DeBerry Marketing Services, LLC July 15, 2015 

7790 Stephen Foster Avenue 

Fanning Springs, FL 32693 

Cell (352) 275-6897 

Email: deberry.mscott@gmail.com

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Management System 

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

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

Attachments: 

1) Phantom 3 Professional User Manual (EN) V1.2 

2) Endorsement from Dave Pieklik, Director of the Nature Coast Business Development Council 

3) Endorsement from John Meeks, Chairman of the Levy County Board of County Commissioners 

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 

4) FAA Exemption No. 11437 Regulatory Docket No. FAA20150221 

in the matter of the petition of MARCUS D MELHUS 

Dear Sir or Madam; 

In accordance with the FAA’s Guidelines for Submitting a Petition for Exemption under 

Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, DeBerry Marketing Services, 

LLC, referred to hereafter as the petitioner, request exemption from 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 (UAS) commercially in airspace 

regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the purposes of aerial photography, 

cinematography, videography, and other flight operations that could be performed safely and 

more cost effectively with the use of small UAS at low altitude within the U.S. national airspace 

system as compared to a manned aircraft. Operations will be in support of local economic 

development of rural north central Florida with local chambers of commerce, economic 

development councils, county departments, and local businesses, focusing on ecotourism such as 

touring natural springs, kayaking, fishing, and other actives beneficial to both economic 

development and preserving natural landscapes and resources. Additionally, there would be 

the added benefit to public safety by working with related county departments to more 

quickly, safely, and cost effectively assisting with intelligence and inspection aspects of 

fire department, forestry, and sheriff office operations. Flight operations will be performed 
only at the request of and with the authorization and permission of clients (local agencies, 

municipalities, and appropriate local business clients) or their authorized agents in order to 

improve appropriate economic and tourism development, and raise awareness of the beneficial 

uses of small unmanned air systems for use in filming natural resources and to improve clients’ 

ability to effectively promote our rural area for economic development and tourism, and well 

as for specified public safety topics. 

The name and address of the applicant is: 

 

 DeBerry Marketing Services, LLC 

 Attn: M. Scott DeBerry 

 Ph: 352-275-6897 

 Email: deberry.mscott@gmail.com 

 Address: 7790 Stephen Foster Ave., Fanning Springs, FL 32693 

Such operations will be 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 petitioner are drawn from references 1-3. 

The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs)

The petitioner seeks exemption from the above mentioned FARs for the following 

reasons; 

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 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 “congested areas” and 

“densely populated.” The petitioner requests waiver for this condition to allow reasonable and 

responsible operations in areas of subdivisions and neighborhoods if required. 

Flights will be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet AGL, or not more than 

200 feet above an elevated platform from which filming is planned. The UAS will be operated 

over designated private properties, and with the consent of the local municipality or their 

designated agent if flown in public areas while maintaining a safe distance from persons. The 

petitioner 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) this regulation 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 UAS specific relief has 
been granted in Exemption Nos. 8811, 10808, and 10673 for daytime, VFR conditions. The UAS 

provides battery power remaining in percent to the Pilot in Command (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 Phantom 3 Professional is a highly successful consumer-grade small rotorcraft in 

the quadcopter configuration with an advertised weight of less than 46 ounces (1280g) designed 

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

than 32 knots (16m/s) and a maximum climb rate of less than 1200 feet per minute (5 m/s). It is 

powered by four electric motors with a distance between motors of less than 14 inches (350mm). 

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), distance from PIC, camera 

imagery, and control camera angle. It has failsafe modes of operation for either loss of RC or 

GPS signal. Altitude can be limited by the onboard flight controller and maximum altitude can 

be preprogrammed by the PIC. Battery life limits flight times to approximately 25 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. More information is available in Attachment 1. 

Flight Crew 

We will operate with two operators: a UAV pilot who will hold a single-engine land private 

pilot license or better and an observer. The petitioner notes that for all flight operations a PIC will 

be designated and this person will be directly responsible for the operation of the UAS and the 

safety of the operation. It will be the responsibility of the PIC to ensure the operation complies 

with all applicable regulations and/or ensures professional, best practices to all applicable 

regulations. In addition, for each operation an observer will be responsible to visually maintain 

contact with the Phantom 3 Professional and scan the area for undetected aircraft or obstacles. The 

observer will also handle the communications between the PIC and any external crew. 

Risk Mitigation

We have 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 checklist will be developed and 

employed to ensure that the UA airworthiness will be verified before launch. Airworthiness will 

be maintained by performance of routine inspections before each flight and by maintaining flight 
and maintenance logs to record time on failure prone components. These documents will be 

made available to the FAA and SoT to assist in future implementation of safety standards and 

regulations. The petitioner will only operate the UAS over designated properties with the client’s 

consent. Flight plans will be predetermined to limit the UAS’s flight time and safety concerns. 

The petitioner will take into account distance from persons and potential flight obstacles prior to 

operating the UAS. UAS operation will always be within VLOS of the PIC and the observer. 

UAS Operating Parameters 

All flights will remain within visual line of sight (VLOS) of the pilot or observer. The 

petitioner further states that if a pilot’s view becomes obstructed and line of sight is lost, the pilot 

may instruct the UAS to hover in place until line-of-sight is reestablished, to return to the take-off 

position, or to land at the current position. Flights will be operated at an altitude of no more than 

400 feet AGL or not more than 200 feet above an elevated platform from which filming is 

planned. The UAS will be operated over designated private properties, and with the consent of the 

local municipality or their designated agent if flown in public areas, and while maintaining a safe 

distance from persons. The petitioner states that all flights will take place only under visual flight 

conditions and all applicable visual flight rules will be followed. No flights will occur from sunset 

to sunrise. VDOS further states that should communications with the system be lost, the aircraft 

has a lost link protocol that returns it to a pre-planned waypoint. Its GPS location is saved at all 

times with the aircraft’s recorded telemetry and with these measures in place, the aircraft’s 

location will be known at all times. Should a mishap occur the aircraft will be immediately 

accounted for. 

Public Interest

Use of the UAS in lieu of a manned aircraft would enhance safety and reduce the 

environmental impact as compared to similar operations conducted with manned aircraft of 

greater proportions, carrying a crew and flammable fuel. Additionally, effective use of this 

technology will allow local agencies, municipalities, and businesses to achieve specified goals 

while potentially saving financial resources on mitigating other issues or opportunities as opposed 

to spending budgetary resources on more expensive aerial videography or photography methods. 

In cases of public safety, local city/county departments and agencies could much more quickly 

access and distribute resources than would be normally possibly without use of this crew and 

equipment. Operations for this petition will enable local agencies, municipalities, and businesses 

an enhanced perspective for understanding characteristics, perspectives, and opportunities 

associated with any particular property, landscape, public safety situation, or natural resource through 

aerial flight that cannot be gained through ground level inspection. Aerial photography and 

videography can increase planning efficiency, improve resource estimations, and reduce risks to 

personnel, the public, and property. The petitioner will provide clients with photographic data for 

these purposes on a ‘for hire’ basis acting as an independent contractor. A visual observer will be 

utilized. Flight data including UA flight time, Control Unit operation time, incident, accident, and 

details concerning any deviations from normal operations will be available to FAA for use in 

collecting data regarding the use of UAS as part of this application. This data may be submitted to 

FAA via traditional means or other means as required.