Exemption No. 13335

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of

INSITU , INC.

for an exemption from Section 91.215(a) of
Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations Regulatory Docket No. FAA−2015

- 2904

GRANT OF EXEMPTION

By letter posted to the docket on July 14 , 2015

, Mr. Thomas Murray

, System Safety and Certification Engineer, Insitu, Inc

. (Insitu) (a subsidiary of The Boeing Company) 118 East Columbia River Way, Bingen, WA 98605, petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for an exemption from § 91.215 (a), of Title 14

, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR).
The proposed exemption , if granted, would allow the petitioner to operate a n Insitu Type
Certificated ScanEagle X200 unmanned aircraft (UA) (T ype C ertificated D ata S heet (TCDS) No. Q00017LA ) equipped with a Sagetech XPC

- TR

- 50 Transponder which does not meet the Technical Standard Order (TSO) performance and environmental requirements required under § 91.215 (a)

.

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulation[s]:

14 CFR § 91.215(a) prescribes, in pertinent part, that the Air Traffic Control ( ATC )

tra nsponder equipment installed must meet the performance and environmental requirements of any class of TSO

- C 74b (Mode A) or any class of TSO

- C74c (Mode A with altitude reporting capability) as appropriate , or the appropriate class of TSO

- C112 (Mode S)

.2

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner proposes to operate an Insitu ScanEagle X200 UA , type certificated in the restricted category, equipped with a Sagetech XPC

- TR

- 50 Transponder that does not meet the required TSO performance and environmental requirements

. The petitioner plans to perform surveillance of tracks owned by B urlington N orthern S anta F e (BNSF) Railway along a 130

- mile route in a remote area in Eastern New Mexico utilizing the ScanEagle equipped with the Sagetech XPC. The Petitioner submitted documentation which it states
shows that t

he Sagetech XPC behaves per the performance expectations cited in Radio
Technical Comm

ission for Aeronautics ( RTCA) DO

- 144A. The petitioner states that t he transponder will enhance the ScanEagle’s visibility on radar and increase the operational safety by permitting ATC radar to observe the unmanned aircraft system ( UAS ) and allowing
other aircraft equipped with Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems ( TCAS ) to observe the ScanEagle during its pr oposed beyond visual

- line

- of

- sight (BVLOS) flight operations.

Insitu included three appendices with its petition in support of its request for an exemption:

1) Appendix A: Department of Defense, International AIMS Program Office Memo for PMA263, Box level certification

. 2) Appendix B: Department of Defense, International AIMS Program Office Memo for PMA263, Platform level certificat ion (NOTE: the platform level documentation pertains to a different Insitu aircraft)

. 3) Appendix C: Sagetech XPC transponder specification sheet

.

The petitioner proposes to use a Sagetech XPC

- TR

- 50 transponder that is not TSO compliant

as required by § 91.215(a). According to Insitu, t he supplier of the transponder is in the process of applying for a TSO authorization for a later, but similar, model transponder; however that application process is not expected to be completed until December of 2016.
In situ has provided documentation indicating the Sagetech XPC meets the performance
characteristics of DO

- 144A. Further, the petitioner submitted documentation from the Department of Defense (DoD) granting the XPC an AIMS certification ( A ir Traffic Control Radar Beacon System, I dentification Friend or Foe, M ark XII/XIIA, S ystems) at the “box” and “platform” level (via the Insitu Integrator/STUAS

- RQ

- 21 aircraft) and noting DoD test
results that meet RTCA DO

- 144A requirements for Model 3/A and C. Insitu also stated that the Sagetech XPC is designed and built to RTCA DO

- 144A.

Insitu also discussed its own testing of the XPC at the Navy Boardman Test Range noting that FAA ATC at Richland, WA have seen the ScanEagle aircraft, received the correct ATC
codes , and recognized the “IDENT’ signal upon direction to ScanEagle pilots.3

The petitioner stated it has used this transponder for more than 10 years, including more than 834,000 flight hours, in a variety of aviation settings where other aircraft transponder s and ATC services are present. These operations were conducted in military settings and civilian airspace in multiple countries. It also indicates that in its experience the Sagetech XPC transponder behaves as expected per DO

- 144A.

Insitu indicates it will be operating with the transponder in a limited geographical area where a transponder would not otherwise be required. The area of operation identified is located

over a 130 mile portion of the BNSF rail way in e astern New Mexico.

Insitu, which will b e operating the aircraft under the FAA’ s UAS P athfinder program, indicates that an exemption allowing use of the Sagetech transponder would contribute to a safer flight environment. With its aircraft equipped with the transponder it will be visible to
loc al ATC with radar coverage, will provide a distinct target for ATC, and will allow the aircraft to show on the displays of aircraft equipped with that functionality.

Public Comments

A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on Aug ust 7, 2015 ( 80 FR 47554 ). No comments were received.

The FAA ’ s analysis is as follows :

The petitioner request s relief from 14 CFR § 91.215(a), ATC transponder and altitude reporting equipment and use because its Restricted Category UAS is equipped with a transponder that does not meet the performance and environmental requirements of TSO

C74b, TSO

- C74c or TSO

- C112. The petitioner states that the Saget ech XPC transponder behaves per the performance expectations cited in DO

- 144A. Based on the infor mation submitted by the petitioner, testing performed by the FAA, the operating environment

, and the petitioner ’ s work with the agency in preparing for these operations , the FAA has determined that permitting operations with the non

- TSO compliant transpond er will not adversely affect safety.

The documentation submitted by the petitioner details DoD testing and “box level”
certification of the Sagetech XPC

- TR

- 50 transponder. This testing showed that the Sagetech
XPC

- TR

- 50 Mode C Transponder, Assembly Vers ion 1.7.8 and Product Version 4.1

, met AIMS Program Office “box level” certification for Modes 3/A and C only.4

Additionally, Insitu’s operating history with this transponder and its flight testing with FAA
ATC at Richland, WA showed that operations at the US Navy Boardman Test Range were accurately observed by the FAA ATC services at Richland, WA. Air Traffic services received the correct ATC codes, and recognized the “IDENT” signal operated in “Mode 3/C,” upon direction to ScanEagle pilots.

The FAA also performed air traffic control radar beacon system (ATCRBS) DO

- 144A Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) bench tests of the Sagetech XPC

- TR 1

. The transponder was not tested for verification of altitude. There were test cases in the suppression verification tests §2.4.5.3 and §2.4.5.4 that missed required performance, but
these results will not adversely affect the performance of the Sagetech XPC transponder in the remote area of operation under the specif ied conditions and limitations due to the limited interaction with other aircraft at the low operating altitude and the remote operating area of
the UA

.

Insitu will be operating in a remote area de scribed in the aircraft’s type certificate as the “New
Mex ico Railroad Area

. ” This area extends from Clovis, NM to Belen, NM, the e astern and

w estern termini, and 1 nautical mile to each side of the railroad tracks. Under the terms of its type certificate, t

he ScanEagle will be operated below 1

, 200 feet above ground level within
this Class G airspace. Class G airspace in the operational area does not require the use of a transponder, however the FAA agrees with the petitioner that the use of this transponder will enhance the safety of the proposed operation by providing additional “visibility” of the ScanEagle X200 aircraft to other aircraft in the proposed flight location through TCAS equipage

. Where radar is available, ATC facilities will be able to identify the ScanEagle ’s position and disseminate this to participating visual flight rules traffic

. Documentation provided by the petitioner shows that t his transponder has been used in a variety of a viation settings where ATC and other aircraft are present.

The FAA has determined that t he ScanEagle equipage utilizing the Sagetech XPC will not adversely affect safety because this transponder performs many of the requirements of a TSO compliant transponder and the re are additional risk mitigations in place as part of the type
certificate a nd C ertificate of Waiver or Authorization (C OA )

.

The conditions assigned to the operation by the COA require issuance of a Notice to Airmen prior to operations, coordination and deconfliction with military training routes, position reporting during operat ions, and common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) monitoring. These procedures help to ensure safe operations.

1 The FAA Test Summary for ATCRBS DO

- 144A MOPS Tests has been placed in Docket FAA

- 2015

- 29045

Insitu could comply with § 91.215(a) by not equipping with a transponder. However, given the nature of the operations equipping with the Sage tech XPC will provide safety benefits even though it does not meet the appropriate TSO specified in the rule. The ability of ATC and potentially other operators to see the UAS supplement the conditions and procedures in the type certificate and COA and mi tigate the risk of the operation

. The FAA consulted Cannon Air Force Base (at the Eastern end of the flight path) on the intended operations
conducted under this exemption, who provided its support of the use of a transponder for tracking and added situat ional awareness

.

Based on the FAA conducted bench test , flight test, and the DoD’s “box level” certification of the Sagetech XPC

- TR

- 50 , the FAA finds that the use of the ScanEagle X200 with a Sagetech
XPC

- TR

- 50 for the operations specifically discussed in the petition would not adversely affect safety

.

Public Interest

These operations are being conducted as part of FAA’s Pathfinder program which is intended to explore the next steps in UA operations beyond the type of operations the agency proposed
in th e draft small UAS rule published in February 2015. BNSF is the FAA’s Pathfinder
Partner for this Focus Area. Research activities associated with Focus Area Pathfinder 3 are governed by a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRDA) established
b etween the FAA and BNSF. The operational intent is to use UAS to perform long

- range rail system and infrastructure inspections BVLOS to enhance the safety and efficiency of the railroad operations. T

he data collected through the Pathfinder Project will p rovide valuable knowledge for the development of future UAS BVLOS operations and integration of UAS
into the NAS

.

The FAA’s Decision

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption is in the public interest.

Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 40113, and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, Insitu, Inc. is granted an exemption from 14 CFR § 91.215(a) t o the extent necessary to allow the petitioner to operate an Insitu ScanEagle X200 aircraft, type certificated in the restricted category, with a Sagetech XPC

- TR

- 50 transponder

. This exemption is subject to the conditions and limitations listed below.6

Conditions and Limitations

1. Operations authorized by this grant of exemption are limited to In situ, Inc. ScanEagle
model X200

, type certificated in the restricted category under Type Certificate Data Sheet number Q00017LA, equipped with a Sagetech XPC

- TR

- 50 transponder

.

2. The Insitu ScanEagle must be operated in accordance with the Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) number Q00017LA, and all limitations therein.

3. All operations shall be conducted in accordance with the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) issued for the operations discussed in this exemption

.

Unless otherwise specified in this grant of exemption or the FAA attached COA , the UAS, the UAS PIC, and the UAS operations must comply with all applicable parts of 14 CFR including, but not limited to, parts 45, 47, 61, and 91.

This exemption terminates on October 31, 2017 , unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 23, 2015.

Sincerely,

/s/
John S. Duncan Director, Flight Standards Service