Drone!UAS Practice Group

# ANTONELLI LAW--

U.S. Department ofTransportation Docket Management System 1200 NewJersey Ave S,E. Washington, D.C. 20590 Re: Amendment to Mr. Tom Kilpatrick Exemption No. 12152 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2015-1661 Dear Sir or Madam: 35 E Wacker Drive Suite 1875 Chicago, IL 60601 Tel. 312.201.8310 Jeffrey@Antonelli-Law.com June 8, 2016

Mr. Tom Kilpatrick ("petitioner") requests an amendment to FAA Exemption No. 12152, DocketNo. FAA-20 15-1661 for the purposes ofgaining permission to operate during night hours, and for the purpose offlying each ofthe previously-approved UAVs, found on Regulations.gov at Docket No. FAA-2007-3330. For your ease in reviewing this request for amendment, please refer to the exhibit list beginning on the next page. Documents relating to night operations are being submitted confidentially. Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. §11.35, petitioner requests confidential treatment for this documentation, submitted as Exhibits 3-4 to this amendment. It requests that the information contained in these exhibits not be made public because they are trade secrets whose disclosure would harm the owner of the information. They contain valuable commercial data that is not publically available and is protected from release under the Freedom oflnformation Act, SU .S.C. §552(b)(4). Ifwe can provide any additional informationto assist your understanding or review ofthis document, please do not hesitate to contact us at 312-201-8310 or via email at Jeffrey@AntonelliLaw.com.

me ia R. Niemi Attorneys fo r. Tom KilpatrickExhibit List Exhibit 1: Conditions and Limitations
... ......................................................................................... 3 Exhibit 2: Argument to Allow Night Operations................ ............. ........... ........................ ..... ..... .. 4 Exhibit 3: 2014-CSA-144-COA ............................................Submitted Confidentially to the FAA Exhibit 4: Northern Plains Unmanned Aerial Test Site Night Operations Letter...... .... ..... .............. ...... .... .. ...... ... ...................... ... .. ... .... .................... ....... .......... .... Submitted Confidentially to the FAA

2Exhibit 1: Conditions and Limitations 

### Petitioner requests the following change to the Conditions and Limitations ofExemption No. 12152: 1. The operatoris authorizedby this grant ofexemptionto use any aircraftidentified on the List ofApproved Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) under Section 333 at regulatory docket FAA-2007-3330 at www.regulations
.gov, when weighing less than 55 pounds including payload. Proposed operations ofany aircraft not on the list currently posted to the above docket will require a new petition or a petition to amend this exemption. 15. UA operations may be 

### conducted during night, as defined in 14 CFR § 1.1 , provided: a. All flight operations occur within 1 00 feet of the boundaries of a permanent structure and no higher than 400 feet AGL. b. The UA is equipped with lighted anti-collision lighting. c. The UA is equipped to inform the PIC of accurate position, altitude, attitude, speed, and heading of the aircraft throughout the flight operation. d. The petitioner will conduct a day time site assessment to note hazards and obstacles that may be difficult to see in low light conditions
. e. The PIC and VO are in place 30 minutes prior to night operations to ensure dark adaptation
. f. 

### The take-offand landing areas are lighted; thereby allowing the PIC to see the distance between the aircraft and ground during takeoff and landing and enabling the observer to monitor that non-participants remain at a safe distance g. The PIC is to have operated the UA listed in the conditions and limitations below at night prior to conducting nighttime commercial operation
. h. The PIC will obtain an appropriate level ofairman certificate prior to operating the UA at night. The FAA has previously allowed night operations in Exemption No. 16341 and at the Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Test Site in Grand Forks, North Dakota, COA 2014-CSA144
-COA, as detailed in Exhibits 3-4. For petitioner's argument as to being allowed to operate at night, please refer to Exhibit 2: Argument to Allow Night Operations.

3Exhibit 2: Argument to Allow Night Operations Petitioner requests permission from the FAA to conduct operations between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning ofmorning civil twilight- approximately 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise. Night operations will be conducted in a safe manner in a way that will not endanger either other aircraft or non-participants. In orderto operate with an equal or greater level ofsafety to daylight operations, routinely approved on the UAs petitionerrequests, petitioner will follow the same standards allowed by the FAA in Exemption No. 13641 and at the Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Test Site in Grand Forks, North Dakota, COA 2014-CSA-144-COA, as detailed in Exhibits 3-4. 1. The UAs will not pose a threat to manned aircraft. The UAs petitioner wishes to operate at night will not pose a threat to manned aircraft. The UA operational area will be within 100 feet ofthe boundaries ofapermanent structure, in order to ensure that manned aircraft will not be operating in the same area as the structure. This will satisfy proposed condition and limitation 15(a) listed above. Additionally, the UAs to be operated atnight will be visible from the ground, as well from the air. Petitioner will lightthe UAs as described in the Test Site's Technical Document Library, Volume IV, Section 11.4.28: Night Operations, Exhibit 4 to this amendment request. This will satisfy proposed condition and limitation 15(b), listed above. The UAs petitioner wish to operate at will be at a lower altitude than fixed-wing aircraft, so they will not post a threat to these aircraft. Additionally, the UAs will not pose a threat to any low-flying manned helicopters because it will be lit as described previously. Low-flying manned helicopters will also be adhering to FAA regulations regarding nighttime lighting, so the PIC and VO will easily be able to see and avoid any aircraft nearing the operational area. 2. Any commercialoperationsundertaken atnightwill be conductedwiththe same care as operations during the day. When operating at night, petitioner will observe the conditions and limitations in Exemption No. 12152, including operating below 400 feet AGL and within VLOS ofthe PIC and VO to see-and-avoid other aircraft, yielding right of way to all other manned operations, and requesting aNOT AM no less than 24 hours in advance ofoperations. As with daytime operations, the UA to be utilized will be equipped to inform the PIC ofaccurate position, altitude, attitude, speed, and heading ofthe aircraft throughout the flight operation, which will satisfy proposed condition and limitation 15(c), listed above. 3. Additional carewill be taken to combatlower visibility from the ground duringnight operations. Petitioner will take precautions during daylight hours in order to ensure that night operations are conducted more smoothly. Prior to conducting an operation at night, with low visibility from the ground, petitioner will conduct a day time site assessment to note hazards and obstacles that may be difficult to see in low light conditions, satisfying proposed condition and limitation 15(d), listed above. Additionally, the PIC and VO will prepare themselves physically 4for night conditions by being in place 30 minutes priorto night operations, in orderto ensure dark adaptation
. This will satisfy proposed condition and limitation 15(e), listed above. 4. The flight area will be properly secured to prevent nonparticipants from entering into the flight operational area In addition to not posing a threat to manned aircraft, petitioner's night operations will not pose athreatto nonparticipants. Petitionerwill continueto follow the same requirementsregarding distance from nonparticipants found in its original Exemption, No. 12152. Specifically, Operations will only occur within secured areas that are closed off to nonparticipants. Further, petitioner will prevent nonparticipants from entering within 500 feet of the flight operational area, unless there are sufficientbarriers to protectnonparticipants in the event ofan incident. This area will be lit, as described in proposed condition and limitation 15(f) listed above. 5. The PIC and VO will conduct training in order to be prepared for night operations Priorto conduction commercial operations at night, the PIC and VO will engage intraining appropriate to these particularoperations. Petitioner'sproposed PIC training will mirrorthat ofthe NorthernPlains UAS Test Site, which is described in thatTest Site'sTechnical DocumentLibrary, Volume IV, Section 6.3.4. Similarly, petitioner's proposed VO training mirrors that ofthe Test Site's training, described in Volume IV, Section 6.5.3: Visual Observer Training. Exhibit 4. This training will be sufficient to meet proposed condition and limitation 15(g), listed above. 6. The PIC will possess the appropriate level of pilot and medical certificates prior to operating at night. Finally, the PIC will be properly qualified by obtaining an appropriate level of pilot certificate prior to operating, as determined by the FAA. The PIC will also have received appropriate medical clearance by a medical professional to ensure that he or she will be able to meet the challenges associated with decreased visibility at night. This will ensure that proposed condition and limitation 15(h), listed above, is met.

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