### 1

Jan 12,2015

U

. S

. D epa r t m e n t o f

T r a n s po r t a t i on D o c k e t

M ana g e m en t S y s t em

120 0 N e w J e rs e y A v e

. , S E W as h i ng t on

, D C

20590

R e : E x e m p t i on R e q ue s t S e c ti on 333 o f t he FA A R e f o r m A c t and Pa r t

1 1 of t h e Fede r al A v i a t i on R e g u l a ti ons f r o m 14 C

. F

. R

. 45

. 2 3 ( b ) ; 14 C FR P a rt 21 ; 14 C FR 61

. 113 ( a) & ( b ); 9 1

. 7 ( a ) ; 91

. 9

( b ) ( 2 ) ; 91

. 10 3 ( b ) ; 9 1

. 109 ; 9 1

. 119; 91

. 12 1 ;

91

. 151 ( a ) ; 9 1

. 203 ( a ) & ( b ) ; 9 1

. 405 ( a ) ; 9 1

. 407 ( a ) ( 1 ); 91

. 409 ( a )

( 2 ) ; 91

. 417 ( a) & ( b ).

D ea r S i r o r M ada m:

Pu rs uan t t o Se c t i o n 33 3 o f t h e FA A M ode r n i z a t i o n an d R e f o r m A c t o f 20 1 2

( t h e R e f o r m A c t ) an d 1 4 C

. F

. R

. P a rt 11

, Texas UAV Professionals

, de v e l ope r an d

op e r a t o r o f S m a l l U n m anned A i rcr a f t S y s t e ms (“s U A S s”) e q u i ppe d t o c ondu c t

inspections for the utility and construction industries

, he r eb y app li e s f o r a n

e x e m p t i o n f r o m t h e li s t ed Fede r a l A v i a t i o n R e g u l a ti on s (“ FA R s ”) t o a ll o w

c o mm e rc i a l ope r a t i o n o f i t s s U AS s, so l o n g a s s u ch ope r a t i on s a re c o n du c t e d

w i t h i n an d und e r t h e c ond i t i on s ou t li ne d h e r e i n o r a s m a y be e s t ab li s he d b y t h e

FA A a s r e q u i r e d b y Se c t i o n 3 3 3

. 1

The name and address of the applicant is:

Texas UAV Professionals

Attn: Curtis Youngblood

PH: 979

- 828

- 4269

Email: cy@curtisyoungblood.com

Address: 11253 E OSR Hearne, TX 77859

**The applicant**  **re qu**  **e s**  **t s**  **re li**  **e f**  **f r** 

**om t**  **he f**  **ollo w**  **i n**  **g re**  **gula t**  **ions:**

P ar t 21, C er ti f i ca tion P r o ce du re s f or P r odu c ts a nd P ar ts, p re s cr i b e s, in p er tin e nt

p ar t, the p r o ce d u ra l re qu i re m e nts f or issuing a nd c h a n ging d e s i g n a p p r ov a ls,

p r o du c tion a pp r ov a ls, a i r w o r thin e ss cer ti f i c a t e s, a nd a i r w o r t h in e ss a pp r ov a ls.

S ec tion 45.23 ( b) p re s cr i b e s, in p er tin e nt p ar t, th a t w h e n m ar ks in c lude on l y the

Rom a n ca pit a l l e tt e r “ N ” a nd t h e r e g ist ra tion numb e r is displ a y e d o n limit e d,

re st r i c t e d, or li g ht

- spo r t ca t e g o r y a i r c r af t or e x p er im e nt a l or p r ovision a l l y c e r ti f i ca t e d

a i rcr a f t, the op era tor must a lso displ a y on th a t a i r c r af t n e a r e ac h e nt ra n c e to the

ca bin, c o c kpit, or pilot st a tion, in l e tt er s n o t l e ss th a n 2 in c h e s nor m o r e th a n 6

in c h e s h i g h, t h e w o r ds “ limit e d,” “re st r i c t e d,” “ l i g ht

- spo r t,” “e x p er im e nt a l,” or

“ p r ovision a l,” a s a p pli ca bl e

.

### 2

S ec tion 61.113 (a ) a nd ( b) p re s cr ibe t h a t

-



### (a) N o p er son w ho holds a p r iv a te pilot cer ti f i c a te m a y a c t a s a pilot in c omm a nd

( P I C) o f a n a i r cr a f t th a t is car r y i n g p a s s e n g er s o r p r op er t y f or c omp e ns a ti o n

or hi re ; nor m a y th a t p er so n

, f or c omp e n s a tion or hi re

, ac t a s P I C of a n

a i r c ra f t.



### (b) A p r iv a te pilot m a y

, f or c omp e ns a tion or hi re

, a c t a s P I C of a n a i r cr a f t in

c onn ec tion w ith a n y bus i n e ss or e mpl o y m e nt i f

-



### (1) T he f li g ht is on l y in c id e n t a l to th a t busin e ss or e mpl o y m e nt; a nd



### (2) T he a i r c raf t d o e s not ca rr y p a s s e n g er s o r p r op e r t y f or c omp e ns a tion or

hi r e.

S ec tion 91.7 (a ) p r e s cr ib e s th a t no p er son m a y op e ra te a c ivil a i rc r af t unl e ss it is in a n

a i rw o r t h y c ondition.

S ec tion 91.9 ( b )( 2) p re s cr ib e s, in p er tin e nt p ar t, th a t no p er son m a y op e r a te

U .S.

- r e g ist ere d c ivil a i rc r af t unl e ss th er e is a v a il a b le in the a i rc r af t a c u r r e nt a pp r ov ed

A i r pl a ne or Roto r c raf t F l i g ht M a nu a l, a p p r ov e d m a nu a l m a t er i a l, m a r kin g s, a nd

pl acar ds, or a n y c ombin a tion th ere o f

.

S ec tion 91.103 p re s cr ib e s th a t eac h P I C sh a ll, b e f o r e b e g inni n g a f l i g ht, b e c ome

fa mili a r w ith a ll a v a il a b l e in f o r m a tion c on c er ni n g th a t f li g ht. T his in f o r m a tion must

in c lud e

-



### (b) F or a n y f li g ht, r u n w a y l e n g ths a t a i r p o r ts of int e n d e d us e

, a nd the f ollo w ing

t a k e o f f a nd l a ndi n g dist a n c e in f o r m a tion:



### (1) F or c ivil a i r cr a f t f or w hi c h a n a pp r ov e d A i r pl a ne o r Roto rcraf t

F li g ht M a n u a l c ont a ini n g t a k e o f f a nd l a ndi n g dist a n c e d a ta is r e qui re d, the

t a k e o f f a nd l a ndi n g dist a n c e d a ta c ont a in e d th e re i n; a nd



### (2) F or c ivil a i r cr a f t oth e r t h a n those sp ec i f i e d in p ar a g r a ph ( b ) ( 1) of this

s ec tion, oth e r re li a b l e in f o r m a tion a pp r op r i a te to t he a i r c raf t, r e l a ting to

a i rc r af t p e r f o r m a n c e un d e r e x p ec t e d v a l u e s of a i r po r t e l e v a tion a nd

r un w a y slop e

, a i rc r af t g r oss we i g ht, a nd w ind a nd t e mp era tu r e

.

S ec tion 91.109 p re s cr ib e s, in p er tin e nt p ar t, th a t n o p er son m a y op e ra te a c ivil

a i rcraf t (e x ce pt a m a nn e d fr e e b a lloon) th a t is b e ing us e d f or f li g ht inst r u c tion

unl e s s th a t a i rc r af t h a s f ul l y f u n c tioning du a l c ont r ols.

S ec tion 91.119 p re s cr ib e s th a t, e x ce pt w h e n n e c e s s a r y f or t a k e o f f o r l a ndi n g , no

p er son m a y op e ra te a n a i rcr a f t b e low the f ollo w i n g a ltitud e s:



### (a) A n y wh e r e

. A n a ltitude a llo w in g , if a p o we r unit f a ils, a n e m e r g e n c y l a ndi n g

w ithout undue h a z ar d to p er sons or p r o p er t y on the su rf a ce

.



### (b) Ove r c on g e st e d ar e as. O v e r a n y c o n g e st e d a re a o f a c i t y , to w n, o r s e ttl e m e nt,

or ov e r a n y o p e n

- a ir a ss e mb l y of p e r sons, a n a ltitude of 1,000 f e e t a bove t h e

hi g h e st obst ac l e w ithin a ho r i z ont a l ra dius of 2,000 fee t of the a i r c raf t.



### (c) Ove r oth e r than c on g e st e d ar e as. A n a ltitude of 5 00 fee t a bo v e the

su r f a ce

, e x ce pt ov e r op e n w a t e r o r sp ar s e l y popul a t e d ar ea s. I n those

ca s e s, t h e a i r c raf t m a y not be o p era t e d c lo s e r th a n 500 f ee t to a n y

p e r son, v e ss e l, v e hi c l e

, or st r u c tu re.



### (d) He li c opt e rs, pow e r e d p a ra c hut e s, and w e ight

- shift

- c ontrol air c raft. I f the

op era tion is c ondu c t e d w ithout h a z ar d to p er sons or p r op er t y on the s u rf ac e

-

### 3

(1) A h e li c opt e r m a y b e op e r a t e d a t l e ss th a n the minimums p re s cr ib e d in

p ar a g r a ph ( b) o r p a ra g r a ph (c ) of this s e c tion, p r ovid e d eac h p er son

op era ti n g the h e li c opt e r c ompli e s w ith a n y r out e s or a ltitud e s sp ec i f i c a l l y

p re s cr ib e d f or h e li c op t er s b y the F AA ; a nd



### (2) A po we r e d p a r ac hute o r we i g ht

- sh i f t

- c ont r ol a i r c r af t m a y be op e ra t e d

at l e ss th a n the minimums p re s cr ib e d in p ar a g ra ph (c ) of this s ec tion.

S ec tion 91.121 p re s cr ib e s, in p er tin e nt p ar t, e a c h p er son op e r a ting a n a i r c r af t to

m a int a in cr uising a ltitude b y r ef e re n c e to a n a ltim e t e r th a t is s e t “ to the e l e v a tion of

the d e p ar tu r e a i r p o r t or a n a pp r op r i a te a ltim e t e r s e tting a v a il a ble b ef o r e d e p ar tu re

. ”

S ec tion 91.151 (a ) p r e s cr i b e s th a t no p er son m a y b e g in a f li g ht in a n a i r pl a n e und e r

visu a l f li g ht r ul e s ( V F R) c onditions unl e ss (c onsid er ing w ind a nd f o re c a st wea th e r

c onditions) th er e is e no u g h f u e l to f l y to the f i r st point of int e nd e d l a nding a nd,

a ssuming no r m a l c r uising sp e e d

-



### (1) D u r i n g the d a y , to f l y af t e r th a t f o r a t l ea st 30 minut e s; or



### (2) A t ni g ht, to f l y a f t e r t h a t f or a t l e a st 45 minut e s.

S ec tion 91.203 (a ) p r e s cr i b e s, in p er tin e nt p ar t, th a t no p er son m a y op e ra te a c ivil

a i rc r af t unl e ss it h a s w ithin it

-



### (1) A n a p p r op r i a te a nd c u rre nt a i rw o r thin e ss c e r ti f i ca t e ; a nd



### (2) A n e ff e c tive U .S. r e g i st ra tion cer ti f i ca t e issu e d to its o w n e r o r

, f or o p er a tion

w ithin the U nit e d St a t e s, the s ec ond c o p y o f the A i rcraf t R e g ist r a tion

A ppli ca tion a s p r ovid e d f or in § 47.31 (c)

.

S ec tion 91.203 ( b) p re s cr i b e s, in p er tin e nt p ar t, th a t no p er son m a y op e ra te a

c ivil a i rc r af t unl e ss the a i r w o r thin e ss cer ti f i ca te or a s p ec i a l f l i g ht a utho r i z a tion

issu e d und e r § 91.715 is displ a y e d a t the c a bin or c o c kpit e nt ra n c e so th a t it is

l e g i ble to p a ss e n g er s o r c r ew

.

S ec tion 91.405 (a ) p r e s cr i b e s, in p er tin e nt p ar t, th a t eac h o w n e r of a n a i r cr af t op era tor

or o w n e r s h a ll h a ve th a t a i rc r af t insp ec t e d a s p re s cr ib e d in subp ar t E of th i s p ar t a nd

sh a ll, b e t wee n r e qui re d i nsp ec tions, e x ce pt a s p r o vid e d in p ar a g r a ph ( c ) of this

s ec tion, h a ve dis c r e p a n c i e s re p a i r e d a s p re s cr ib e d in p a r t 43, M a int e n a n ce

, P r e v e nt i ve M a int e n a n ce

, R e building, a nd A lt era tion.

S ec tion 91.407 (a)( 1 ) p re s cr ib e s th a t no p er son m a y op e ra te a n y a i r cr a f t th a t h as

und e r g one m a int e n a n ce

, p re v e ntive m a int e n a n ce

, re buildin g , or a lt era tion u nl e ss it

h a s b ee n a pp r o v e d f or re tu r n to s er vi c e b y a p er son a u t ho r i z e d und e r § 43.7 of t his

c h a pt er

.

S ec tion 91.409 (a)( 2 ) p re s cr ib e s, in p er tin e nt p a r t, th a t no p er son m a y op e ra t e a n

a i rc r af t unl e ss, w ithin the p rece di n g 12 ca l e n d a r m onths, it h a s h a d a n insp ec tion

f or the issu a n c e of a n a i rw o r thin e ss cer ti f i ca te in acc o r d a n c e w ith p ar t 21.

S ec tion 91.417 (a ) a nd ( b) p re s cr ib e , in p er tin e nt p a r t, th a t

-



### (a) Eac h re g ist ere d o w n e r or op era tor sh a ll k e e p the f ollo w ing r e c o r ds f o r

the p er iods sp ec i f i e d in p ar a g r a ph ( b) o f this s ec tion:



### (1) R ec o r ds of the m a int e n a n ce , p re v e ntive m a int e n a n ce

, a nd a lt era tion

a nd rec o r ds o f the 100

- hou r

, a nnu a l, p r o g r e ssiv e

, a nd oth e r re qui r e d or

a pp r ov e d insp e c tions, a s a pp r op r i a t e

, f or e ac h a i r c raf t ( in c ludi n g the

a i rfra m e ) a nd e a c h e n g i n e , p r op e ll er

, r oto r

, a nd a p pli a n c e of a n

a i r c raf t. T he r e c o r ds must in c lud e

-

### 4

(i) A d e s cr iption ( or re f ere n c e to d a ta ac c e pt a ble to t he A dminist ra to r ) of

the w o r k p e r f o r m e d; a nd



### (ii) T he d a te of c ompl e tion of the w o r k p e rf o r m e d; a n d



### (iii) T he si g n a tu r e a nd c e r ti f i ca te numb e r o f the p e r s o n a pp r ovi n g

the a i rc r af t f or re tu r n to s er v i ce.



### (2) R ec o r ds c ont a ini n g the f ollo w ing in f o r m a tion:



### (i) T he tot a l time in s er vi c e of the a i r f ra m e

, eac h e n gin e

, eac h

p r op e ll er

, a nd e a c h r oto r

.



### (ii) T he c u r r e nt st a tus of li fe

- limit e d p ar ts of eac h a i rf r a m e

, e n g in e,

p r op e ll er

, r oto r

, a nd a pp l i a n ce

.



### (iii) T he time sin c e l a st ov er h a ul of a ll it e ms inst a ll e d on the a i rc r af t th a t

ar e r e qui re d to be o v er h a ul e d on a sp ec i f i e d time b a sis.



### (iv) T he c u r r e nt insp ec tion st a tus of the a i r c raf t, in c l u ding the time

sin c e the l a st insp ec tion re qui r e d b y t h e insp ec tion p r o g ra m und e r

w h i c h the a i rc r af t a nd its a ppli a n ce s a r e m a int a in e d.



### (v) T he c u r r e nt st a tus of a pp l i ca ble a i rw o r thin e ss di r e c tiv e s (AD ) a nd

s afe t y di r e c tiv e s in c ludin g

, f o r e a c h, the m e thod o f c ompli a n ce

, the A D or s a f e t y di rec tive n u mb e r a nd r e vision d a t e

. I f the A D or

s afe t y di r e c tive involv e s rec u r r ing ac tion, the time a nd d a te w h e n the

n e x t ac tion is re qui re d.



### (vi) Copi e s of the f o r ms p re s cr ib e d b y § 43.9 ( d ) f or e a c h m a jor

a lt e r a tion to the a i rfra m e a nd c u rr e nt l y inst a ll e d e n g in e s, r o t o r s,

p r op e ll er s, a nd a ppli a n ce s.



### (b) T he o w n e r o r op e r a tor s h a ll re t a in the f ollo w i n g r e c o r ds f or

the p er iods p re s c r ib e d:



### (1) T he r e c o r ds sp ec i f i e d in p ar a g r a ph ( a )( 1) o f this s ec tion sh a ll be

re t a in e d until the w o r k is re p ea t e d or sup er s e d e d b y oth e r w o r k or f or

1 y ea r af t e r the w o r k is p erf o r m e d.



### (2) T he r e c o r ds sp ec i f i e d in p ar a g r a ph ( a )( 2) o f this s ec tion sh a ll be

re t a in ed a nd t ra ns f e rre d w ith the a i rcraf t a t the time the a i r c raf t is

sold.



### (3) A list of d efec ts f u r nish e d to a r e g ist ere d o w n e r o r op era tor un d e r §

43.11 sh a ll be re t a in e d until the d efec ts ar e re p a i r e d a nd the a i rc r af t is

a pp r o v ed f or re tu r n to s er vi ce

.

**Texas UAV Professionals (TU**  **P) supports i**  **t s**  **re qu**  **e st**  **w i**  **t**

**h t**  **he f**  **ol**

**l o**  **w ing** 

**i n**  **f o**  **r m**  **a t**  **ion:**

The TU P ’s in f o r m a ti o n is organized into f our s ec tions: ( 1) t he U nm a nn e d A i rcr a f t S y st e m

( UA S )

, ( 2) the UA S pilot in c omm a nd ( P I C )

, ( 3) the U A S O p era ti n g P ara m e t er s, a nd ( 4) the

P ublic I nt e re st.

The petitioner prov ides a supplemental proprietary Texas UAV Professionals (TU P) UAS

Flight Manual (the Manual) in support of its exemption request.

### 5

U nm a nn e d A i r cr a f t S y st e m (UA S)

TU P ’s UAS are multi r otor aircraft with final assembly b y Texas UAV Professionals, LLC, a

Texas

- b a s e d c omp a n y

. TUP ’ s UAS are under 55lbs and fly under 65 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 such as 2.4ghz,

5.8ghz, etc. TUP UAS will only be flown over property that TUP has been given explicit

perm ission to have safe access to.

The UAS carry no explosive materi als 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 t o return to a

pre

- determined location within a safe landing area , as detailed in the Manual, 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 de pending on the type of

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 carr ying 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, pro perty and persons in the area. Additionally the UAS has a much lower noise

profile than full s ize operations. TUP requests exemption from § 45.23 ( b) as there is no

entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or pi lot station on which the w o r d “E x p er im e nt a l” ca n be

pl ace d. T h e p e tition e r st a t e s th a t g iv e n the si z e of the UA , 2

- in c h l e tt er ing w ould b e

impossibl e

. T he p e tition e r a ss er ts th a t an e quiv a l e nt l e v e l of s afe t y w ill be p r ovid e d b y

h a v i ng the w o r d “E x p er im e n t a l” m ar k e d on t h e f us e l a g e in a cc o r d a n c e w ith § 45.29 (f)

,

e n a bli n g t he pilots a nd oth er s w o r k ing w ith the UAs to s e e a nd obs e r ve the a i r craf t ’ s

“E x p er im e nt a l” m ar kin g s.

TUP believes the maintenance requirements in §§ 91.405 (a)

, 9 1.407 (a)( 1 ) , 91.409 (a)( 2 )

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

app licable to our UAS operations. In place of these requirements TUP will perform r egular

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

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

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

UAS Pilot I n Comm a nd ( P I C)

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 PIC require a

standard Private Pilo t License and Class 3 medical. We propose the additional requirement

of a commercial pilot’s license would provide no additio nal safety to the flight operations of

the UAS. In addition to the Private Pilot’s License having the pilots complete a UAS training

service as lis ted in the Manual is proposed. This would give the PIC the needed familiarity

with the aircraft they will use in flight.

### 6

UA S O p era ti n g P a r a m e t e r s

All operations will be conducted in accordance with the 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 l east 5 miles from an airport. If

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

the local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) and airport controller (ATC)

. TUP will follow

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

of the airport. TUP will give a daily briefing, as noted in the Manual, with mandatory

attendance by anyone potentially involved in the flight safety a rea.

The UAS in most cases can gain access to the property for inspection without 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 exposur e to unrelated

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

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

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

enables the crew to actively control the inspection area and warn other persons imme diately

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.

TUP asserts the use of UAS during inspections 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 airs pace below 400 feet AGL over a

controlled inspection area with limited to no exposure to any thing outside the specified

inspection area. B e c a u se of th e se f ac to r s, the p e tition e r a ss er ts th a t UA S op era tions w ill

re sult in a si g ni f i c a nt s a f e t y in c rea s e f or p er sonn e l a nd the g e n e r a l public c omp are d to the

use of current insp ec t i on m e thods such as h e li c opt er s, a nd sm a ll a i rc r af t.

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

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

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

maintenance and safety checklist usage standards proscribed in the Manual.

TUP 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 docume nts, or display

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

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

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

have immediate access to them.

TUP requests exemption from§ 91.103 because preflight actions for UAS vary from tho se

outlined by the regulation. The Manual requires the pilot to take preflight actions prescrib ed

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

battery requirements and assessment of takeoff and landing distances. TUP asserts tha t

these actions will provide an equivalent level of safety.

### 7

TUP reques ts exemption from the requirement to have fully functional dual controls in

aircraft used for flight instru ction, 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 commun ications 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 regulatio n.

TUP re quests exemption from § 91.119 w hi c h outlin e s minimum s af e a ltitud e s f or a i r c raf t.

The UAS operated by TUP operates much as a helicopter in flight with vertical tak eoff and

landing capabilities. T he UAS has the ability to hover in one location an d maneuver in any

direction and speed as need ed for safety w ithout 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

. T he UAS operations will be limited to areas where TUP has been given

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

authority

. Inspection areas will be cleared and monitored by TUP on the ground where crew

members can give perso ns immediate information and direction about the mission as it is

occurring. The UAS can maintain all flight operations entirely inside the inspection areas

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

s imply to get to and from the base of operations

. Additionally, UAS operations within city

limits will be limited to 20 knots GS

. T he small size, weight, speed and low altitude

operations of UASs mean that vehicles and basic structures provide s ignificant p rotection for

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

available ground crew means i n most emergenc ies the UAS can land in the immediate area

, unlike full size operations, removing any further risk to the nat ional airspace. T he totality of

these fact ors results in a more controlled and li mited exposure to the national airspace than

is possible with f ull size aircraft inspections. T he ability to operate below 400 feet AGL for

inspections will ensure the separat ion with conventional aircraft complying with § 91.119

. In

addition to less exposure to the national airspace t he requirement , as listed in the Manual, to

stay 500 feet away from any persons in the open maintain s a safe separation between the

UAS and persons

. Full size aircraft performing the same inspections will often have to

overfly persons in congested areas

. TUP believes an equivalent level of safety will be

achieved because of the limited size, low weight

, low speed, operational separation

, opera tional location and totality of control of inspection area of the UAS compared to flight

operations with larger aircraft and/or rotor craft.

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

altitude read

- outs ins tead of barom etric altimeters. The altitude readout will be verified

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

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

of s afety.

TUP requests exemption from t he requirements of § 91.151 (a). O ur UAS are battery

powered and are limited to approximately 35 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 b y 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.

### 8

Public Interest

TUP believes that given the small size and low speed of the UA involved , limited a irspace

, totality of control of inspection 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 operat ions of UAS to

commence immediately. Also because of the size of the UA and t he limite d area of

operations of the UAS, approval of the application presents no national security issue. Given

the clear direction in Public Law112

– 95 § 3 3 3 the strong equivalen t 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 exemption s is in the public interes t.