14	December 2015

US Department of	 Transportation									

Docket Management	System

1200 New Jersey Ave.,	 SE	

Washington,	DC 20590

Re:	Exemption	Request	Section	333	of	the	FAA	Reform	Act	

		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, Guy Brooksbank Photography	 (“GBP”),	 a	 video	 and	 photography	

production	 company, 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.

1

As described more fully below, the requested	 exemption would permit	the operation of	

small, unmanned and relatively inexpensive sUAS under	controlled conditions in airspace that	is 1)

limited 2) predetermined 3) controlled as to access and 4) would provide safety	enhancements to

the already safe operations in the film	and television industry presently using	conventional	aircraft.	

Approval	 of this exemption would thereby enhance safety and 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:

Guy	Brooksbank	Photography

Attn: Guy Brooksbank

Ph:	(503) 484-3907

Email:	photo@guybrooksbank.com

Mailing	Address:	PO	Box	10676	Portland	OR	97210

Physical	Address:	3433 NE Davis St. Portland OR 97232
Regulations from	 which the exemption is requested:	

14 CFR	Part 21

14 C.F.R. 45.23(b)

14 CFR	61.113 (a) & (b)

14 C.F.R. 91.7 (a)

14 CFR	91.9 (b)	(2)

14 C.F.R. 91.103

14 C.F.R. 91.109

14 C.F.	R.	91.119

14 C.F.R. 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’s goal	in passing	Section

333(a)	through (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 required 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:

§ The 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 determines 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	expressly 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,	that includes sUASs,	from	the requirement	that all	 civil	 aircraft	must	 have a

current	airworthiness certificate.

2 Applicant interprets this provision to	 place the duty on the Administrator to not only process	

applications for	exemptions under	section 333,	but	for the Administrator to craft conditions for

the safe operation of	the UAS, if it	should be determined that	the conditions set forth	herein do

not	fulfill	the statutory requirements for	approval.
The Administrator	 may grant	 an exemption from	 a requirement	 of a regulation prescribed	

under subsection (a)	or	(b) of	this section or any sections 44702-44716 of	this title if the	Administrator

finds the exemption in the public interest.	 49 U.S.C.	§44701(f) See also 49 USC

§44711(a); 49 USC	§44704; 14 CFR	§91.203 (a)	(1).

GBP’s	 UASs are rotorcraft, weighting 55 or	 fewer lbs.	 including payload. They operate,	

under	normal	conditions at	a speed of no more than 50 knots and have the capability to	hover, and

move in the vertical	and horizontal	plane simultaneously.	 They will	operate only in	line of sight.	

Such operations will	insure that	the sUAS will	“not create a hazard to users of	the national	airspace

system or	the public.”4

Given the small	 size of the sUASs involved and the restricted sterile environment	 within	

which they will	operate,	the applicant	falls squarely within that zone of safety (an	equivalent	level	of

safety) in which Congress envisioned that	 the FAA must,	 by exemption, allow	 commercial	

operations of UASs to commence immediately.	 Also due to the size of the UASs	and the restricted

areas in which the relevant sUASs will	 operate,	 approval	 of the application	 presents no national	

security issue. Given the clear direction in Section 333 of the Reform	Act,	the authority contained in

the Federal	 Aviation Act,	 as amended;	 the strong equivalent level	 of	 safety surrounding the

proposed operations,	 and the significant public benefit,	 including	 enhanced safety,	 reduction in

environmental	 impacts,	 including reduced emissions associated	with allowing UASs for	movie and

television operations,	the grant of	the requested exemptions	is in the public interest. Accordingly,	

the	applicant	respectfully requests that	the FAA grant the	requested exemption without delay.

AIRCRAFT AND	EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

The applicant proposes that the exemption requested herein apply to civil aircraft that	

have the characteristics and that operate with the limitations listed herein. These limitations

provide for at least an equivalent or even higher level of safety to operations under the current

regulatory structure because the proposed operations represent a safety enhancement to the

already	safe movie	and television filming operations conducted with	conventional aircraft.

These limitations and conditions to which GBP agrees to be bound when	

conducting commercial	operations under an FAA	issued exemption include:

1. The sUAS	will	weigh less than 55 lbs.

2. Flights will	be operated within line of sight	of a pilot and/or	observer.

3. Maximum	total flight	time for	each operational flight will	be 30 minutes.	 Flights will	be	

terminated at 25% battery power reserve should that occur prior to the 30 minute

limit.

4. Flights will	be operated at an altitude of no more than 200 feet.

5. Minimum crew for each operation will consist of the sUAS Pilot, the Visual Observer,	and

the Camera Operator.
6. Observer	and pilot will	at all	times be able to communicate by voice and/or	text.

7. Written and/or	oral	permission from the relevant property holders will	be obtained.

8. All required permissions and permits will be obtained from territorial, state, county or	

city	jurisdictions,	 including	 local	 law	 enforcement,	 fire,	 or	 other	 appropriate

governmental	agencies.

9. If	the	 sUAS	 loses	 communications	 or	 loses	 its	 GPS	 signal,	 the	 UAS	 will	 have	

capability to return to a pre-determined location within the Security Perimeter and

land.

10. The sUAS will have the capability to abort a flight in case of unpredicted obstacles or	

emergencies.

Sincerely,

Guy	Brooksbank

Owner	

Guy	Brooksbank	Photography LLC

guybrooksbankphotography 503.484.3907 guybrooksbank.com