October 20, 2015

Douglas A. McKinney 3601 Century Dr Hastings, MN 55033 Cell (651) 226

- 6171 Email rivermcks@comcast.net



# US Department of Transportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE Washington DC 20590 RE: Exemption Request Section 333 the **FAA** Reform Act of 2012

**Attachments:** 1) Copy of Airline Transport Pilot license 2) Copy of curren t First Class Medical Certificate 3) Phantom F550 User Manual 4) NAZA Flight Controller User Manual M V2.0 5) Bluetooth Datalink & iPad Ground Station User Manual 6) Zenmuse H3

-3D Camera Gimb al User Manual

**References:** 1) FAA Exemption No. 11138, Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2014

-0418 in the matter of the petition of DOUGLAS TRUDEAU 2) FAA Exemption No . 11136, Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2014

-0S08 in the matter of the petition of ADVANCED AVIATION SOLUTIONS, LLC 3) FAA Exemption No. 11080 Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2014

-03SS in the matter of the petition of FLYING CAM INCDear Sir or Madam,

In accordance with the FAA's Guidelines for Submitting Petition for Exemption under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform act of 2012, I Douglas A. McKinney, referred to hereafter as the petitioner, request exemption to the following sections of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations: 61.113(a); 61.113(b); 91.119(c); 91.121; 91.151(a); 91.405(a) 91.407(a){1); 91.409(a)(1); 91.409(a)(2); 91.417(a)&(b) In order to operate small unmanned aircraft systems ( s UAS) commercially in airspace regulated by th e Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the purposes of Aerial Photography, Cinematography, Videography, Inspections and other flight operations that could be performed safely and more cost effectively with the use of a s UAS at low altitude within the US National Airspace System
as compared to a manned aircraft. Operations will only be performed at the request of and with the authorization and consent of clients and their authorized agents in order to facilitate commerce and raise awaren ess of beneficia l uses of s UAS. So long as such operations are conducted within and under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA as required by section 333. The conditions identified and proposed by the petition er are drawn from references 1

- 3

. **The FARs** The petitioner seeks the exemption from the above mentioned FARs for the following reasons: 61.113(a) & (b): The petitioner requests relief in order to facilitate utilization of pilots who hold a PRIVATE PILOT (or greater) certificate. Any pilots operating under this exemption would be required to comply with any conditions as set forth and in a similar fashion as the previously granted exemptions. 91.119(c) As discussed in Exemption 11139 (Douglas Trudeau), operations conducted closer than 500 fe et to the ground may require that the UA be operated closer than 500 feet to essential persons or objects that would not be possible without additional relief. The petitioner requests modification, waiver or exemption and clarification concerning the terms of "congested areas" and "densely populated." The petitioner requests waiver for this condition to allow reasonable and responsible operations in areas of subdivisions and neighborhoods. 91.121 As discussed in Exemption 11138 (DOUGLAS TRUDEAU), this is inapplicable since the s UAS does not have an altimeter and instead utilizes GPS with a barometric sensor for altitude information. 91.151(a) As discussed in Exemption 11136 (ADVANCED AVIATION SOLUTIONS LLC) prior relief has been granted for manned aircraft to operate at less than prescribed minimums including Exemption NO.s 2689, 5745, and 10650. In addition similar s UAS specific relief has been granted an Exemption No.s 8811, 1080, and 10673 for daytime, VFR operations. The s UAS provides battery power rem aining in volts to the PIC. The s UAS b atteries provide approximately 1 5 minutes of powered flight. Information provided in the operating documents discusses procedures regarding remaining battery power management. The documents contain a condition in which the PIC will initiate a landing procedure when the battery remaining reaches a specified level. Given the limitations on proposed operations and the location of those proposed operations, the FAA found that a reduced minimum power reserve for flight in da ytime VFR conditions was reasonable. 91.405(a); 91.407(a); 91.409(a) (1) & (2); 91.417(a) & (b) As discussed in Exemption 11138 (DOUGLAS TRUDEAU), the petitioner proposes to inspect and ensure the s UAS is in a condition for safe flight in accordance with t he operating documents.The FAA found that adherence to the petitioners operating documents and the conditions and

limitations specified, describing the requirements for maintenance, inspection and record keeping, were sufficient to ensure that safety wou ld not be adversely affected. **The s**  **UAS** The DJ I Flame Wheel F550 is a highly successful consumer grade small rotorcraft in the hexa copter configuration with an advertised weigh t of less than 5.5 pounds (2400g) designed primarily to carry a high definition c amera aloft. The F550 has a demonstrated maximum speed of less than 30 kts and a maximum climb ra te of less than 1000 fpm (5 m/s). The F550 is powered by 6 electric motors with a distance between the motors of less than 22 inches (5 50 mm). The F550 has a NAZA

- M V2 Flight Controller (FC) that utilizes an internal inertial measuring unit (IMU) with integrate d barometric sensor to augment with Global Positioning System (GPS) to maintain its geospatial orientation and position. It is controlled primarily throu gh an FCC certified radio control (RC ) unit. Real time video and telemetry information is transmitted back to a ground station allowing the Pilot In Command ( PIC ) to monitor battery level in volts, GPS signal strength and integrity, altitude (AGL), distanc e from the PIC, camera image ry, and control camera angle. The FC has a failsafe mode of operation for loss of RC or ground station signal which causes the sUAS to automatically return to its home take off point, or until RC signal is regained

. In the event of GPS signal loss, the FC failsafe is to revert to attitude stability mode for manual operation. Altitude and distance can be limited by the onboard flight controller and maximum altitude/distance can be preprogrammed by the PIC . In addition, the ground station maintains an active database of “NO FLY ZONES” situated around airports . Battery life limits flight times to approximately 15 minutes including reserve . The onb oard flight controller will alert the pilot via telemetry data and external lighting cu es before reaching a low battery state. An automatic termination of flight and landing will be initiated when battery reaches a predetermined low state. It is anticipated that flights will usually last less than 10 minutes leaving an adequate 5 min reserve for safe landing

. More informat ion is available in attachments 3,4,5 and 6

. **Risk Mitigation** The petitioner has reviewed FAA exemptions references 1

- 3 Conditions and Limitations section and believes that the procedures specified therein are reasonable and will be utilized in order to manage and mitigate risk and ensure public safety. A preflight and post flight checklist will be developed and employed to ensure that sUAS airworthiness will be maintained for flight operations. Flight time and maintenance lo gs will be maintained to ensure tracking on failure prone components. The petitioner requests that in a manner similar to reference 3, he be allows to operate within 5 miles of an airport provided that: "Th e UAS may not operate in Class B , C or D airspace without written approval of the FAA The s UAS may not operate within five nautical miles of the geographic center of a non towered airport as denoted on o current FAA

-published aeronautical chart unless a letter of agreement with that airport's management i s obtained, and the operation is conducted in accordance with a NO TAM as required by the operator's GOA

. The letter of agreement with the airport management must be made available to the Administrator upon request. "Operations within 5 miles of an airport are not anticipated to be routine, but the petitioner is requesting a mechanism to facilitate such activities without requesting a new and separate exemption should the need arise. Operations within class B airspace are not requested due to the lack of a m ode C transponder.**Public Interest**

Use of the s UAS in lieu of a manned aircraft would enhance safety and reduce environmental impact compared to similar operations conducted with much larger fuel laden manned aircraft

. Additionally, the use of s UAS to facilitate commerce can help to encourage economic growth. Operations for this petition will enable service for property owners or their designees seeking an enhanced perspective for characteristics, amenities, and benefits of their desired photograph ic subjects that cannot be displayed through ground level videography/photography. Aerial photography is a valuable marketing tool that can facilitate increased commerce and enhance personal photography. Crop surveying and inspections could lead to decrea sed use of pesticides and fertilizer and conservation of water as well as increased crop yields and decreased costs. Aerial surveying and inspections can increase work site efficiency, improve volumetric estimations and reduce risk. The petitioner will provide clients with the photographic data for these purposes in a for hire basis acting as an independent contractor. A visual observer (VO) will be ut ilized. Flight data including sUAS flight time, Control unit operation time, incident, accident, and detail s concerning any deviations from normal operations will be available to the FAA for use in collecting data regarding the use of s UAS as a part of this application. This data can be submitted to the FAA via reports as required by the FAA. **Conclusion** The pet itioner is requesting this exemption for the purposes of "aerial photography, cinematography, videography, mapping, inspections and other flight operations." The reason for such a general and broad based request is that the petitioner wishes to utilize a strategy that allows maximum flexibility to utilize the sUAS to its fullest potential within the constraints of this request, without the long turnaround time associated with additional exemptions. The petitioner plans to offer services to individuals or co mpanies seeking to enhance their business in a safe and lawful way. The petitioner knows that there is extensive demand for lawful aerial photography and videography. Th e petitioner has greater than 25 00 hours flying experience and holds an Airline Transpo rt Pilot license with 3 aircraft type ratings

. He is a current certified Multi

- Engine Instrument Flight Instructor as well as holds a current First Class Medical certificate and is a current member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA#864065)

. The pet itioner owns the s UAS, DJI Flame Wheel F550 which he has flown from his own property and various other locations with owner consent to develop flight and photography experience. He has executed many takeoffs and landin gs, has greater than 30yrs experience building and flying RC aircraft, and demo nstrated continuous proficiency . He has experience with the fail safe modes of the aircraft, having run himself through non

- normal procedures as described in the DJI NAZA

- M V2 Flight Controller operating manual. The petitioner plans to utilize the sUAS below 400' AGL, within visual line of sight (VLOS), within 2000 ' laterally of the PIC, and with a visual observer at all times. Respectfully, Douglas A. McKinney