1

AirMax Aerial, LLC 7447 Logan Lane Traverse City, MI 49686 (231) 633

- 2329

January 15, 2016

U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations West Building Ground Floor, Room W12

- 140 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20590

RE: Exemption Re quest Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act

Mailing Address:

AirMax Aerial, LLC Aaron Kostrzewa, Owner 7447 Logan Lane Traverse City, MI 49686 (231) 633

- 2329 airmaxaerial@gmail.com

Dear Sir or Madam,

AirMax Aerial, LLC. requests a Section 333 exemption from Federal Aviation Regulations detailed below in order to commercially operate an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), namely the DJI Inspire 1. AirMax Aerial, LLC. is photography and cinematography company operating out of Traverse City, Michigan. This

exemp tion would allow AirMax Aerial, LLC. to serve the local real estate markets, in addition to other local organizations, with aerial photographic services and data collection. AirMax Aerial, LCC. will conduct such UAV flights within the parameters defined by 333 Exemption and agrees to abide by all applicable regulations that apply to such flights.

This activity will benefit the public by increasing safety, being environmentally responsible, allowing more flexibility in regards to aerial data collection, an d promoting trade and commerce.

The UAV operated by AirMax Aerial, LLC. will be unmanned, allowing it to conduct operations with no danger to the health and safety of persons in the aircraft and much reduced danger to those on the ground due it its small size, as opposed to the operation of manned aircraft in which the pilot is preoccupied with both piloting the aircraft and operating a camera. Due to the fact that the unmanned drone is less complex than the manned aircraft and constructed specifically for unmanned photography, its safe operation while on photographic missions is much more assured.

Commercial activities that would be impractical or illegal in a manned aircraft can be safely conducted in a UAV, for example, those that would require close p roximity to tree lines or flight in mountainous terrain requiring an “abrupt change in an aircraft’s attitude, an abnormal attitude, or abnormal2

acceleration,” that is, aerobatic flight, while simultaneously attending to the photographic needs of the fligh t.

The electronically powered UAV also conducts aerial photography without the use of fossil fuels, emissions, or the use of large aluminum airframes requiring smelting and other polluting processing methods. This is more environmentally responsible in a ddition to being less costly.

As a result, the public will enjoy increased trade and commerce due to businesses being served by the UAV’s safety, flexibility, and reduced environmental footprint.



### Aircraft Utilized

AirMax Aerial, LLC will utilize the DJ I Inspire 1, an electrically powered quadcopter with a gross weight under 7 pounds. This battery powered quadcopter has four electric motors and carries a high

- resolution digital camera. It has numerous safety features, including a GPS receiver allowing it to return to base in case of malfunction, an altimeter control to maintain a preset safe height and keep below maximum height restrictions, and a powerful transmitter to assure control within the sight and height limitations of the 333 Exemption. The comp lete User Manual (English Version) could not be attached to this submission because it was above the size restrictions of the refulations.gov upload parameters, but it is
available at http://www.dji.com/product/inspire

- 1/info#downloads. The Specifications Section of this User Manual, Pages 58

- 61 and Page 63 are attached to this submission. Pages 58

- 59 of this manual show the specifications of the UAV, including an operating weight of 2935 grams, a maximum speed of 22 m/s (49.21 Miles per Hour) and the operating frequen cy as 2.00 GHz

- 2.483 GHz. Page 63 of the User Manual states “This device complies with Part 15 of the FC rules.”

A complete Safety Guide is attached in a separate file to show the Safety features such as pre

- flight
checklist and Return

- To

- Home (RTH) featu re.



### UAV Pilot in Command (PIC)

AirMax Aerial, LLC is owned 50% by Aaron Kostrzewa and 50% by Maximilian Casler. Both of these persons will be the sole operators of the UAV, and both hold current driver’s licenses and have extensive flight experience acr oss multiple UAV platforms. In a similar exemption recently granted by the FAA (Exemption No. 14320), PICs with similar background were granted exemption from this requirement under regulations set forth in Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2015

- 4986.



### Operation o f UAV

The UAV will be operated within the limits of the 333 exemption, safely separated 500 feet from nonparticipating people, vessels or structures; observing Above Ground Level (AGL) height restrictions; and assuring separation from Airport Reference Po ints (ARP) of 5 nautical miles unless a written request is submitted and permission granted prior to the flight. Currency of three takeoff and landings during dedicated training sessions over the past 90 days will be maintained. Visual contact will be main tained at all times by the PIC and a Visual Observer (VO) who have communication between them. The planned flight environment will be inspected personally by the PIC before flight as well as reviewing any localized hazards, airports, or populated areas, an d assessment of the flight environment, weather, and other operating challenges will be made prior to flight.3

Preflight inspections of the aircraft in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations contained
in the aforementioned manual will be condu cted before each flight. If components critical for safe flight require replacement or repair, flight of the UAV will not occur until these problems are remedied.

Flights will be terminated with at least 30% battery charge remaining and specified cloud s eparations will be kept. Flights will be conducted over private or controlled

- access property with the property owner’s permission. Flights will not be made in the vicinity of any other form of aircraft.



### Regulations from which exemption is requested

Exem ption from the following sections of CFR are requested due to the disparity between UAV and full

sized aircraft operations.

14 CFR PART 21

- CERTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR PRODUCTS AND PARTS This part establishes the procedures for the issuance of an airwor thiness certificate. The FAA has not developed standards for issuing Airworthiness Certificates for UAVs. Once such standards are adopted, AirMax Aerial, LLC. will assure that the DJI Inspire 1has such a certificate or purchase a UAV which does
have an Air worthiness Certificate. In the meantime, the DJI Inspire 1 will be marked as
“EXPERIMENTAL.”

14 CFR PART 61

- CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND GROUND INSTRUCTORS This section limits private pilots to non

- commercial operations. Unlike a conve ntional aircraft that carries a pilot, passengers, and cargo, the UAV in this case is remotely controlled with no passengers or property of others on board. This section also requires an individual with a commercial pilot’s license to be pilot in command o f an aircraft for compensation for hire. The applicant respectfully proposes that operator requirements should take into account the characteristics of this particular UAV. The UAV in question has an autopilot with a high degree of pre

- programmed control a nd various built

- in technical capabilities that strictly limit the potential for operation outside of the operating condition set forth in the exemption application. Hands

- on experience with the UAV is a far more effective guarantee of flight safety than a commercial pilot certificate would be, until the FAA Pilot Certificate requirements catch up to the UAV technology. As found in Exemption No. 14336 (Detzel), the FAA recently approved exemption for this section for this model of UAV.

14 CFR PART 91

- G ENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES

14 CFR 91.9 “Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements” cannot be satisfied due to the inability of the aircraft to carry its flight manual, the size of the aircraft is too small for the standard

air craft lettering, and the size of the UAV does not permit complete regulatory placarding. AirMax Aerial, LLC. will have the flight manual available to the operator at all times the UAV is being operated
and the aircraft will be marked “EXPERIMENTAL” and the UAV registration numbers displayed with the largest letters possible.

14 CFR 91.121

- “Altimeter settings” While the UAV does not have a manual altimeter setting as specified within the standard, the DJI Inspire 1 does have an altimeter that is automati cally set to Ground Level at the beginning of each power initialization and height limits can be present.4

14 CFR 91.151 “Fuel requirements for flights in VFR conditions” While the battery on the UAV does not have the specified 30

- minute reserve after rea ching the first destination, the battery will power the UAV for a minimum of 16 minutes with a 30% charge reserve, which is more than enough time to accomplish the photographic flights planned.

14 CFR 91.23 “Civil Aircraft: Certifications required” As wi th 14 CFR 91.9, the UAV is not large enough to carry the required documentation on board, but all documentation will be available to the pilot of the UAV at the time of preflight and operation, as well as available for inspection if required by the regulat ory authorities.

14 CFR 91.401 through 91.421 “Subpart E

-- Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, Alterations” While the simplicity of the UAV does not allow for the detailed maintenanc e specific in this Subpart, AirM ax Aerial, LLC. will maintain the UAV to original specifications by having spare parts readily available for immediate replacement in case of wear or damage. The UAV will not be flown if pre

- flight inspection procedures specified in the attached manual reveal any damaged or worn parts that canno t be replaced to new standards before such flight. A flight function test with the PIC and VO will be conducted with at least 500 feet from other people in the event that flight critical parts require replacement.



### Regulatory Changes

It is understood tha t UAV regulations are in their infancy and changes to these regulations are forthcoming. It is agreed that AirMax Aerial, LLC will monitor the evolution of these regulations and incorporate them into its operating protocol, as well maintaining updated docu mentation.



### Similar Exemptions

Similar exemptions have recently been granted by the FAA to petitione rs with this model of UAV or to those with similar models. The exemptions include, but are not limited to:

Exemption No. 11138 (Trudeau) Exemption No. 140 38 (Erath Jr.) Exemption No. 14320 (Benson) Exemption No. 14333 (Planes) Exemption No. 14336 (Detzel)