North Point Holdings, Inc.

DBA North Point Outdoors

PO Box 925

- Derry, NH

- 03038 Phone 603.289.8000

Fax 888.828.8455
www.NorthPo intOutdoors.com February 6, 2016 U. S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, DC 20590

Re: North Point Holdings Inc. DBA North Point Outdoors. Petition for Exemption from certain Federal Aviation Regulations, Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012.

Dear Sir / Madam

,

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 201 2 (FMRA) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, North Point Holdings Inc. DBA North Point Outdoors (North Point ) is petitio ning the Federal Aviat ion Administration (FAA) for an exemption from the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) requested below concerning small unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Section 333 of the FMRA promotes UAS integratio n into the national ai rspace by gran ting the FAA authority to allow for the safe operation of certain UA S within the national airspace.

North Point specializes in providing outdoor property services to residential and commercial cliental i n New Hampshire,
Massachusetts , Maine and Vermont

. North Point utilizes crews and equipment to perform Large Scale Landscape

Construction , Landscape Maintenance and E nhancement and other outdoor property services such as real e state
beautification and development

. North Point ’ s request for petition is to operate an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to conduct aerial video and photography for corporate photography and videography

, inspections, surveying, data collection, construction site and building videos, sports, real estate photography and videography, events, documentaries, and landscape.

As shown below, North Point proposes to o perate small UAS subject to restrictions and conditions that will ensure an equivalent level of safety and that are at least as stringent as those that FAA has found to be acceptable in its most recent grants of petitions under Section 333, including Exemp tion Nos. 

### 14663 and 

### 14674 issued on Feb 4, 2016.

Further, this petition raises no nation a l security or privacy concerns for the reasons discussed below. North Point therefore respectfully su bmits that prompt grant of this petition is warranted. As a data provider, North Point will not be analyzing or interpreting data; rather, North Point will solely provide r emote s ensing and aerial data collection in a safe
and effective manner . For these purposes

, North Point will utilize the DJI Model Phantom 3 Professional . This aircraft is

f amiliar to the FAA and has been a pproved for use in Exemption No

. 

### 11711 issued on May 29 , 201 5 . The detailed

spe cifications of the DJI Phantom 3 Professional aircraft are listed in a section below.North Point Holdings, Inc.

DBA North Point Outdoors

PO Box 925

- Derry, NH

- 03038 Phone 603.289.8000

Fax 888.828.8455
www.NorthPo intOutdoors.com North Point will use licensed pilots and visual observers (VOs) for all of its UAS operations. All pilots and VOs will rece ive training and flight hours in accordance with manufacturer and North Point operational manuals before appr oval to fly is given. North Point is petitioning for exemption s to the following CFR ’ s in order to conduct aerial survey missions using small unmanned aerial systems for commerc ial uses in the service of many business and governmental sectors. The services of which include but are not limited to;

1. Mapping

– Photographic and Videographic recording of buildings, landscapes, structures etc. 2. Government Agencies

– Federal, State and Local 3. Engineering

– Mining, waste disposal, pipelines, etc.

4. Insurance

– Claim assessment

5. Construction

– Pre

- site inspection, Con struction data, As

- Built Recording 6. Solar panel installation, maintenance and assessment
7. Wireles s /Telecom installation and maintenance

North Point is requesting to use the UAS in remote or rural locations in ( NH, MA, ME , and VT ). These locations will fall outside of popu lated areas when plotted on VFR Sectional Aeronautical Charts, Operations will not take place within five (5) miles of any air port or helipad (unless FAA has approved such operations and North Point has a written agreement
with the airport/helipad manager), not be within 100 meters of federal or state roads hav ing more than two lanes and
not within 50 meters of all paved state roads having two lanes or less.

Petitioner Name and Address:

Dave Fairburn North Point Holdings Inc. DBA North Point Outdoors

41 Range Rd Windham, NH 03087

PO Box 925 Derry, NH 03038 (603) 289

- 8000 Dave@northpointoutdoors.comNorth Point Holdings, Inc.

DBA North Point Outdoors

PO Box 925

- Derry, NH

- 03038 Phone 603.289.8000

Fax 888.828.8455
www.NorthPo intOutdoors.com Exemption Requested: North Point Holding Inc. DBA North Point Outdoors is requesting this waiver as it applies to the following CFR s:

 14 CFR Section 61.113 (a) and (b): Private pilot privileges and limitations

 14 CFR Section 91.7: Civil aircraft ai rworthiness

 14 CFR Section 91.119: Minimum altitude requirements

 14 CFR Section 91.121: Altimeter requirements

 14 CFR Section 91.151: Fuel requirements

 14 CFR Section 91.405: Maintenance requirements

 14 CFR Section 91.407: Maintenance requirement s

 14 CFR Section 91.409: Inspection frequency

 14 CFR Section 91.417: Maintenance records

North Point ’ s History North Point Holdings Inc. DBA North Point Outdoors is a re gional outdoor services provider of landscaping and site

construction services. North Point has been called upon by its customers and corporate relationships to further enhance and develop a UAS based aerial photography service to its offering

. North Point was founded by David Fairburn in 2009.

David currently holds a FAA

- Certified Commercial Pilot License Cert # 3145986 (ASEL, ASES, AMEL, Instrument Airplane)

as well as a First Class Medical Certificate. David will be assigned the position o f Chief Pilot of the North Point UAS program. Given his aviation training, certification and background, David ’ s possesses sufficient aeronautical knowledge and experience requires to safely op erate a UAS in the NAS. By virtue of being issued a Commercial Pilots License it stands to reason that the FAA would equally believe that David possesses sufficient aeronautical knowledge and experience to safely operat e and conduct UAS flights within the NAS.

Summary of operations 1. All flights will be conducted in accordance with the manufacturer operations manual(s) following Visual Flight Rules ( VFR) during Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC). 2. The UAS with payload will weigh less than 55 pounds. 3. The UAS pilot must hold at least an FAA private pilot ’ s license with at least a third class medical certificate. 4. All flights will include a Pilot in Command (PIC) and Visual Observer (VO). Flights will be operated within line of sight of

the PIC and VO. The PIC and VO will be able to communicate verbally at all times. 5. Maximum flight time will be less than 30 mi nutes per the manufacturer ’ s recommendation. 6. Airspeed will not exceed 8 7 knots. 7. Flights will be operated at an altitude of 400 feet AGL or less a nd more than 100 feet above any building or structure to be imaged or inspected. 8. All flights will be c onducted as to maintain a lateral distanc e of at least 500 feet from any structures, buildings, vehicles, vessels or persons not associat ed with or given consent to the operation, un less barriers or structures areNorth Point Holdings, Inc.

DBA North Point Outdoors

PO Box 925

- Derry, NH

- 03038 Phone 603.289.8000

Fax 888.828.8455
www.NorthPo intOutdoors.com present that sufficiently protect nonparti cipating persons. Flights will be conducted at l east 50 meters from roads with

more than two lanes and at least 20 meters from all other paved roads. 9. The Pilot will have manufacturer training and flight hours wi th the DJI Phantom 3 in accordance with the
manufacturer ’ s requirements. S pecifically, minimums of 2 0 UAS flight hours, 10 hours with the DJI Phantom 3
Professional or similar type

, conduction of 3 takeoffs and landings wit h the DJI Phantom 3 in the last 90 days will be required. 10. The VO will have training on UAS operations and manufacturer training on the DJI Phantom 3 Professional

. 11. All required permissions and notifications to federal, state and local governments, Air Traffic Control and private land holders will be made/obta ined prior to any flight.

12. A lternate landing areas a nd contingency plans will be in place before any UAS flight is attempted. 13. The UAS will not be flown at night or when weather conditions may prevent a visual obser vation of the vehicle throughout the duration of the flight. 14. All flights will be performed with the safety and privacy of tho se not involved or aware of the flight as a key concern. The UA will remain clear and yield to all manned aircraft. 15. If GPS connectivity is lost but link remains, the PIC will manually re turn the aircraft to one of the pre

- determined landing zones or perform an immediate emerge ncy landing

. 16. In the unlikely event of a lost link/communication loss, the PIC will notify ATC immediately if required and the VO will
maintain visual of the UAS and document its loca tion. Pr ior to flight, the DJI Phantom 3 is preprogr ammed with an automated landing location from the launch area . The UAS will perform an au tomatic landing at the location within the

mission site should a loss of link occur. 17. Prior to each flight, the PIC will inspect the UAS to confirm that it meets manufacturer specification for safe flight.
After a maintenance event involvin g a critical component of the UA, a test flight will be performed and logged in the aircraft maintenance logs.

Aircraft to be u sed

The DJI Phantom 3 Professional UAS is an all

- electric drone that features an on

- board flight computer with GPS navigation and location ability that received signals for flight controls from a ground

- based transmitter/controller. A n
On

- Board camera attached to the bottom of the UA via a three axis gimbal, capable of capturing full color HD photos
and video. An on

- board telemetry system that delivers flight data from the on

- board flight computer to the on

- board radio transmitter including altitude AGL, horizontal and vertical speed, compass direction. Flight history and location of launch site are displayed on an overlay map. The PIC operates the UAS from beginning to end of the flight through the
use of a dedicated transmitter/controller. A ground station (Table or Smart Phone A pplication ) which receives and

dis plays in real

- time system telemetr y and imagery from the UA . The Visual Observer (VO) is a person who provides

se condary visual tracking of the UA while mo nitoring for manned aircraft and obstructions.
Th is aircraft currently holds an FAA Small UAS Certification of Registration # FA39M7R9CF Issued on 1/13/2016.North Point Holdings, Inc.

DBA North Point Outdoors

PO Box 925

- Derry, NH

- 03038 Phone 603.289.8000

Fax 888.828.8455
www.NorthPo intOutdoors.com 

# Aircraft

DJI Phantom 3 Professional :

• Diameter : 350 mm (1.15ft)

• Maximum Weight: 1 kg (2.2 lb)

• Number of Motors: 4

• Power of Motors: 114 W

• Maximum Cruise Speed: 10 m/s ( 19 kts)

• Maximum Climb Rate: 6 m/s (

- 1200 fpm)

• Maximum Wind Speed : 8 m/s (15.6 kts)

 Weight: 2.8lbs

 Max Ascent Speed: 5 m/s

 Max Descent Speed 3 m/s

 Max Spe ed: 16 m/s

 Max Service Ceiling: 6000m (Software Altitude Limit: 400ft)

 Max Flight Time: Approx. 25 Mins

 Navigation System: Built in GPS



### T ransmitter

 Oper ating Frequency: 5.725 GHz

– 5.825 GHz, 922.7 MHz

– 927.7 MHz (Japan)

 Max. Transmission Distance: FCC: 1000 m; CE: 500 m (outdoors and unobstructed, aircraft's altitude at 400 feet (120 m))

 Operating Temperate: 0°C to 40°C

 Battery : 2600 mAh LiPo 18650

 EIRP: FCC: 19 dBm CE: 14 dBm

Extent of R elief

North Point seeks an exemption from several and often interrelated provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 in conjunction with the operations it is requesting to undertake as part of the UAS exemption. The follow ing list details the exemptions requested and the procedur es that will ensure an equivalent level of safety to the public and the national airspace. FAANorth Point Holdings, Inc.

DBA North Point Outdoors

PO Box 925

- Derry, NH

- 03038 Phone 603.289.8000

Fax 888.828.8455
www.NorthPo intOutdoors.com has gran ted similar exemptions to those requested below in, for example, Exemption Nos

. 14663

, 

### 14667

, 14674

, 

### 14667

and 11711

.

A. 14 CFR Section 61.113 (a) and (b)

Secti on 61.113 (a) prohibits a pilot from operating an aircraft for hire or compensation with a private pilot ’ s license. Part (b) allows a private pilot to fly an air craft for h ire if the flight is incidental to the business; in as much as North Points ’ s primary bu si ness is data acquisition during flight, an exemption from this section is also necessary.

Equivalent Level of Safety Because the UAS does not carry crew or persons, the operations proposed in this request can be carried out with appropriate safety by pil ots with private pilot licenses. Whil e it is likely that many of the pilo ts flying North Point UAS will
be C ommercial pilots, the type of flyi ng and safety measures expected of the pilot and industry do not require this license. Additionally, all pilots will be und er the supervision and training of commercial pilot s, ensuring professionalism

and safety in the airspace. North Point also believes that the awareness of airspace restricti ons, communication with

ATC and s ituational aw areness concerns are satisfied by a pr ivate pilot ’ s licens e. The FAA itself, in Exemption No. 1106 6, concluded that private pilot licensing will ensure that t he PIC has proper knowledge and training by comparing skills s ide by side. For these reasons, North Point is certain that an equivalent lev el of safety will be maintained with this exemption.

B. 14 CFR Section 91.7(a): Civil aircraft airworthiness Section 91.7(a) requires that no person may operate a civil aircra ft unless it is in an airworthy condition. To the extent that this regulation would require an ai rworthiness certificate for th e aircraft, North Point requests an exemption.

Equivalent Level of Safety All UAS operated by North Point will be under 55 pounds including payload and will operate in a defined area

. Furthermore, the UAS North Point will operate do not carry personnel, explosive materials or flammable liquid fuels or other potentially hazardous materials. The vehicles to be used will be maintained to the stric t tolerances of North Point ’ s maintenance staff and the guidelines set out in the operations manuals of the manufacturer . The Phantom 3
Professional UAS from DJI has been a pproved for use in numerous Section 333 exemptions ( including but not limited to

# 

### 14667 and 

### 14667 ). M any thousands of successful flight hours have been logged with this vehicle. This UAS, piloted by

North Point ’ s pilots, does not represent a risk to the national airspace or the public.

C. 14 CFR Section 91.119(c): Minimum altitude requirement s Petitioner requests an exemption from the minimum safe altitude r equirements specified in 14 CFR 91.119(c). The altitude required by this section is 500 feet above the surface and persons, vehicles, etc. However, section 91.119(d) allows for a helicopter to ope rate at less than those minimum altitudes when it can be o perated. North Point pl ans to operate the UAS at 400 feet AGL or below (but not less than 100 feet above structures, buildings, vehicles, etc.) in orderNorth Point Holdings, Inc.

DBA North Point Outdoors

PO Box 925

- Derry, NH

- 03038 Phone 603.289.8000

Fax 888.828.8455
www.NorthPo intOutdoors.com to properly collect survey data and to avoid entering the national airspace at an altitude that could possibly conflict with
manned aircraft.

Equivalent Level of Safety As explained in thi s document, the manufac turer operator ’ s manual and North Point ensur e that every precaution will
be taken to assure that the UAS is operating safely with existing air traffic and poses no risk to ground assets and

persons. A t horough Pre

- Flight inspections of the aircraft, operating area, airspace and proximity to persons and

pr operty.

D. 14 CFR Section 91.121: Altimeter require ments This section of Title 14 requires that the pilot of the aircraft use an alt imeter on board the aircraft to determine altitude.

The altimeter must be set based on the barom etric pressure of the departing airport and airports in route. Peti tioner seeks an exemption from 14 CFR Part 91.121 as the aircraft does not use an altimeter for elevation determination, but a

GPS receiver instead.

Equivalent Level of Safety As part of the flight monitoring software of each UAS, the GPS altitude is displ ayed to the Pilot. As the VO is in communication with the PIC, any deviations from the pre

- planned altitudes of the flight will be communicated by the VO and feedback will be given during manuall y controlled flight when altitude approaches 400 feet. Pre

- fligh t checks will
confirm the GPS altitude of the location of the flight compared to the flight plan to confirm the plan ’ s accuracy and make any necessary changes (including the abort of the mission).

E. 14 CFR Section 91.151: Fuel requirements Petitioner requ ests exemption from 1 4 CFR Part 91.151 which states: “ (a) No person ma y begin a flight in an airplane

under VFR cond itions unless (considering wind and forecast weather conditions) there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing and, ass uming normal cruising speed

— (1) During the day, to fly after that for at least 30

minutes ” The remaining section does not apply, as the UAS will not be flown a t night. Sinc e most UAS flights will be 20

- 3 0 minutes in duration, another method of determining safe flight limits must be considered.

Equivalent Level of Safety
North Point will require that in order for the pilot to take off (initiat e a survey), the battery charge displayed by the system must be a full charge (>9 5 %) and the aircraft must end its surv ey such that the total flight time does not exceed

35 minutes, in accordance with the manufacturer ’ s recommendation. This will ensure that the UAS lands safely at one of the two designated landing areas before battery life becomes critical or unstable. An audible and visual warning are issued by the ground station tablet application to the PIC. The first warning alerts the PIC that 30% batter y lif e remains. The next warning alerts the P IC at 10%. At 3% battery life the UAS enters ‘ return home ’ mode and conducts an auto land

maneuver from the point of launch.North Point Holdings, Inc.

DBA North Point Outdoors

PO Box 925

- Derry, NH

- 03038 Phone 603.289.8000

Fax 888.828.8455
www.NorthPo intOutdoors.com 

### F. 14 CFR Section 91.405, 14 CFR Section 91.407, 14 CFR Section 91.409, 14 CFR Section 91.417: Maintenance Reporting and Maintenance Inspection frequency Petitioner seeks an exemption from the above regulations and thei r references to 14 CFR Par t 43. 14 CFR 9 1.405(a) states that each owner or operator of an aircraft “ Sha ll have that aircraft inspected as prescribed in subpart E of this part and shall between required ins pections, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, have discrepancies repaired as prescribed in part 43 of this chapter ”

. Since the UAS will not have an airworthiness certification, these regu lations will not apply to these aircraft. Additionally, the nature of the vehicles is that of easily re placed parts and a much smaller

amount of parts that can be replaced

– making inspection schedul es less fixed and field repairs possible.

Equivalent Level of Safety Using the manufacturer ’ s operations manual, an inspection and preventative maintenance schedule will be created for

the DJI Phantom 3 . Because the UAS is semi

- dismantled for storage and shipment after each flight, a thorough inspection will be performed after the reass embly of the vehicle and before each flight. It is North Point ’ s intention to keep digital flight logs for each of its UAS

. All fiel d repairs and replacements will be correctly logged and signed on site by the PIC.

Public Interest Granting North Point this waiver is in the public interest for several reasons. The work that North Point performs on a daily basis

. North Point reco gnizes and supports the need to establish standards for UAS operators which will safeguard

the NAS. That same experi ence, capability and commitment will enable North Point to offer and conduct UAS operations using skilled professionals who will adhere to the required safety standards. The UAS operated by North Point will be under 55 pounds including p ayload, will operate in a defined area , and will not carry personnel, explosive materia ls or flammable liquid fuels or other potentially hazardous materials.



### Conclusion North Point Holdings Inc. DBA North Point Outdoors believes that the cr iteria provided in Section 333 of the FMRA

rega r ding size, weight, speed, operating capabilities, proximity to airports and populated areas, operation within visual line of sight, and national security have been satisfied. North Point ’ s commitment to follow these criteria in a professional manner should justify the granting of this ex emption request. Please contact us with any question or for
more information.



### David Fairburn

President North Point Holdings Inc. DBA North Point Outdoors

4 1 Range Rd Windham, NH 03087 (603) 289

- 8000 Dave@NorthPointOutdoors.com