Paul	Charbonnet

Atmosphere	Aerial,	LLC

14490	Tiger	Bend	Rd

Baton	Rouge,	LA	70817

Phone:	225-395-1556

Email:	Paul@AtmosphereAerial.com

RE:	Exemption	Request	Section	333	of	the	FAA	Reform	Act	of	2012	

Attachments:

1. Preflight	Check	list

2. DJI	Inspire	1	User	Manual	v1.4

3. Inspire	1	Quick	Start	Guide	v1.2

4. Inspire	1	Maintenance	Manual	v1.0

5. Inspire	1	Safety	Guidelines	v1.0

6. Intelligent	Flight	Battery	Safety Guidelines	v1.0

To	whom	it	may	concern:

Atmosphere	Aerial,	LLC	is	requesting	an	exemption	from	the	regulations	listed	

below	until	the	FAA	addresses	and	redefines	the	use	and	regulations	of	UAV	or	drones	

for	commercial	use. Myself, Paul	Charbonnet	owner and	manager	of	Atmosphere	Aerial,	

LLC	and	my	business	partner	Josh	Rogers	have	been	operating	and	building	RC	aircraft	

and	UAV	for	over	2	years	without	incident.	We	are	asking that	Atmosphere	Aerial,	LLC	

and	its owners and	operators of	a	UAV,	exempted	from	the	Federal	Aviation	Regulation	

listed	below	so	that	Atmosphere	Aerial,	LLC may	operate	a UAV commercially	in	Class	G	

airspace	regulated	by	the	Federal	Aviation	Administration.

The	exemption	request	will	allow	Atmosphere	Aerial,	LLC	to	operate	UAV	

commercially	for	the	purpose	of	video	and	photography.	By	having	this	exemption	

Atmosphere	Aerial	LLC	would	be	able	to	service	the	motion	picture	industry	of	Louisiana	

and	the	southeast	region	of	the	US.	With	this	exemption	we	would	provide	jobs	of	local	

people	and	help	bring	a	new	technology	and	industry	to	Louisiana.	It	would	also	allow	us	

to	operate	during	emergency	and	disaster	recovery	efforts	and	in	hurricanes	and	

flooding.	All	operations	by	4Prop	Production	will	strictly	adhere	to	safety,	applicable	

FARs,	Operator’s	Handbook,	and	all	other	guidelines	from	the	FAA.	

Atmosphere	Aerial,	LLC will,	at	all	times,	conduct	operations	in	a	manner	as	to	

maintain	the	same	level	of	safety	at	is	expected	of	full	sized	manned	aircraft.	We	will	

operate	only in	controlled	conditions,	within	visual	line	of	sight,	at	altitudes	of	400	feet	

above	ground	level.	UAV	that	Atmosphere	Aerial,	LLC	will	operate	will	be	under	the	

weight	of	55lbs.	During	every	flight	Atmosphere	Aerial will	have	a	lead Pilot	responsible	

for maintaining safe	operations and	meeting	every	FAA	rule.
References:	

1)	FAA	Exemption	No.	11138,	Regulatory	Docket	No.	FAA20140481	in	the	matter	of	the	

petition	of	DOUGLAS	TRUDEAU	

2)	FAA	Exemption	No.	11136,	Regulatory	Docket	No.	FAA–2014–0508	in	the	matter	of	

the	petition	of	ADVANCED	AVIATION	SOLUTIONS	LLC	

3)	FAA	Exemption	No.	11080	Regulatory	Docket	No.	FAA20140355	in	the	matter	of	the	

petition	of	FLYING	CAM	INC

The	rules from	which	we seek	the	exemption from

61.113(a)	&	(b); The	petitioner	requests	relief	in	order	to	facilitate	the	utilization	of	an	

experienced	UAS operator	with	the	addition	of	a	trained	observer.	All	pre-flight	

inspection,	maintenance	and	flight	logs	will	be	saved	and	made	available	to	the	FAA	and	

Secretary	of	Transportation	(SoT)	for	review;	with	the	purpose	of	safely	integrating	civil	

UAS	operation	in	the	National	Airspace	System.

91.119(c)	As	discussed	in	Exemption	11138	(DOUGLAS	TRUDEAU),	operations	conducted	

closer	than	500	feet	to	the	ground	may	require	that	the	UAV	be	operated	closer	than	

500	feet	to	essential	persons,	or	objects	that	would	not	be	possible	without	additional	

relief.	Atmosphere	Aerial	requests	modification,	waiver	or	exemption	and	clarification	

concerning	the	terms	“congested	areas”	and	“densely	populated”.	The	petitioner	

requests	waiver	for	this	condition	to	allow	reasonable	and	safe operations	in	areas	of	

subdivisions	and	neighborhoods	as	required.	The	petitioner	will	primarily	operate	the	

UAV between	ground	level	and	400	feet.	The	UAV will	be	operated	over	designated	

areas with	the	owner’s	consent	and	while	maintaining	a	safe	distance	from	people.	We

will	compile	flight	data	from	the	logs.	This	data	may	assist	the	FAA	in	development	of	

regulations	for	commercial	operations	in	low-risk,	controlled	environments.	

91.121	As	discussed	in	Exemption	11138	(DOUGLAS	TRUDEAU)	is	inapplicable	since	the	

UAS	does	not	have	an	altimeter	and	instead	utilizes	electronic	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	the	prescribed	

minimums,	including	Exemption	Nos.	2689,	5745,	and	10650.	In	addition,	similar	UAV

specific	relief	has	been	granted	in	Exemption	Nos.	8811,	10808,	and	10673	for	daytime,	

VFR	conditions.	The	UAV provides	battery	power	remaining	in	percent	to	the	PIC.	The	

UA	batteries	provide	approximately	25	minutes	of	powered	flight.	Information	provided	

in	the	operating	documents	discusses	procedures	regarding	remaining	battery	power	

management.	Those	documents	contain	a	condition	in	which	the	PIC	will	initiate	a	

landing	procedure	when	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	daytime	VFR	conditions	

was	reasonable.	
91.405(a); _91.407(a)(1); _91.409	(a)(1)	&	(2); _91.417(a)	&	(b)	As	discussed	in	

Exemption	11138	(DOUGLAS	TRUDEAU),	The	petitioner	proposes	to	inspect	and	ensure	

that	the	UAS	is	in	a	condition	for	safe	flight	in	accordance	with	the	operating	

documents.	The	FAA	found	that	adherence	to	the	petitioner’s	operating	documents	and	

the	conditions	and	limitations	specified,	describing	the	requirements	for	maintenance,	

inspection,	and	recordkeeping,	were	sufficient	to	ensure	that	safety	would	not	be	

adversely	affected.	

The	UAS

The	DJI	Inspire	1	is	a	highly	successful	consumer	grade	small	rotorcraft	in	the	

quadcopter	configuration	with	an	advertised weight	of	less	than	2935	grams designed	

primarily	to	carry	aloft	a	high	definition	camera.	It	has	an	advertised	maximum	speed	of	

less	than	23	m/s and	a	maximum	climb	rate	of	5 m/s).	It	is	powered	by	four	electric	

motors	with	a	distance	between	motors	of	less	than	581mm.	It	utilizes	an	internal	

inertial	measuring	unit	(IMU)	with	integrated	barometric	sensor	augmented	with	global

positioning	system	(GPS)	to	maintain	its	geospatial	orientation	and	position.	It	is	

controlled	primarily	through	an	FCC	certified	radio	control	(RC)	unit.	Real	time	video	and	

telemetry	information	is	transmitted	back	to	a	ground	control	station	allowing	the	

operator	and/or	PIC	to	monitor	battery	level,	GPS	signal	strength,	altitude	(AGL),	and	

distance from	PIC,	camera	imagery,	and	control	camera	angle.	It	has	failsafe	modes	of	

operation	for	either	loss	of	RC	or	GPS	signal.	The	onboard	flight	controller	can limit	

altitude and	maximum	altitude	can	be	preprogrammed	by	the	PIC.	Battery	life	limits	

flight	times	to	approximately	15 minutes.	The	onboard	flight	controller	will	warn	the	

pilot	via	telemetry	and	external	lighting	cues	before	reaching	a	low	battery	state.	An	

automatic	termination	of	flight	and	landing	will	be	initiated	when	the	battery	reaches	a	

predetermined	low	state.	It	is	anticipated	that	flights	will	usually	last	less	than	12	

minutes.

Risk	Reduction	

Atmosphere	Aerial	has	reviewed	FAA	exemptions	reference’s	1-3	Conditions	and	

Limitations	section	and	believes	that	the	procedures	specified	therein	are	reasonable	

and	will	be	utilized	in	order	to	control	and	mitigate	risk	and	ensure	safe	operation	and	

safety	of	property	and	those	around.	A	preflight	checklist		(attached)	will	be	exercised	to	

ensure	that	the	UAV	airworthiness	will	be	verified	before	launch.	Airworthiness	will	be	

maintained	by the	pilot	and performed	in	as	routine	inspections before	each	flight,	

maintaining	flight	and	maintenance	logs	to	record	time	on	failure	prone	parts.	These	

documents	will	be	made	available	to	the	FAA	and	SoT	to	assist	in	future	use of	safety	

standards	and	regulations.	Atmosphere	Aerial will	only	operate	the	UAV over	

designated	properties	with	the	owner’s	consent.	Flight	plans	will	be	predetermined	to	

limit	the	UAVs flight	time	and	to	reduce	safety	concerns.	Atmosphere	Aerial	will	keep	in	

mind distance	from	persons	and	potential	flight	hazards prior	to	operating	the	UAV.	

Operation	will	always	be	within	line	of	sight	and of	the	PIC	and	the	observer.
Benefit	the	Public

By	having	this	exemption	Atmosphere	Aerial	LLC	would	be	able	to	service	the	motion	

picture	industry	of	Louisiana	and	the	southeast	region	of	the	US.	With	this	exemption	

we	would	provide	jobs	of	local	people and	help	bring	a	new	technology	and	industry	to	

Louisiana.	It	would	also	allow	us	to	operate	during	emergency	and	disaster	recovery	

efforts	and	in	hurricanes	and	flooding.	We	also	have	plains	to	team	up	with	local	schools	

in	teaching	UAV	safety	and	science	behind	how	UAVs	work.

In	Summary

Atmosphere	Aerial,	LLC	is	asking	for this	exemption	for	the	purposes	of	“aerial	

photography,	cinematography,	videography,	inspections	and	other	flight	operations”.	We	

are	asking	for	such broad	based	request	for	the	purpose that	the	Atmosphere	Aerial wishes	

to	utilize	a	business	strategy	of	growing potential to	better	serve	the	industry	and	the	

technology markets.	Atmosphere	Aerial’s goal	is	to	use	the	new and	growing technology to	

secure	our place	in	the	market	so	we	maybe	able to	provide	for	our	families.