UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, DC

Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2014

- 0506

WOOLPERT, INC.’S PETITION FOR AMENDMENT CONCERNING CONDITION AND LIMITATION NUMBER 3 TO GRANT OF EXEMPTION NO. 11111

Submitted on February 25 , 2015

G REGORY S. W INTON
, E SQ

. J ARED M. A LLEN
, E SQ

. T HE A VIATION L AW F IRM 1997 Annapolis Exchange Parkway Suite 300 Annapolis, Maryland 21401 Tel: (301) 294

- 8550 Fax: (866) 568

- 9886 Attorneys for Petitioner2

Petitioner, Woolpert, Inc. (“Woolpert”), by and through undersigned counsel, pursuant to

the provisions of the Federal Aviation Regulations and the Federal Aviation Administration

(“FAA”) Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (“FMRA”) , Section 333, Special Rules for

Certain Unmanned Aircraft Systems, hereby petitions the Admini strator for an amendment to

Condition and Limitation number three ( 3 ) to Gra nt o f Exemption No. 11111 (Regulatory

Docket No. FAA

- 2014

- 0506), which granted Woolpert an exemption from 14 C.F.R § 91.119(c)

to the exten t necessary to allow operation of the Altavian Nova Block III unmanned aircraft

system (“UAS”) for the special purpos e of conducting precision aerial surveys.

Specifically, Woolpert seeks an amendment to Grant of Exemption No. 11111 to the

extent necessary to allow operation of the Nova Block III UAS within the National Airspace

System (“NAS”) at an altitude of no more than 500 feet above ground level (AGL).

Woolpert submits that the conditions and limitations set forth in Grant of Exemption No.

11111

, in addition to those set forth below

, will ensure the safety of the NAS, as well as the

safety of persons and property on the ground.

In supp ort thereof, Woolpert states the follow ing :

A. Name And Address Of The Petitioner.

The name and address of the Petitioner is:

Woolpert, Inc. 4454 Idea Center Blvd. Dayton, Ohio 45430

The point of contact for this Petition and specific contact information is as follows:

Gregory S. Winton, Esq. The Aviation Law Firm 1997 Annapolis Exchange Parkway, Suite 300 Annapolis, Maryland 21401 Tel: (301) 294

- 8550 | Fax: (866) 568

- 9886 Email: Greg@aviationlawexperts.com3

B

. Woolpert Seeks To Amend Condition and Limitation N umber 3 To Grant Of Exemption No. 11111.

Condition and Limitation number 3 to Grant of Exemption No. 11111 states the following :

The Nova Block III UA must be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet above ground level (AGL). All altitudes reported to ATC must be in feet.

Grant of Exemption No. 11111 at page 9 , ¶ 3

.

C. Extent Of The Amendment That Woolpert Seeks And The Rea son Woolpert Seeks
To Amend Condition And Limitation Number 3

.
Woolpert submits that Condition and Limitation number 3 to Grant of Exemption
No. 11111 be amended as follows:

The Nova Block III UA must be operated at an altitude of no more than 500 feet above ground level (AGL). All altitudes reported to ATC must be in feet.

This relief is requested because Woolpert ’s original Petition For Exemption (Regulatory

Docket No. FAA

- 2014

- 0506) sought operation of the Nova Block III UA at an altitude of no

more than 4 00 AGL. However, as set forth more fully below, Woolpert proposes that it may

safely operate the Nova Block III UA at an altitude of no more than 500 feet AGL, because most

manned aircraft operat ions take place above 500 fe et AGL

. As such, any potential traffic

conflict between the Nova Block III UA and manned aircraft is highly improbable and unlikely.

By operating the Nova Block III UAS at an altitude of 500 feet AGL or below , Woolpert

will be able to provide additiona l cost

- effective aerial acquisition services that are not

technologically feasible to perform when the Nova Block III UAS is limited to an altitude of 400

feet AGL . Specifically, Woolpert must operate the Nova Block III UAS at an altitude of 500

feet AGL while performing certain aerial acquisition operations in order to achieve the correct

base to height ratio necessary to obtain the desired imagery using the Nova Block III UA’s

mapping payload

.4

D. The Reasons Why Granting Woolpert’s Request For Amendment Would Be In The
Public Interest; That Is, How It Would Benefit The Public As A Whole.

Granting the present petition for amendment will continue to further the public interest

as set forth in Gra nt of Exemption No. 11111 at page 8 , in which the Administrator found good

cause for Woolpert’s proposed UAS operation because enhanced safety will be achieved by

using an unmanned aircraft with the specifications described by Woolpert

, and by carrying no

passengers or crew, as compared to a manned aircraft of significantly greater proportions, which

carr ies crew in addition to flammable fuel

. Woolpert’s proposed UAS operations , at or below

500 feet AGL, will provide benefits to agriculture, science, the e nvironment, wildlife monitoring,

forestry, and energy. Furthermore, t he benefits of Woolpert’s proposed operation of the Nova

Block III UAS will be realized without implicating any privacy issues.

Granting of Woolpert’s proposed amendment will fulfill the Congressional mandate of

the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, by allowing Woolpert to safely, efficiently,

and economically operate the Nova Block III UAS commercially within the NAS at or below

500 feet AGL

.

E. The Reasons Why Granting An Amendmen t To Condition And Limitation Number 3 Wou ld Not Adversely Affect Safety.

Woolpert proposes that it may safely operate the Nova Block III UA at an altitude of no

more than 5 00 feet AGL

, because the majority of manned aircraft operat ions within the national

airspace system take place at altitudes above 500 feet AGL

. Specifically, pursuant to the Federal

Aviation Regulations (14 C.F.R part 91), manned aircraft operations conducted over uncongested

areas must be flown at an altitude above 500 feet AGL, while manned aircraft operations

conducted over congested areas must be flown at an even hi gher altitude 1

. Thus, a 500

- foot

1 14 C.F.R. §91.119 , entitled Minimum safe altitudes , states the following, in part:5

altitude ceiling for operation of the Nova Block III UAS would necessar il y create a safety buffer

between the unmanned aircra ft and the manned aircraft , while operating together within the

NAS.

In the FAA’s recently published notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled

Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems ( 80 F ed. R eg. 9544

- February

23, 2015 )

, concerning s pecific rules (14 C.F.R. part 107) to allow the operation of small

unmanned aircraft systems in the NAS, the agency proposed 500 feet AGL as the vertical area

of

- operation boundary

, because most manned aircraft operations take place above 500 feet AGL

.
Specifically, the FAA stated the following, in relevant part :

Next, we turn to the vertical boundary of the confined area of operation. With regard to the vertical boundary, the FAA proposes, in § 107.51(b), to set an altitude ceiling of 500 fee t above ground level (AGL) for small UAS operations that would be subject to this proposed rule. The FAA chose to propose 500 feet as the vertical area

- of

- operation boundary because most manned aircraft operations take place above 500 feet. Specifically, m ost manned aircraft operations conducted over uncongested areas must be flown at an altitude above 500 feet AGL, while most manned aircraft operations conducted over congested areas must be flown at an even higher altitude. Thus, a 500

- foot altitude ceili ng for small UAS operations would create a buffer between a small unmanned aircraft and most manned aircraft flying in the NAS.

The FAA notes that while most manned aircraft operations fly above the 500

- foot ceiling proposed in this rule, there are some m anned

- aircraft operations that could fly below this altitude. For example, aerial applicators, helicopter air ambulance services, and military operations conducted on military training routes often fly at an altitude below 500 feet. However, even though so me manned aircraft operations take place at an altitude below

Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:

(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assemb ly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.

(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas . In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.6

500 feet, there is significantly less air traffic at or below 500 feet than there is above 500 feet altitude. As a result of this difference in air

- traffic density, the FAA has determined that s mall UAS operations would not pose a significant risk to manned aircraft operations taking place below 500 feet altitude if proper precautions are taken by the small UAS operator.

80 Fed. Reg. 9543 (2015)

As such, Woolpert respectfully submits that an eq uivalent level of safety will be

maintained, as presented in Grant of Exemption No. 11111

, because a ll other conditions and

limitations will remain in effect

, which ensures that no risk is posed to any manned aircraft

operations taking place below 500 feet AGL

.

F. A Summary That Can Be Published In The Federal Register, stating: The Rules From Which Woolpert Seeks Exemption:

Woolpert, Inc. seeks to amend Condition and Limitation number three to Grant of Exemption No. 11111

.
A Brief Description Of The Nature Of The Exemption Woolpert Seeks:

This amendment to Grant of Exemption No. 11111 will permit Woolpert, Inc. to safely operate the Nova Block III UA within the National Airspace System (NAS) at an altitude of no more than 5 00 feet above ground level (AGL).

G. Any Additional Information, Views, Or Arguments Available To Support Woolpert’s Request.

This Petition i s made pursuant to the FAA Modern ization and Reform Act of 2012

Section 333, which directs the Secretary of Transportation to determine if certain UAS may

operate safely in the NAS. As such, Woolpert’s request for amendment may be granted pursuant

to the authority of FMRA Section 333 and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, as set forth above.

CONCLUSION

WHEREFORE , in accordance with the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 C.F.R) and the

FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Section 333, Woolpert respectfully requests that

the Administr ator grant this Petition for amendment to Grant of Exemption No. 11111

, to the7

extent necessary to allow Woolpert to operate the Nova Block III UAS within the NAS at an

altitude of no more than 500 feet AGL

.
Dated: February 25 , 2015

Respectfully submitted,

The Aviation Law Firm

/s/ Gregory S. Winton

____________________________ Gregory S. Winton, Esq. Jared M. Allen, Esq. 1997 Annapolis Exchange Parkway Suite 300 Annapolis, Maryland 21401 Tel: (301) 294

- 8550 Fax: (866) 568

- 9886 Attorneys for Petitioner

cc: James H. Williams, AFS

- 80 Robert Pappas Dean Griffith, Esq.