October 16, 2015 

Mr. Albert S. O’Connor 

President 

O’Connor Aerial Videos & Editing LLC dba iDRONE 

1010 Black Willow Drive 

Oviedo, FL 32765 

Dear Mr. O’Connor: 

Thank you for your letter received September 10, 2015, addressed to John Duncan, which was 

referred to the Office of Rulemaking. In that letter, you acknowledged that you received a 

signed exemption and Certificate of Waiver or Authorization from the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) on July 30, 2015, to operate an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to 

conduct aerial videography, photography, mapping, and surveying with the DJI Phantom 2 

and DJI Phantom 3 Professional UAS. 

You stated that you had a few points of concern with the conditions and limitations in your 

granted exemption. Your concerns and suggestions to those conditions and limitations are as 

follows: 

1. To re-define and clarify closed-set filming as a limited-access area in an enclosed 

building; 

2. To explain how an operator can have either a sport, private, or recreational pilot’s 

license to operate commercial UAS flights but forbidden from flying manned aircraft 

for commercial purposes; 

3. To change the pilot’s license requirement for operations under 200 ft. above ground 

level (AGL), requiring that operators have no pilot’s license in order to conduct UAS 

operations; 

4. To change the requirement for a visual observer (VO) from being mandated to 

recommended in UAS operations; and 

5. To propose that a sales receipt from a U.S. distributor or U.S. retail store be the only 

proof necessary to prove the origin of purchase to file for an aircraft N-Number. 

 
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In response to your request to clarify the term “closed-set filming”, the FAA provides the 

following definition: closed-set filming refers to motion picture or television filming which is 

conducted in a pre-determined location where the operator has taken measures to ensure that 

the area is secure. Access to this area is limited to essential personnel and individuals who 

have consented to participating in the operation and were provided with a safety briefing prior 

to UAS filming operations. The conditions and limitation provided in an exemption 

permitting closed-set filming operations are applicable to operations that occur outside as the 

FAA does not have regulatory jurisdiction over enclosed spaces. Your grant of exemption 

allows you to conduct aerial data collection operations only. If you wish to perform closed-set 

filming operations as described above, you must submit a new petition or a petition to amend 

your exemption. 

As a result of the FAA’s requirement for a UAS pilot in command (PIC) to hold either an 

airline transport, commercial, private, recreational, or sport pilot certificate when operating a 

UAS for compensation or hire, the FAA grants relief from §§ 61.101(e)(4) and (5), and 

61.113(a), to allow a PIC holding a recreational or private pilot certificate to operate a UAS 

for compensation and hire, subject to the conditions and limitations provided in your grant of 

exemption. The FAA also grants relief from § 61.315(a) to permit the holder of a sport pilot 

certificate to act as the PIC of UAS operated under your exemption. This relief does not 

preclude a certificated pilot from operating a manned aircraft which they are authorized to 

serve in accordance with the certificate they were issued. However, as you noted in your 

letter, operation of a manned aircraft for compensation or hire by a pilot holding a private, 

recreational, or sport pilot certificate is not permitted per §§ 61.101(e)(4) and (5), 61.113(a), 

61.315(a). In providing the noted relief, the FAA assessed operating parameters surrounding 

these low-risk UAS operations as well as the limited size, weight, and speed of the proposed 

UAS. This assessment cannot be applied to the operation of manned aircraft because the 

safety risks inherent in operating manned aircraft are higher when compared to operating 

UAS. 

Regarding your request to remove the requirement for a UAS PIC to hold either an airline 

transport, commercial, private, recreational, or sport pilot certificate when operating a UAS at 

altitudes below 200 feet AGL, Section 333 of Public Law (PL) 112-95 allows the Secretary of 

Transportation to make a determination regarding whether an airworthiness certificate is 

required for certain unmanned aircraft. However, it does not provide similar relief from the 

statutory requirement to hold an airman’s certificate (See 49 U.S.C. § 44711(a)). Therefore, 

the FAA does not possess the authority to exempt the petitioner from the statutory 

requirement to hold an airman certificate. See Exemption No. 11110 (Trimble Navigation, 

Ltd.). 

Regarding your request for exemption from the requirement to use a dedicated VO during all 

UAS operations, in the grant of exemption to Aeryon Labs (Exemption No. 11213), the FAA 

addressed the safety basis for requiring a VO. The FAA has found that the VO provides an 

additional means to comply with the see and avoid requirements of § 91.113 and maintain 

visual line of sight (VLOS) with the UA. The VO’s responsibility is to maintain constant 
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VLOS with the unmanned aircraft in order to avoid mid-air collisions with other aircraft or 

objects in the event that the PIC must momentarily break line of sight to look at indicators or 

controls. Given the nature of the VO task, the VO must be dedicated only to VO 

responsibilities and therefore the PIC cannot concurrently function as the VO. 

Regarding your concerns about the level of documentation required to prove that your UAS 

was not registered in a foreign country, please refer to the FAA site: 

http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/aircraft_certification/aircraft_registry/UA/. 

With respect to the rest of your concerns, the FAA will address them as a request for an 

amendment to your granted exemption. Once your petition has reached the federal docket, as 

was stated to you during a telephone conversation on September 14, 2015, we will proceed to 

process your letter as an amendment request. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

Lirio Liu 

Director, Office of Rulemaking