### 1 

## Elevated Element, LLC
April 20, 2015 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 and Part 11 of the Federal Aviation Regulations from 14 C.F.R. 45.23(b); 14 CFR Part 21 ; 14 CFR 61.113 (a) & (b); 91.7 (a) ; 91

. 9 (b) (2); 91.103(b); 91

. 109; 91.119; 91

. 121; 91

. 151(a); 91.203(a) & (b); 91.405 (a); 91.407(a) (1); 91.409 (a) (2); 91.417 (a) & (b).

Dear Sir or Madam : Pursuant to Section 33 3 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Elevated Element, LLC hereby applies for an exemption from the listed Fed eral Aviation Regulations ("FAR ") to allow commercial operation of its UAV’s, 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

. T he requested exemption would permit the operation of small, unmanned and UAV’s under controlled conditions in airspa ce that is 1) limited 2) predetermined 3) Controlled as to access. UAV flights performed by Elevated Element, LLC, in all scenarios , can readily be protected with secured access by the staff of Elevated Element, LLC , comparable to that of a movie producti on set. The structures on these properties provided sufficient protection from the decent of the UAV and can be completed with much less risk than what would be assumed in a manned operation at low altitudes. Elevated Element, LLC plans to offer video insp ection, photogrammetry, and photography services for commercial purposes initially including : 1. Aerial Mapping in the Agriculture, C onstruction , Aggregate and Asphalt industries. 2. Building and infrastructure inspections including, but not limited to, bridges, t owers, solar farms, pipelines and power lines

. 3. Commercial video production for the advertising , marketing and real estate industries.

The UAV applications listed above are closed to the general public, providing the opportunity to operate o nly in an area where informed, consenting participants and personnel are present. Where Towers and solar panel farms are concerned, Elevated Element, LLC will be operating within airspace previously reviewed by the FAA for the construction of the tower th erefore the airspace of the controlled operations area creates no additional hazard to the national airspace

. Approval of this exemption would therefore create no safety concerns regarding national airspace and fulfill the Secretary of Transportation's (th e FAA Administrator's) responsibilities to "

. .. establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft systems in the national airspace system." Section 333(c) of the Reform Act. The name and address of the applicant is: Elevated Element, LLC A ttn: Terry Kilby Email terry@elevatedelement.com 9741 Bon Haven Lane Owings Mills, MD 21117 (267) 809

- 9918 Regulations from which the exemption is requested :

### 2 14 C

. F

. R

. Part 21 14 C

. F

. R. 45

. 23 (b) 14 C.F

. R. 91

. 7 (a) 14 C

. F

. R

. 91.9 (b) (2) 14 C.F

. R. 91

. 103 14 C

. F.R. 91.109 14 C

. F. R. 91.119 14 C

. F

. R. 91

. 121 14 C

. F

. R

. 91

. 151 (a) 14 C

. F

. R

. 91

. 203 (a) & (b) 14 C

. F

. R

. 91.405 (a) 14 C

. F

. R

. 407 (a) (1) 14 C

. F

. R

. 409 (a) (2) 14 C

. F

. R

. 417 (a) & (b) This exemption application is expressly submitted to fulfill Congre ss' goal in passing Section 333(a) through (c) of the Reform Act. This law directs the Secretary of Transport ation to consider whether certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the national airspace system (NAS) before completion of the rulem aking required under Section 332 of the Reform Act. In making this determination, the Secretary is required to determ i ne which types of UAV do not create a hazard to users of the NAS or the public or pose a threat to national security in light of the follo wing : • The UAV size , weight , speed , and operational capability; • Operation of the UAV i n close proximity to airports and populated areas ; and • Operation of the UAV within visua l line of sight of the operator Reform Ac t§ 333 (a). Lastly, if the Secretar y det ermines that such vehicles "may operate safely in the national airspace system, the Secretary shall establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft in the national airspace system ." Applicant interprets this provision to place the duty on the Administrator to not only process applications for exemptions under section 333, but for the Administrator to craft conditions for the safe operation of the UAS , if it should be determined that the conditions set forth herein do not fulfill the stat utory requirements for approval. The Federal Aviation Act expressly grants the FAA the authority to issue exemptions. This statutory authority by its terms includes exempting civil aircraft, as the term is defined under §401 01 of the Act that includes UAV , from the requirement that all civil aircraft must have a current airworthiness certificate

. The Administrator may grant an exemption from a require ment of a regulation prescribed under subsection (a) or (b) of this section or any sections 44702

- 44716 of this title if the Administrator finds the exemption in the public interest. 49 U

. S

. C

. §44701 (f) See also 49 USC §44711 (a) ; 49 USC §44704 ; 14 CFR §91

. 203 (a) ( 1)

. Elevated Element’s UAV ’s consist of manufacturer built 4 engine multirotor craft , weighing 5 5 or fewer lbs. including payload

. They operate , under normal conditions , at a speed of no more than 50 knots and have the capability to hover , and move in the vertical and horizontal plane simultaneously. They will operate only in line of sight and will op erate only within a small controlled area described in the Confidential Operations Procedures , attached as Exhibit A (hereinafter "Procedures " ) Such operations will insure that the UAV will " not create a hazard to users of the national airspace system or t he public.'' Applicant submits this Procedure as a Confid ential and Proprietary document under 14 CFR 11

. 35 (b) as the entire Procedures contains proprietary inf ormation that the applicant has not and will not share with others. The Procedures contains o perating conditions and procedures that are not available to the publ i c and are p rotected from release under the Freedom of Information Act 5 USC 552 et.seq

. Given the small size of the UAV’s involved and the restricted controlled environment within which they will operate , the applicant falls squarely within that zone of safety (an equivalent level of safety) in which Congress envisioned that the FAA must, by exemption , allow commercial operations of UAV’s to commence immediately. Also due to the size of t he UAV’s and the controlled areas i n which the relevant UAV’s 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

### 3 interest:

• Clear direction in Section 333 of the Reform Act, the authority contained in the Federal Aviation Act , as amended • The level of safety surrounding the proposed operations that implement the use of HD and thermal imagining , and the significant public benefit • Innovative reductions in physical dangers of personnel climbing towers (e.g., thermal imaging of active wasp/hornet nests, electrical “hot spots”...) and/or the use of high

- rise heavy equipment thus reduced emissions associated with allowing UAV’s operations

. Accordi ngly, the applicant respectfully requests that the FAA grant the requested exemption without delay

.

AIRCRAFT AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY The applicant proposes that the exemption requested herein apply to civil aircraft that have the characteristic s 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 Elevated Element, LLC agrees to be bound when conducting com mercial operations unde r an FAA issued exemption include : 1. The UAV will weigh less than 5 5 lbs. 2. Flights will be operated within line of sight of operator. 3. Maximum total flight time for each operational flight will be 30 minutes. Flights will be terminated at 15% battery power reserve should that occur prior to the 30 minute limit. 4

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

. UAV operator will be trained and certified in the prope r safety and operations of the UAV

. 6

. The UAV will only operat e within a controlled area as defined in the Procedures

. 7. The operator will post advisor notice around the controlled area. 8. Operator will hav e been trained in operation of UAV ge nerally and received up

- to

- date information on the particular UAV to be o perated as required. 9. If the UAV loses communications or loses its GPS signal, the UAS will have capability to return to a pre

- determined location within the Security Perimeter and land

. 10. The UAV will have the capability to abort a flight in case of u npredicted obstacles or emergencies.
14 C.F.R. Part 21, Subpart H: Airworthiness Certificates 14 C.F.R. §91.203 (a) (1) Subpart H, entitled Airworthiness Certificates, establishes the procedural requirements for the issuance of airworthiness certificate s as required by FAR §91

. 203 (a) (1 )

. Given the size and limited operating area associated with the aircraft to be utilized by the Applicant, an exemption from Part 21 Subpart H meets the requ irements of an equivalent level of safety under Part 11 and Sec tion 333 of the Reform Act. The Federal Aviation Act (49 U.S.C.§44701 

### (f)) and Section 333 of the Reform Act both autho rize the FAA to exempt aircraft from the requirement for an airworthiness certificate, upon consideration of the size, weight, speed, ope rational capability, and proximity to airports and populated areas of the particular UA V

. In all cases, an analysis of these criteria demonstrates that the UAV operated without an airworthiness certificate , in the restricted environment and under the condi tions proposed will be at least as safe, or safer, than a conventional aircraft (fixed win g or rotorcraft) operating with an airworthiness certificate without the restrictions and conditions proposed. The UAV ’s to be o perated hereunder is less than 5 5 lbs

. fully loaded, carries neither a pilot nor passenger, carries no explosive materials or flammable liquid fuels, and operates exclusively within a controlled area as set out in the Procedures

. Unlike other civil aircraft, operations under this exemption wi ll be tightly controlled and monitored by the operator, pursuant to the Procedures requirements

. Lastly, application of these same criteria

### 4 demonstrates that there is no credible threat to national security posed by the UAV , due to its size, speed of opera tion, location of operation , lack of explosive materials or flammable liquid fuels, and inability to carry a substantial external load.

14 C.F.R. §91.7(a): Civil aircraft airworthiness. The regulation requires that no person may operate a civil aircraf t unless it is in airworthy condition. As there will be no airworthiness certificate issued for the aircraft, should this exemption be granted, no FAA regulatory standard will exist for determining airworthiness. Given the size of the aircraft and the requ irements contained in the Procedures for maintenance and use of safety checklists prior to each flight, an equivalent level of safety will be provided.
14 C.F.R. § 91.9 (b) (2): Civil Aircraft Flight Manual in the Aircraft. Section 91

. 9(b) (2) provides : No person may operate a U.S.

- registered civil aircraft

... (2) For which an Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual is not required by §21.5 of this chapter , unless there is available in the aircraft a current approved airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual, a pproved manual material, markings, and placards, or any combination thereof. The UAV , given its size and configuration has no ability or place to carry such a flight manual on the aircraft , not only because there is no pilot on board , but because there is no room or capacity to carry such an item on the aircraft

. The equ i valent level of safety will be maintained by k eeping the flight manual at the ground control point where the operator flying the UA V will have immed i ate access to it. The FAA has issued t he following exemptions to this regulation : Exemption Nos

. 8607, 8737, 8738 , 9299, 9299A, 9565 , 95658, 10167 , 10167A, 10602 , 32827, and 10700

. 14 C.F.R. § 91.103: Preflight action This regulation requires each operator to take certain actions before fli ght to insure the safety of flight. As FAA approved rotorcraft flight manuals will not be provided for the aircraft an exemption will be needed

. An equivalent level of safety will be provided as set forth in Procedures. The operator will take all actions i ncluding re viewing weather, flight battery requirements, landing and takeoff distances and aircraft performance data before initiation of flight.
14 C.F.R. §91.109: Flight instruction : Section 91.103 provides that no person may operate a civil aircraft (except a manned free balloon) that is being used for flight instruction unless that aircraft has fully functioning dual controls. UAV’s and remotely piloted aircraft, by their design do not have fully functional dual controls

. Flight control is accompli shed through the use of a control box that communicates with the aircraft via radio communications

. The FAA has approved exemptions for flight training without fully functional dual controls for a number of aircraft and for flight instruction in experiment al aircraft

. See Exemption Nos.5778K & 9862A. The equivalent level of safety provided by the fact that neither a pilot nor passengers will be carried in the aircraft and by the size and speed of the aircraft

.

### 5 14 C.F

. R. §91.119: Minimum safe altitudes Se ction 91.119 establishes safe altitudes for operation of civil aircraft

. Section 91.119 (d) allows helicopters to be operated at less than the minimums prescribed, provided the person operating the helicopter complies with any route or altitudes prescribed for helicopters by the FAA. As this exemption is for a UAV that is a helicopter and the exemption requests authority to operate at altitudes up to 400 AGL, an exemption may be needed to allow such operations. As set forth herein , except for the limited c onditions stated in the Procedures , the UAV will never operate at higher than 400 AGL. The equivalent level of safety will be achieved given the size, we i ght, and speed of the UAV as well as the location where it is operated. In addition, the low

- altitude operations of the UAV will ensur e separation between these small

- UAS o perations and the operations of conventional aircraft that must comply with Section 91.119

. 14 C.F.R. §91.121 Altimeter Settings This regulation requires each person operating an air craft to maintain cruising altitude by reference to an altimeter that is set "

. .. to the elevation of the departure airport or an appropriate altimeter setting available before departure. " As the UA V may not have a barometric altimeter, but instead a GPS altitude read out , an exemption may be needed

. An equivalent level of safety will be achieved by the operator, pursuant to the Procedures and Safety Check list, confirming the altitude of the launch site shown on the GPS altitude indicator before flight. 14 C.F.R. § 91.151(a): Fuel Requirements for Flight in VFR Conditions Section 91

. 151 (a) prohibits an individual from beg i nning " a flight in an a i rplane under VFR conditions unless (considering wind and forecast weather conditions) there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing , and , assuming normal cruising speed

- (1) During the day, to fly after that for at least 30 minutes; or (2) At night, to fly after that for at least 45 minutes

. " The battery powering the UAV provides approxim ately 4 0 minutes of powered flight. To meet the 30

- minute reserve requirement in 14 CFR §91

. 151 , UAV flights would be limited to approximately 10 minutes in length

. G i ven the limitation s on the UAV's proposed flight area and the location of its proposed o perations within a pr edetermined area, a longer time frame for flight in daylight or night VFR conditions is reasonable

. Applicant believes tha t an exemption from 1 4 CFR §91

. 15 1 (a) falls within the scope of p r ior exemptions. See Exemption 10673 (allowin g Lockheed Martin Corporation to operate without compliance with FAR 91.151 (a))

. Operating the small UAS , in a tightly controlled area, with less than 30 minutes of reserve fuel, does not engender the type of risks that Section 91

. 151 (a) was intended to alleviate given the size and speed of the small UAS

. Additionally , limit ing UAV flights to 10 minutes would greatly reduce the utility for which the exemption will be granted

. Applicant believes t hat an equivalent level of safety can be achieved by limit ing flights to 30 minutes or 15% of battery power whichever happens first. This restriction would be more than adequate to return the UAV to its planned landing zone from anywhere in its limited operating area

. Similar exemptions have been granted to othe r operations , including Exemptions 2689F , 5745, 10673 , and 10808.

### 6 14 C.F.R. §91.203 (a) and (b): Carrying Civil Aircraft Certification and Registration The regulation provides in pertinent part : (a) Except as provided in § 91

. 715, no pe r son may opera te a civil a ircraft unless it has within it the following : (1) An appropriate and cur rent airworthiness certificate. (b) No person may operate a civil aircraft unless the airworthiness certificate required by paragraph (a) of this section or a special fl ight authorization issued under §91.715 is displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew

. The UAV fu lly loaded weighs no more than 5 5 lbs and is operated without an on board pilot. As such , there is no ability or place to carry certification and registration documents or to display them on the UAV

. An equivalent level of safety will be achieved by keepin g these documents at the ground control point where the operator flying the UAV will have immediate access to th em , to the extent they are applicable to the UA V

. The FAA has issued numerous exemptions to this regulation

. A representative sample of other exceptions includes Exemption Nos. 9565, 9665, 9789 , 9789A, 9797, 9797A, 9816A , and 10700.
14 C.F.R. §91.405 (a) ; 407 (a) (1); 409 (a) (2); 417(a) & (b): Maintenance Inspections These regulations require that an aircraft operator or owner "shall have that aircraft inspected as prescribed in subpart E of this part and shall between required inspections, except as pr ovided in paragraph (c) of this section , have discrepancies repaired as prescribed in part 43 of this chapter

. " and others shall inspect or maintain the aircraft in compliance with Part 43. Given that these section and Part 43 apply only to aircraft with an airworthiness certificate, these sections will not apply to the applicant. The operator will accomplish maintenance pursuant to the flight manual and operating handbook as referenced in the Procedures. An equivalent level of safety will be a chieved beca use these small UAV’s are very limited in size and will carry a small payload and operate only in controlled areas for limited periods of time. If mechanical issues arise the UAV can land immediately and will be operating from no higher than 400 feet AGL

. As provided in the Procedures, the operator will ensure that the UAV is in working order prior to initiating flight, perform required maintenance , and keep a log of any maintenance performed

. Moreover , the operator is the person most familiar with the airc raft and best suited to maintain the aircraft in an airworthy condition to provide the equivalent level of safety

. Pursuant to 14 C.F

. R. Part 11 , the following summary is provided for publication in the Federal Register, should it be determined that publi cation is needed: Applicant seeks an exemption from the following rules: 14 C

. F.R. §21, subpart H ; 14 C.F

. R 45.23(b) ; 14 C.F.R. §§ 61

. 113( a) & (b) ; 91.7(a); 91.9(b) (2); 91.103(b); 91

. 109; 91.119; 91.121; 91

. 151(a); 91

. 203(a) and (b); 91.405 (a) ; 91.407 (a) (1) ; 91.409 (a) (2); 91.409 (a) (2) and 91.417 (a) & (b) to operat e commercially a small unmanned vehicle (551bs or less) for the purpose of inspection, monitoring , mapping and photographing attached equipment and engineering studies involving co mmunic ation tower operations. Approval of exemptions all owing commercial operations of UAV’s will create a level of safety by reducing risk

. Conventional tower structure inspections and associated tasks involve extreme risks to personnel physically climbing suc h structures and/or utilizing high rise equipment both of which create numerous and extreme risk to such personnel. In contrast , a UAV weighing fewer than 55 lbs. and powered by batteries eliminates virtually all of that risk. The UAV will carry no passeng ers or crew and, therefore, will not expose personnel to any of the risks described above. The operation of small UA V’s , weighing less than 5 5 lbs

. , conducted in the strict conditions outlined above, will provide a level of safety supporting the grant of the exemptions requested herein , including exempting the applicant from the requirements of Part 21 and allowing commercial operations. These lightweight aircraft operate at slow speeds, close to

### 7 the ground , and in a controlled environment.
Privacy All flights will occur over private or controlled access property with the property owner's prior consent and knowledge

. The granting of this exemption request will provide innovative safety operations. Satisfaction of the criteria provided in Section 3 33 of the Reform Act of 2012

- - size, weight, speed, operating capabilities, proximity to airports and populated areas and operation within visual line of sight and national security

- provide more than adequate justification for the grant of the requested exemp tions allowing comme rcial operation of applicant's UAV in and pursuant to the Procedures appended hereto

. Respectfully , Terry Kilby Managing Partner Elevated Element, LLC