August 17, 2015

US Department of Transportation

Docket Management System

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20590

RE: Exemption Request under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 and 14

C.F.R. Part 11

Dear Sir or Madam,

I request exemption from several provisions of the Federal Aviation Regulations FAR) in accordance

with Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. I seek exemption in order to

commercially operate small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)/ small unmanned aerial systems (UAS)

weighing less than 55lbs

for the purposes of:

Aerial photography

Aerial videography

Inspection

The name and address of the petitioner is:

Derek Jones

513 Moser Road

Louisville, KY 40223

drjone07@gmail.com

1
Dear Sir or Madam,

I request exemption from several provisions of the Federal Aviation Regulations FAR) in accordance

with Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. I seek exemption in order to

commercially operate small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)/ small unmanned aerial systems (UAS)

weighing less than 55lbs

for the purposes of:

Aerial photography

Aerial videography

Inspection

All of my Pilots in Command (PICs) hold active sport pilot certifications or higher and all either carry a

Third Class Medical Certificate or possess a valid driver’s license. All of PICs and Visual Observers (VOs)

undergo rigorous training and continued education for the specific aircraft which they

pilot/operate/observe. Following policy, all PICs and VOs must maintain detailed flight logs, which are

submitted for review, approval and filing monthly.

The name and address of the petitioner is:

Derek Jones

513 Moser Road

Louisville, KY 40223

drjone07@gmail.com

Description of Flight Operations

To preserve the safety of manned aircraft operations, the NAS, and property, I will maintain the

following limitations and conditions during all operations:

1. All UAVs operated under the requested Section 333 exemption will weigh less than 55 pounds.

a. In most cases, the UAVs will weigh less than four (4) pounds.

2. All UAVs operated by me under the requested Section 333 exemption will have on-board GPS

systems, preprogrammed with an altitude ceiling of 400 feet; additionally, a maximum lateral distance

of 500 feet will be programmed into each aircraft’s flight controller.

3. All flights will be conducted within visual line of sight by the Pilot in Command and Visual Observer.

4. All flights will be conducted with a limitation on the minimum voltage allowed in the primary flight

battery.

2
a. Pre-programmed voltage limitations are built-in to each aircraft, allowing first for a visual warning

to the PIC and VO, and second for the autonomous descent and landing of the aircraft.

5. At all times during the flight, the active PIC and VO will be able to communicate verbally.

6. All flights will be conducted in visual flight rules (VFR) conditions.

7. All flights will be conducted in daylight.

I respectfully request the following exemptions under Section 333:

Part 21 Subpart H Airworthiness certification

14 C.F.R. § 45.23(b) Markings

14 C.F.R. § 61.113(a) and (b) Private pilot privileges

14 C.F.R. § 61.133(a) Commercial pilot privileges

14 C.F.R. § 91.7(a) and (b) Civil aircraft airworthiness

14 C.F.R. § 91.119 Minimum safe altitudes

14 C.F.R. § 91.121 Altimeter settings

14 C.F.R. § 91.151(a) Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions

14 C.F.R. § 91.203(a)(1) and(2) Civil aircraft certifications

14 C.F.R. § 91.405; 407; 409; 417 Maintenance inspections

Part 21 Subpart H: Airworthiness certification

Part 21 Subpart H prescribes procedural requirements for the issue of airworthiness certificates. I

request exemption from this subpart to operate small UAVs (less than 55lbs) without the requirement

for an airworthiness certificate. Based on the proposed small UAVs being limited in size, weight,

speed, operating capabilities, and operating within visual line of sight, I believe that an airworthiness

certificate is not necessary to ensure an equivalent level of safety to manned aircraft operations.

14 C.F.R. § 45.23(b): Display of marks; general

As the proposed small UAVs do not have any entrances to the cockpit or cabin, I request that in order

to identify the aircraft as an experimental type, the word “EXPERIMENTAL” will be displayed in two (2)

inch lettering on the fuselage of each aircraft.

14 C.F.R. § 61.113(a) and (b): Private pilot privileges and limitations: Pilot in command

I also request exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 61.113(a) and (b) to be allowed to commercially operate

small UAVs with operators holding private pilot certificates. Sections 61.113(a) and (b) limit private

pilots to non-commercial operations. However, provided in recent documentation, it has been

determined that private pilot and commercial pilot certifications meet the same basic knowledge of

3
airspace through ground school and not flight training (See Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2014-0352,

pages

16-17). A commercial pilot’s certification ensures that a pilot is able to safely commercially operate a

manned aircraft, not a small UAV. Applying manned commercial pilot certification requirements does

not significantly add to the safety of UAS operations. My operating procedures will ensure any Pilots

in Command and VOs are trained to conduct operations with an equivalent level of safety to the

training advantages obtained by a commercial pilot certification for manned aircraft.

14 C.F.R. § 91.7(a) and (b): Civil aircraft airworthiness

The regulation requires that no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is in airworthy condition.

As there will be no airworthiness certificates issued for small UAVs, should this exemption be granted,

no FAA regulatory standard will exist for airworthiness. Given the small size of our aircraft (weighing

less than 55 pounds) and the aforementioned description of flight operations, an equivalent level of

safety will be provided.

14 C.F.R. § 91.119: Minimum safe altitudes

I request exemption from the minimum safe altitude requirements of 14 C.F.R. § 91.119 that

prescribes the minimum safe altitudes under which aircraft may operate:

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.

Over other than congested areas at 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.

To provide the intended operations, our small UAVs will be operated below 400 feet. Additionally, the

small UAVs will maintain a maximum lateral distance of 500 feet from inhabited structures, buildings

and vehicles, and will remain within visual line of sight of the PIC and VO at all times.

14 C.F.R. § 91.121: Altimeter settings

This regulation requires that each person operating an aircraft shall maintain the cruising altitude or

flight level of that aircraft, as the case may be, by reference to “the current reported altimeter

settings of a station along the route within 100 nautical miles of the aircraft.”

I request exemption from this section because my small UAVs do not have barometric altimeters

on-board, but rather GPS based altitude readouts. All aircraft will be programmed to remain below

400 feet regardless of the input of the PIC, thus ensuring operation at safe altitudes.

14 C.F.R. § 91.151(a): Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions

I request an exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 91.151(a)’s fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions.

Section 91.151 states:

4
No person may begin a flight in an airplane 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 –

o During the day, to fly after that for at least 25 minutes;

o At night, to fly after that for at least 45 minutes.

The batteries powering our small UAVs provide approximately 10-18 minutes of flight time. All flight

operations will be limited to a minimum voltage to ensure appropriate reserve battery to maintain an

equivalent level of safety at all times. Should the

PIC fail to land the aircraft prior to the minimum voltage warning, the aircraft will autonomously

return to its home point and land.

14 C.F.R. § 91.203(a)(1) and (2): Civil aircraft: Certifications required

Under the requested exemption, I would not be operating aircraft with an airworthiness certificate as

requested under the exemption for Part 21 Subpart H. The exemption for this section is required as I

would not be able to display the airworthiness certificate in accordance with 14 C.F.R. § 91.203(a)(1)

and (2).

14 C.F.R. § 91.405; 91.407; 91.409; 91.417: Maintenance/Operations/Inspections/Records

These regulations specify maintenance and inspection standards in reference to 14 C.F.R. Part 43. 14

C.F.R. 91.405(a) (stating that each owner or operator of an aircraft “shall have the aircraft inspected

as prescribed in subpart E of this part and shall between required inspections...have discrepancies

repaired as prescribed in part 43 of this chapter”).

I request exemption from these sections as these sections require the aircraft be inspected in

accordance with Part 43 and is needed as these sections apply only to aircraft with an airworthiness

certificate. An equivalent level of safety will be achieved by the PIC following standard maintenance

procedures, per the aircraft manufacturer’s User Manual and all maintenance and repairs are logged

for each aircraft, with those logs being gathered following each maintenance and repair. Additionally,

the PIC will ensure the aircraft is in working order prior to each flight.

Why is this exemption request in the public’s best interest?

By granting this exemption request, I will be able to safely commercially operate our small UAVs in the

NAS allowing for aerial photography, aerial videography and perhaps most importantly, inspection.

The safe and responsible utilization of this technology allows us to minimize the risk placed on the

human life, not only potentially saving a life, but freeing up valuable human resources to be used to

further innovate and create.

I feel these exemptions play an integral part of the early adoption of small UAS into the NAS. It is

review processes like these that allow those of us operating responsibly and safely to use this

technology to protect our people, protect our property and help improve countless industries and

lives, worldwide.

5