## August 4, 2015

Exemption No. 12316 Regulatory Docket No. FAA

– 20 15

– 1708

Mr. Jon Owen Utilis Engineering, PA EVP Corporate Development 1300 S. Dekalb Street Shelby, NC 28152

Dear Mr. Owen :

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your request for exemption. It transmits our decision, explains its basis, and gives you the conditions and limitations of the exemption, including the date it ends.

By letter dated May 5, 2015 , you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Utilis Engineering, PA ( hereinafter petitioner or operator ) for an exemption . The petitioner requested to operate an unmanned ai rcraft system (UAS) to conduct aerial data collection

. See Appendix A for the petition submitted to the FAA des cribing the proposed operations and the regulations that the petitioner s eeks an exemption

. The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition in the Federal Register because the requested exemption would not set a precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to the petitioner

.

Airworthiness Certification

The UAS proposed by the petitioner is a DJI Inspire 1

. The petitioner requested relief from 14 CFR part 21, C ertification procedures for products and parts, Subpart H

— Airworthiness Certificates

. In accordance with the statutory criteria provided in Section 333 of P ublic Law 112

− 95 in reference to 49 U

. S

. C

. § 44704, and in

## 2

consideration of the size, weight, speed, and limited operating area associated with the aircraft and its operation, the Secre tary of Transportation has determined that this aircraft meets the conditions of Section 333. Therefore, the FAA finds that the requested relief from 14 CFR part 21

, C ertification procedures for products and parts, Subpart H

— Airworthiness Certificates , an d any associated noise certification and testing requirements of part 36, is
not necessary.

The Basis for Our Decision

You have requested to use a UAS for aerial data collection 1



## . The FAA has issued grants of exemption in circumstances similar in all material respects to those presented in your petition. In Grants of Exemption No s

. 11062 to Astraeus Aerial ( see Docket No. FAA−2014−0352), 11109 to Clayco, Inc. ( see Docket No. FAA

− 20 14

− 0507), 11112 to VDOS Global, LLC ( see Docket No. FAA−2014−0382), and 11213 to Aeryon Lab s , Inc. ( see Docket No. FAA−2014−0642), the FAA found that the enhanced safety achieved using an unmanned aircraft (UA) with the specifications described by the peti tioner and carrying no passengers or crew, rather than a manned aircraft of significantly greater proportions, carrying crew in addition to flammable fuel, gives the FAA good cause to find that the UAS operation enabled by this exemption is in the public i nterest.

Having reviewed your reasons for requesting an exemption, I find that

—

• They are similar in all material respects to relief previously requested in Grant of Exemption Nos. 11062, 11109, 11112, and 11213 ;

• The reasons stated by the FAA for granting Exemption Nos. 11062, 11109, 11112, and 11213 also apply to the situation you present; and

• A grant of exemption is in the public interest.

Our Decision

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption is in the public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 40113, and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, Utilis Engineering, PA is granted an exemption from 14 CFR §§ 61.23(a) and ( c ), 61.101(e)(4 ) and (5), 61.113(a), 61.315(a) , 91.7(a), 91.119(c), 91.121, 91.151(a)(1), 91.405(a), 91.407(a)(1), 91.409(a)(1) and (2), and 91.417(a) and (b), to the extent necessary to allow the petitioner to opera te a UAS to perform aerial data collection

. This exemption is subject to the conditions and limitations listed below.

1 

### Aerial data collection includes any remote sensing and measuring by an instrument(s) aboard the UA. Examples include imagery (photography, video, infrared, etc.), electronic measurement (precision surveying, RF analysis, etc.), chemical measurement (part iculate measurement, etc.), or any other gathering of data by instruments aboard the UA.

## 3

Conditions and Limitations

In this grant of exemption, Utilis Engineering, PA is hereafter referred to as the operator.

Failure to comply with any of the conditions and limitations of this grant of exemption will be grounds for the immediate suspension or rescission of this exemption.

1. Operations authorized by this grant of exemption are limited to the DJI Inspire 1 when weighing less than 55 pounds including payload. Proposed operations of any other aircraft will require a new petition or a petition to amend this exemption

.

2. Operations for the purpose of closed

- set motion picture and television filming are
not permitted.

3. The UA may not be operated at a speed exceeding 87 knots (100 miles per hour). The exemption holder may use either groundspeed or calibrated airspeed to determine compliance with the 87 knot speed restriction. In no case will the UA be operated at airspeeds greate r than the maximum UA operating airspeed recommended by the aircraft manufacturer.

4. The UA must be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet above ground level (AGL). Altitude must be reported in feet AGL.

5. The UA must be operated within visual lin e of sight (VLOS) of the PIC at all times. This requires the PIC to be able to use human vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses, as specified on the PIC’s FAA

- issued airman medical certificate or U.S. driver’s license.

6. All operations m ust utilize a visual observer (VO). The UA must be operated within the visual line of sight (VLOS) of the PIC and VO at all times. The VO may be used to satisfy the VLOS requirement as long as the PIC always maintains VLOS capability. The VO and PIC mus t be able to communicate verbally at all times ;

e lectronic messaging or texting is not permitted during flight operations. The PIC must be designated before the flight and cannot transfer his or her designation for the duration of the flight. The PIC mu st ensure that the VO can perform the duties required of the VO.

7. This exemption and all documents needed to operate the UAS and conduct its operations in accordance with the conditions and limitations stated in this grant of exemption, are hereinafter ref erred to as the operating documents. The operating documents must be accessible during UAS operations and made available to the Administrator upon request. If a discrepancy exists between the conditions and limitations in this exemption and the procedure s outlined in the operating documents, the conditions and limitations herein take precedence and must be followed.

## 4

Otherwise, the operator must follow the procedures as outlined in its operating documents. The operator may update or revise its operating documents. It is the operator’s responsibility to track such revisions and present updated and revised documents to the Administrator or any law enforcement official upon request. The operator must also present updated and revised documents if it petitio ns for extension or amendment to this grant of exemption. If the operator determines that any update or revision would affect the basis upon which the FAA granted this exemption, then the operator must petition for an amendment to its grant of exemption. The FA A’s UAS Integration Office (AFS− 80) may be contacted if questions arise regarding updates or revisions to the operating documents.

8. Any UAS that has undergone maintenance or alterations that affect the UAS operation or flight characteristics, e.g.

, replacement of a flight critical component, must undergo a functional test flight prior to conducting further operations under this exemption. Functional test flights may only be conducted by a PIC with a VO and must remain at least 500 feet from other people. The functional test flight must be conducted in such a manner so as to not pose an undue hazard to persons and property.

9. The operator is responsible for maintaining and inspecting the UAS to ensure that it is in a condition for safe operation.

10. P rior to each flight, the PIC must conduct a pre

- flight inspection and determine the UAS is in a condition for safe flight. The pre

- flight inspection must account for all potential discrepancies, e.g.

, inoperable components, items, or equipment. If the in spection reveals a condition that affects the safe operation of the UAS, the aircraft is prohibited from operating until the necessary maintenance has been performed and the UAS is found to be in a condition for safe flight.

11. The operator must follow the U AS manufacturer’s maintenance, overhaul, replacement, inspection, and life limit requirements for the aircraft and aircraft components.

12. Each UAS operated under this exemption must comply with all manufacturer safety bulletins.

13. Under this grant of exempti on, a PIC must hold either an airline transport, commercial, private, recreational, or sport pilot certificate. The PIC must also hold a current FAA airman medical certificate or a valid U.S. driver’s license issued by a state, the District of Col u mbia, P uerto Rico, a territory, a possession, or the Federal government. The PIC must also meet the flight revi ew requirements specified in 14 CFR § 61.56 in an aircraft in which the PIC is rated on his or her pilot certificate.

14. The operator may not permit any PIC to operate unless the PIC demonstrates the ability to safely operate the UAS in a manner consistent with how the UAS will be

## 5

operated under this exemption, including evasive and emergency maneuvers and maintaining approp riate distances from persons, vessels, vehicles and structures. PIC qualification flight hours and currency must be logged in a manner consistent with 14 CFR § 61.51(b). Flights for the purposes of training the operator’s PICs and VOs (traini ng, proficie ncy, and experience

- building) and determining the PIC’s ability to safely operate the UAS in a manner consistent with how the UAS will be operated under this exemption are permitted under the terms of this exemption. However, training operations may only be conducted during dedicated training sessions. During traini ng, proficiency, and experience

- building flights, all persons not essential for flight operations are considered nonparticipants, and the PIC must operate the UA with appropriate distance from nonparticipants in accordance with 14 CFR § 91.119.

15. UAS operations may not be conducted during night, as defined in 14 CFR § 1.1. All operations must be conducted under visual meteorological conditions (VMC). Flights under special visual flight rules (S VFR) are not authorized.

16. The UA may not operate within 5 nautical miles of an airport reference point (ARP) as denoted in the current FAA Airport/Facility Directory (AFD) or for airports not denoted with an ARP, the center of the airport symbo l as denoted on the current FAA

- published aeronautical chart, unless a letter of agreement with that airport’s management is obtained or otherwise permitted by a COA issued to the exemption holder. The letter of agreement with the airport management must be made avail able to the Administrator or any law enforcement official upon request.

17. The UA may not be operated less than 500 feet below or less than 2,000 feet horizontally from a cloud or when visibility is less than 3 statute miles from the PIC.

18. If the UAS loses c ommunications or loses its GPS sign al, the UA must return to a
pre

- determined location within the pr ivate or controlled

- access property.

19. The PIC must abort the flight in the event of unpredicted obstacles or emergencies.

20. The PIC is prohibited from beginn ing a flight unless (considering wind and forecast weather conditions) there is enough available power for the UA to conduct the intended operation and to operate after that for at least five minutes or with the reserve power recommended by the manufacture r if greater.

21. Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA). All operations shall be cond ucted in accordance with an ATO

- issued COA. The exemption holder may apply for a new or amended COA if it intends to conduct operations that cannot be conducted under the terms of the attached COA

.

22. All aircraft operated in accordance with this exemption must be identified by serial

num ber, registered in accordance with 14 CFR part 47, and have identification

## 6
(N− Number) markings in accordance with 14 CFR part 45, Subpart C. Markings must be as large as practicable.

23. Documents used by the operator to ensure the safe operation and flight of the UAS and any documents required under 14 CFR §§ 91.9 and 91.203 must be available to the PIC at the Ground Control Station of the UAS any time the aircraft is operating. These documents must be made available to the Administrator or any law enforcem ent official upon request.

24. The UA must remain clear and give way to all manned aviation operations and activities at all times.

25. The UAS may not be operated by the PIC from any moving device or vehicle.

26. All Flight operations must be conducted at least 500 feet from all nonparticipating 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 must ensure tha t nonparticipating persons remain under such protection. If a situation arises where nonparticipating persons leave such protection and are within 500 feet of the UA, flight operations must cease immediately in a manner ensuring the safety of nonparticipa ting persons ; and b. The owner/controller of any vessels, vehicles or structures has granted permission for operating closer to those objects and the PIC 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 PIC, VO, operator trainees or essential persons are not considered nonparticipating persons under this exemption.

27. All operations shall be conducted over private or control led

- access property with permission from the prop erty owner/controller or authorized representative. Permission from property owner/controller or authorized representative will be obtained for each flight to be conducted.

28. Any incident, accident, or flight operation that transgresses the lateral or vert ical boundaries of the operational area as defined by the applicable COA must be reported to the FA A's UAS Integration Office (AFS− 80) within 24 hours. Accidents must be reported to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) per instructions containe d on the NTSB Web site: www.ntsb.gov

. If this exemption permits operations for the purpose of closed

- set motion picture and television filming and production, the following additional conditions and limitations apply.

## 7

29. The operator must have a motion picture and television operations manual (MPTOM) as documented in this grant of exemption.

30. At least 3 days before aerial filming, the operator of the UAS affected by this exemption must submit a written Plan of Activities to the local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) with jurisdiction over the a rea of proposed filming. The 3

- day notification may be waived with the concurrence of the FSDO. The plan of activities must include at least the following:

a. Dates and times f or all flights; b. Name and phone number of the operator for the UAS aerial filming conducted under this grant of exemption;

c. Name and phone number of th e person responsible for the on

- scene operation of the UAS; d. Make, model, and serial or N− Number of UAS to b e used;

e. Name and certificate number of UAS PICs involved in the aerial filming; f. A statement that the operator has obtained permission from property owners and/or local officials to conduct the filming production event; the list of those who gave permission must be made available to the inspector upon request;
g. Signature of exemption holder or representative; and h. A description of the flight activity, including maps or diagrams of any area, city, town, county, and/or state over which filming will be conducted and the altitudes essential to accomplish the operation.

31. Flight operations may be conducted closer than 500 feet from participating persons consenting to be involved and necessary for the filming production, as specified in the exemption holder’s MPTOM.

Unless otherwise specified in this grant of exemption, the UAS, the UAS PIC, and the UAS operations must comply with all applicable parts of 14 CFR including, but not limited to, parts 45, 47, 61, and 91.

## 8

This exemption terminates on August 31, 2017 , un less sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/ s/ John S. Duncan Director, Flight Standards Service

EnclosuresU.S. Department ofTransportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140 Washington, DC 20590



### Petition for Exemption under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform
Act and Part 11.81 of the Federal Aviation Regulations

May 5, 2015

Petitioner: Utilis Engineering, PA Jon Owen, EVP Corporate Development 1300 S. Dekalb Street Shelby, NC 28152 Tel.: 704.751.1790 Email: jowen@uti li sdes i gn

. com Website: ww w.utilisdesign.com

Dear Sir or Madam,

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11.81, Uti lis Engineering, PA, hereby applies for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations ("FARs")
to allow commercial operation of its small, unmanned aircraft for photogrammetry, inspection, and analyses. All operations shall be conducted within and under the conditions and limitations outlined previously by the FAA as required by Section 333 and conducted in compliance with the attached operator's manuals.

1. Sections from which exemptions are sought: Application is hereby made for exemption from:

a. 14 CFR Part 21, subpart H b. 14 CFR Part 61.113(a) and (b)

c. 14 CFT Part 91:

2. Relief sought: i. 91.103{b)(2) ii. 91.105
iii. 91.109 iv. 91.119

v. 91.121 vi. 91.151 vii. 91.405 viii. 91.407

ix. 91.409

X. 91.417

a

. Utilis Engineering, PA wishes to operate small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) for commercial purposes to include (but not be limited to) photogrammetry, industrial inspections and analyses.This relief is sought because commercial use of sUAS is currently prohibited by law unless performed under an exemption. b. This exemption will cover use of the following airframes, all of which will weigh less than 55 pounds including payload and energy sources: i. DJIInspire 1- www.dji.com/product/inspire-1/spec ii. Other models to be added by future amendment to this exemption. 3. Public benefit:

a. Use of sUAS technology to obtain imagery, information and data currently obtained by use of manned flight or manual methods: i. Reduces statistical risk to human life due to manned aircraft accidents (e.g., infrastructure inspections) and due to other dangerous activities that can be avoided (e.g., scaffolding/rigging failures during stack or bridge inspections). ii. Reduces the cost of obtaining such information, which benefits consumers and the
economy. iii. Reduces environmental impact by eliminating sources of hydrocarbon emissions from manned aircraft. 4. Safety not adversely affected:

a. Aircraft will be registered and marked in accordance with Section 44711 and Part 47 and Part45, Subpart C. b. Aircraft will comply with maintenance and inspection requirements of the manufacturer. All repair and maintenance work will be conducted or approved by qualified personnel such as those authorized by Robotic Skies (or equivalent), and will require a test flight after such work. Records of all maintenance and repair work will be kept in a maintenance log for each aircraft.

c. All flight operations will be conducted by at least two individuals (PIC and observer) who will maintain verbal communication capability with each other at all times during the flight, and who will remain stationary on the ground during the flight operations: i. A Pilot In Command {PIC) who possess the following credentials: 1. An Airman Certificate issued under 14 CFR 61 (private pilot license) screened by the TSA
2. A Third Class medical certificate issued under 14 CFR 67. 3. A bi-annual flight review under 14 CFR 61.56
4. Successful completion of a UAS knowledge test in a specified form. 5. At least 200 cycles and 25 hours of flight experience in a UAS rotorcraft (or UAS fixed-wing in the case of fixed-wing flight operations under this exemption). Such cycles and hours may be gained during flights under this exemption if a safe distance is maintained from persons in accordance with 14 CFR 91.119. 6. At least 5 hours of flight experience and 3 takeoffs and landings in make and model being flown in the prior 90 days. Such cycles and hours may be gained during flights under this exemption if a safe distance is maintained from
persons in accordance with 14 CFR 91.119. ii. A Visual Observer. iii. A Sensor Operator as necessary. d. All flight operations will be conducted in accordance with valid Certificates of Authorization.

e. All flight operations will comply with the following: i. The manufacturers' user manuals. ii. Utilis Flight Operations and Procedures Manual {FOPM) and Aircraft Flight Manuals (AFM) which include lost communication and other emergency and safety procedures. iii. Conducted in VMC conditions during daylight hours. iv. PIC and VO will maintain VLOS at all times.v. Pre-flight inspections (including ground control station, if any) and safety risk
assessments will be conducted prior to each flight. vi. Flight altitudes will remain below 400 feet above ground level. vii. Flight ground speeds will not exceed 50 knots. viii. Not intrude into Class B, CorD airspace, or published approach, SID or STAR, ortake place within 5 nautical miles of an airport. ix. Not be made near persons as required in 14 CFR 91.119 and not over persons on the ground without their prior permission.

x. Each flight will be logged in both the PIC's logbook and the aircraft logbook. xi. Not exceed 75% of the battery or fuel capacity of the aircraft, or 30 minutes, whichever

occurs first. xii. Any incidents will be reported within 24 hours of occurrence. xiii. Utilis Engineering, PA will maintain liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 issued by a major aviation insurance underwriter. xiv. Any applicable local FSDO requirements.

xv. All other applicable regulations concerned with the operation of aircraft. f. Aircraft will use FCC compliant 2.4 GHz for command & control of the aircraft with well-defined and tested lost link procedures.

Please advise us of any additional information or changes that may be required.

Sincerely,

Jon W. Owen- Chief Pilot EVP of Corporate Development Utilis Engineering, PA