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 envi ronmental 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 h as 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 ar e 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 e nsure 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 wh o 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 s uccessfully 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 ow n. 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 Pil ots, 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.