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### Michael A. Sackman 3162 Andover Court Greenwood, IN 46142 Phone: 317

- 903

- 8934 Email: michaelsack@yahoo.com FAA UAS Cert#: FA3TXP3LHF

To whom it may concern;



## This letter is regards to petition FAA Section 333: **Title 14 CFR**
My name is Mike Sackman and I am an aspiring aerial photographer/videographer part time as well as a full time employee as a Medical Laboratory Technologist of 13 years . I have logged over 500 hours flying my UAV the DJI Phantom 3. Even m ore hours with the DJI Phantom 2 Vision. What first started as a hobby has since became apparent to me that the possibilities of use for the Phantom UAV have expanded the recreational use and should be utilized for more of a professional platform. The vi deos and photography I’ve shared with friends/family have feedback that goes beyond complimentary with such adjective verbiage as “amazing” , “is that real” and “astounding”. While I’d like to take credit for the work I do but I realize that the amazing ca mera attached to the Phantom does most of the work and all I do is fly it

. My flight photographs have since reached more than the intended audience and that’s where the “professional side” has manifested itself. People have used social media to share m y work and it has made it way to the general2

public which includes real estate agencies, agriculture, and private people wanting to frame an aerial picture of their property and now even event pl anners wanting aerial pictures. We are reluctant to do busine ss unless it is fully legal and approved through the FAA. I always strictly abide by the FAA recommendations when flying my drone which include;

 Flying below 400 ft.
 No flying near airports, stadiums, or other people.
 Don’t be careless or reckless.
 Keep U AS in line of sight.
 Keep away from emergency responders
 Don’t fly under influence of drugs or alcohol
 **Intentions of flight are for the purposes of real estate, agricultural and**  **private photography use.**

**- Aerial picture of houses from front, back and**  **side.**

**- Aerial pictures of businesses from front back and side.** 

**- Farmer expressed use of my UAV for inspection of crops, fields and**  **outlying building.**

 

# Safety Operations **- Preflight checklist:** 

**- Inspection of UAV and components including making sure**  **firmware is up -** **to**   ** date. Inspection include** **s :**  ***Never fly within 5 nautical miles of any airport. Phantom 3 DJi App has built in “no fly zones” for added safety.**  ***Always test Phantom 3 Advanced at around 1 0**  **- 20 feet after**  **takeoff to**  **ensure GPS hold is accur ate and set.** 
***** **Propellers : No cracks, dents, balanced, threads are not worn and replace**  **frequently using only manufacturer recommended high**  **quality propellers.** ***Motors: Check mounting scr ews to make sure they are not loose and are**  **tightly secured.**3 ***Frame: No stress fractures, cracks, dents, gimbal dampeners are not worn.** 

***Walk around flight are to make sure there are no visible obstruction of**  **flights i.e. trees, towers, power lines, street poles, cell phone towers, storm warning towers, etc.**  ***Experienced spotter is available for all flights to confirm.**  ***Never, ever fly near other aircraft.** ***Battery is charged and properly seated. This, in case, is a major issue for**  **power failure.** ***No people will be at any danger in case of power or mechanical failure.** ***RC is up to date on firmware and is overall good mechanical condition.**  ***Phantom compass is calibrated to the GPS signal in every area for designated flight and in case of GPS failure line of sight will be established**  **and used for basis as “home point” and sa**  **fety features such as course lock**  **and home lock are utilized.** ***Maximum altitude is set at 200ft in the DJI Go app. Return Home Altitude set to avoid any obstacles, IMU is calibrated if necessary.**  ***No adverse weather conditions that would directly impa ct visual line of**  **sight such as fog, rain, snow, smoke.** 

## Features of Phantom 3 for safety: **Phantom 3**  **Advanced complies with part 15 of FCC Rules. As stated in the manual which can be found here**  **** **http://www.dji.com/product/phantom/download?www=v1**  **Automatic go home in case of lost signal or low battery**  **.** I’ve tested this feature multiple times in open farmland and has never failed. I set the pre - designated “return to home” altitude and the Phantom 3 returned to home within 2 meters of take off poin t.4  Built in “No fly zones” which will make the UAV return to home in case of entering restricted airspace which is included in a circle of red area in the built in flight navigation/ GPS map.  Home Lock: Keeps the nose of the aircraft pointed at take off point in case of loss of orientation.  Return to home bottom on RC. In case of RIC and spotter loss of sight the Phantom 3 has a return to home button that when depressed the Phantom 3, as long as compass calibration is successful with return to home or in enough visible sight enough for PIC to depress button and regain complete control.  Maximum speed for Phantom 3 is 40 miles per hour, well under the 100mph maximum limit. For aerial pictures a high speed is not necessary. With my first UAV my main conc ern has always been safety because after all, what comes up must come down, which is why I always take necessary precautions as well as spotter back up from a trained UAV pilot including everything listed above. I live in Greenwood, IN and so far this is an emerging field that is relatively new and exciting to my geographic area. I would like to get ahead of the competition and of cou rse make this a legal endeavor. From the information I have gathered from regular photographers of the information they p rovided in regards to the price they charge, I can do this at a substantially lower price and give the public a view of their prospected house, or business as well as the neighborhood in which they intent to move. Regular photography is somewhat one dimen sional and with the Phantom 3 I can give them a “birds eye view” while saving everyone time and money. My insurance agent is waiting on an approval letter from the FAA before we can get a quote started and move forward. I appreciate the time in consider ing my petition. If there is any other information needed that I haven’t provided please let me know and I will promptly respond. Again, thanks for your time. Respectfully submitted ; Michael A. Sackman5