distance' from populated areas within the sterile area described in the operator's 

manual. Such operations will insure that the sUAS will "not create a hazard to users of the national 

airspace system or the public."

• Under new FAA policy, "the FAA will grant a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) for flights at or 

below 200 feet to any UAS operator with a Section 333 exemption for aircraft that weigh less than 55 

pounds, operate 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:

• 5 nautical miles (NM) from an airport having an operational control tower; or

• 3 NM from an airport with a published instrument flight procedure, but not an operational tower; 

 or

• 2 NM from an airport without a published instrument flight procedure or an operational tower; or

• 2 NM from a heliport with a published instrument flight procedure"

• Flights requiring an additional COA for operations outside the above parameters will be coordinated with 

the FAA.

• Maximum flight time for each operational flight will be 120 minutes.

• Flights will be terminated at 25% battery power reserve should that occur prior to the 120-minute limit.

• The sUAV will be programmed so that it will not be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet AGL, 

unless otherwise approved by the FAA.

• Minimum crew for each operation will consist of the sUAS Pilot and the Visual Observer.

• The sUAS PIC's (Pilot in Command) will be an FAA licensed airman holding at a minimum an FAA

Private Pilot Certificate and Third Class FAA Medical Certificate.

• The sUAS operated by the petitioner weighs less than 55 pounds, including the payload (i.e. camera, lens, and 

gimbal).

• The sUAS will operate at speeds of no more than 100 knots.
U.S. Department of Transportation Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act

September 23, 2015 Gandee Heydinger Group, LLC

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• Given the small size of the sUAS and the restricted sterile environment within which they will operate, our 

sUAS operations adhere to the Reform Act's safety requirements.

Additionally, the fact that the GHG pilots will hold, at a minimum, an FAA Private Pilot Certificates demonstrates 

that they have a high regard to safe operations with an understanding of FARs, pre-flight inspections, 

maintenance and repair, operations within airspace, as well as being trained to high safety standards.

Under the requested exemption GHG ensures that all operators have completed a small unmanned aircraft 

systems (UAS) education and training program including all applicable regulations and guidance documents; 

including aeronautical background information such as charts, NOTAMS and Aircraft Circulars; Radio 

Communications Procedures; Human Factors and Crew Resource Management; Basic Small UAS 

Aerodynamics; Weather Factors; Airmanship and Decision-Making and Safe Operating Procedures.

Privacy will be paramount to GHG, and we will safeguard all data by storing data on hard drives, and not on 

cloud-based software platforms unless there is a signed agreement in place with all personnel and private 

property owners in the photos or video.

We respectfully request exemption under Section 333 to enable GHG to operate safe, low-risk commercial 

sUAV operations for the activities stated. GHG at all times will respect the space and privacy of citizens and 

property whilst keeping our skies safe.

GHG will be utilizing the same DJI, SenseFly, and Event 38 proven technologies the FAA has already 

scrutinized and approved for other Section 333 exemptions. Furthermore, GHG would like the

FAA to consider that this request is based off of Exemption 12927, Regulatory Docket # FAA-2015-2548 and is 

not precedent setting.

Sincerely,

Garrett T. Gandee

Garrett T. Gandee

Owner, Vice-President

Gandee Heydinger Group, LLC

642 Brooksedge Boulevard

Westerville, Ohio 43081

614-942-6042

EXEMPTION REQUESTS AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

GHG, LLC requests an exemption from the following regulations as well as any

additional regulations that may technically apply to the operation of the sUAV System:

14 CFR Part 21, Airworthiness Certificates

This part establishes the 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 FAA Modernization and Reform Act, Section 333 Exemption be issued for DJI 

Phantom Vision 2+, DJI Phantom Vision 3 Professional, SenseFly eBee, and Event 38 E384

sUAS under the following provisions:

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
U.S. Department of Transportation Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act

September 23, 2015 Gandee Heydinger Group, LLC

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"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 station. 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 view of the ground station, 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 that 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 business 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 

issued by 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 of91.9, 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.

The regulation states that "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 groundbased control station consists of a small hand-held radio transmitter and while it does not offer a 
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September 23, 2015 Gandee Heydinger Group, LLC

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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, we feel that this technique meets the intent 91.109 and provides an equivalent level of 

safety.

14 CFR 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 the typical mission of the sUAS would be 

photography or survey of persons, vessels, vehicles or structures 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-planned 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.

14 CFR 91.121 Altimeter settings.

The regulation requires that aircraft shall maintain cruising altitudes by reference to an altimeter 

setting available within 100 NM of the aircraft. The sUAS will always fly below 600 feet AGL and 

will not need to maintain cruising altitudes in order to prevent conflict with other aircraft. An 

Above Ground Level altimeter measurement 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 provides that no person may begin a flight in an airplane under day-VFR 

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 sUAS are battery operated and the 

maximum duration of flight from a single battery charge is 12-120 (depending on which sUAS) 

minutes with a 20% reserve. Since the aircraft will never fly more than 1/2 NM from the point of 

intended landing, a full battery charge at launch will 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". We also request exemption from the

30 min reserve and ask that our reserve will be to fly the mission to the point of intended landing 

and have at least a 20% battery reserve after that.

14 CFR 91.203(a) & (b) Civil 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 that the airworthiness certificate be "displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so 

that it is legible to passengers or crew." The sUAS is too small to carry documentation, does not 

have an entrance, and is not capable of 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 collocated 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 
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September 23, 2015 Gandee Heydinger Group, LLC

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affixed to the aircraft via placard containing the following information plus the word 

"EXPERIMENTAL" to satisfy the requirement of 14 CFR 45.23.

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

91.409 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 perform 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 cracks, 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.