Petition for Exemption Filed Under Section 333

Petitioner

John Monaco, Chief Executive Officer, Chief sUAS Operator, and Founder, Eagle View 

Aerial Imaging LLC, 6610 Star Vista Lane, Rocklin, CA 95677, 

john.monaco@EagleViewAerial.com.

Date: 6 April 2015

Objective

Seek FAA exemption to Title 14 of Code of Federal Regulations, sections:

• 61.113(a)

• 91.103(b)(2)

• 91.105

• 91.109

• 91.119(b) and (c)

• 91.121

• 91.151(a) and (b)

• 91.405(a)

• 91.407(a)(1)

• 91.409(a)(1) and (2)

• 91.417(a) and (b)

Definitions

• AGL = Above ground level 

• ATC = Air traffic control

• CFR = Code of Federal Regulations

• NAS = National Air Space

• NPRM = Notice of Proposed Rule Making

• sUAS = small unmanned aerial system, consisting of the Inspire 1 aircraft, remote 

controller from DJI (and iOS mobile device).

• TSA = Transportation Security Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of 

Homeland Security.

• UA = Unmanned aircraft = DJI Inspire 1 aircraft

• USC = United States Code

• VFR = Visual flight rules

Company Description

Eagle View Aerial Imaging LLC (hereafter, “the Company”) offers contracted aerial 

photography and videography services for real estate brokers, appraisers, property 

managers; builders of homes and buildings (no higher than 500 AGL); solar panel installers; 

farmers; chambers of commerce & associated businesses for marketing campaigns; 

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inspections of utilities (excluding high power electric or radio transmission structures that 

may affect aircraft operations); public agencies; and wildlife conservation organizations.

The Company was founded in 2014 by John Monaco, CEO and Chief sUAS Operator. Mr. 

Monaco has 25+ years of experience in the high-tech industry in engineering, management, 

and senior-level program management roles.

The Company uses the Inspire 1 UAS from DJI. Key features include:

• Positioning: GPS & GLONASS systems, visual and sonar sensors, live view & map;

• Internal Measurement Unit (IMU): 6-axis gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer;

• Flight termination system - in the event of low battery or loss of communication link

• Power Management System - when to return home, auto land, battery cell health;

• Flight telemetry - altitude, speed, distance;

• 4K video and 12 megapixel imaging.

Key specifications of the sUAS include:

• Weight = 6.5 pounds, including battery, gimbal, and camera

• Size = 17.3 x 11.8 x 17.1 inches

• Maximum ascent speed = 16 feet / second

• Maximum horizontal speed = 49 miles (statute) / hour

• Flight time ~ 18 minutes

• Rotors = 4

Regulatory Relief Requests

In this section, the petitioner uses the following outline to address potential CFR impacts:

• If relief from the regulation is requested;

• The reason whether or not relief is requested;

• Mitigation that will be taken to follow the rule if relief is requested.

1. Part 21 - Certification Procedures for Products and Parts, Subpart H - 

Airworthiness Certificates:

1. Relief requested: No; don’t believe is necessary

2. Reason: In accordance with statutory criteria provided in Section 333 of Public Law 

112-95 in reference to 49 U.S.C. § 44704, and consideration of the size, weight, 

speed, and limited operating area associated with the aircraft and its operation, this 

aircraft meets the conditions of Section 333 and as such the petitioner believes that 

any associated noise certification and testing requirements of part 36 is not 

necessary.

3. Mitigation: Not applicable.

2. 45.23 (b) - Display of marks; general:

1. Relief requested: No.

2. Reason: Aircraft will be registered with the FAA and marked with an “N” number on 

the left and right side in a size as large as practical.

3. Mitigation: Not applicable. Will comply.

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3. 47.15 - Registration number:

1. Relief requested: No.

2. Reason: Aircraft will be registered with the FAA and marked with an “N” number on 

the left and right side in a size as large as practical.

3. Mitigation: Not applicable. Will comply.

4. 61.113(a) - Private pilot privileges and limitations - Pilot in Command:

1. Relief requested: Yes.

2. Reason: It is understood that 49 USC 44711 requires the FAA to issue airman 

certificates. However, as of the date of this petition, none of the airman certificates 

issued by the FAA for student, recreational, private, commercial, airline transport, or 

sport pilots seems to be a good fit for sUAS pilots. As stated in NPRM 

FAA-2015-0150-0017, the airman certification requirements for a private or 

commercial pilot certificate imposes an unnecessary burden on the Company’s 

business. Much of the knowledge required for a private or commercial pilot certificate 

does not apply to operating the sUAS per the Company UAS Policies and 

Procedures and does not result in a significant, relevant safety benefit. The sUAS’ 

size, weight, operational capability, proximity to airports and populated areas, and 

operation within daylight, clear visibility, and visual line-of-sight rules pose minimal 

risk to public safety or pose a threat to national security.

3. Mitigation: The petitioner clearly understands the importance of being trained in and 

knowledgable of operating the sUAS in the NAS in a responsible manner to so as not 

to adversely affect the operations in the NAS or present a hazard to persons or 

property on the ground. The petitioner proposes the following mitigation:

1. Knowledge & training. Compliance with the Company’s Operator Training Policy 

and completion of the Operator Training Program which specifies the training 

required of operators before conducting flight for commercial purposes. They 

include:

1. Viewing DJI videos:

• Introducing the Inspire 1

• Unboxing the Inspire 1

• Quick Start Guide

• Pilot App Tutorial

• Setting It Up

• How to Fly

• Dual Operator

• Flight Simulator App

2. Viewing websites:

• Know Before You Fly

• DJI No Fly Zones

• SkyVector Aeronautical Charts

3. Reading:

• DJI: 

• User Manual

• Quick Start Guide

• Safety Guidelines

• Battery Safety Guidelines

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• Maintenance Manual

• FAA Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge:

• Preface

• Chapter 1 Introduction to Flying

• Chapter 7 - Flight Instruments

• Chapter 8 - Flight Manuals

• Chapter 14 - Airspace

• Chapter 16 - Aeromedical Factors

• Chapter 17 - Aeronautical Decision Making

• FAA / AeroNave Aeronautical Chart User’s Guide

4. Flight practice (specifics provided in the Company’s UAS Policies and 

Procedures):

• Pilot App Simulator

• Flying the UAS

• Proficiency

• Currency

2. National security. The TSA has vetted the petitioner and determined that the 

operator does not present a threat to national security. The operator has been 

assigned a Known Traveler Number (KTN), as shown in the Operator Log Book.

3. Medical. The operator holds a valid U.S. driver’s license. The operator has 

general annual physical exams. The due date of the next exam is provided in the 

Operator Log Book. 

4. New certificate. Recommendation for the FAA to create a sUAS-specific airman 

certificate covering knowledge and requirements.

5. 91.7 - Civil aircraft airworthiness:

1. Relief requested: No.

2. Reason: It is critical that the sUAS can be flown in a safe manner.

3. Mitigation: The sUAS undergoes a maintenance check per the specifications and 

procedures provided in the Inspire 1 Maintenance Manual. UAS Policies and 

Procedures require the completion of a Pre-Flight and Post-Flight Checklist for each 

flight.

6. 91.103(b)(2) - General Operating and Flight Rules, Subpart B - Flight Rules, 

Preflight action:

1. Relief requested: Yes.

2. Reason: The UA for this petition will not be flown at airports. Takeoff and landing 

distances are zero since the aircraft is a sUAS.

3. Mitigation: The capture of still images and video along with associated flight path will 

be discussed and agreed-upon with the client in advance of the shoot and confirmed 

or revised just prior to flight. The sUAS displays, records, and retains flight data 

including take-off height, take-off-speed, horizontal distance traveled, horizontal 

speed, altitude, flown flight path, and other flight parameters.

7. 91.105 - General Operating and Flight Rules, Subpart B - Flight Rules, 

Flight crew members at stations:

1. Relief requested: Yes.

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2. Reason: The UA is unmanned and does not have on-board pilots, and as such, no 

safety harnesses are worn. 

3. Mitigation: The sUAS operator will always be in sole control of the UA. If absence of 

the operator is necessary in connection with physiological or other emergent needs, 

the operator shall first land the UA in a prompt manner to assure public safety.

8. 91.109 - General Operating and Flight Rules, Subpart B - Flight Rules, 

Flight instruction:

1. Relief requested: Yes.

2. Reason: The UA does not have flight dual controls. (A slave controller is an option 

but can only be configured to control the gimbal and camera for unique image 

capture. It cannot control the aircraft flight.)

3. Mitigation: The Company’s Operator Training Program requires practice time on the 

Simulator app.

9. 91.119(b) and (c) - General Operating and Flight Rules, Subpart B - Flight 

Minimum safe altitudes: General:

1. Relief requested: Yes.

2. Reason: UAS will be flown no higher than 500 feet AGL as proposed in NPRM 

FAA-2015-0150-0017. 

3. Mitigation: Per the Company UAS Policies and Procedures, UA will not be flown 

higher than 500 feet AGL. All flight operations will be conducted at least 200 feet 

from all non-participating persons, vessels, vehicles, and structures unless:

a. Barriers or structures are present that sufficiently protect nonparticipating 

persons from the UA and/or debris in the event of an accident. The operator will 

ensure that nonparticipating persons remain under such protection. In the vent 

such persons leave the protection area and are within 200 feet of the UA, the 

operator will cease operation immediately in a manner ensuring the safety of 

nonparticipating persons: and

b. The owner/controller of any vessels, vehicles, or structures as granted 

permission for operating closer to those subjects and the operator has made a 

safety assessment of the risk of operating closer to those objects and determined 

that it does not present an undue hazard.

The distance of 200 feet was chosen based on target real estate lots of about 0.5 

acres which for assumption sake measure about 150 feet by 150 feet.

10. 91.121 - General Operating and Flight Rules, Subpart B - Altimeter settings:

1. Relief requested: Yes.

2. Reason: The UAS is unable to take input from stations.

3. Mitigation: The UAS under this petition contains an on-board barometer. It’s altitude 

is based on barometric pressure reading at take-off.

11. 91.151(a) and (b) - General Operating and Flight Rules, Subpart B - Fuel 

requirements for flight in VFR conditions:

1. Relief requested: Yes.

2. Reason: The fuel for this UA is 100% battery power. Designed maximum flight time 

is approximately 18 minutes with a standard 4500 mAh battery.

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3. Mitigation: The low battery level failsafe is triggered with the battery is depleted to a 

point that may affect safe return of the UA. Advanced algorithms calculate the 

distance of the UA and estimated time to return home, letting the operator know 

when it’s time to fly back. The operator is advised via the Pilot App to return home or 

land the aircraft immediately when the warning is displayed. The aircraft will return 

automatically to the home point if no action is taken after a 10 second countdown. 

The UA will land automatically if the current battery level can only support the aircraft 

to land to the ground from the current altitude. Per the UA manufacturer and the 

Company’s preflight checklist, the battery is to be fully charged before initiating flight 

operations.

12. 91.405(a) - General Operating and Flight Rules, Subpart E - Maintenance 

Required:

1. Relief requested: Yes.

2. Reason: FAA-required inspections are not specified for this UAS. 

3. Mitigation: According to the Company UAS Policies and Procedures, any anomalies 

observed during the preflight, flight, or post flight check that would adversely affect 

the safe control of the UA must be resolved before resuming flight operations. 

13. 91.407(a)(1) - General Operating and Flight Rules, Subpart E - Operations 

after maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration:

1. Relief requested: Yes.

2. Reason: No person authorized under §43.7 of chapter 1 of Title 14 exists to approve 

a return to service for this type of UAS. 

3. Mitigation: If aircraft requires repair by the manufacturer, the manufacturer conducts 

flight test worthiness after repairs and before shipping the UA back to the operator. 

The Company’s UAS Policies and Procedures and the manufacturer’s 

correspondence with the petitioner specify to calibrate the Internal Measurement Unit 

after every firmware upgrade. This is done by the operator. 

14. 91.409(a)(1) and (2) - General Operating and Flight Rules, Subpart E - 

Inspections:

1. Relief requested: Yes.

2. Reason: Per the manufacturer’s maintenance manual, this UA does not undergo 

annual inspections. Airworthiness certificates do not apply to this UA.

3. Mitigation: Per the manufacturer’s maintenance manual, maintenance and 

inspections are conducted after every 200 flights or 50 hours of flight.

15. 91.417(a) and (b) - General Operating and Flight Rules, Subpart E - 

Maintenance records:

1. Relief requested: Yes.

2. Reason: Maintenance, preventive maintenance and alterations are not conducted at 

100-hour and annual intervals. The type of record details call out in this section do 

not apply to this UA. 

3. Mitigation: The operator does record all maintenance in the Operator Log Book per 

the Company’s UAS Policies and Procedures. Records are retained for as long as 

the UA is flown and are available for inspection by the FAA Administrator upon 

request. 

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Public Interest

Granting the requested relief is in the public interest. FAA approval of the petitioner to fly the 

subject sUAS enables the petitioner to offer several key benefits to the public as a whole, 

including, but not limited to:

• Home owners and their real estate brokers would increase the probability of meeting or 

exceeding their asking price and reducing the time on the market by being able to show 

attention-getting aerial images and video of their property on sales web sites;

• Property managers can more quickly and safely inspect their grounds, roofs, and 

structures to forestall any adverse issues with tenants’ living environment and potentially 

reduce overall maintenance costs;

• Builders can inspect for anomalies during construction to verify proper workmanship and 

potentially reduce the costs of unexpected repairs;

• Solar panel installers can inspect their installations quicker and more safely than 

climbing ladders;

• Public works entities can inspect their systems from new perspectives that provide 

faster, more thorough, and more cost effective means of assessing the conditions of 

their systems.

• Farmers can inspect their farmland and pastures in less time and can more readily 

identify any concerning growth patterns by using aerial imaging rather than groundbased machines and travel;

• Farmers can use aerial images of their corn mazes in their marketing campaign resulting 

in increased revenue;

• Chambers of Commerce, wineries, media & marketing firms, and other businesses could 

use attention-getting aerial images and video fly-throughs in their marketing campaigns 

to increase revenue;

• Wildlife conservation organizations can use aerial imaging to attain a more 

comprehensive understanding of the wildlife they monitor;

• Search and rescue organizations and their clients would be able to utilize aerial imaging 

service to potentially more quickly locate individuals. That would result in quicker 

medical care, potential of reduction in loss of life, and reduced search costs.

Public Safety

Granting the requested relief would not adversely affect public safety, and in fact provide a 

level of safety that is equal to that provided by the rules cited in the requested relief.

The subject UAS of this petition provides the same if not more nimble and safer alternative 

to using manned aircraft that weigh multi-magnitudes more, carry highly flammable and 

explosive fuels, and carry persons where the risk of injury or worse is greater. 

The petitioner has provided mitigations for the requested CFR relief that provide the same or 

better level of safety for persons, vehicles, animals, property, and structures than manned 

alternatives. 

Privacy

To meet the spirit of the Presidential Memorandum: Promoting Economic Competitiveness 

While Safeguarding Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties in Domestic Use of Unmanned 

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Aircraft Systems, the Company has policies and procedures in place to protect the public’s 

privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. Permission is required to conduct flight operations on 

private property.

Federal Register Summary

Eagle View Aerial Imaging LLC seeks an exemption for the following rules:

14 CFR Chapter 1, sections: 61.113(a), 91.103(b)(2), 91.105, 91.109, 91.119(b) and (c), 

91.121, 91.151(a) and (b), 91.405(a), 91.407(a)(1), 91.409(a)(1) and (2), and 91.417(a) and 

(b).

Approval of these exemptions will allow Eagle View Aerial Imaging LLC to offer contracted 

commercial UAS operations for a wide range of industries and applications. Granting these 

exemptions will enhance public safety by reducing the risk to the general public from 

hazards associated with performing the same service with conventional manned aircraft.

Additional Supporting Information

Several documents are provided with this petition in support of the relief request. They 

include: 

1. Aircraft manufacturer - DJI:

• Release Note 2015.2.27

• Inspire 1 User Manual (EN) v1.0

• Inspire 1 Safety Guidelines v1.0

• Inspire 1 Flight Battery Safety Guidelines v1.0

• Inspire 1 Maintenance Manual v1.0

2. Eagle View Aerial Imaging LLC (company confidential)

• UAS Policies and Procedures, covering topics such as, but not limited to:

• Documents held with operator during flight operations;

• Line-of-sight flights, day-time only flights, favorable weather conditions;

• Airspace restrictions

• Reporting accidents to the FAA

• Operator Log Book, containing Flight Record, Training Log, Aircraft Maintenance 

Log, and Pre-Flight and Post-Flight Checklists.

These documents also cover mitigations for control/communication link failures and also 

state FCC compliance specifics.

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