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Explanation of exemptions to 14 C.F.R.

We believe an exemption from the regulations noted in DBCC’s petition letter will be 

sufficient to conduct the inspection operations. To the extent that FAA may deem it necessary, 

however, we also request an exemption from a regulations ancillary to the foregoing that may 

be needed to facilitate our desired operations.

14 CFR Part 21, Subpart H: 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 sUAS, we request an exemption 

for the requirement for an airworthiness certificate in general.

The DJI Phantom Vision 2+ will operate in close proximity to the ground and buildings under 

construction. This UAS will NOT carry persons or property, will not carry fuel, and will only fly 

under strict operational requirements. Combined with the fact that the aircraft weighs only 2.6

pounds and is constructed primarily out of plastic, we propose that the DJI Phantom Vision 2+

will be at least as safe, if not safer, than a conventionally certificated aircraft performing the 

same mission. 

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." At 2.6 pounds, the DJI Phanton 

Vision 2+ 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 co-located with the crew at 

the ground control station and available for inspection upon request. This will include an 

owner’s manual and the following information.

Manufacturer: DJI

Model: Phantom Vision 2+

Model #: PV331

Serial Number: PH645232591

Registered to: Danis Building Construction Company

3233 Newmark Drive

Miamisburg, Ohio 45342

14 CFR 45.23 Display of marks; general and 45.29 Size of marks. 

Applicable Codes of Federal Regulation require aircraft to be marked according to certain

specifications. DBCC’s UAS is, by definition, unmanned. They therefore do not have a cabin, 

cockpit or pilot station on which to mark certain words or phrases. Further, two-inch lettering 
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is difficult to place on such small aircraft. Regardless, DBCC will mark its UASs in the largest 

possible lettering by placing the word “EXPERIMENTAL” on its fuselage so that the pilot, 

technician, spotter and others working with the UAV will see the markings. 

The FAA has previously issued exemptions to this regulation through Exemptions Nos. 8738, 

10167, 10167A and 10700.

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. As there are no pilots or passengers, and given the size of the 

UASs, this Regulation is inapplicable. 

To obtain an equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91.9, we propose that a current, 

DJI Phantom Vision 2+ Owner’s Manual must be available to the crew at the ground station 

anytime the aircraft is in, or preparing for flight. 

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 the aircraft will be 

operating at a maximum of 400 feet AGL, we cannot comply with this requirement. 

To provide an equivalent level of safety we will only fly over private property with the signed 

permission of the land owner. The land owner will be briefed of the expected route of flight 

and the associated risks to persons and property on the ground. We maintain that due to the 

small size of the DJI Phantom Vision 2+ Quad Copter, weight, maneuverability, and speed of an 

equivalent level of safety will be achieved. If a power unit fails, an emergency landing will be 

executable without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface. 

14 CFR 91.121 Altimeter settings. 

Regarding altimeter settings this regulation is inapplicable based on system configuration of the 

proposed sUAS. 

To provide an equivalent level of safety, this sUAS utilizes the Global Positioning System, has a 

built in inertial sensor and a barometric altimeter provides all of which provide reliable readings 

for attitude and altitude during flight. This information is displayed at the ground control 

station on a mobile device (iphone/ipad). Because of these functions it is not necessary to 

manually input the current altimeter setting for an accurate altitude reading. 

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 a reserve of 

energy as a safety buffer for go-arounds and other delays to landing. 
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To provide an equivalent level of safety, it is DBCC’s intent to maintain a 10 minute battery 

reserve for the DJI Phantom Vistion 2+. The maximum duration of flight from a single battery 

charge is 25 minutes. Since the aircraft will never fly more than 0.5 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. An audible and visual alert notification will flash on the screen 

of the ground station at 35% of battery life remaining. This will give the PIC 10 minutes to 

safely land the quad copter at its intended point of landing before battery depletion. 

14 CFR Subpart E (91.401 - 91.417) - Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, and 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. 

In order to provide an equivalent level of safety 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 flight and 

conduct detailed inspections after every 10 flight hours. The batteries will be logged for the 

amount of charges and will be replaced per the manufacturers specification every 300 battery 

discharges. Maintenance performed by the PIC is limited to repairing small cracks, replacing a 

propeller, and updating software and firmware. All other maintenance will be performed by 

the manufacturer. The PIC will document work performed. 

8900.227 Paragraph 16(c)(4) PIC Medical and Paragraph 16(e)(1) Observer Medical. 

This policy provides that both the PIC and VO must have a valid FAA second-class medical 

certificate issued under part 67 in order to perform as a pilot or observer. The aircraft weighs 

2.6 pounds and is constructed out of plastic. Requiring the crew to meet the same medical 

requirements as a commercial pilot carrying passengers in a large aircraft is an unnecessary 

burden. 

To provide an equivalent level of safety we propose that the minimum medical requirements 

be vision corrected to 20/20 and a valid, state-issued driver's license. A licensed driver is 

medically qualified to operate a much larger vehicle. The 20/20 vision requirement will ensure 

that the PIC and VO can see and avoid obstacles. Given the unlikely event that both the PIC and 

VO become medically incapacitated while the aircraft is in flight, the DJI Phantom Vistion 2+ will 

recover autonomously to the landing location designated prior to launch without crew 

intervention.