1 rb.tv, inc. 4507 Elsby Ave Dallas, TX 75209

214

- 956

- 8666 sam@redbutton.tv

June 5, 20 15

U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations West Building Ground Floor, Room W12

- 140 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

Dear Sir or Madam:

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act), rb.tv, inc.

, the operator

, and Sam Stanton, owner, and pilots, David

E kstrom, Paul Burrough, Jon Morto n, Mike Ellis, Drew Parsley, Scott Anderson, Seth Sampson , Gille s Tisseraud, & Kenji Croman hereby apply for an exemption from Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) detailed below to allow for commercial operations of two DJI “Inspire 1” four rotor UAS’s(Inspire 1), two DJI Phantom 2

four rotor UAS ’s with an attached DJI H3

- 3D Gim bal Mount holding a GoPro

Hero 4+’s (Phantom 2) , and two DJI Phantom 2 Vision +’s with attached 3 axis gimbal mount holding DJI cameras (Vision +) for the purpose of aerial photography and video for a variety of industries.

As the Reform Act all ows the FAA to “establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft systems in the national airspace system”, rb.tv, inc. ’s

use of the Inspires and Phantoms will provide the following benefits and enhance or provide an equivalent level of safety

.

1. The Inspire and the Phantom 2 has a maxim um takeoff weight of less than 6

and 3.5 pounds respectfully and thus offe s a lightweight, small and compact video platform compared to manned aircraft.

2. Sam Stanton and all co

- applicant s

, have been flying RC ae rial systems for over

a decade and will be the PIC s (Pilot s in Command) of all of rb .tv , inc. ’s

aerial operations.

3. The Inspire 1 and Pha ntom 2 offer significant safety, noise, emission, security and environmental benefits not available to larger manned aircraft.

4. The Inspire 1 and Phantom 2 have numerous safety features such as Failsafe mode, automatic landing should signal between PIC and UAS be

int errupted, GPS based altitude and distance locks, Flight Limits function and low battery warnings. We feel that these features addressed in more2 detail below and in the Inspire 1 Phantom 2 User Manual provide an equivalent level of safety.

5. The lead PIC, Sam Stanton has a Known Traveller Number and Global Entry

Card and has been vetted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and pose s no threat to national security.

Operations utilizing the Inspire 1 and Phantom 2 will provide a benefit to th e general public and serve the public interest by providing the service of aerial photographic images and video to numerous businesses and individuals for considerably less than the previously only available option of utilizing manned aircraft at an equiva lent level of safety.

The Aircraft, Operations and an Equivalent Level of Safety

1. The safe operation of the UAS will be the first priority before, during and after every operation.

2. The UAS pilot s will always be one of our experienced airmen will be

cons idered the PIC wether flying or supervising and will be responsible for the safe operation of the UAS at all times.

3. The Inspire 1 has a maximum takeoff weight of 3400 grams or approximately 7.5 pounds. It has a diagonal length of 451mm and a maximum spe ed of 22 meters per second. DJI Phantom 2 has a maximum takeoff weight of 1300 grams or approximately 2.9 pounds. It has a diagonal length of 350mm and a maximum speed of 15 meters per second.

4. The UAS utilizes GPS location and is controlled by a 2.4 GHz transmitter.

5. All UAS operations will be conducted at Visual Line Of Sight (VLOS) at no

more than 400 feet AGL.

6. All UAS operations will be conducted under DJI’s flight restricted areas in relation to all airfields in the United States. Those specifical ly are as follows: 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to 5 miles (8 km) around restricted areas are altitude restricted, with maximum altitude going from 35 feet (10.5 m) at 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to 400 feet (120 m) at 5 miles (8 km).

7. No UAS operations shall occur over dense ly populated public areas, large assemblies of people, stadiums, government buildings, power lines, or major roads.

8. All nonparticipating persons shall be a minimum of 500 feet from the UAS.3 9. If a nonparticipating person comes within 500 feet of the UAS, flight operations will cease immediately.

10. All UAS operations shall take place during daylight hours under conditions equivalent to Visual Flight Rules (VFR) with the UAS no more than 3/4 NM from

the PIC.

11. All UAS operations will have a PIC and a Vis ual Observer (VO) present and all operations will be within line of sight (LOS) of the PIC and VO.

12. The UAS will yield to all manned aircraft at all times.

13. All required permits and permissions will be obtained from local and state government should they be required.

14. A pre

- flight inspection by the PIC will be performed prior to each flight to assure that the UAS is safe for flight. A post

- flight inspection will also be performed as an added level of safety. An aircraft check will also occur after every two hours of flight. See Appendix B for aircraft checklist.

15. At no time shall the UAS be operated with missing or manufacturer unapproved parts, or in any condition that could pose a hazard to any other aircraft or structure or person on the ground.

16. Pri or to all UAS operations a pre

- flight meeting will be held by the PIC to determine the parameters of flight in a given location, any hazards present, weather conditions, safety procedures at the specific location and approximate duration and route of fligh t.

17. The PIC will have accumulated and accurately logged a minimum of 5 0

hours total time as a UAS roto rcraft pilot with a minimum of 3 0 hours as a UAS pi lot with a multi

- rotor UAS and 30 hours as a UAS pilot operating the same make and model of UAS to be used for operations under the exemption.

18. The Inspire 1 and Phantom 2 UAS will utilize GPS location, auto return home and will never be operated at below 20% batter capacity.

The DJI I nspire 1 UAS is a small and safe sub 8 pound plastic and composite aircraft utilizing four propellers driven by a 5700mAH, 22.8V LiPo smart battery with an average flight time of 20

- 22 minutes. The remote control/transmitter operates at both 5GHz and 2.4 GHz. The aircraft’s software can be calibrated to limit both AGL and distance from the transmitter. The aircraft will automatically return to point of origin or descend in place should signal with the transmitter be lost. The UAS is unmanned, operates at l ow altitudes, does not run on4 combustible fuel, has very low decibel level noise emissions and has a small payload capacity and short flight time, thus significantly reducing current risk levels involved with utilizing manned aircraft for aerial photograph y

The DJI Phantom 2 UAS is a small and safe sub 3 pound plastic and composite aircraft utilizing four propellers driven by a 5200mAh, 11.1V, LiPo smart battery with an average flight time of 17

- 18 minutes. The remote control/transmitter operates at 2.4 GHz . The aircraft’s software can be calibrated to limit both AGL and distance from the transmitter. The aircraft will automatically return to point of origin or descend in place should signal with the transmitter be lost. The UAS is unmanned, operates at low altitudes, does not run on combustible fuel, has very low decibel level noise emissions and has a small payload capacity and short flight time, thus significantly reducing current risk levels involved with utilizing manned aircraft for aerial photography.

Additionally, past purchasers of aerial photography have had to contract with manned aircraft operations at a significant expense. rb .tv , inc. ’s UAS operations will provide a public benefit in allowing more people to access aerial photography images and v ideo at a significantly lower price and in the process we will be providing that data at a greater or at least equivalent level of safety as compared to similar manned operations.

It is the applicants belief that the small size of the Inspire 1 and Phanto m 2

UAS ’s , the basic operating parameters outlined above, the specific exemptions discussed below, the fully trained, certified and vetted crew and the equivalent level of safety provided at a much lower cost to the general public will allow the FAA to gra nt an exemption to rb .tv , inc. for commercial UAS aerial photography operations under the Reform Act of 2012.

The exemption requests follow below as well as Appendix A and Appendix B.

The DJI Inspire 1 and Phantom 2 User’s Manual will be sent as a separat e attachment.

Sincerely,

Sam Stanton

President rb.tv, inc. 4507 Elsby Ave Dallas, Texas 75209

214

- 956

- 86665 EXEMPTION REQUESTS AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

rb.tv, inc. , requests an exemption from the following regulations as well as any

additional regulations that may technically apply to the operation of the Inspire 1

and Phantom 2 UAS ’s

.

14 CFR Part21, Subpar t H: Airworthiness Certificates

This part establishes the procedures for the issuance o f an airworthiness

certificate. While the FAA contin ues to work to develop airw orthiness standards for UAS, we request an experimental certificate be issued for the UAS operated by the applicant under either or bo th of the following provisions:

21 .191 Experimental certificates. Experimental certificates are issu ed for the following purposes: (a) Research and development. Testing new aircraf t design concepts, new

aircraft equipment, new aircraft installations, new aircraft operating techniques, or

new uses for aircraft. (b) Showing compliance with regulati ons. Co nducting flight tests and

other operations to show compliance with the airworthiness r egulations including flights to show compliance for issuance of type and supplemental type

certificates , flights to substantiate major design changes, and flights to show compliance with the function and reliability requ irements of the regulations.

Since the experimental certificate can be used for com mercial purposes such as

market surveys, sales demonstrations, and customer crew tr aining, we would expect that an experimental certificate would permit our commercial purpose as

well.

The aircraft will not carry persons or property and will only fly under strict operational requirements. As the Inspire 1 and Phantom 2 UAS ’s also carries no combustible fuel, weighs les s than 7.5 and 3 pounds and are constructed primarily of plastics and composites, we propose the UAS is at least as safe, if not significantly safer than conventionally certified aircraft used within similar

param eters.

If an experimental airworthiness cer tificate is not appropriat e for this application,

then we request an exemption of 14 CFR Part21, Subpar t H, and the requirement for an airworthiness certificate in general, citing the equivalent level

of safe ty outlined in the previous paragraph.6 14 CF R 91.203(a) & (b) Civil air craft: Certifications required.

The regulation provides that an airworthiness certificat e, with the registration

number assigned to the aircraft and a registration certifica te must be aboard the

aircraft. Additionally, subparagr aph (b) provides that the airworthine ss certificate be "displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is l egible to passengers

or crew.”

As the UAS is too small to carry documentation, does not have an entrance and does not carry a crew, we propose the following in order to meet the intent of 91.203 and provide an equivalent level of safety. All documents deemed appropriate by the FAA for t his aircraft will be located at the operational ground station for each flight in proximity to the PIC and VO and will be available for inspection on request. In order to identify the aircraft, we propose to use the manufacturers model and production codes located on the aircraft as well as appropriate registration numbers and the telephone number of the manufacturer

and rb.tv, inc. affixed to the aircraft as well. Should the FAA deem appropriate, we will also affix the word “EXPERIMENTAL” in the largest po ssible lettering given the size of the U AS, as discussed further below.

14 CFR 45.23 Display of marks; general and 45.29 Size of marks. These regulations provide that each aircraft must display "N" and the

aircraft's registration number in letters at leas t 3 inches high. Addition ally, the aircraft must display the word "EXPERIMENTAL" in letters at least 2 inches high

near the entrance to the cabin , cockpit, or pilot station.

As the UAS does not have an entrance, may not have an FAA assigned registration n umber and is of such small size, we propose to affix the word “EXPERIMENTAL” in the largest possible lettering appropriate for the aircraft. Additionally, for each operation the ground station will be clearly identified with a banner containing the words “ UAS Ground Station” that will be of appropriate size to be seen by any observer of the aircraft operations. The ground station will also have all registration and identity documents relating to the UAS.

14 CFR 91.9 Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, a nd placard requirements. This regulation provides that no person may operat e an aircraft unless a current, approved flight manual is in the aircraft. The intent of thi s requirement is to

ensure that flight manual information is available to the aircre w whi le operating

the aircraft.

rb.tv, inc., requests an exemption to this requirement as the UAS cannot, given its size, carry the flight manual. To meet an equivalent level of safety, we propose to have the current manufacturers flight manual and the rb.tv,inc. flight manual at the operational ground station of each flight, ava ilable to both the PIC

and VO.7 14 CFR 91.109 Flight instruction; Simulated instrument flight and certain flight tests.

The regulation provides that "No person may operate a ci vil aircraft that is being

used for flight instruction unless that aircraft has ful ly functioning dual controls."

The controls for the UAS do not currently have a set of fully functioning dual controls. If a UAS pilot is being trained, the pilot performi ng the training would be directly supervising and could take over the controls from the pilot in training if

the need arose.

This would be similar to the technique of a "throw

- over type" control wheel in some fixed wing aircraft. We feel that thi s techniq ue meets the intent 91 .109 and provides an equivalent level of safety.

14 CFR 91.119 Minimum safe altitu des: General.

The regulation provides that over sparsely populat ed areas the aircraft cannot be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, veh icle, or structure. Since the UAS will be operating at a maximum 400 feet AGL, we cannot comply with this requirement and thus ask for an exemption. In order to provide an equivalent

level of sa fety, we propose the following.

A. The UAS will only be operate d within VLOS of the PIC and VO at a maximum range of 3/4 NM from the ground station.

B. A preflight safety risk assessment will be completed prior to each flight to ensure the UAS is in a condition for safe flight and that the planned operation can be comp leted safely. rb.tv, inc.’s Flight Manual and Pre

Flight Checklist is included as Appendix A and Ap pendix B.

C. All UAS operations will be conducted under DJI’s flight restricted areas in relation to all airfields in the United States. Those specifically a re as follows: 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to 5 miles (8 km) around restricted areas are altitude restricted, with maximum altitude going from 35 feet (10.5 m) at 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to 400 feet (120 m) at 5 miles (8 km).

D. The UAS will only operate over private property or private events wit h the approval of the owner of that property and event.

E. The UAS will not operate over any open air asse mblies of people, congested or crowded areas, or within 500 feet o f any nonparticipating

person.

Overall, we believe that the above restrictions and the UAS’s small size, light weight, low maximum speeds, and high degree of maneuverability and stability8 combine to provide an equivalent level of safet y compared to manned aircraft.

14 CFR 9l.l21Altimeter settings.

The regulati on provides that aircraft shall maintain cruisi ng altitudes by reference

to an altimeter setting available within 100 nautical miles of the aircraf t.

The UAV will always be flying below 400 feet AGL within VLOS of the PIC and VO that will provide separatio n from terrain, structures and other aircraft. Also, the UAS will continually transmit an AGL reading back to the controller at the ground station and the AGL lock in the UAS’s software will be set to 400 feet, providing an equivalent level of safety.

14 CFR 91.151 Fuel requirement s for flight in VFR conditions.

The regulation provides that no person may begin a flight in an airplane under

da y

- VFR conditions unless there is enough fuel to fly to the first p oint of intended landing and to fly after that for at least 30 minutes.

We feel that the intention here is to provide a reserve of fuel to remain aloft should a landing be delayed or the landing point changed. The UAS is smart battery powered and continually transmits battery charge information back to the ground station to be evaluated by the PIC who will return the UAS back to the ground station when the battery shows 20% remaining capacity. We feel that this combined with the fact that the UAS will have a maximum range of 3/4 NM from the groun d station provides an equivalent level of safety.

14 CFR Subpart E (91.401

- 91.4171

- Maintenance, Preventive Maintenan ce, and Alterations.

The regulation provides that the operator is primarily responsible for maintaining

the aircraft in an airworthy con dition, including compliance with part 39 and 43. Paragraphs 91.407 and 91.409 require that the aircraft be "approved fo r return to service by a person authorized under 43.7" af ter maintenance and inspection.

We propose that the PIC perform maintenance an d inspection and “be authorized to approve the aircraft for return to service.” As provided for in Appendix A, the PIC will inspect the aircraft prior to every flight to ensure it is in airworthy condition. A maintenance check will also be performed after every 2 hours of flight. Any general maintenance and repair or replacement of components will be completed by the PIC following the manufacturers recommendations and documented in accordance with 91.417. In any case

where the UAS cannot be returned to serv ice by the PIC, or is suspected to be unsafe, the UAS will not be operated until returned to all manufacturer specifications. We feel that due to the simplicity, size, robustness a nd

construction of the aircraft the PIC can assure an equivalent level of sa fety.9 8900.227 Paragraph 16(cXa) PIG Medical. and Paragraph 16(eX1) Observer

Medical.

This policy provides that both the PIC and observer mus t have a valid FAA

second

- class medical certificate issued under part 67 in order to perform as a pilot or observer. We feel that requiring the PIC and VO to meet the same medical requirements as a commercial pilot carrying passengers in a large aircraft is an unnecessary burden. Since the UAV is of small size, unmanned and required to be in VLOS of the PIC an d VO at all times and given the highly unlikely scenario of both the PIC and VO becoming incapacitated simultaneously,

we feel 2 certified able bodies should be sufficient. Furthermore, given the aircrafts auto return home feature and low operating altitud e, we feel that the above provide an equivalent level of safety. We propose that the medical requirements for the VO be vision corrected to 20/20 and a valid state issued

driver’s license.10 APPENDIX A

PHOTOBIRD FL IGHT MANUAL

FLI GHT PARAME TERS AND RESTRICTIONS

A. The PIC will be an FAA licensed airman with a Commercial Pilot certificate and associated medical certificate or the UAS pilot will be directly supervised by an FAA licensed airman with a Commercial Pilot certificate

and associated medical certificate.

B. The PIC will have accumulated and logged a minimum of 25 flight hours as a UAS rotorcraft pilot and a minimum of 10 hours logged as a UAS pilot

with a multi

- rotor UAS and 5 hours as a UAS pilot operating the same make

and model of UAS to be used for operations under the exemption. A current logbook of all training flights and all flight operations will be at the ground station during all operations

.

C. All flights will occur in FAA Class G airspace at no more than 400 feet AGL

and no furt her than 3/4 NM from the PIC.

D. All operations will utilize a PIC and VO with the PIC and VO able to

commu nicate verbally at all times.

E. All operations will occur only during daylight hours and in weather conditions equivalent to VFR.

F. All operations wi ll occur at VLOS from the PIC and VO.

G. The PIC and VO will have a pre

- flight meeting at the site of the operation just prior to the flight to assess weather, area of operation, topography, flight time, route, hazard mitigation and overall operational an d safety parameters. Also during this meeting, the pre

- flight aircraft checklist (see App endix B) will be implemented.

H. No flight operations shall occur within 5 NM of an airport, nor shall flight operations occur over open assemblies of people, congested roadways, densely populated areas, air show s, or other restricted areas.

I. The UAS will always operate at a minimum of 500 feet from any nonparticipating (non

- essential flight personnel) persons and UAS operations shall cease should a nonparticipant be clo ser than 500 feet to

the UAS.

J. All operations will be conducted over private property with the full permission of the property owner and the property owner will be briefed as to the flight parameters.11 K. Flight planning will include the termination of the flight with 20% battery remaining, as determined by the data link betwee n the UAS and ground

station.

L. The UAV will at all times give way to manned aircraft.

M. Prior to every flight, a highly visible banner with the words “UAS Ground

Station” will be placed at the site of the ground station to allow an outside

observer to determine the location of the UA S’s origin and command point.

N. All permits required by state and local governments will be obtained prior to any operations.

O. No flight operations will occur without a successful pre

- flight inspection by the PIC before each flight to determine that the UAS is in a condition for safe flight.

P. At the conclusion of each flight a post

- flight inspection will be done to

assess the condition of the UAS.

Q. A full pre

- flight check of the aircraft will be performed after every 2 hours of flight.

R. Replacement of parts shall only be done according t o manufacturer’s

instructions.

S. All flight operations will be logged in a flight logbook.

T. All maintenance done and inspections performed will be log ged in a maintenance log.

U. Check for software updates weekly and upload to UAS as needed to continually keep the UAS software as cur rent as possible.12 APPENDIX B

rb.tv, inc. PRE

- FLIGHT AIRCRAFT CHECKLIST

1. Inspect all propellers for proper tightness an d that they are free of cracks,

di ngs, chips and excessive wear.

2. Review rb.tv, inc. Flight Man ual.

3. Rev iew manufacturer’s user manual.

4. I nspect all wiring and motors.

5. Inspec t the airframe for cracks or damage.

6. Inspect battery voltage of UAS on

- board battery and Remote Controller/Transmitter battery to ensure there is sufficient energy in both systems for safe flight.

7. Recalibrate compass according to manufac turer’s instructions.

8. Always turn on Remote Controller/Transmitter before turning on UAS battery.

9. Ensure that a link between Transmitter and UAS is es tablished and that

GPS link is est ablished.

10. Always create a safe controlled take off an d landing area.

11. Always establish an emergency landing point should an alternate landing spot be required in flight.

12. PIC Always confirm with VO your flight path and objectives

13. Engage throttle, lift aircraft off the ground a nd verify the aircraft responds

p roperly to all inputs and hovers accurately.

14. Power down UAS first upon landing.