May 26, 2015

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,

Accordance to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform

Act), I, Justin Kendter, DBA Justin Kendter, hereby apply for an exemption from Federal Aviation 

Regulations (FARs) detailed below to allow for commercial operations of a DJI Phantom 3 

Professional four rotor UAS with an attached DJI Gimbal Mount holding a 4K UHD Camera for 

the purpose of aerial photography and video for a Real Estate and client requests. As the 

Reform Act allows the FAA to “establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft 

systems in the national airspace system”, I, Justin Kendter use of the Phantom 3 Professional 

will provide the following benefits and enhance or provide an equivalent level of safety.

1. The Phantom 3 has a maximum takeoff weight of less than 3 pounds and thus offers

a lightweight, small and compact video platform compared to manned aircraft.

2. The Phantom 3 offers significant safety, noise, emission, security and environmental

benefits not available to larger manned aircraft.

3. The Phantom 3 has numerous safety features such as Failsafe mode, automatic

Return home feature should signal between PIC and UAS be interrupted, GPS based

altitude and distance locks, Flight Limits function and low battery warnings. We feel that

these features addressed in more detail below and in the Phantom 3 User Manual

provide an equivalent level of safety.

4. Operations utilizing the Phantom 3 Professional will provide a benefit to the 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 equivalent 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. It will be taken with the most seriousness. Safety is number one and that is why I 

wish to request this exemption. 

2. The DJI Phantom 3 has a maximum takeoff weight of 1300 grams or approximately

2.9 pounds. It has a diagonal length of 590mm and a maximum speed of 16 meters

per second.
3. The UAS utilizes GPS/GLONASS location and is controlled by a 2.4 GHz transmitter.

4. All UAS operations will be conducted at Visual Line Of Sight (VLOS) at no more than 400 feet 

AGL.

6. No UAS operations will be conducted within 5 NM of an airport.

7. No UAS operations shall occur over densely populated 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.

9. If a nonparticipating person comes within 500 feet of the UAS, flight operations will

cease immediately. Safety will be the most important thing. 

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 Visual Observer (VO) present and all

operations will be within line of sight (LOS) of the 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 flyer 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.

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. Prior to all UAS operations a pre-flight meeting or observation will be held 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

flight. If any are found, no flight will take place. 

17. The Phantom 3 UAS will utilize GPS/GLONASS location, auto return home and will

never be operated at below 20% batter capacity.
The DJI Phantom 3 UAS is a small and safe sub 3 pound plastic and composite aircraft

utilizing four propellers driven by a 4480 mAh LiPo 4s 15.2v smart battery with a MAX

flieght time of 23 minutes. The remote control/transmitter operates at 2.4 GHz. The

aircraft’s software has been set to FAA regulations of 400’ ceiling and recognizes zones

around airports and forbids flight within 1.5 miles of the center of a type A airport, and

outside the 1.5 miles up to 5 miles the altitude increase from 35’ to 400’ in a conical

fashion. For example: at 1.5 miles out your limit is 35’ and at 3.25 Miles from the center

the max altitude AGL is 217.5’. I think this feature is great and allows those who wish to

take photos with their drone at say 10’ AGL 2 miles from an Airport, they are more than

safe in doing so. The incorporated FLY SAFE technology also restricts flights in areas

deemed not permitted by the FAA, for example Washington D.C.

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. I, Justin Kendter will provide a public benefit in 

allowing more people to access aerial photography images and video 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 Phantom 3 UAS, the basic operating

parameters outlined above, the specific exemptions discussed below, equivalent level of safety 

provided at a much lower cost to the general public will allow the FAA to grant an exemption to

DBA Justin Kendter for commercial UAS aerial photography operations under the Reform Act of 

2012.

The exemption requests follow below. The DJI Phantom 3 User’s Manuals are attached.

Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this request.

Sincerely,

Justin Kendter

4193 Landisville Road

Doylestown, PA 18902

Justin.Kendter@outlook.com

Petition for Part 21; and 45.23(b); 61.113(a) & (b); 91.7(a); 91.9(b)(2); 91.103(b); 91.109; 

91.119; 91.121, 91.151(a); 91.203(a) & (b); 91.405(a); 91.407(a)(1); 91.409(a)(2); and 91.417(a) 

& (b) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations