August 5 th ,2015

U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations We st Building Ground Floor, Room W 12

- 140 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Wa shington, DC 20590

To whom it may concern: Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act), I,Samuel Sawyer on this day of August 5 th 2015, apply for an exemption from Federal AviationRegulations (FARs) detailed below to allow for commercial operations of a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced,four rotor UAS with an attached DJI Gimbal Mount holding a 1080p Camera for the purpose of aerial photography and video for real estate photography. The Reform Act allows the FAA to “establish requirements for the safe operation of s uch aircraft systems in the national airspace system”, I, Samuel Sawyer with use of the Phantom 3 Professional will provide the following benefits and ensure the highest level of safety possible:

The Phantom 3 has a maximum takeoff weight of less than t hree pounds so it is very lightweight and small compared to a larger manned aircraft. The Phantom 3 is small and compact and offers state of the art safety features, very low levels of noise, very easy controllability, and is battery operated benefiting th e environment where as large manned aircraft does not provide. Returning to the safety aspect of the Phantom 3, it provides several safety features such as Failsafe mode and automatic Return home feature with a push of a button or if signal between PIC and UAS is lost. The Phantom 3 features GPS based altitude and distance restrictions along with warnings of battery life and limits flight time according to battery life, engaging automatic return home mode at that point. The Dji Phantom 3 Advanced user manu al attached, addresses this further. Furthermore, the Phantom 3 Advanced provides a very beneficial and cost effective tool to the real estate community andhome buyers, by providing aerial photographic images and video only

once available by utilizing m anned aircraft at a much higher price and safety concern.

I, Samuel Sawyer, believe that safety is paramount, as this would be my main focus in operating the Phantom 3 Advanced at all times. I would be the sole operator of the aircraft at all times to ens ure safety is paramount at all times as well. W ith the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced having a length of 590mm and a maximum speed of 16 Meters per second this is achievable. The Phantom 3 Advanced, as mentioned before, utilizes GPS/GLONASS location and is controlled by a 2.4 GHz transmitter, and all operations will be conducted at Visual Line Of Sight (VLOS) at no more than 200 feet AGL at all times. No use of the Phantom 3 Advanced would occur in heavily populated areas or gatherings to ensure safety of the pu blic. In addition, no use would occur near major highways or road systems, restricted areas, government property or buildings, or wildfires. In addition, all non

essential personnel will be at a minimum of 200 feet away from the Phantom 3 operations. If at any time non

- essential personnel come within these guidelines, operations of the Phantom 3 will cease immediately. Also, all operations shall take place during daylight hours under suitable conditions equivalent to Visual Flight Rules with the Phantom 3 Advanced being no more than 3⁄4 NM from my person along with a visual observer(essential personnel). All operations will have a PIC(myself) and a Visual Observer (VO) present and all operations will be within line of sight (LOS) of the PIC and VO to ensure th at safety is paramount. The Phantom 3 Advanced will yield to all manned aircraft at all times and all the required permits and permissions will be obtained from local and state government, home owners association should they be required. Every operation will include a pre

-flight check by the PIC to ensure the Phantom 3 is safe to fly, operational, not damaged and meets the manufacturers specifications to fly safely, and not in any condition to pose a threat to anyone on the ground. A post

-flight inspecti on will occur for added safety. Prior to operations, a pre job flight safety meeting will occur and be documented, recording and discussing any hazards or safetyconcerns and mitigations. Location of operations, parameters, weather

conditions, duration of flight and route of flight will be included. I have accumulated and accurately logged a minimum of 30 hours total time as the Phantom 3 Advanced rotorcraft pilot with a minimum of 10 hours as a UAS pilot with a multi

- rotor UAS and 5 hours as a UAS pil ot operating the same make and model of UAS to be used for operations under the exemption. The Phantom 3 UAS will utilize GPS/GLONASSlocation, auto return home and will never be operated at below 20% batter capacity. The DJI Phantom 3UAS is a small and saf e sub 3 pound plastic and composite aircraft utilizing four propellers driven by a 4480 mAh LiPo 4s 15.2v smart battery with a MAX flight time of 23minutes. 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 40 0’ 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.The aircraft will automatically return to point of origin or descend in place should signal with the transm itter 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 wit h utilizing manned aircraft for aerial photography. Additionally, the cost associated with aerial photography is expensive, therefor I would be providing the public access to aerial photography and videography at much lower prices and at a greater level of safety compared to manned aircraft. It is my belief that the small size of the Phantom 3 UAS, the basic operating parameters outlined above, the specific exemptions discussed below, the fully trained, and vetted crew and the equivalentlevel of safety provided at a much lower cost to the general public will

allow the FAA to grant an exemption to myself, Samuel Sawyer for commercial UAS aerial photography operations under the Reform Act of 2012.The exemption requests follow below. The DJI Phantom 3User’s Manuals links are as follows: Quick Start Guide: http://download.dji

innovations.com/downloads/phantom_3/en/Phantom_3_Advanced_Q uick_Start_Guide_en.pdf

User Manual: http://download.dj iinnovations.com/downloads/phantom_3/jp/Phantom _3_Advanced_User_Manual_v1.2_jp.pdf

Sincerely, Samuel Sawyer 3401 harvest hills Ave, apt 302 Wi lliston, Nd 58801 (360)710

-4356
Sawyersamuel@gmail.com

EXEMPT ION REQUESTS AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY
Samuel Sawyer, requests an exemption from the following regulations as well as any additional regulations that may technically apply to the operation of the Phantom3 UAS.
14 CFR Part21, Subpart H:Air worthiness C ertificates
This part establishes the procedures for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate. W hile the FAA continues to work to develop airworthiness standards for UAS, we request an experimental certificate be issued for the UAS operated by the appl icant under either or both of the following provisions:21 .191

Ex perimental certificates.

Ex perimental certificates are issued for the following

purposes: (a) Research and development. Testing new aircraft design concepts, new aircraft equipment, new aircraft installations, new aircraft operating techniques, or new uses for aircraft.
(b) Showing compliance with regulations. Conducting flight tests

and other operations to show compliance with the airworthiness regulations including flights to show compliance for issuance of type and supplemental type certificates, flights to substantiate major design changes, and flights to show compliance with the function a nd reliability requirements of the regulations.Since the experimental certificate can be used for commercial purposes such as market surveys, sales demonstrations, and customer crew training, we would expect that an experimental certificate would permit ou r commercial purpose as well.The aircraft will not carry persons or property and will only fly under strict operational requirements. As the Phantom UAS also carries no combustible fuel, weighs less than 3 pounds and is constructed primarily o ofplastics and composites, I propose the UAS is at least as safe, if not significantly safer than conventionally certified aircraft used within similar parameters.If an experimental airworthiness certificate is not appropriate for this application, then we request a n exemption of 14 CFR Part21, Subpart H, and the requirement for an airworthiness certificate in general, citing the equivalent level of safety outlined in theprevious paragraph.

14 CFR
91.203(a) & (b)
Civil aircraft: Certifications required.The regulation provides that an airworthiness certificate, with the

registration number assigned to the aircraft and a registration certificate must be aboard the aircraft.Additionally, subparagraph
(b) provides that he airworthiness certificate be "displ ayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew.”
As the UAS is too small to carry documentation, does not have an entrance and does not carry a crew, we propose the following in order to meet the intent of 91.203 and prov ide an equivalent level of safety. All documents deemed appropriate by the FAA for this aircraft will be located at the operational ground station for each flight in proximity tothe PIC and VO and will be available for inspection on request. In order to id entify theair craft, we propose to use the manufacturers model and production codes located on the aircraft as well as appropriate registration numbers and the telephone number of themanufacturer and Samuel Sawyer affixed to the aircraft as well. Should th e FAA deem appropriate, we will also affix the word “EXPERIMENTAL” in the largest possible lettering given the size of the UAS, as discussed further below.

14 CFR 45.23
Display of marks; general and 45.29 Size of marks.These regulations provide that each aircraft must display "N" and the aircraft's registration number in letters at least 3 inches high. Additionally, the aircraft must display the word "EXPERIMENTAL" in letters at least 2 inches high near the entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or pilot station.
As the UAS does not have an entrance, may not have an FAA assigned registration number and is of such small size, we propose to affix the word “EXPERIMENTAL” in the largest possible lettering appropriate for the aircraft. Additionally, for each operation the ground station will be clearly identified with a banner containing the words “UAS Ground Station” that will be of appropriate size to be seen by any observer of the aircraft operations. The ground station will also have all registration and identity d ocuments relating to the UAS.14 CFR 91.9 Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard

requirements.This regulation provides that no person may operate an aircraft unless a current,approved flight manual is in the aircraft. The intent of this require ment is to ensure that flight manual information is available to the aircrew while operating the aircraft.
Samuel Sawyer
requests an exemption to this requirement as the UAS cannot, given its size, carry the flight manual. To meet an equivalent level of sa fety, we propose to have the current manufacturers flight manual available to both the PIC and VO.

14 CFR 91.109
Flight instruction;
Simulated instrument flight and certain flight tests. The regulation provides that "No person may operate a civil aircra ft that is being used for flight instruction unless that aircraft has fully functioning dual controls." The controls for the UAS do not currently have a set of fully functioning dual controls. If a UAS pilot is being trained, the pilot performing the train ing would be directly supervising and could take over the control s from the pilot in training if the need arose. This would be similar to the technique of a "throw over type" control wheel in some fixed wing aircraft. W e feel that this technique meets the intent 91 .109 and provides an equivalent level of safety.

14 CFR 91.119

Minimum safe altitudes:
General.The regulation provides that over sparsely populated areas the aircraft cannot be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or s tructure.Since the UAS will be operating at a maximum 200 feet AGL, we cannot comply with this requirement and thus ask for an exemption.
14 CFR 9l.l21 Altimeter settings.The regulation provides that aircraft shall maintain cruising altitudes by

reference to an altimeter setting available within 100 nautical miles of the aircraft.The UAV will always be flying below 400 feet AGL within VLOS of the PIC and VO that will provide separation from terrain, structures and other aircraft. Also, the UAS will contin ually transmit an AGL reading back to the controller at the ground station and the AGL lock in the UAS’s software will be set to 400 feet, providing an equivalent level of safety.

14 CFR
91.151 Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions.
The regulati on provides that no person may begin a flight in an airplane under day VFR conditions unless there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing and to fly after that for at least 30 minutes. I feel that the intention here is to provide a re serve of fuel to remain aloft should a landing be delayed or the landing point changed. The UAS is smart battery powered and continually transmits battery charge information back to the ground station to be evaluated by the PIC who will return the UAS back to the ground station when the battery shows 20% remaining capacity.

14 CFR Subpart E (91.40191.4171

- Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, and Alterations.
The regulation provides that the operator is primarily responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compliance with part 39 and 43. Paragraphs 91.407 and 91.409 require that the aircraft be "approved for return to service b y a person authorized under 43.7" after maintenance and inspection. I propose that the PIC perform maintenance and inspection and “be authorized to approve the aircraft for return to service.