Aquilo LLC 1206 16 th Ave 907 - 460 - 2592

1 June 29 th , 2015 U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave SE Washington, DC, 20590 Dear Sir or Madam , Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Aqulio LLC, a n operator of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“sUASs”) equipped for a variety of capabilities including aerial mapping, surveying, agricultural and infrastructure inspection, hereby applies for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations (“FARs”) to allow commercial operation of its sUASs, so long as such operations are conducted within and under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA as required by Section 333. The requested exemption would permit the operation of sUAS under controlled conditions in airspace that is 1) limited, 2) predetermined, 3) controlled as to access and 4) would provide safety enhancements to various fields such as Oil and Gas (infrastructure i nspection) and construction (road surveying and bridge inspection) and has the potential to enhance efficiency in such key public sectors as agriculture, mining and environmental monitoring. Further details are provided below. Approval of this exemption w ould thereby increase safety, enhance efficiency and provide key sectors of the Alaskan economy with further tools for effective and productive operations, and thereby fulfill the Secretary of Transportation’s (the FAA Administrator’s) responsibilities to “...establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft systems in the national airspace system.” Section 333(c) of the Reform Act. The name and address of the applicant is: Aquilo, LLC 1206 16 th Ave Fairbanks, AK, 99701 info@aquiloalaska.com
Regulations from which the exemption is requested: 14 CFR Part 21 14 CFR 45.23(b) 14 CFR 45.29 14 CFR 61.3 14 CFR 61.113(a) & (b)Aquilo LLC 1206 16 th Ave 907 - 460 - 2592

2 14 CFR 61.133(a) 14 CFR 91.7 (a) 14 CFR 91.9 (b) (2) 14 C FR 91.103 14 CF R 91.109 14 CF R 91.119 14 C FR 91.121 14 CFR 91.151 (a) 14 CFR 91.203 (a) & (b) 14 CFR 91.405 (a) 14 CFR 407 (a) (1) 14 CFR 409 (a) (2) 14 CFR 417 (a) & (b) This exemption application is expressly submitted to fulfill Congress’ goal in passing Section 333(a) t hrough (c) of the Reform Act. This law directs the Secretary of Transportation to consider whether certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the national airspace system (NAS) before completion of the rulemaking requir ed under Section 332 of the Reform Act. In making this determination, the Secretary is required to determine which types of UASs do not create a hazard to users of the NAS or the public or pose a threat to national security in light of the following: • Th e UAS’s size, weight, speed, and operational capability; • Operation of the UAS in close proximity to airports and populated areas; and • Operation of the UAS within visual line of sight of the operator. Reform Act § 333 (a). Lastly, if the Secretary dete rmines that such vehicles “may operate safely in the national airspace system, the Secretary shall establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft in the national airspace system.” Id. §333(c) (emphasis added) 2. The Federal Aviation Act exp ressly grants the FAA the authority to issue exemptions. This statutory authority by its terms includes exempting civil aircraft, as the term is defined under §40101 of the Act, which includes sUASs, from the requirement that all civil aircraft must have a current airworthiness certificate. The requested exemption would authorize commercial oper ations using the following aircraft :
 DJI S1000 octocopter  DJI S800 and S900 hexacopters  DJI Phantom 3 and Inspire 1 quadcopter s  3DR Aero fixed
- wing All of these aircraft have been previously approved for Section 333 exemptions and are well
- known, heavily used and highly reliable vehicles. The applications targeted are those of aerial mapping, surveying, photography, i nfrastructure inspection includ ing roads, bridges, dams, and other industrial structures li ke flare stacks and pipelines, s urveying mines an d other construction projects, c ollecting images and video of marketed real estate to assist home owners in selli ng their property and w ildlife mon itoring. In addition, Aquilo wishes to perform not
for
- profit c ommunity outreach and educational demonstrations for the purpose of enhancing the public awareness of unmanned aircraft, and increasing interest in STEM education. Aquilo understands thatAquilo LLC 1206 16 th Ave 907 - 460 - 2592

3 this is a large number of broad applications, but we believe that none of them set precedence and all of them are applications that have previously been approved. The need for the variety of applications is that it is not possible to currently predict the directions the UAS market will go and Aquilo wants to be prepared for the possibilities. Aquilo believes that the fact none of these applications are novel for commercial UAS use, and the depth and breadth of the experience of its members are sufficient ju stification to grant the requested applications. See Appendix A for equivalent level of safety showings. 

## Aircraft Characteristics The DJI S800, S900 and S1000 are from a family of multirotor frames manufactured by DJI and frequently used by both hobb yists and professionals for use in aerial filming, mapping and surveying applications. The aircraft are all electric propulsion and outfitted with the APM or Pixhawk autopilot s, intelligent and well
-tested piece s of control hardware that are in use in nume rous other aircraft flying under previously granted exemptions. The DJI Phantom 3 and Inspire quadcopters are also manufactured by DJI and contain the DJI autopilot hardware and software that are in use all over the world for a wide variety of applicatio ns. These electric aircraft are also currently being operated by numerous Section 333 exemption holders and are among some of the most widely
-flown and well
-tested multirotors in the market today. The 3DR Skywalker Aero is a small, fixed
-wing platform des igned primarily for aerial mapping. It is an electric hand
- launched aircraft with a wingspan of less than 40 inches and a maximum take
- off weight of only 6.8 lbs. It utilizes the Pixhawk autopilot with the Ardupilot software combined with a variety of sens ors, including on
- board GPS, to safely perform preprogrammed autonomous flights. The Aero is so light that the operator can launch it by hand and let it land on almost any surface without requiring a parachute or landing net (belly land). Its low impact e nergy (38 J in case of a controlled emergency landing) also significantly reduces the risk of hazardous situations. Finally, the wings of the Aero are detachable and made of flexible foam with no sharp or hard edges and almost no internal strengthening str ucture. All of these aircraft have, in addition to their autonomous flight functions, the ability for the operator to take manual flight control at any time whenever required. This allows for redundant controls over the flight patterns of the aircraft and further increases the safety of operations. 

## Operator Experience and Qualifications Aquilo, LLC is an unmanned aircraft operations compan y whose primary mission is to safely and responsibly use unmanned aircraft to advance industry , infrastructure, wildlife man agement, and more. Our team is comprised of electrical, electronics, and RF engineers, UA V operators, private pilots, student pilots, and ultralight instructors, and soon will include data management and analysis. We ha ve decadesAquilo LLC 1206 16 th Ave 907 - 460 - 2592

4 of c ombined experience i n the safe operations of RC aircraft and, in the last several years, autonomous unmanned aircraft. Aquilo is a subsidiary of Northern Embedded Solutions, LLC (NES), which is one of the keypartners of both the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) and the Pan
- Pacific UAS T est Range Complex (PPUTRC), one of the six FAA designated test sites. NES provides nearly all the engineering support for these organiz ations and has provided much of its logistics and operations support as well. Working with them, NES has designed, fabricated, and test flown all their custom payloads, as well as m odifying other aircraft to meet new needs. Over the years, in addition to all the background engineering and preparation of the aircraft, NES personnel ha ve acted as project manager of a multi
- million dollar operation in vo lving 10 hour flights over 100 m iles off
- shore, operated a multirotor through the treacherous canyons of the Snake River in Idaho, and worked as logisticians to ensure successful deployment. We have background in operations as small as single 20 minute flights in the local area to the l arge multi
- million dollar deployments requiring C130’s to haul the gear to location. Through it all NES/Aquilo gained valuable experience in each aspect of unmanned aircraft operations. Below is a short list of the more prominent missions in which NES personnel have had active duties. Idaho P ow er Compan y (IPC) hired ACUASI to do salmon counts along the Snake River and some of its tributaries that are affected by IPC ’sh ydroelectric dams. ACUASI flew the Aeryon Scou t for eight weeks each summer f

or two yea rs , f lying over rivers and through deep can yons in GPS - re duced en vironments. NES was actively in vo lved in every stage of these operations, from planning to COA applications to piloting the aircraft. ENI p etroleum has operations on the N orth S lope of Ala ska. NES was in volved in a mission to inspect their flare stacks so they would not have to shut down their operations to inspect the stacks and also performed further infrastructure inspection and wild life monitoring. During one of the flare stack inspections, NES and ACUASI personnel responded to a polar bear sighting, and were able to monitor the animal with a sUAS until it had safely moved awa y from the camp. Shell Oil hired ACUASI and PPUTRC tospot and count whales in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Northern Alaska. The aircraft was a modified Insitu ScanEagle, named the Nanook. The four week long operation took the aircraft over 100 miles off the coast of Northern Alaska looking for whales inside the operati ng area of the oil platforms. NES provid ed project management, engineering and operations support throughout the duration of this mission. ACUASI sent NES personnel to Iceland in 2014 to fully test and vet thei r newest system, the Ptarmigan hexacopter

. Fo r three weeks NES personnel flew six to eight flights every day under varying weather conditions and with different aircraft configurations to ensure the airworthi ness of the aircraft. This g ave NES members familiarity with the main autopilot and ground control station used by the aircraft and experience operating in a wide variety of weather conditions .Aquilo LLC 1206 16 th Ave 907 - 460 - 2592

5 This spring ACUASI and NES were involved in an operation in Homer , Alaska, with the dual purpose of getting a base
- line measurement of low
-tide sea grass beach coverage , as well as doing a study to determine whether sea otters would be disturbed by small multirotor aircraft, which would allow scientists to use the multirotors to do closer observations of their feeding habits 1
. NES and ACUASI worked closely with all regu latory departments to obtain all the necessary permi ssions, including the COA allowing operations in Class E airspace bordering the Homer airport. Concurrent with the Homer mission, NES provided engineering and operations support for an ACUASI mission up on the sea ice north of Barrow , Alaska to map sea ice f

or native subsistence whalers. 2 Our team worked closely with the local FSS to make sure all the NOT AMs were in place and tocoordinate airspace deconfliction . For the last two years, ACU ASI a n d PPUTRC have maintained an operational testing site at P oker Flat Re search Range just north of F airbanks. Our team has had several doz en flights at that range, testing new custom payloads for the aircraft that ACUASI and PPUTRC operate . We’ve been involved in ev ery aspect of using that test range, including calling in NOT AMs and flying the aircraft. 

## Public Interest Alaska’ s economy has been described as a “three
- legged stool” 3 , comprising the oil and gas industry, the Federal Government, and all the other miscellaneous sectors. This lack of economic diversification results in an economy tied to the vagaries of the oil and gas markets, and the political fluctuations in Federal r esources and funding. Currently the Alaska State budget is facing a crisis due to slumped oil price and resulting in hard times and reduced funding around the state, including in critical public sectors such as the University of Alaska. To achieve a more stable economic outlook, Alaska needs to develop new industries. One potential avenue for this is the technology sector growing up around unmanned aircraft. Already the state has shown leadership in the industry by becoming one of the six FAA unmanned airc raft Test Sites, and with the University developing its own unmanned aircraft program: the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI). Around the infrastructure laid down by these organizations a fragile tech ecosystem has started to develop with spin
- off companies such as the software development company Arctic Fire Development Corporation and the previously mentioned engineering company Northern Embedded Solutions. The next logical step is the development of commercial operators of unmanned aircraft. With the PPUTRC and ACUASI organizations located in
- state, these opera tors should be well positioned to

1 http://www.suasnews.com/2015/06/36416/alaska
- researchers
- study
- sea - otters - with
- unmanned
- aircraft/ 2 http://www.suasnews.com/2015/05/36118/unmanned
- aircraft
- used
-to - survey - ice -for
- whalers/ 3 [1] “What Drives the Alaska Economy?”, Goldsmith, Scott, UA Research Summary No. 13, 2008. Available: http://www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu/Publications/researchsumm/UA_RS_13.pdfAquilo LLC 1206 16 th Ave 907 - 460 - 2592

6 prosper, growing the Alaskan economy and also advancing the general state of the art for UAS technology. The FAA has already granted several exemptions to Alaskan commercial UAS operators, so this wi ll simply be the extension of that trend. In addition to economic and technological benefits to granting this exemption, there is the potential for public benefit in several industries tha t Aquilo is targeting. Infrastructure inspection of oil and gas facilities such as flare stacks is an inherently risky endeavor, a risk which can be mitigated by the use of unmanned aircraft. Construction and infrastructure maintenance, such as road buildi ng and bridge inspection can benefit by the use of UAS. Finally, Alaska does not have an extensive agriculture sector, but what it does have can be increased in efficiency through the use of sUAS to provide farmers with accurate and precise data related to crop health. 

## Federal Register Summary Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 11.81(f), the following summary is provided for publication in the Federal Register, should the FAA determine that publication is needed: Docket No.: No. FAA
- 2015 -
____ Petitioner: Aquilo LLC Section of 14 CFR: Part 21, § 61.113(a) and (b), § 91.7(a), § 91.9(b)(2), § 91.103, § 91.109 § 91.119(c), § 91.121, § 91.151(a), § 91.203, § 91.405 (a), § 91.407 (a)(1) , § 91.409 ( a)(2), and § 91.417 (a) & (b) . Description of Relief Sought: Aquilo is seeking an exemption to conduct commercial operations in the areas of aerial inspection, mapping, surveying and other applications, using various small unman ned aircraft . 

## Conclusion Aquilo LLC, a group of experienced engineers and UAS operators, respectfully requests exemption from the above stated regulations to allow commercial operations of several sUAS. Aquilo believes that the justification provided shows 1) the experience of its team, 2) how the public benefits from granting the exemption, and 3) how equivalent levels of safety will be provided in lieu of adhering to the specific regulations. Therefore, Aquilo requests the FAA grant the requested exemption without delay. Respectfully,

Samuel Vanderwaal Managing Member, Aquilo LLCAquilo LLC 1206 16 th Ave 907 - 460 - 2592

7 

## Appendix A **: Exemption Request and Equivalent Level of Safety Showings Under Applicable Rules Subject to Exemption**  14 C.F.R. Part 21, Subpart H: Airworthiness Certificates Part 21, Subpart H, entitled Airworthiness Certificates, establishes the procedural requirements for the i ssuance of airworthiness certificates as required by § 91.203(a)(1). G iven the size and weight of the aircraft, the restricted operating conditions and the various design safety features, it is unnecessary for these aircraft to procure certificates of airworthiness. Section 33 3 and 49 U.S.C. § 44701(f) both authorize the FAA to exempt aircraft from the requirement for an airwo rthiness certificate, upon consideration of the size, w eight, speed, operational capability, and prox imity to airports and populated areas of the sUAS involved. The FAA has previously granted exemptions to this regulation to all of the aircraft Aquilo is requesting exemptions for, so precedence has been set. 14 C.F.R. 45.23 & 14 C.F.R. 45.29: Display of marks; size of marks These regulations require each aircraft to display “N” and aircraft registration number in lettering at least three inches high. In addition, the aircraft must display the word “EXPERIMENTAL” near the entrance to the cabin, cockpit or pilot station, in let tering at least two inches high. Given the size of the Aquilo aircraft, this requirement is not feasible to implement, nor does attempting to implement it provide additional safety during operations to either the general public or the commercial operator. 14 C.F.R. § 61.3: Requirements for certificates, ratings and authorizations 14 C.F.R. § 61.113(a) & (b); 61.133(a): Private Pilot Privileges and Limitations; Pilot in Command; Commercial Pilot Privileges and Limitations These regulations require that no person may serve as a required pilot flight crewmember of a civil aircraft of the United States, unless that person: (1) Has a pilot certificate or special purpose pilot authorization issued under this part in that person's physical possession or readily accessible in the aircraft when exercising the privileges of that pilot certificate or authorization. However, when the aircraft is operated within a foreign country, a pilot license issued by that country may be used. The regulation provides also 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 f light is only incidental to that business or employment; (2) The aircraft does not carry passengers or property for compensation or hire. Given the following characteristics of these UAS operations:  The advanced nature of the autopilot safety features  Monitoring of missions in real
-time with flight management software  Dual redundant aircraft control links  Lack of passengers or cargo on board the UAS  The experience of Aquilo operators flying UAS in more complicated airspace (e.g. Class E) for the PPUTRCAquilo LLC 1206 16 th Ave 907 - 460 - 2592

8 Aquilo respectfully requests that its operators not be required to hold commercial pilot certification. Instead, operators will maintain current ground school and third class medical certificates or a vali d U.S. dri ver's license issued by a state, in addi tion to aircraft specific training . 14 CFR 91.7(a): Civil aircraft airworthiness This regulation requires that no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is in airworthy condition. Should the exemption be granted allowing commercial operation of the requested aircraft without airworthiness certificate s , no standard will exist for airworthiness of the aircraft. Instead, Aquilo operators will maintain the aircraft following maintenance testing, airworthiness and maintenance procedures they helped devel op for PPUTRC. By maintaining a level of airworthiness comparable to that of one of the prominent UAS Test Sites, Aquilo believes it will be able to maintain its operational aircraft in sufficient condition as to be exempted from 14 CFR 91.7(a). 14 CFR 9 1. 9: Civil aircraft flight manual , marking, and placard requirements The regulation provides that aircraft flight manuals must be in aircraft during operations so as to be accessible to the pilot and crew. Clearly this regulation does not make sense for un m anned aircraft wherein the crew remain on the ground during operations. In addition, the size of the specific unmanned aircraft owned by Aquilo , make it infeasible to carry operating manuals on board. Instead, if exempted from this regulation, Aquilo will maintain operations manual s on the ground accessible to pilot and crew during operations. This fulfills the spirit of the regulation and maintains an equivalent level of safety. 14 C.F.R. § 91.109(a) & 91.319(a)(1): Flight Instruction The regulation provides that "No person may operate a civil aircraft that is being used for flight instruction unless that aircraft has fully functioning dual controls." Whenever feasible, Aquilo shall employ dual controls for training purposes. However, exemption is sti ll requested from this regulation due to the nature of sUAS aircraft in that:  Training can often be conducted in
- doors in a safe environment ( e.g. large, contained warehouse)  Training flights can be of a very conservative nature ( e.g. hover a few feet off of the ground to practice controls)  All aircraft are equipped with autopilots that provide, at minimum, stabilization control, and at a maximum, complete autonomous control  Experience with controls can be gained on even smaller and safer UAS (e.g. Blade Na no, weighing less than an ounce) 14 CFR 91.119: Minimum Safe Altitudes The regulation provides that over sparsely populated areas the aircraft cannot be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure. Since Aquilo aircraft wil l be operating at a maximum of 400 feet AGL, the exempted aircraft cannot comply with this requirement. An equivalent level of safety will be provided by the small size of the aircraft, careful analysis of the airspace to be flown in, PPE as appropriate, a nd maintaining safe separation from any non
- participants during operations. 14 CFR 91.121 – Altimeter settings This section requires that each person operating an aircraft shall maintain the cruising altitude orAquilo LLC 1206 16 th Ave 907 - 460 - 2592

9 flight level of that aircraft, as the cas e may be, by reference to an altimeter that is set, when operating below 18,000 feet MSL to:  The current reported altimeter setting of a station along the route and within 100 nautical miles of the aircraft;  If there is no station within the area prescribe d in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, the current reported altimeter setting of an appropriate available station;  In the case of an aircraft not equipped with a radio, the elevation of the departure airport or an appropriate altimeter setting available before departure. Aquilo aircraft use on
- board GPS and barometers to calculate altitude , using the reference ground level set during pre
-flight calibration and checks. The combination of the GPS and barometer data is precise enough to maintain reliable f light altitudes and so provides an equivalent level of safety. In addition, Aquilo hopes to integrate laser altimeters into aircraft in the future to provide even more reliable altitude data. 14 CFR 91.151(a): 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. Most electric UAS have fli ght times of less than 30 minutes making it impossible to follow this regulation. However, where these regulations establish safety procedures for manned aircraft using fuel, electric UAS using batteries have comparable safety settings by tracking remainin g battery capacity and implementing voltage cutoff levels to indicate minimum reserve levels have been reached. The autopilots to be used on the exempted UAS allow for adjustable reserve “cut
- off” levels. In operations for PPUTRC and ACUASI values of 30% w ere set for the “fuel” reserve requirement, which is significantly more conservative than the requirements provided by 14 CFR 91.151(a). Similar values will be used by Aquilo for operations. 14 CFR Subpart E (91.401
- 91.417)
- Maintenance, Preventive Ma intenance, and Alterations The regulation provides that the operator is primarily responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compliance with Parts 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. Section 91.409(a)(2) requires an annual inspection for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate. Section 91.417(a) requires the owner or operator to keep re cords showing certain maintenance work that has been accomplished by certificated mechanics, under Part 43, or licensed pilots and records of approval of the aircraft for return to service. Aquilo proposes that the maintenance of the ir aircraft wi ll be accomplished by their operato rs in accordance with standards developed in cooperation with the PPUTRC. Aquilo operators are very familiar with their systems and are best positioned to provide regular maintenance of aircraft. In addition, the exempted aircraft are modular in design making for easy replacement of faulty components such as propellers or landing gear. This combined with the automatic calibration and error checking capabilities of modern autopilots such as the Pixhawk will ensure an equiva lent level of safety in keeping Aquilo aircraft under proper m aintenance and preventive care.