Petition for Exemption-Section 333- Request 1-28-16

Operator: Eastman Nature Center

 13351 Elm Creek Road

 Dayton, MN 55369

Petitioner: Kim Nowicki Outdoor Education Supervisor

 Eastman Nature Center

 13351 Elm Creek Road

 Dayton, MN 55369

 763-694-7701

 knowicki@threeriversparkdistrict.org

1. Eastman Nature Center, Three Rivers Park District, has a UAS that we use for environmental 

education classes with school age and adult students. The UAS is used to provide an aerial 

survey of the natural areas we are studying. We have used it to aid students in their 

understanding of camouflage, habitat make-up and most recently it has been used to allow us to 

gather data on muskrat populations with High School students by counting lodges that we could 

not access on foot. Only trained staff operate the UAS and our students go through a training 

class with hands on time before they are able to use the UAS, and are supervised the entire 

time. We fly the UAS no higher than 150 feet.

2. Eastman Nature Center follows strict guidelines to ensure safe operation of the craft. Before any 

flight a visual inspection of the UAS is performed to ensure the UAS is in good working order. 

This inspection is completed after flight as well to ensure it stays in proper working order. If 

there is any maintenance needed, maintenance must be completed before the UAS can be 

flown. To fly the UAS a person has to first train with a small UAS that weighs less than 0.55 lbs. 

At least 5 hours of flight time is required on the practice UAS. After completing this requirement 

a user must complete a test with the practice UAS under the supervision of a staff member who 

has already gone through the training and completed the test. If the person can complete all of 

the aerial maneuvers required, they are tested on the pre-flight checklist, proper maintenance 

of the UAS, and Eastman’s rules on flying the UAS. Only after successfully completing these tests 

can a person operate the UAS. No person will operate the UAS without a trained nature center 

staff member present. They must complete 1 hour of flight time on the UAS under supervision 

before they can fly it on their own. The UAS can only be flown over Park District property. The 

property is a park reserve. There are no houses, roads, or powerlines in the areas the UAS is 

flown. We are not in any proximity to any airports at all. In addition, the UAS must remain 

within sight at all times. The UAS can only be used on days with wind speed under 8 MPH to 

ensure it is stable in flight. Flight cannot occur on days with limited sightlines or precipitation.

3. We are seeking exemptions for 14 CFR sections: 61 Certification Pilots, flight instructors and 

ground instructors AND section 67 Medical Standards and Certification.
4. Granting the requested exemption will allow us to continue with our educational mission at the 

nature center. It would prevent an interruption in classroom programming and allow us to grow 

our program by blending the use of technology to study ecology. Many of our students that 

come to the nature center are eligible for our internal scholarships based on economic need. In 

addition, the research being done by the students is reported to our Natural Resource 

Department. This research is used in managing populations such as muskrats within the park 

district. The public pays to taxes to have our park district offer educational programs and to 

manage the natural resources in our park district. This UAS is limited use only and for education 

needs only.

5. Proposed operations: Use of the UAS approximately 20 times over the course of the year to 

support environmental education curriculum. Mostly used to take images of the surrounding 

habitat to be used for further research studies set up by our students. 

6. Make: DJI Model: Phantom 2 Vision +. Weight: 1242 grams.