William Henry Stertz, Esq.

LAND GRAB FILM, LLC

Suite 600

26100 American Drive

Southfield, MI 48034

US Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

To Whom It May Concern,

This Petition on behalf of Land Grab Film, LLC d/b/a Atlas Industries (Petitioner) respectfully requests

an exemption from several provisions of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to permit 

use of two small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) for aerial data collection, including photography and

videography, for artistic, entertainment, and news-gathering purposes.

1. Name and Address of Petitioner - Land Grab Film, LLC is headquartered at 26100 American 

Drive, Southfield, Michigan 48034, and is owned and operated by John Hantz and Sean King 

O'Grady.

2. Proposed sUAS Systems – Petitioner requests exemption to use two sUAS systems: the DJI 

Inspire 1, with a takeoff weight of less than 6.5 pounds, and the FreeFly Alta, with a maximum 

takeoff weight including payload of under 30 pounds.

The manufacturers' user manuals are available upon request and can also be located at:

https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/inspire_1/en/Inspire_1_User_Manual_en_v2.0_1218.pdf

http://d27w8s76bjlz9v.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/28175748/WEBALTA_Manual_RevC_03.pdf

3. Proposed Operations - Operations will be limited to daylight hours, within visual line-of-sight, 

below 400ft., and otherwise within any limitations set by the Certificate of Authorization or 

Waiver. Operations would be for the purpose of data collection, including aerial photography 

and videography.

4. Public Interest – Petitioner intends to operate sUAS for data collection, and to utilize the 

resulting aerial photography and videography for commercial artistic, entertainment, and newsgathering purposes. The Petitioner will operate with enhanced safety using unmanned aircraft 

under 55 pounds, with no passengers or crew, and with no flammable fuel. It is in the public 

interest to grant Petitioner exemption, because operations will be used to further Petitioner's 

First Amendment interest and will not adversely affect safety.

5. Radio Frequency Spectrum – Both proposed sUAS systems are compliant with FCC 

regulations, including Part 15.

The DJI Inspire 1 uses a wireless communication system with integrated video downlink and an

aircraft Remote Controller system at 2.4GHz.
The proposed FreeFly Alta system utilizes an integrated wireless communication system with a 

2.4 GHz Movi Controller.

6. Pilots in Charge – The PICs will maintain any required airmen certificates, as well as a current 

FAA airmen medical certificate or a valid U.S. driver's license. The PICs will undergo any 

additional training required.

Petitioner's PICs will only operate the sUAS after demonstrating the ability to safely operate the

systems in a manner consistent with the terms of any exemption granted. Dedicated training 

sessions will be conducted with appropriate distance from nonparticipants.

A Visual Observer (VO) will be utilized and the VO and PIC will be able to communicate 

verbally at all times.

7. Procedures/Safety – The proposed sUAS operations will not adversely affect safety. Proposed 

operations will be conducted under 400ft, the aircraft weigh less than 55 pounds, operations will

be conducted during daytime Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions within visual line-of-sight 

of the PICs, and Petitioner will operate only beyond the required distances from airports and 

heliports. 

Proposed operations will also be limited to the airspeeds recommended by the manufacturers 

and subject to any additional limitations set on Petitioner.

Petitioner will utilize several procedures to ensure safe operations, including pre-flight 

inspections, as well as regular maintenance and repair in accordance with recommendations 

from the sUAS manufacturers. Petitioner will maintain and inspect the systems to ensure their 

condition for safe operation.

Petitioner will follow the manufacturers' maintenance, overhaul, replacement, inspection, and 

life limit requirements for the sUAS and components.

The sUAS will not be operated less than 500 ft below or less than 2,000 ft horizontally from a 

cloud or when visibility is less than 3 statute miles from the PIC.

Any sUAS that has undergone maintenance or alterations that affect the system's operation or 

flight characteristics, e.g., replacement of a flight critical component, will undergo a functional 

test flight prior to conducting further operations under this exemption. Functional test flights 

will only be conducted by a PIC with a VO and will remain at least 500 feet from other people. 

Any such functional test flight will be conducted in such a manner so as to not pose an undue 

hazard to persons and property. 

The PIC will abort the flight in the event of unpredicted obstacles or emergencies.

The PIC will not begin a flight unless (considering wind and forecast weather conditions) there 

is enough available power for the UA to conduct the intended operation and to operate after that

for at least 5 minutes or with the reserve power recommended by the manufacturer if greater.

The sUAS will not be operated by the PIC from any moving device or vehicle, and the UA will 

remain clear and give way to all manned aviation operations and activities at all times.
All operations will be conducted on private or controlled-access property with permission from 

the owner or the owner's representative.

Any incident or accident will be reported to the FAA's UAS Integration Office within 24 hours, 

as well as the NTSB.

Additional flight and safety procedures will be developed and followed in accordance with any 

granted exemption and COA, as well as manufacturers' suggested procedures and Petitioner's 

own operations.

8. Relief Requested – Petitioner requests exemption from 14 CFR §§ 21, Subpart H, 61.23(a) and 

(c), 61.101(e)(4) and (5), 61.113(a), 61.315(a), 91.7(a), 91.103, 91.105, 91.109, 91.119, 91.121,

91.151, 91.405, 91.407, 91.409, and 91.417, to the extent necessary to allow Petitioner to 

operate a UAS to perform aerial data collection. 

Please do not hesitate to contact William Stertz, Petitioner's attorney, via email at 

bill.stertz@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

William Henry Stertz, Esq.