THE APPLICABLE LEGAL STANDARD UNDER SECTION 333

Brock Wilkerson submits that the grant of this exemption application for use of the DJI Inspire 1 will advance the Congressional mandate in Section 333 of the Reform Act to accelerate the introduction of UASs into the national airspace system (“NAS”) if it can be accomplished safely. This law directs the Secretary of Transportation to consider whether certain UASs may operate safely in the NAS before completion of the rule making required under Section 332 of the Reform Act. In making this determination, the Secretary is required to determine which types of UASs do not create a hazard to users of the NAS or the public or pose a threat to national security in light of the following:  The UAS’s size, weight, speed, and operational capability;  Operation of the UAS in close proximity to airports and populated areas;  Operation of the UAS within visual line of sight of the operator. Reform Act § 333(a)(1). If the Secretary determines 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.” Id. §333(c). 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 §40101 of the Act, from the requirement that all civil aircraft must have a current airworthiness certificate and those regulations requiring commercial pilots to operate aircraft in commercial service: Th e Administrato r ma y gran t a n exemptio n fro m a requiremen t of a regulation prescribe d unde r subsectio n (a ) o r (b ) of thi s sectio n o r an y of section s 44702- 4471 6 of thi s titl e if th e Administrato r find s th e exemptio n i s i n th e publi c interest. Th e gran t of th e requeste d exemptio n i s i n th e publi c interest base d o n th e clea r directio n in Sectio n 33 3 of th e Reform Act ; th e additional authority i n th e Federa l Aviatio n Act, as amended ; th e stron g equivalen t level of safety surroundin g th e propose d operations; an d the significant public benefit, including enhanced safety and cost savings associated with transitioning to UASs for aerial video/photographs , mapping, inspection of cell towers, power transmission lines, bridges and aerial video/photographs for commercial properties

. Accordingly, the applicant respectfully requests that the FAA grant the requested exemption without delay. Airworthines s of t he Inspire 1 A critical element of the exemption application involves evidence of the airworthiness of the DJI Inspire 1. I believe that it has shown compliance with the requirements of Order 8130.34C. DJI has a reputation for manufacturing quality UASs. In the hours that I have logged to date, the Inspire 1 has impressed me with its flight characteristics. It is very stable, has an easy to use pre-programmed GPS guidance system, a reliable fail-safe mode to bring the aircraft back to the PIC in case of controller malfunction and other such safety features that help minimize potential problems while in the air.
Mandatory Operating Conditions Grant of the exemption to Brock Wilkerson will be subject to the following mandatory conditions, which are based upon operating conditions set forth for operation of UAS by public entities pursuant to Certificates of Authorization, with additional restrictions:

- All operations to occur in Cla ss G airspace

- Operation s to avoid congested or populated areas, which are depicted in yellow on VFR charts- Operations to be conducted over private or controlled-access property

- Permission from land owner/controller required before commencing any flight

- Operations to occur during Visual Flight Rules Meteorological Conditions (VMC)

- Aircraft to remain within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) o VLOS guaranteed with a cylinder of operation around operator of 1⁄2 nautical miles (NM)
o Cylinder walls may be expanded by additional observer’s ability to monitor airspace

- Operations to occur during daylight hours

- Above Ground Level (AGL) altitude to be restricted to 400 feet - All operations conducted in vicinity of airport to remain more than 2.5 NM from center line azimuth of runway center line measured from runway thresholds

- Operator will file a NOTAM for each flight

- All required permissions and permits will be obtained from territorial, state, county or city jurisdictions, including local law enforcement, fire, or other appropriate governmental agencies Operator Requirements
Brock Wilkerson respectfully proposes that operator requirements should take into account the characteristics of the particular UAS. Certain UASs, such as the DJI Inspire 1, are characterized b y a high degre e of pre-programmed control and various built-i n technical capabilities tha t limi t the potential fo r operatio n outsid e of the operatin g condition s se t forth above. The Inspire 1 ha s a semi-autonomous navigatio n an d control syste m that utilize s G PS an d an auto-pilot system

. Flights ma y be pre-programmed wit h precisio n G PS guidance and d o no t require human intervention. I n th e case of unplanned events, th e operator ha s th e optio n to allo w the aircraft to follow the pre-programmed evasive maneuvers that will bring the aircraft back to the PIC for automatic landing. Brock Wilkerson will be the sole PIC of the Inspire 1. I, as noted above, I obtained a Private pilot license in November of 2004 and have transitioned to a Sport pilot certificate and posesss a current U. S. State of Illinois Drivers License. Brock Wilkerson notes that the FAA has found that safety factors permitted operation of UASs b y operators wit h the se qualification s i n th e ca se of operation s pursuant t o publi c COAs when th e mandatory operatin g condition s specifie d abo ve were present

. Se e Federa l Aviation Administration, Notic e N -8900.227 , Unmanne d Aircraft System s (UAS ) Operationa l Approval, a t 20-2 1 (Jul y 30 , 2013)

. Th e FAA ha s th e statutory authority to gran t exemption s to the requirements fo r an d privilege s associate d wit h th e gran t of airmen’ s certificates

. 4 9 USC § 44701 (f).