1 Dec 4 , 2015

SOAR Oregon

705 S W Bonnett Way

Ste. 1000

Bend, OR 97701

U. S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management System

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE

Washington, DC 2059 0

Subject: Federal Docket Number FAA

- 2015

- 3715, Amendment ( 1 ) to Petition for Section 333 Exemption u nder Public Law 112

- 95 , in the case of SOAR Oregon

Dear Sir,

1. Please find th is amended petition for a Section 333 Exemption for SOAR Oregon per 14 CFR Part
11.81

. SOAR Oregon is a State

- funded, not

- for

- profit organized in the St ate of Oregon with the expressed mission of supporting the growth o f the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Industry within the State of Oregon. In support of our primary mission and in support of the Public good , SOAR is additionally tasked with supporting t he stand

- up and management of Oregon’s three FAA

designated Test Ranges, under the University of Alaska, Fairbanks’ Pan Pacific UAS Test Range Complex (PPUTRC).

2. Purposes of this Amendment:

a. SOAR Oregon has received the FAA’ s letter dated November 5, 2015 requ iring additional information why granting this request would be in the Public Interest, and benefit the Public as a whole. The primary p urpose of this amendment is to clarify how this requested Section 333 Exemption will be in the Public Interest and serve the Public as a whole . Please refer to Paragraph 9 of this document for the additionally required information regarding how SOAR’s Section 333 Exemption is in the Public Interest.2 b. A second purpose of this amendment is to request Section 333 Ex emption for additional UAS not included in SOAR’s original application

. These additionally requested UAS are all of the same basic configuration, size and weight as those in our original request.

3. Applicant Name and Address :
SOAR Oregon

705 SW Bonnett Way

Suite #1000

Bend, OR 97702

Attn: Mr. John Stevens, Chief Operations Officer

3. S ummary of Requested Exemptions from 14 CFR for the Docket : As Oregon’s state

- funded not for profit entity with the expressed mission of furthering the UAS industry within Oregon, SOAR Oregon believes that this application exemption serves the public good per the intent of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 20 12, under Section 333 (c) of the Act to “...establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft systems in the National Airspace System“

S OAR requests this Section 333 Exemption under P.L. 112

- 95 for the purposes of operati ng a DJI Phantom 3 Prof essional
, DJI Phantom 3 Standard
, 3D Robotics X8M
, the Yuneec Typhoon series, and Yuneec Tornado (H920) f or the purposes of aerial photography, crew training, and UAS industry market survey . Specifically, SOAR requests ex emption from the following regu l a t ions:

14 CFR Part Summary of Regulations for which SOAR Requests Exemption 21, Sub

- part H Certification Procedures for products and parts, Airworthiness Certificates 45. 23 (b) Marking of Aircraft
61 .315 (c) (2), (3) Certification: Pilots and Instructors, “privileges and limits...sport pilot certificate” 91.7 (a) Civil Aircraft Airworthiness 91.103 (b) (1), (2) Preflight Action
91.105 Flight Crewmembers at Stations
91.109 Flight Instruction ; Simulated instrument flight and certain flight tests 91.119 (b), (c) Minimum Safe Altitudes . “Over congested areas” and “Over other than congested areas”
91.121 Altimeter s ettings 91.151 (a) Fuel requirements for flights in VFR c onditions 91.203 (a) & (b) C ivil aircraft: Certifications required
91.405 (a) Maintenance r equired3 91.407 (a) Operation after m aintenance , preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration
91.409 (a) (1) & (2) Inspections 91.417 (a) & (b) Maintenance Records

Table (1): Summary of Exemptions Requested

4. UAS for which SOAR Requests Section 333 Exemption: SOAR intends to operate two UAS of similar size and complexity in the furtherance of the organization’s mission:

3D Robotics X8M

DJI Phantom 3 Professional

DJI Phantom 3 Standard

Yune e c Typhoon Q500 4K

Yuneec Typhoon G

Yuneec Typhoon Q500+

Yuneec Typhoon Q500

Yuneec Tornado H920

All of these UAS are electrically

- powered, lightweight “quad” or “hex” VTOL UAS which weigh less than 11 pounds including payload, and fly at speeds of less than 87 knots. All UAS have been produced in great quantities
, and have amassed thousands of hours of safe, reliable operations. Additionally, the Secretary has already issued 333 Exemptions for both of these UAS.

5. SOAR Oregon Operational Limitations : SOAR proposes to impo se the following operational limitations on all of the organization’s UAS operations with these UAS :

a. All operations will be conducted by a SOAR

- designated Pilot in Command (PIC) and will utilize at least one Visual Observer (VO) as described in the subsequent section (see: SOAR UAS Crew Qualifications/Certifications and Constraints). b. All operations will be conducted in accordance with the manufacturers’ operational limitations and procedures as specified in:

o DJI Phantom 3 Professi onal User Manual v1.2 (Attachment 1)

o DJI Phantom 3 Standard User Guide v1.4 (Attachment 2)

o 3D Robotics X8M Operation Manual v3 (Attachment 3 )

o 3D Robotics X8 Flight Checklist (Attachment 4 )

o 3D Robotics X8 Support web page (Attachment 5)

o Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K User Manual v2 (Attachment 6)

o Yuneec Typhoon G Quick Start Guide (Attachment 7)

o Yuneec Typhoon Q500+ User Manual v2.0 (Attachment 8)4 o Yuneec Typhoon Q500 Instruction Manual (Attachment 9)

o Yuneec Tornado H920 A5 User Manual (Attachment 10)

c. All operations will be conducted at 400’ Above Ground Level (AGL) or below. d. All ope rations will be conducted at a speed of no more than 87 knots ( verified ground speed )

, and no greater than the UAS manufacturers’ published airspeed limitations

.
e. All operations will gen erally be conducted not less than 500 feet from non

- participating persons, vessels, vehicles, and structures

. Should flights be necessary inside of this envelope, SOAR will obtain the permission of any persons, vehicle/vessel owners or operators, or struc tures’ owners. f. No operations will be conducted within 5 nm of an airport reference point (ARP) as denoted in an FAA Airport Facility Directory (AFD), or for airports not denoted with a reference point in the AFD, the center of the airport symbol as denoted on the current FAA aeronautical chart, unless a letter of agreement with that airport’s management is obtained or otherwise permitted by a COA issued to SOAR.

g. All SOAR operations will be authorized via an FAA Civil Certificate of Waiver or Authorization ( COA)

. h. SOAR will publish a Notice to Airm e n (NOTAM) no earlier than 72 hours prior to scheduled UAS operations and no later than 48 hours prior to scheduled UAS operations.
i. As required, SOAR will notify the cognizant Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) prior to all UAS operations. j. All operations conducted over private or controlled access property will be conducted only with the expressed written consent of that property’s owner or authorized controller. k. All operations will be conducted no less than 50 0 vertical feet below or 2,000 horizontal feet from a cloud or when visibility is greater than 3 statute miles from the PIC. l. Operat ions will be conducted only in d ay visual meteorological conditions (VMC) and within unaided Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) of t he PIC and VO

. T he PIC and VO will maintain unaided visual contact with the UAS (corrective lenses and/or sunglasses excepted).

m. All operations will be conducted within a radio frequency spectrum (described in the UAS’s respective Operations Manuals) in compliance with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or other appropriate government oversight agency requirements.

n. If the UAS suffers a loss of command and control link with the GCS, or loss of GPS navigation signal, the UA will return to a predetermined point and hold until signal is regained. If the signal is not reacquired, the UA will execute a landing at a safe, pre

- determined point.

6. SOAR Oregon UAS Crew Qualifications/Certifications: SOAR proposes to adhere to the following

crew qua lifications/certification r eq uirements :

a. PICs will hold (at minimum) an FAA Spo rt Pilot Certificate, and a U.S. s tate issued Driver’s license , or lesser operator certification as may be authorized by the FAA in the future

. b. All SOAR PICs will be supervised b y the SOAR Executive Director. The SOAR Executive Director possesses an FAA Private Pilot Certificate, Instrument Rating with SEL high performance and complex endorsements, and has 895 hours flight time in fixed

- wing piston aircraft.5 c. All SOAR PICs will be required to demonstrate proficiency in operation of these UAS and to maintain currency with these platforms. d. VOs will hold (at minimum) a State

- issued Driver’s License.

e. A ll SOAR crew members will be subject to the FAA’s Drug and Alcohol program.

7. SOAR Oregon UAS Logbooks, Inspections, Maintenance and Condition for Safe Operation : SOAR proposes to follow the below re quirements with respect to UAS logbooks, m aintenance and ensuring our UAS’ condition for safe operation :

a. SOAR will maintain operations and maintenance logbooks for each UAS. b. SOAR UAS will be inspected and maintained IAW the Manufacturers’ Operator/Maintenance
Manuals , or in accordance with FAA Advisory Circular 43.13 (b), as applicable

. Additionally, 3D Robotics provides specific maintenance instructions in its “Support” web page (Attachment 5 ).

c. SOAR will ensure that its UAS are kept in a condition for continued safe operation by accomplishing the above. d. All inspections, maintenance actions
, and relevant life cycle data will be recorded in the UAS logbooks.

8. Specific Exemptions Requested by SOAR Oregon, and Equivalent Levels of Safety:

a. 14 CFR Part 21, Sub

- Part (H) , “Airworthiness Certificates”: There is no Type Certification basis for any of the UAS for which SOAR is requesting exemption, hence Airworthiness Certification is not requested. However, SOAR will ensure that the UAS will be in a condition for safe o perations through the use of maintenance and pre

- flight procedures as specified in the manufacturers’ Operations /Maintenance manual s and checklists (Attachments 1

– 10)

. SOAR will conduct all pre

- flights, scheduled and un

- scheduled maintenance in accordance with these manuals in order to ensure that the UAS is in a condition for safe operations

. b. 14 CFR Par 45.23 (b) “Display of Marks , General”: SOAR will register both UAS with the FAA

per 14 CFR Part 47. Exemption is requested for the size and location of the aircraft markings, as the minimum sizes and locations of markings per 14 CFR Part 43.23 (b) are impractical due to the size a nd configuration of UAS listed above. SOAR will mark the UAS with our assigned N

- numbers to the largest practical size.

c. 14 CFR Part 61. 315 (c) (2) and (3) “ ...privileges and limitations of...sport pilot certificate” : SOAR may operate its UAS for missions whi ch could be considered Commercial , or use a compensated staff member to conduct operations . However, g iven the small size, weight and complexity of the UAS SOAR intends to operates, SOAR proposes to maintain an equivalent level of safety with respect to i ts pilots’ qualifications and certifications by requiring all SOAR PICs to possess a minimum of an FAA Sport Pilot Certificate, and a valid
State

- issued driver’s license. SOAR believes that there is precedent for our establishing and maintaining the above level of PIC qualifications/certifications, as the Secretary has granted Certificates of Waiver or Authorization and Section 333 Exemptions for these and other UAS of similar specifications, and for organizations performing operations with identical limit ations.6 d. 14 CFR Part 91.7 (a) “Civil aircraft airworthiness” : A s no certification basis exists for the UAS SOAR intends to operate, no normal airworthiness can be established for these systems. However, SOAR will ensure an equivalent level of safety by ensuring compliance with all inspection and maintenance procedures detailed in the manufacturers’ operations and maintenance manuals.

e. 14 CFR Part 91.103 (b) (1), (2) “ Pre

- flight action”: N one of the UAS for which SOAR is requesting exemption to operate have FAA

- approved Aircraft Flight Manuals. However SOAR will ensure an equivalent level of safety by complying with all pre

- flight planning requirements of the manufacturer’s operations and maintenance manuals, and by ensuring that effective operational pre

- flight planning is conducted by the Pilot in Command per the rule

. f. 14 CFR Part 91.105 “Flight crewmembers at stations”: SOAR requests exemption from this rule in that the SOAR PIC will be located with the UAS ground control station. No safety harness es are required for this crewmember’s physical location. Additionally, SOAR will ensure an equivalent level of safety by maintaining a “sterile cockpit” environment for the PIC, ensuring the PIC’ s phy sical environment is free of distraction from unauthori zed personnel or other external stimuli.

g. 14 CFR Part 91.109 “ Flight Instruction; Simulated instrument flight and certain flight tests”: The UAS for which SOAR requests exemption lack the dual controls required by the rule
, however if available, SOAR will m aintain an equivalent level of safety by ensur ing that backup “piggy backed” controllers are used by PIC trainers for all system proficiency and experience building. All SOAR crew training will be conducted only during dedicated training sessions. All tr aining for SOAR PICs and VOs will be conducted per the operational limitations expressed above in this exemption request. h. 14 CFR Part 91.119 (b), (c) “Minimum Safe Altitudes

.. .“Over congested areas” and “Over other than congested areas”: As stated in the operational limitations above, SOAR will ensure an equivalent level of safety by operating its UAS no closer than 500 feet from non

participant persons, vessels, vehicles or structures, unless permission is given by these persons or owners that such flight s are permitted. Due to the light weight, small size, low airspeeds and lack of flammable materials on board the UA, no unsatisfactory residual risk exists for such operations. Should SOAR require to operate at distances less than the limitations expresse d in the rule, SOAR will obtain the permission of these persons, vehicle or vessel owner/operators, and structures’ owners or authority.
i. 14 CFR Part 91.121 ”Altimeter settings”: N one of the UAS for which SOAR is requesting exemption use s barometric altime ters. SO A R requests exemption from the statute and will achieve an equivalent level of safety through effective operation of these UAS’ GPS altitude reporting capabilities. j. 14 CFR Part 91.151 (a) “Fuel requirements for flights in VFR conditions”: N one of the UAS for which SOAR is requesting exemption ha s the ability to retain 30 minutes of fuel reserve. All are battery powered and have battery power level monitoring capability. SOAR will achieve an equivalent level of safety through battery health monit oring, ensuring that missions are terminated with sufficient battery power remaining to return to the takeoff point

.7 k. 14 CFR Part 91.203 (a) & (b) “Civil aircraft: Certifications required”: SOAR has not applied for an Airworthiness Certificate for these UA S, nor is it practical to carry additional documentation (e.g. FAA Registration, FCC license) aboard the UA. Thus, SOAR requests exemption from the statute and, as applicable, SOAR will achieve an equivalent level of safety by ensuring that all documentati on (except Airworthiness Certificates) required to be carried aboard the aircraft will instead be co

- located with the PIC, and available for examination by any FAA or law enforcement official. l. 14 CFR Part 91.405 (a) “Maintenance required”: N one of the UAS for which SOAR requests exemption will possess Airworthiness Certificates nor will they be maintained per 14 CFR Part 43. However, SOAR will ensure that these UAS are inspected and maintained per the manufacturers’ operations/maintenance manuals to ensur e an equivalent level of safety, and maintain a level of material condition sufficient to ensure continued safe operations after performance of inspections and maintenance actions. All inspections and maintenance actions performed on the SOAR UAS will be a nnotated in the UAS maintenance logbooks.

m. 14 CFR Part 91.407 (a) “Operation after maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration”: N one of the UAS for which SOAR requests exemption will possess Airworthiness Certificates nor will they be m aintained per 14 CFR Part 43. However SOAR will ensure that the aircraft are returned to a safely operable material condition to ensure an equivalent level of safety after completion of all inspections and maintenance actions, by performing all return to service requirements indicated in the manufacturers’ maintenance manuals.

n. 14 CFR Part 91. 91.409 (a) (1) & (2) “Inspections”: N one of the UAS for which SOAR requests exemption will possess Airworthiness Certificates nor will they be maintained per 14 CFR Part 43. However SOAR will ensure an equivalent of safety by performing all scheduled and special inspections per the manufacturers’ maintenance manuals. All inspections and maintenance actions performed on the SOAR UAS will be annotated in the UAS mainte nance logbooks.

o. 14 CFR Part 91.417 (a) & (b) “Maintenance records”: N one of the UAS for which SOAR requests exemption will possess Airworthiness Certificates nor will they be maintained per 14 CFR Part 43. However SOAR will ensure an equivalent level of safety by maintaining UAS maintenance logbooks which capture inspection a nd maintenance data similar to that required in 14 CFR Part 91.417 (a) (1) and (2).

9. Public Interest: SOAR is the State of Oregon’s designated not

- for

- profit for promotion and development of the UAS industry within the state. Our state

- funded efforts encompass four focus areas which directly benefit the Public. By granting SOAR’s request for Section 333 Exemption, the FAA will enable SOAR to conduct safe, effective, regulatory compliant UAS operations in direct support of all four of these focus areas, and is consistent with other Section 333 Exemptions previously granted to other not

- for profit organizations. These four focus areas are:

a. Support of the FAA

- Designated Oregon UAS Test Ranges under the Pan Pacific UAS Test Range Comp lex: SOAR provides direct financial support to the Oregon Test Ranges to support safe Public and Civil integration of UAS into the National Airspace System. SOAR also provides technical, regulatory, marketing and business development support to the8 Orego n UAS Test Ranges. The ultimate goal of SOAR’s support of the Test Ranges is to stimulate job creation and indirect economic activity associated with UAS operations at the Ranges. By granting our Section 333 Exemption, SOAR will be able to con duct safe, regulatory

- compliant demonstrations for public agencies, researchers, and aerospace companies who might be considering using the Oregon UAS Test Ranges

. b. Funding/Business Development: SOAR will create partnerships and support projects that ben efit UAS firms and bring new UAS products and services to market, and create jobs

. By granting of our Section 333 Exemption, SOAR will be able familiarize prospective comp anies considering entering the UAS sector through safe, regulatory

- compliant UAS demonstrations.

c. Oregon UAS Industry and Test Range Marketing: SOAR will expand the visibility and viability of the UAS industry within Oregon and our three FAA

- Authorized UAS Test Ranges, as well as provide valuable UAS safety and regulator y information to our members, the UAS industry and the Public. SOAR’s efforts in this focus area include promoting valuable public facing UAS safety programs such as KnowB4UFly. By granting SOAR’s request for Section 333 Exemption, the FAA will enable SOA R to conduct aerial data collection (aerial photography) UAS operations which will directly support our marketing and Public outreach activities such as website development, advertising, and UAS industry promotion in the state and regionally

. d. Industry Stakeholder Collaboratio n: SOAR collaborates directly with Federal Public Agencies (including the FAA), the State of Oregon Legislature and Agencies, Public Colleges and Universities, and Public education (K

- 12) STEM programs to ensure Public awareness and knowledge of UAS safet y programs. SOAR collaborates with other Oregon economic development agencies and organizations to expand the UAS industry for Public economic benefit. SOAR also coordinates with Oregon Universities and Colleges to develop UAS research and educational p rograms that will grow Oregon’s UAS labor pool. By granting SOAR’s Section 333 Exemption request, the FAA will enable SOAR to demonstrate safe, regulatory

- compliant UAS operations for these Public UAS stakeholders in the state

.

10. Privacy: SOAR Oregon will comply with all Federal, state and local regul ations pertaining to Privacy. Additionally, SOAR Oregon will comply with the Pan Pacific UAS Test Range Complex privacy policy during any operations flown under a PPUTRC COA.

11. Point of Contact: We are pleased to submit this amended petition for Section 333 Exemption. Should any clarification or additional information be required in support of this petition, please contact;

John Stevens

Chief Operations Officer

SOAR Oregon

jstevens@soaroregon.com9 Attachment s :
(1) DJI Phantom 3 Professional User Guide v1.2;
http://download.dji

innovations.com/downloads/phantom_3/en/Phantom_3_Professional_Use r_Manual_v1.2_en.pdf

(2) DJI Phantom 3 Standard User Guide v1.4
https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/phantom_3_standard/en/Phantom_3_Standard_User_Manual_ _V1.4.pdf
(3) 3D Robotics X8M Operation Manual v3;

http://3drobotics.com/wp

- content/uploads/2015/04/X8M

- Operation

- Manual

- v3.pdf

(4) 3D Robotics X8 Flight Checklist

http://3drobotics.com/wp

- content/uploads/2015/04/X8

- Checklist

- vB.pdf \

(5) 3D Robotics X8 Support web page

http://3drobotics.com/kb/x8/

(6) Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K User Manual v2
http://www.yuneec.com/download/manuals/q500_4k_user_manual.pdf

(7) Yuneec Typhoon G Quick Start Guide
http://www.yuneec.com/download/manuals/Typhoon

- G

- Quick

- Start

- Guide

- V1.0

- 0831.pdf

(8) Yuneec Typhoon Q500+ User Manual v2.0
http://www.yuneec.com/download/manuals/typhoon_q500plus_user_manual_v2.0.pdf

(9) Yuneec Typhoon Q500 Instruction Manual
http://www.yuneec.com/download/manuals/typhoon_q500_instruction_manual_v2.1.pdf

(10) Yuneec Tornado H920 A5 User Manual
http://www.yuneec.com/download/manuals/TORNADO

- H920

- User

- Manual

- A5

- (NO

- SONY7)

- 20151019.pdf