### S eptember 29, 20 15 Brian Kovol, Vice President Midnight Sun Environmental, LLC 7941 Sandlewood Place Anchorage,Alaska 99507

U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management Sy s tem 1200 New Jer sey Ave
. , S E Washington DC 20590

Re: Exe mpti on Reque st Pursuant to Section 333 of the F 

### A.A Refotm Act and Part 11 of the Federal Aviation Regulations from: 14 

### CFR 21subpart H;14 

### CFR 45.23(b); 14 

### CFR 61.113 (a ) and ( b); 14 CFR91.7(a); 14 CFR91.9(b) (2);14 

### CFR 91.103; 14 

### CFR 91.109; 14 

### CFR 91.119(c);14 

### CFR 91.121; 14 CFR91.151 ( a); 14 

### C FR 91.203 ( a ) and (b) ; 

### 14 

### CFR 91.405 (a) ;14 

### CFR 9 1. 407 ( a ) ( 1 ) 1 4 

### CFR 91.409 (a )( 1 ) and (2) ;14 CFR91.417 (a ) and (b)

Dear Sir or Madam: Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the "Reform Ac t" ) and 14 

### CFR Part 11 , Gerard P. Falco n e operator of Unmanned Aircraf t Systems (UAS ), hereby applie s for an exemption from the li s ted federal Aviation Regulations ( "f ARs " ) to allow commercial operation of designated U.AS, provided such operations are conducted 

### within and under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established b y the FAA a s required by Section 333. Thank you in advance for your cons iderati on.Commercial operation of an U.\S,as described herein, which are equipped with camera (s) and sensors , would provide professional services in the following areas: I. Aeria l ph otography and/or video for public and/or private u se including real estate , architecture, land surveying, engineering and other rel ated prof essio nal ac tivities
. 2. Aerial video and/or photograph y for public and/or private use including television, public events, cinematography and newsgathering. 3. I \ erial inspection/photography of residentia l/ commerc ial structures under contract with the owner s o r local government authority. 4. Aerial in spec tion / photography of re si dentia l / commercial utility infra st ructure including but not limited to electrical power lines, wind turbine s and ce ll towers. 5. Aeri al video/photography o r prov idin g live vi de o feed to assist with search and rescue operations in cases of an emergency or natural di sas ter on l y when th e local authorities or government has requested it by contract or donation. 6. Training to persons indivi dually or bel onging to both private and/or public organization s to increase aware ne ss and impro v e sa fe ty for current and future U.\S operations within the NAS
. • -\s de sc rib ed fully below , the requested exe mpti on wo uld permit the operation of de signated U AS as set forth in thi s document under controlled conditions in the N
. \ S that wou ld be a ) limited b ) controlled c) predetermined and d) sa fe
. Approval o f tlu s exe mption would increase public awareness of U AS ope rati ons and enhance safety to aid in fulfillin g the Sec retary of Transportation's (the 

### F
. -\.\ Adrninistrator' s) re spo n sibilitie s to « ....e s tabli sh requirement s for th e safe operation of such aircraft sys tem s in the national airs pace sys tem." 

### The name and address of the applicant is: Brian Kovol, V ice President Midnight S un Environ mental , LLC 794 1 Sa ndl ewood Place Ancho ra ge,A la ska 99507 brian@midnights unen\'.c o m Ph o n e: 907-344-3244 

### Regulations from which the exemption is requested: 14 CFR Part 21subpart H 14 CFR 45
. 23 

### (b) 14 CFR 61.ll3 

### (a) & 

### (b) 14 CFR 91.7 

### (a ) 14 CFR 91.9 

### (b) ( 2 ) 14 CFR 9 1
. 10 3

21 Page14 CFR 91.109 14 CFR 91.119 

### (c ) 14 CFR 91.12 1 14 CFR 91 .1 51 ( a ) 14 CFR 91.203 

### ( a ) & 

### (b) 14 CFR 91.405 

### ( a ) 14 CFR 91.407 

### (a) ( 1 ) 14 CFR 91.409 

### ( a ) (2) 14 CFR 9 1 .417 

### (a ) & 

### (b)
Unmanned Aircraft Systems: DJI P h antom 3, UAS MSE seeks an exemption to operate the DJI P hantom 3 syste m f or compen satio n or hire within the National Airspace Sys tem (NAS )
. The DJ I Ph antom 3 i s vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL ) Unmann ed Aircraft (UA) with a Ground Contro l Station (GCS) utilizing el ectro ni c tablet or sma rt phone systems. The DJI Ph antom 3 h as a m aximum gross we ight of approximately 2.8 lb. w illi e having a diagonal dimension of 23.2", a maximum speed of approximate ly 1 6.4'fps and a maximum flying height of 400'
. The DJ I Phantom 3 i s equi pp ed with four main rotors; driven b y Lithium Polymer battery powered electric mo tors. Given the s mall size of the UAS in scope an d the contro ll ed environme nt provided, the propo se d oper ations 

### will adhere to the Reform Act' s safety requirements
. The approval of thi s ap pli cation present s no national sec urity issues
. Regarding the level of safety surroundin g the propo sed operations an d the public benefit, reduction in environmental impacts, including but not limi t ed to reduced emiss i ons a nd noi se, the grant of the requested exemption i s in t h e pu blic intere s t. Accordingly, the applicant graciousl y reque sts that the F
.-\.,-\ gran t the requeste d exemption
. Aircraft and Equivalent Level of Safety

The operation limitations proposed for an equivalent or higher le vel of safety because operati ons 

### will furt h er en han ce th e safety o f th e perso n s and/ or property u sing conventional aircraf t . These limitations and conditions to which the applicant agrees to ad h ere to when co ndu cting co m mercia l operations u n der the 

### FA
. -\ iss u ed exemption a s se t forth in the Flig ht Operations Manual (FOM) include : 1. The UAS 

### will we igh significa ntl y l ess than 55 lbs. It weighs less tl1an 4 poun d s witl 1 ba ttery and ca m e r a. 2. The UAS,d epending on the model in operation, will h ave a maximum ope rating speed of no more than SOmph. 3. F lights will b e operated within line of s ig ht of th e Pil ot in Command 

### (P I C) and / o r Visual Observer (VO). 4
. Maximum flight time for eac h operationa l fli ght 

### will b e depending o n tl1e U }.S model 

### in operation, but will n o r exceed 30 minutes. F lights will be temunated at 25 % battery power re serve o r 30 minute s of fli g ht tim e w h icheve r occurs first.

3I Page5. Flight s will be operated at a n altitude of no more than 400 feet Ab o ve Ground Level (AGL ) and n o t more than 200 feet ab o ve an e lev ated pl a tform from which filmin g i s planned. 6
. Minimum crew for each operation will con s is t o f the U AS Pilot and at lea s t one VisuaiOb s erver (V O ), and may include a third, but separate , Camera Operator (CO)
. 7
. The U A S pilot will be a de signated Pilot in Command (PI C). The PIC will hav e l o gged a minimum of 20 hours on the designated UAS. 8. A safety briefmg will be perfonned prior t o each day' s fli g hts con si s ting of all the days ' production activitie s . 9
. All flight activities 

### will be logged
. 10
. All flight s will o ccur under Vi s ual Flight Rule s Meteorological Condition s (V1v1 C) only. 11. The flight s will occur in Clas s G airspace no cl o ser than a Smile radiu s of the geographic center/ Airport Reference P o int (A.RP ) o f a tower controlled or uncontrolled airport
. 12. Flights will not be clo s er than a 5 mile radius of the geographic c e nter/ Airport
. 13. Th e operator will fJle F AA Form 77 111, or i ts equivalent, as modified in light of the reque s ted exemption , with the appropriate local Flight Standard s District Office (FSDO) no more t h an 72 hour s but n o less than 48 hours from planned operation. 14. The operator will obtain verbal / w· ritten con s ent of all per son s in v o lved with the pl anned operation and en s ure that only con s enting per s ons will b e allowed within 100 feet of the flight o peration, and the radiu s ma y be reduced to 30 feet based upon an equivalent level of s afety determination, as U .S
. Department of Transportation required under the FOM. With the advanced permission of the FSDO, operation s at clo s er range may be approved
. 15. The PI C and VO will hav e been trained in operation of U AS and receive up to date information for th e particular U A

S to be operated. 16
. The PI C and VO 

### will be able to communicate b)r voice and / or radio a t all time s. 17. Written and / or v erbal permis sion and permit s will be obtained from territorial, s tate, county or ci ty juri sdiction s, including law enforcement , fire or other appropriate g o v ernmental agencies as appropriate to flight o peration s . 18
. If the U AS lo se s c o mmunication s with the remote contro ll er o r lo ses GPS signal , th e U AS \vill hav e the capability t o re turn to a pred e termined l o cation within a designated location and land autonomou s l y . 19
. The U
.\S will hav e the capability to abort a flight in case of emergencie s with an automated "Return Home and Land" function
. 20
. The 

### U.AS will have d1e capability to abort a flight in case of unpredicted ob s tacle s , weather, or emergencie s such as low battery 

### 14 C.P.R. Part 

### 21, Subpart 

### H: Airwo r thiness Certificates . 14 C. F.R. § 91
. 203 (a ) ( 1) S ubpart H, entided Airworthine ss Certificates , e s tablishe s the pro cedural requirements for d1e is s uance of airworthines s certificate s a s required b y F AR § 91.203 ( a ) ( 1 ). Given the size and limited operating area as sociated with the aircraft to be utilized by d1 e Applicant, an exemption from Part 21 Subpart I

- I meet s the requiremen ts of an equiva l ent level of safety un der Part 11and Section 333 of th e Reform Act. The Federa l A v iation Ac t (49 U.S.C. § 44 701 (f) ) and Section 333 of the Refonn Act b o th authori z e the F AA to exempt aircraft from the requirement f o r an airwo rthine ss certificate, upon consideration of t h e size, weight, s peed, operational capability, and proximity to airports and p o pulated areas of the particular UA S. 

### In all ca se s , an analy s is of the se c ri teria demon s trate s that the U
. \.S operated without an airworthine ss c e rtificate in th e re s tricted en vironment and under the c o nditions pro po sed will be at l ea s t as safe , or s afer, than a conventio n al aircraft (ftx ed wing or rotorcraft ) operating with an a.invorthine ss certificate with o ut d1e re s tri c tions and

41 Pa g econditions proposed. The U.\S to be operated hereunder is less than 55 lb s. fully loaded,carries n ei ther a pilot nor pa sse nger, carries no explosive materials or flammable liquid fuels, an d operate s exclusively within a secured and designated area. Un like other civil aircraft, operations under tlu s exemp tion will be tightly contro ll ed and monitored by botl1 the operator and und er the requirements and in compliance with local public safety r equirements
. These sa fety en han cements prov ide a greater degree of safety to t h e public an d proper ty owners than co nventio n al operations conduc ted with a.irworth.iness certificates iss ued u nder 

### 14 C.F.R. Part 2 1 , Subpart I I. Lastly, application o f the se same criteria demon strates tl1at th e r e i s no credible threat to nationa l security posed by the UAS, due to it s size, speed of operation, l ocation of operation, l ack of explosive materia ls o r flammable li qu id fuels, an d inability to carry a s ub sta nti al external l oa d. 14 C.F.R. 

### § 45.23 (b). Marking of th e Aircraft. When marks include on l y th e Roman cap i tal letter 

### "N" and the regi stra tion n umber is displayed o n !.inUred , r est ri cted or li ght s p ort category aircraft or experime ntal or provisi o nall y certifica t ed aircraft, t h e operator must al so disp l ay on that aircraft near each entrance to the cabin , cockp it , or pilot s tation, in letters not le ss than 2 inch es nor more than 6 inches ! ugh , the words " l.i.Jnited, " "restricted," " light sport, " "experimental," or " provisional," as app li cable. Even though the UAS will h ave no airworth.iness certificate, an**~-.;emption** ma y b e n eeded as the UAS 

### will have no entranc e to the cabin, cockpit o r pil ot s tation o n whi ch th e word "Experimenta l " can be pla ced. Given the size of the U
.-\S, two inch letteri n g will be impo ssib l e. T h e word "Experimental " w ill be placed on the fuse lage in comp li ance with § 45.29 

### (f). US Depar tment of Transportation Febru ary 2 0 , 2015
. T11 e equivalent level of sa fe ty will be p rovid ed by h aving the UAS marked on its fuselage as required by §45.29 

### (f) where th e pilot, ob server and other s working with th e UAS will see the identification of the U.\S as "Experimental. " 14 C.F.R. § 61 . 113 

### (a) and (b): Private Pilot Privileges and Limitations: Pilot in Command. Pursuant to 1 4 

### CFR 61. 113 (a ) & 

### (b), no per so n who h olds a private pilot certificate may act as 

### a pilot 

### in co mmand of an aircraft th at is carrying passenge rs or property for compe n sa tion or hire. The propose d UAS operations may achieve an equivalent l eve l of sa f ety as achieved b y c urrent Regulations because the a pplic ant' s U
. -\S do not carry any pil ots or pas sengers nor property. T11e ri s ks attendant to the o p eration of UAS is far l ess than the risk leve ls inherent in the commercial ac tivities outlined in 

### 14 CFR 61. The 

### PI C o f the UAS will be, or be under th e direct s upervi sion 

## rif. a 

### FAA Certificated Private Pil o t with curre n t Third Class or higher medical certificate. Tt is believed that the operation and lillUtations set forth in the FOM 

### will equa te to the sa f e operation of tl1e UAS. 14 C.F .R. § 91.7{a): Civil Aircraft Airworthiness . The regulation requires that no person may operate a civil aircraft unl ess it is in airworthy condition
. • -\s there 

### will be no a.irwortlwess ce rtifi cate is sue d for tl1e aircraft, shou ld tl1is exemption be gran te d , no 

### E-\A r egul atory standard will exist for determining airworthiness. Given rh e size o f the airc r aft for maintenanc e and u se of sa f ety checklists prior to each fli ght, an equivalent level of s afety w ill be provided. 14 C.P .R. § 91.9 (b) 

### (2): Civil Aircraft Flight Manual in the Aircraft. Section 

### 91.9 

### (b) (2) provides : No person ma y oper ate a U.S
. registered civ il aircraft
. .. 

### (2) For w l uc h a n Airpla n e or R otorcraft Flight Man ua l i s not required b y § 21
. 5 of 

### this c h apter, u nl ess there is availab l e in th e aircraft a current approved airplan e or Rotorcraft Flight Man u al, approved manual material, marking s, and p lacards, or any combinatio n thereof. The U
.-\S,given i t s size and co nfiguration h as no ability or place to carry suc h a flight manual on the aircraft, not only b ecause there i s no pilot on board, but becau se there is no room or ca p acity to carry such an item on t h e airc r aft. The equivalent lev el of sa fety will be maintained b y keeping the flight manual at the ground control point where tl1e pilot fl ytn g the UAS 

### will hav e immediate access to it.

SI P age14 C.P.R.§ 91.103: Preflight Action . This reg ulati o n re quires eac h pil ot in command to take certain actio n s bef o re flight to insure the safety of fli ght. As 

### FAA app roved rotorcraft fli ght manuals will no t be provided for the aircra ft an exemption w:ill b e needed. T h e PIC 

### will take all actions as stated in the FOM in Sec ti o n 4 u n der No rma l P rocedures including but not Iinilted to r eviewing weather, flight battery regwrements, l a ndin g an d takeoff di stances and ai r c r aft performance data b efo re initiation of fli ght. 14 C.P .R. §91. 109: Flight Instruction. Section 91.109 provides th at no perso n may o perate a civi l aircraft (ex cept a manned free b all oo n ) that i s bein g used for flight i nstruction unless that a ircraft has fully functioning dual controls. U. \ S a nd remotely piloted aircraft, b y their d esign do not have full y functi ona l dual co ntro l s . Fli ght control is accompli shed through the u se of a control box th a t co nunun.icates w:ith th e aircraft via radi o communications. The 

### F£L-\ h as approved exempti o n s for fli g ht trainin g without f ull y functional d ual co ntrol s for a numb er of airc raft and fo r fligh t in structio n in exp er im ental aircraft. The equival ent l evel of safety is pro vided b y the fact th a t n eith er a pilot n o r pa sse n ge r s will be carried 

### in th e aircraft and by the size an d sp ee d of th e aircraft
. 14 C.P .R. §9 1.119: Minimum Safe Altitudes. Sectio n 91.119 establ is h es safe altitud es for operation of civil aircraft
. Sectio n 91.119 ( d) allows h elicopters to b e operated at less th an the min imums pre scribed , provided th e p erson o p era ting the h e lic op ter comp lie s with any route or altitudes prescribed for helicopter s b y the**~-\ .**  As thi s exem pti on is for a U, \S that is a helic opter a nd the exemption r equ es ts authority to o perat e at a ltitude s up to 400 .-\GL,or not more than 2 00 ab ove an elevate d pl atform from which fllmin g is plann ed, an exemption may be needed t o all ow such oper atio n s. As se t f o rth herei n , th e UAS will never oper ate at higher than 400 AGL w ith the exceptio n that i n circum stances where th e UAS i s u sed to survey o r photograph a s tru ctu re wh ose hei g ht exceeds 400 f eet AG L,th e U.-\S will n ot b e operated m o re rhan 200 f eet above the highest point on the s tru cture. It will h owever be o pera ted in a restricted area wi th se curi ty p e rim eter, where buildings and p eo ple 

### will n ot b e exposed to operatio n s without th eir pre ob tained conse nt. Th e equivalent level of sa f ety 

### will be ac hiev ed given th e size, weight, and s p eed o f the U:\S as we ll as the l ocatio n w here it is opera ted. No fligh t will be taken without th e permi ss ion o f the property ow ner or l ocal officials. Because o f th e advance n o tic e to the prop erty owner and parti cipa nt s in th e filmin g activi ty , all a ffe c t e d individual s will be awa re of th e pl an ned fli g ht o perati o n s. Compared to flig h t operations with illcraft o r rotorcraft weigh ting far more than the maximum 55lbs. proposed h erein and the lack of fl ammabl e fuel, any risk ass oci ated with these operations is far l ess th a n thos e pr esently presented with conventio n al aircraft o peratin g at o r bel ow 500 AGL. In additio n , t he l ow altirude o perati o n s of the UAS 

### will ensure separa ti o n b etwee n these U:\S operations and th e o perati ons of conventional aircraft t h at must comply with Section 91 .11 9. 14 C.P.R. § 91 . 12Wtimeter Settings. Thi s re gu latio n require s each person operating an aircraf t to maintain cru is in g altirude b y reference to an altime ter that is set « .. to the elevation o f the departu re airport o r an ap pr op ria te al timeter se ttin g available b efore d eparrure." ,\s the UAS may n ot have a barome tric a ltimeter, but ins tead a GPS altitude r ea d out, an U.S. exemption may b e n eeded. A n eq w valen t l evel of sa f ety will be achieved b y th e operator, pur sua nt to the safety c heck list and live fli g h t data monit oring, confirming the altitud e o f the launch s i te s hown on the GPS al titu de i ndicator bef o re flight. 14 C.P.R. § 91.151(a): Fuel Require ments for Flight in VPR Conditions . Sectio n 9 1.1 51 (a) prohibit s an individua l from b eginnin g "a fli g ht in an airp l a n e unde r VF R con diti o n s unles s (co n s ider i n g wind and foreca s t weathe r conditions) th e re i s enough 

### fuel to A y to the f trst point o f intended landin g, a nd , ass uming n ormal cruis in g speed- ( 1 ) Durin g the day,to fl y a fter that for at lea st 30 minute s; or (2 ) At nig ht, to A y af ter that for at least 45 minutes. " The applicant beli eves that an exemption from 14 CFR §91
. 151 (a ) falls within the scope of prior exemptions. O p erating t h e U
. -\S in a tig htl y controlled area
6j P ag ewhere only people and property owner s or official repre se ntativ es who have s igned waivers 

### will be allowed do es not engender the type of ri s ks that Sectio n 9 1.1 51 (a ) was intended to alleviate given the size and speed of the small U.-\S. The applicant believes that an equivalent level of safety can b e ac hieved by limiting flights to 30 minutes or 25 % of battery power, whichever happen s first. Tlus re s triction would be more than adequate to return the UAS to its planned landing zone from anywhere in its linUted operatin g area . 

### 14 C.F.R. 

### § 91.203 (a) 

### and (b): Carrying Civil Aircraft Certification and Reg istration. The regulation provides in pertinent part: (a) Except as provided in § 91
. 715,no person may operate a civil aircraft unle ss it ha s wit hin it the following: (1) An appropriate and current airworthines s certificate
.... 

### (b) No person may operate a civil aircraft unles s the airwortlliness certificate required by paragraph (a) of this section o r a special fli g ht authorization issued under §91.715 is di s played at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew. The UAS fully loaded weighs well under the proposed 551b linUt and is operated without an onboard pilot. As s uch, there is no ability or place to carry cer tification and registration documents or to di splay them on the UAS. An equ i valent level of safety 

### will be achieved by keeping the se documents at th e ground control point where the pilot fl ying the UAS will have immediate access to them; to the extent they are applicable to the UAS. 

### 14 C.F.R. 

### § 91.405 (a);407 (a) 

### (1);409 (a) (2);417(a) & 

### (b): Maintenance Inspections. These regulation s require that an aircraft operator or owner "shall have that aircraft in s pected as prescribed in subpart E of this part and shall bet:\ve en required in s pecti o ns, except as provided in paragraph (c ) of tlu s section, h ave di screpa ncie s repaired as pre scribed in part 43 of tlu s chapter
.. , " and others shall inspect or maintai11 the aircraft in compliance with Part 43. Given that these sectio n s and Part 43 apply only to aircraft witl1 an airworthiness certificate, these sec tion s will nor app ly to the applicant. Maintenance will be accomplished by the operator pursuant to the flight manual and operating handbook. An equivalent level of safety 

### will be aclueved becau se the Ur\S i s very linUted in size and will carry a s mall payload and operate only in restricted areas for a linUted period of time. 

### If mechanical issues arise the UAS can land immediately and 

### will be operating from no lugher than 400 feet AGL. Th e operator will ensure that tile U.AS is in working order prior to initiating flight, perform required maintenance , and keep a log of any maintenance performed. Moreover, the operator i s the person mo st familiar with the aircraft and best s ui ted to maintain the aircraft in an airworthy condition to prov id e the equivalent le vel of safety
. An equivalent level of safety 

### will be achieved becau se maintenance and in spec tion s will be perf ormed in accordance with the UAS Manufacturer's User Manual. As provided in tl1e FOM,the operator 

### will ensure that the U A. S is in working order prior to initiating flight and perform required maintenance needed
. 

### Additional Information. The applicant, Midnight Sun Environmental, LLC, believe s this exemption reque st and assoc iated safety considerations adequately satisfy criteria provided in Section 333 of the Ref o rm Act of 2012,providing su fficient justification for the granting of commercial operations of th e applicant' s UAS. The applicant, Midnight Sun Environmental , LLC requests you r re spective approval of thi s Section 333 exemption petition request.

Midnight Sun En v ironmental, LLC



### 71 Page