Peter Harmon

7 Captain Parker Drive

Lee, NH 03861

603-565-0589

boxav8r@gmail.com

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

800 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20591

December 7, 2015

Re: Request for Exemption per Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act 

and Part 11 of the Federal Aviation Regulations

Dear Sir or Madam:

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 

2012 and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Peter Harmon, the petitioner, requests 

exemption from the following Federal Aviation Regulations in order 

to commercially operate an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) in the 

National Airspace System, provided 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 petitioner hereby requests an exemption from the following 

regulations as well as any additional regulations that may 

technically apply to the operation of UAS's. 

✦ 14 CFR 21 subpart H - Airworthiness Certificates

Reason for Exception: It has been determined that similar UAS's do 

not require an airworthiness certificate as granted in Exemption 

Nos. 11623, 11650, 11664 and 11734.

✦ 14 CFR 45.23(b) Display of Marks: General; and 45.29 (f) 

“EXPERIMENTAL”;

Reason for Exception: 45.23(b)Even though the UAS will have no 

airworthiness certificate, an exemption may be needed as the UAS 

will have no entrance to the cabin, cockpit or pilot station on 

which the word "EXPERIMENTAL" can be placed. Given the size of the 

UAS, two-inch lettering would be impossible. 45.29(f): The word 

"EXPERIMENTAL" will be placed on the fuselage in compliance with 

14 CFR 45.29 (f). The FAA has issued the following exemptions to 

this regulation to Exemptions Nos. 10700, 8738, 10167 and 10167A. 
Additionally, anticipating that required UAS registration is 

coming in the near future, the petitioner will comply with such 

requirements prior to operating once the requirement becomes 

effective.

✦ 14 CFR 91.7 (a) Airworthiness;

Reason for Exception: It has been determined that similar UAS's do 

not require an airworthiness certificate, however the petitioner 

will ensure airworthiness through the combined use of the 

manufacture's Operations Manual and preflight checks. 

✦ 14 CFR 91.9 (b)2 Flight Manual...;

Reason for Exception: The equivalent level of safety will be 

maintained by keeping the flight manual at the ground control 

point where the pilot flying the UAS will have immediate access to 

it. The FAA has issued the following exemptions to this 

regulation: Exemption #8607, 8737, 8738, 9299, 9299A to list a 

few. 

✦ 14 CFR 91.119(c) Minimum Safe Altitudes: General; 

Reason for Exception: By regulation the UAS will be flown no 

higher than 400 feet AGL in Line of Sight (LOS) over developed and 

developing residential areas that may be considered congested 

areas. That will not always be the case when providing a 'Property 

Survey' flight because they could be conducted over empty lots or 

acreage with no structures. In the case of flying over or near 

existing private property while providing aerial imagery, property 

inspections, and property assessments, landowners will be notified 

in person by the petitioner. The petitioner will review with the 

landowners of associated risks to people and property. Due to the 

small size of the UAS the associated risk to persons, vessels, 

vehicles and structures is not comparable to manned aircraft and 

should be taken into consideration. 

✦ 14 CFR 91.121 Altimeter Settings, General;

Reason for Exception: The UAS being used by the petitioner does 

not have a barometric altimeter. It does have a GPS that will 

calculate altitude. The petitioner will limit flights to a maximum 

altitude of 400 feet AGL.

✦ 14 CFR 91.151(b) Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions; 
Reason for Exception: Due to the extremely ‘localized’ nature of 

UAS flights, as well as the speed and aircraft size, flights can 

be conducted safely in marginal VMC and IMC. The petitioner will 

consider wind and forecast weather conditions prior to initiating 

any flight. The UAS will be set to alert of 30% power remaining 

and automatically return and land at a designated spot with 25% 

power if the pilot takes no action.

✦ 14 CFR 91.203 (a) and (b) Civil aircraft: Certifications 

required;

Reason for Exception: Similar to the requested exemption of 14 CFR 

21 subpart H, it has been determined that similar UAS’s do not 

require Airworthiness certificates. Additionally, no crew or 

passengers are on board to inspect same.

✦ 14 CFR 91.405(a) Maintenance Required; 

Reason for Exception: The petitioner shall inspect the aircraft 

prior to every flight. The Petitioner also will follow the 

manufacturer's recommended preflight checklist and make any repair 

necessary before flights occur. The Petitioner will also maintain 

a log of any maintenance or repairs performed.

✦ 14 CFR 91.407(a)(1) and (2) Operation after maintenance, 

preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration; 

Reason for Exception: The petitioner, who has the responsibility 

for the operation and safety of the UAS, will follow the 

manufacturer’s suggested procedures and use of replacement parts. 

✦ 14 CFR 91.409 (a)(1) and (2) Inspections; 

Reason for Exception: The petitioner will follow manufacturer's 

suggestions to ensure that the UAS is in a condition for safe 

flight at all times.

✦ 14 CFR 91.417(a) & (b)Maintenance records

Reason for Exception: The petitioner will keep a record of all 

repairs and modifications. The petitioner also proclaims to use 

approved manufactured parts for all repairs and modifications. 

Using a UAS equipped with a camera, GPS the petitioner seeks to 

provide professional photography and videography services in the 

following areas:
1. Aerial photography and/or video for public and/or private 

use including real estate, inspection, architecture, land 

surveying, engineering and other related professional 

activities.

2. Aerial video and photography for public and private use 

including television, public events, cinematography and news 

gathering.

3. Aerial inspection photography of residential and commercial 

structures under contract with the owners or local government 

authority.

4. Aerial inspection photography of residential and commercial 

utility infrastructure including but not limited to 

electrical power lines, wind turbines and cell towers.

5. Aerial photography or providing live video feed to assist 

with search and rescue operations in cases of an emergency or 

natural disaster only when the local authorities or 

government has requested it by contract or donation.

6. Aerial photography or providing live video feed to assist in 

location of aquatic life and submerged objects.

7. Aerial agricultural uses such as planting and harvest 

monitoring, forestry inventory and topography.

8. Training to persons individually or belonging to both private 

and public organizations to increase awareness and improve 

safety for current and future UAS operations within the NAS.

As described fully below, the requested exemption would permit the 

operation of designated UAS as set forth in this document under 

controlled conditions in the NAS that would be:

1. limited

2. controlled

3. predetermined and 

4. safe

Approval of this exemption would increase public awareness of UAS 

operations and enhance safety to aid in fulfilling the Secretary 

of Transportation’s (the FAA Administrator’s) responsibilities to 

“...establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft 

systems in the national airspace system.”

Additionally, the public as a whole would be served well by the 

versatility, size and relatively low cost of a quad-copter UAS 

compared to conventional rotorcraft carrying crew on board makes 

them ideally suited for:

1. Closer proximity operations with

2. Less risk to persons and property, and

3. Faster response times, and

4. The ability to show real-time video to those needing it.

5. Offering perspectives which would be prohibitively expensive 

to obtain via conventional means.
The petitioner proposes operating a battery-powered, electric 

motor, quad-copter “DJI Phantom 3 Professional” weighing 

approximately 3 pounds with a top speed of approximately 31 knots 

using a portable remote ground station using Line of Sight (LOS) 

signal. Additionally, the Phantom 3 will be operated with the 

safety feature which would automatically return to its takeoff 

spot and land in the event of lost signal coverage. 

Given the small size of the UAS involved and the restricted 

controlled environment within which it will operate, the applicant 

fits within that zone of safety (an equivalent level of safety) in 

which Congress envisioned that the FAA must, by exemption, allow 

commercial operations of UAS’s to commence immediately. 

The petitioner currently holds the following airman certificates: 

Airline Transport Pilot (ATP), MultiEngine Land, Commercial Pilot, 

Single Engine Land, Flight Engineer (FE), Turbojet. The petitioner 

is currently employed at a major airline, thus a 10 year criminal 

history background check has been accomplished and The petitioner 

is entrusted with the safe operation of a heavy commercial jet 

domestically and internationally. Also, due to the size of the UAS 

and the controlled areas in which it will operate, approval of the 

application presents no national security issue.

Given the following, the grant of the requested exemptions is 

clearly in the public interest:

The petitioner proposes that the exemption requested herein apply 

to civil aircraft that have the characteristics and that operate 

with the limitations listed herein. These limitations provide for 

an exceptional level of safety to operations. These limitations 

and conditions to which The petitioner agrees to be bound when 

conducting commercial operations under an FAA issued exemption 

including:

1. The UAS will weigh less than 5 lbs.

2. Flights will be operated within line of sight of the 

operator.

3. Maximum total flight time for each operational flight will be 

30 minutes.

4. Flights will be terminated at 25% battery power reserve.

5. Flights will be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 

feet AGL

6. The UAS will only operated within a controlled area as 

described herein.

7. The operator will post advisory notice around the controlled 

area.
8. The operator will have been trained in operation of UAS 

generally and receive up-to-date information on the 

particular UAS to be operated as required.

9. If the UAS loses communications, the UAS will have capability 

to return to a pre-determined location within the controlled 

area and land.

10.The UAS will have the capability to abort a flight in case of 

unpredicted obstacles or emergencies.

11.In the event of any situation whereby persons or property 

could be in danger and sacrificing the UAS would prevent 

injury or damage to property, then such sacrifice will be 

made. 

In summary, the petitioner seeks the waivers stated herein to 

operate a UAS commercially:

✦ To provide perspectives and information to those who would 

otherwise not seek it due to cost or safety concerns. 

✦ To assist others in furthering their commercial endeavors 

through marketing tools previously unavailable. 

✦ To assist in search and rescue operations when requested.

✦ To demonstrate that UAS operations can be conducted 

responsibly almost anywhere and in a wide range of weather 

conditions with proper coordination and planning involving 

all concerned.

Thank you for your consideration. Please do not hesitate to 

contact me if I can provide any clarification or additional 

information to facilitate a favorable decision.

Regards,

Peter Harmon