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Perception Imagery Incorporated

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 333 

of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act) and 14 C.F.R. Part 

11, Perception Imagery Inc., operator of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“sUASs”) 

equipped to conduct inspections and surveys for precision farming, real-estate, natural 

resource, utility, and construction industries and agencies, hereby applies for an 

exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations (“FARs”) to allow commercial 

operation of its sUASs, 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.

The name and address of the applicant is: 

Perception Imagery Incorporated

Attn: Jeff Judycki

PH: 630-981-7284

Email: jjudycki@percgeo.com

Address: 1039 Palmer St. Downers Grove, IL. 60516

The applicant requests relief from the following regulations: Part 21, Certification 

Procedures for Products and Parts, prescribes, in pertinent part, the procedural 

requirements for issuing and changing design approvals, production approvals, 

airworthiness certificates, and airworthiness approvals. Section 45.23(b) prescribes, in 

pertinent part, that when marks include only the Roman capital letter “N” and the 

registration number is displayed on limited, restricted, or light-sport category aircraft or 

experimental or provisionally certificated aircraft, the operator must also display on 

that aircraft near each entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or pilot station, in letters not less 

than 2 inches nor more than 6 inches high, the words “limited,” “restricted,” “lightsport,” “experimental,” or “provisional,” as applicable.

Section 61.113(a) and (b) prescribe that –

(a) No person who holds a private pilot certificate may act as a pilot in 

command (PIC) of an aircraft that is carrying passengers or property for 

compensation or hire; nor may that person, for compensation or hire, act as PIC 

of an aircraft. 
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(b) A private pilot may, for compensation or hire, act as PIC of an aircraft in 

connection with any business or employment if –

(1) The flight is only incidental to that business or employment; and 

(2) The aircraft does not carry passengers or property for compensation or 

hire.

Section 91.7(a) prescribes that no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is in an 

airworthy condition. Section 91.9(b)(2) prescribes, in pertinent part, that no person may 

operate U.S.-registered civil aircraft unless there is available in the aircraft a current 

approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual, approved manual material, markings, 

and placards, or any combination thereof. Section 91.103 prescribes that each PIC shall, 

before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning 

that flight. This information must include –

(b) For any flight, runway lengths at airports of intended use, and the 

following takeoff and landing distance information: 

(1) For civil aircraft for which an approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight 

Manual containing takeoff and landing distance data is required, the 

takeoff and landing distance data contained therein; and 

(2) For civil aircraft other than those specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section, other reliable information appropriate to the aircraft, relating to 

aircraft performance under expected values of airport elevation and 

runway slope, aircraft gross weight, and wind and temperature. 

Section 91.109 prescribes, in pertinent part, 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. 

Section 91.119 prescribes that, except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person 

may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes: 

(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without 

undue hazard to persons or property on the surface. 

(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over 

any open-air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle 

within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft. 

(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over 

open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated 

closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure. (d) Helicopters, powered 

parachutes, and weight-shift-control aircraft. If the operation is conducted without 

hazard to persons or property on the surface –
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Perception Imagery Incorporated

(1) A helicopter may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in 

paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of this section, provided each person 

operating the helicopter complies with any routes or altitudes specifically 

prescribed for helicopters by the FAA; and

(2) A powered parachute or weight-shift-control aircraft may be operated 

at less than the minimums prescribed in paragraph (c) of this section. 

Section 91.121 prescribes, in pertinent part, each person operating an aircraft 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.” 

Section 91.151(a) prescribes that no person may begin a flight in an airplane under 

visual flight rules (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. 

Section 91.203(a) prescribes, in pertinent part, that no person may operate a civil aircraft 

unless it has within it –

(1) An appropriate and current airworthiness certificate; and 

(2) An effective U.S. registration certificate issued to its owner or, for 

operation within the United States, the second copy of the Aircraft 

Registration Application as provided for in § 47.31(c). 

Section 91.203(b) prescribes, in pertinent part, that no person may operate a civil aircraft 

unless the airworthiness certificate or a special flight authorization issued under § 

91.715 is displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or 

crew. 

Section 91.405(a) prescribes, in pertinent part, that each owner of 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 provided in paragraph (c) of this section, have 

discrepancies repaired as prescribed in part 43, Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, 

Rebuilding, and Alteration. Section 91.407(a)(1) prescribes that no person may operate 

any aircraft that has undergone maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or 

alteration unless it has been approved for return to service by a person authorized 

under § 43.7 of this chapter. Section 91.409(a)(2) prescribes, in pertinent part, that no 
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person may operate an aircraft unless, within the preceding 12 calendar months, it has 

had an inspection for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate in accordance with 

part 21. 

Section 91.417(a) and (b) prescribe, in pertinent part, that –

(a) Each registered owner or operator shall keep the following records for 

the periods specified in paragraph (b) of this section: 

(1) Records of the maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alteration 

and records of the 100-hour, annual, progressive, and other required or 

approved inspections, as appropriate, for each aircraft (including the 

airframe) and each engine, propeller, rotor, and appliance of an aircraft. 

The records must include –

(i) A description (or reference to data acceptable to the Administrator) of 

the work performed; and 

(ii) The date of completion of the work performed; and 

(iii) The signature and certificate number of the person approving the 

aircraft for return to service. 

(2) Records containing the following information: 

(i) The total time in service of the airframe, each engine, each propeller, 

and each rotor. 

(ii) The current status of life-limited parts of each airframe, engine, 

propeller, rotor, and appliance. 

(iii) The time since last overhaul of all items installed on the aircraft that 

are required to be overhauled on a specified time basis. 

(iv) The current inspection status of the aircraft, including the time since 

the last inspection required by the inspection program under which the 

aircraft and its appliances are maintained. 

(v) The current status of applicable airworthiness directives (AD) and 

safety directives including, for each, the method of compliance, the AD or 

safety directive number and revision date. If the AD or safety directive 

involves recurring action, the time and date when the next action is 

required. 
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(vi) Copies of the forms prescribed by § 43.9(d) for each major alteration to 

the airframe and currently installed engines, rotors, propellers, and 

appliances. 

(b) The owner or operator shall retain the following records for the periods 

prescribed: 

(1) The records specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall be 

retained until the work is repeated or superseded by other work or for 1 

year after the work is performed. 

(2) The records specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall be 

retained and transferred with the aircraft at the time the aircraft is sold. 

(3) A list of defects furnished to a registered owner or operator under § 

43.11 shall be retained until the defects are repaired and the aircraft is 

approved for return to service.

Perception Imagery Incorporated (PII) supports its request with the following 

information:

PII organizes it information into four sections: (1) the Unmanned Aircraft System 

(UAS), (2) the UAS pilot in command (PIC), (3) the UAS Operating Parameters, and (4) 

the Public Interest.

The petitioner will provide the users manual for the DJI Phantom 3 Professional upon 

request to the governing agency.

Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)

PII’s UAS are multirotor aircraft manufactured by DJI. The model is the Phantom 3 Professional

and weights under 5 lbs. and fly under 31 knots. All operations will be below 400 feet AGL. The 

UAS will only be flown within 1 mile and Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) of the PIC. All 

Transmissions will be on FCC approved frequencies of 2.4GHz – 2.483 GHz. PII UAS will only

be flown over property that PII has been given explicit permission to have safe access to.

The UAS carry no explosive materials or flammable liquid fuels. They operate without any

pilots or passengers on board. The crew is on the ground within VLOS at all times for air

traffic avoidance. The UAS, in the event of control signal loss has the ability to return to a

pre-determined location within a safe landing area and land.

The UAS has the ability to abort a mission in case of emergency. It can land immediately or

return to land automatically or under PIC manual control depending on the type of
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emergency. In the case of emergency incapacitation of the PIC the UAS can return and land

safely on its own.

These operations would otherwise be performed by a full size aircraft, likely a helicopter,

weighing at least 2000lbs carrying a pilot, crew and 100 gallons of fuel. When flown in the

same area and in the same conditions the UAS poses a much smaller risk to the national

airspace, property and persons in the area. Additionally the UAS has a much lower noise

profile than full size operations. PII requests exemption from § 45.23(b) as there is no

entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or pilot station on which the word “Experimental” can be

placed. The petitioner states that given the size of the UA, 2-inch lettering would be

impossible. The petitioner asserts that an equivalent level of safety will be provided by

having the word “Experimental” marked on the fuselage in accordance with § 45.29(f),

enabling the pilots and others working with the UAs to see and observe the aircraft’s

“Experimental” markings.

PII believes the maintenance requirements in §§ 91.405(a), 91.407(a)(1 ), 91.409(a)(2),

91.417(a) and (b) apply only to aircraft with an airworthiness certificate and are therefore not

applicable to our UAS operations. In place of these requirements PII will perform regular

maintenance based on logged data as outlined in the user manual. PIIs regular maintenance 

schedule in addition to the aircrafts limited size, payload and operational constraints will

provide an equivalent level of safety in the maintenance and operation of PII UAS.

UAS Pilot In Command (PIC)

The UAS is remotely controlled and operates within a limited airspace. The limited weight

and speed in addition to not carrying a pilot or passenger’s significantly reduces the level of

risk of flight operations compared to full size operations. We propose the additional 

requirement of a commercial pilot’s license would provide no additional safety to the flight 

operations of the UAS. We propose two qualifications be met by the PIC:

1) The PIC is required to have successfully completed, at a minimum, FAA private pilot ground 

instruction and passed the FAA Private Pilot written examination. 

2) The PIC has reviewed the manufactures user manual and video tutorials giving the PIC the 

needed familiarity with the UAV.

UAS Operating Parameters

All operations will be conducted in accordance with the users manual and any local safety

requirements. All standard flight operations will be conducted within 1 mile and visual line of

sight of the PIC, in Class G airspace below 400 Feet AGL at least 5 miles from an airport. If

there are any operations that might include flight within 5 miles of an airport PII will notify

the local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) and airport controller (ATC). PII will follow

additional safety related instructions from the FSDO and Tower for operations within 5 miles

of the airport. PII will give a daily briefing, as noted in the users manual, with mandatory

attendance by anyone potentially involved in the flight safety area.

The UAS in most cases can gain access to the property for inspection and survey without 
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overflying other property or persons, unlike a full size aircraft which often must overfly 

unrelated property and persons to gain access for inspection. The lack of exposure to unrelated

property and persons improves the safety relative to full size aircraft. 

PII UAS missions are all flown within VLOS with crew available on the ground to assist in 

keeping persons and property at safe distances throughout a mission. Being on the ground 

enables the crew to actively control the inspection or survey area and warn other persons 

immediately if an emergency exists. Full-size operations often do not have crew on the ground 

to actively control the inspection area or warn persons in the case of an emergency.

PII asserts the use of UAS during inspections and surveys will offer a significant safety increase 

to operators, personnel, property and the public because of the UAS ability to obtain inspection

data using a low weight aircraft staying in Class G airspace below 400 feet AGL over a

controlled inspection area with limited to no exposure to anything outside the specified

inspection area. Because of these factors, the petitioner asserts that UAS operations will

result in a significant safety increase for personnel and the general public compared to the

use of current inspection methods such as helicopters, and small aircraft.

PII requests exemption from§ 91.7(a) because our UAS do not have airworthiness

certificates. Consequently, there is not applicable regulatory standard available to determine

airworthiness. The equivalent level of safety will be provided through adherence to the

maintenance and safety checklist usage standards proscribed in the users manual.

PII asserts that given the size and configuration and unmanned nature of the UA, it is not

possible to carry a flight manual on board the aircraft. Additionally, because of the same

limiting factors, there is no ability to carry certification and registration documents, or display

them on the UA. Therefore we request an exemption from§§ 91.9(b)(2) and 91.203(a) and

(b). An equivalent level of safety will be provided by storing the flight manual and applicable

certification and registration documents at the ground control point where the UAS pilot will

have immediate access to them.

PII requests exemption from§ 91.103 because preflight actions for UAS vary from those

outlined by the regulation. The users manual requires the pilot to take preflight actions 

prescribed by the preflight checklists. Checklists include analysis of weather conditions, 

checking flight battery requirements and assessment of takeoff and landing distances. PII

asserts that these actions will provide an equivalent level of safety.

PII requests exemption from the requirement to have fully functional dual controls in

aircraft used for flight instruction, prescribed by § 91.109. UAS, by design, do not have fully

functional dual controls and are controlled instead through the use of a control box that uses

radio communications for aircraft control. The equivalent level of safety is provided because

the aircraft are unmanned, can be controlled remotely, are relatively small, and operate at

slower speeds than the aircraft envisioned by the regulation.

PII requests exemption from § 91.119 which outlines minimum safe altitudes for aircraft.

The UAS operated by PII operates much as a helicopter in flight with vertical takeoff and

landing capabilities. The UAS has the ability to hover in one location and maneuver in any
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direction and speed as needed for safety without loss of control or lift. Purely vertical

operations, straight up and straight down, are fully within the capability of these UAS even in

windy conditions. The UAS operations will be limited to areas where PII has been given

prior authority to operate from land owners, local government or property managing

authority. Inspection and survey areas will be cleared and monitored by PII on the ground 

where crew members can give persons immediate information and direction about the mission 

as it is occurring. The UAS can maintain all flight operations entirely inside the inspection and 

survey areas unlike full size aircraft which require significant overfly of areas unrelated to the 

inspections simply to get to and from the base of operations. Additionally, UAS operations 

within city limits will be limited to 20 knots GS. The small size, weight, speed and low altitude

operations of UASs mean that vehicles and basic structures provide significant protection for

persons from UASs in the case of an emergency. The lower risk to persons and immediately

available ground crew means in most emergencies the UAS can land in the immediate area,

unlike full size operations, removing any further risk to the national airspace. The totality of

these factors results in a more controlled and limited exposure to the national airspace than

is possible with full size aircraft inspections. The ability to operate below 400 feet AGL for

inspections will ensure the separation with conventional aircraft complying with § 91.119. In

addition to less exposure to the national airspace the requirement to stay 500 feet away from 

any persons in the open maintains a safe separation between the UAS and persons. Full size 

aircraft performing the same inspections will often have to overfly persons in congested areas. 

PII believes an equivalent level of safety will be achieved because of the limited size, low 

weight, low speed, operational separation, operational location and totality of control of 

inspection area of the UAS compared to flight operations with larger aircraft and/or rotor craft.

PII requests exemption from the requirements of § 91.121, our UAS may have GPS

altitude read-outs instead of barometric altimeters. The altitude readout will be verified

relative to the launch site altitude by the PIC prior to flight. All operations will be AGL relative

to the ground level calibrated at takeoff. These procedures will result in an equivalent level

of safety.

PII requests exemption from the requirements of § 91.151 (a). Our UAS are battery

powered and are limited to approximately 30 minutes of powered flight. A 30 minute fuel

reserve would affectively limit operations to 5 minutes of flight time, negatively impacting

efficiency and utility. Additionally with the limited area of operation, size and speed of the UA

the level of risk does not rise to the level that the regulation is intended to mitigate. An

equivalent level of safety can be achieved by requiring at least 20% of battery power

remaining (as determined by the onboard monitoring system and the PIC) when the UA

lands at a safe landing area.

Public Interest

PII believes that given the small size and low speed of the UA involved, limited airspace,

totality of control of inspection and survey area and removal of unrelated overfly areas, this 

proposed operation falls directly in the zone of “equivalent level of safety” in which Congress

envisioned that the FAA must, by exemption, allow commercial operations of UAS to

commence immediately. Also because of the size of the UA and the limited area of

operations of the UAS, approval of the application presents no national security issue. Given
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the clear direction in Public Law112–95 § 333 the strong equivalent level of safety

surrounding the proposed operations, and the significant public benefit, including enhanced

safety, reduced noise, reduction in costs through more efficient inspection operations,

granting the requested exemptions is in the public interest.