January 14, 2015

U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave. Washington, DC 20590

Dear Sir or Madam: Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Reform Act) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc. (hereinafter OHM) requests for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations to allow commercial operat ion of its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (“UAV”) for aerial imagery to provide a safe and ergonomic means of obtaining imagery needed to advance the communities OHM Services. The use of th is UAV will greatly increase the safety associated with the general public as well as provide a safe means for professionals to obtain aerial imagery

. This exemption request is exclusively for the Phantom 2 Vision Plus.

Attached to this deliverable is the Phantom 2 User Manual Version 1.4, provided by the manufacturer. This ou tlines the operating requirements, limitations, and technical specifications related to our specific equipment. OHM has reviewed this manual and found it to be acceptable for our specific projects.

We would like to personally thank you for your time and consideration. If any questions should arise, please feel free to contact us directly.

Sincerely,

__________________________ Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc. Christopher S. Lamus, P

. S

.Director of Field Services

January 14, 2016 U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave. Washington, DC 20590

Re: Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and Part 11 of the Federal Aviation Regulations from 14 CFR Part 21; 14 CFR 45.23 (b); 14 CFR 61. 113 (a) & (b); 14 CFR 91.7 (a); 14 CFR 91.9 (b) (2); 14 CFR 91.103; 14 CFR 91.109; 14 CFR 91.119; 14 CFR 91.121; 14 CFR 91.151 (a); 14 CFR 91.203(a) & (b); 14 CFR 91.205; 14 CFR 91.215; 14 CFR 91.405, 14 CFR 407 (a) (1) (2), 14 CFR 409 (a) (2), 14 CFR 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. Pa rt 11, Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc (OHM), a fully functioning Architecture, Engineering and Planning firm, hereby applies for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations to allow commercial operation of its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for aerial imaging to be used to provid e a safe and ergonomic means of obtaining imagery needed to advance the communities OHM Services. This operation to be conducted within and under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA as required by Section 333. As described w ithin this document, the requested exemption would permit the operation of a UAV under controlled conditions in airspace that is has been predetermined to be easily accessed by use of a UAV, Safety planned and executed, and found to be within regulations d etermined by the FAA. Approval of this exemption would greatly increase the amount safety associated with various projects completed by OHM. The use of an Unmanned Aerial vehicle will allow OHM t o obtain high quality images in an environment where safety i s imperative. The name and address of applicant is:

Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc. Christopher S. Lamus, P.S. (734) 637

-3406 chris.lamus@ohm

-advisors.com 34000 Plymouth Road Livonia, MI 48150**Introd uction** 

The sUAS that OHM plans to use Phantom 2 DJI, weighing less than 55 lbs including payload, operating only during day time in clear conditions, an altitude 200 feet or less without the use of a Certificates of Waiver or Authorization (COA), while mai ntaining visual line of sight at all times will fit all FAA Requirements for unmanned aerial vehicles. With the technology advancement of multirotor copers, the ability to control and predetermine a flight path allows for the operator to safely introduce our eq uipment into situations reducing the amount of human contact

. The areas to which OHM Plans to use this technology will have minimal public interaction and the owner will be notified in advance of our potential operations. OHM will be conscious of t he air t raffic in the area and will be at least 5 nautical miles of an airport reference point . The use of this equipment falls right within the zone of safety (an equivalent level of safety) in which Congress envisioned that the FAA must, by exemption, al low commercial operations of sUASs to commence immediately. No national security risk associated with the approval of this application presents itself given the nature of the work, small size of the equipment and low altitudes planned for these projects. Given the clear direction in Section 333 of the Reform Act, the authority contained in the Federal Aviation Act, as amended; the strong equivalent level of safety surrounding the proposed operations, and the significant public benefit, including enhanced safety, the grant of the requested exemptions is in the public interest. **P ublic**  **Interest** This exemption application is expressly submitted to fulfill Congress’ goal in passing Section 333 (a) through (c) of the Reform Act. This law directs the Secretary of Transportation to consider whether certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the NAS befo re completion of the rulemaking required under Section 332 of the Reform Act. By granting an exemption the FAA with fulfill Congress’s intent of allowing UAS to operate with significant safety precautions in low risk environments. Th e introductions of sUASs into the various projects OHM is currently completing will not only increase the amount of safety for our staff and the general public but would greatly expedite our work and allow of us to obtain images in a manner that is much more cost effective. The operation of this technology would reduce the risk to workers susceptible to falling hazards while on site, along with providing us the opportunity to access hard to reach areas that would otherwise require manual human inspection. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported that in 2014, th e leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites were falls, followed by electrocutions, struck by objects, and caught

- in/between. These “Fatal Four” were responsible for more than half (58 .1%) of the construction worker deaths in 2014 1 . Depending on the specific uses of the sUASs, the probability of these statistics could be greatly reduced.

1”Commonly used statistics”, Occupational Safety and Health Administation:https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/commonstats.htmlThe need for conventional aerial photography using known photogrammetric techniques, pilot and crew

would go to the wayside allowing for the guaranteed safe flight for all persons involved. A small craft without occupants could allow for OHM to obtain the same level of accuracy while not putting anyone in a potential life threatening situation as well as reducing its dependency on fossil fuels . T he sUAV OHM plans to use will run purely on a Lithium ion battery.

**Equivalent Level of Safety**  OHM proposes that the exemption requested herein apply to civil aircraft that have the characteristics and that operate with the limitations described below. These limitations will provide for at least an equivalent or higher level of safety to oper ations under the current regulatory structure because the proposed operation represent a safety enhancement to the already safe protocols followed on project sites where human contact is required as well as conventional means of aerial photography using ai rcraft. OHM will be bound by the following limitations when conducting sUAS operations under an FAA issued exemption:

 The sUAS will be no more than 55 lbs including payload.

 Flights will be executed within visual line of sight of a pilot at all times.

 Max imum flight times for each operation will be no more than 30 minutes. Flights will be bound by battery life of equipment and returned to base station with adequate battery life remaining.

 Flights will be operated at an altitude never exceeding 2 00 feet ab ove ground level

 Crew for each operation will be provided as well as a person in charge (sUAS pilot) who shall have visual line of sight to the sUAS at all times.

 The sUAS pilot will be trained in flight, operations, and safety procedures.

 The sUAS will be operated in a controlled site where all bystanders will have knowledge of the operation.

 A discussion will be conducted in regard to the planned sUAS operations prior to any activity on site. All members of the crew, and anyone affected will be in attend ance.
 Verbal or written consent will be obtained from anyone affected by sUAS operations.

 All required permissions and permits will be obtained from territorial, state, county, or city jurisdictions as well as local law enforcement, fire or other appropri ate government agencies.

 If the sUAS loses connection to ground control or operator at any time, a predetermined landing zone will be programmed and it will return for further examination of problem.

 If any unforeseen obstacles occur, the crew would be required to safely land the craft and address the problem before any more work commences.**Petitioner requests relief from the following:**

**14 CFR Part 21** The aircraft certification requirements and procedures is designed for manned aircraft and is not suitable for manufactured sUASs. **14 CFR 45.23 (b)** Due to the size of sUAS OHM plans to use, requiring aircraft to be marked in 2” to 6” lettering would be hard to accomplish , there is not sufficient space on the equipment. **14 CFR 61.113 (a) & (b)** limiting pilots to non

-commercial operations, referring to the PIC. The sUASs will not carry a pilot, a passenger, or cargo for compensation or hire. The operators trainin g from the manufacturers manual creates a higher level of safety for the public as a Commercial Pilot’s certificate in no way provides specific safe operational training of a remote controlled sUAS tethered to the operator on the ground. **14 CFR 91.7 (a)** Civil Aircraft Airworthiness requirements. No airworthiness certificate is available for this aircraft. The sUASs will not be modified and will be inspected prior to any flight as outlined in this petition. **14 CFR 91.9 (b) (2)** requires that the flight manual be available in the aircraft. Due to the overall size of this sUAS, the flight manual will be in the possession of the operator during any flight. **14 CFR 91.103** preflight action requirements for crew on board aircraft. While this is important to the safe flying of the sUAS it does not apply given its current language. PIC will become familiar with all available information concerning the flight as well as brief anyone involved preceding any operations. **14 CFR 91.109** requiring that no person shall operate a civil aircraft for flight instruction unless the aircraft has fully functioning dual controls. SUASs and Remote controlled aircraft by design do not have dual controls . Having dual controls would provide more things to malfunction and thus reduce safety

. This section cannot reasonably apply. **14 CFR 91.119** designating minimum safe altitudes. The sUASs operated by OHM will not exceed an altitude of 2 00 feet. This is below the altitude designated in this section. Also given the size, weight, and speed of t he sUAS, the line of sight rule when operating, and the overall safeguards and restrictions in flight outlined in this petition maintain a higher level of safety to the public. **14 CFR 91.121** regarding altimeter settings. A barometric altimeter is not prov ided on any sUAS. However, a GPS altitude indicator is displayed to the operator at all times during flight. While an exemption to this regulation is requested , a modification to meet the current technology of the sUASs would be acceptable. **14 CFR 91.151 ( a)**  Fuel requirements for flight. The maximum flight time under ideal conditions is 30 minutes with the current manufacturers battery pack. The proposed rule under the Operation and Safety guidelines in this petition requiring the sUAS to return to its poin t of launch if its battery reaches less than 25% provides a higher standard of safety when applied to sUASs.**14 CFR 91.203(a) & (b)** requiring that a civil aircraft certificate and registration be displayed at the

cockpit entrance cannot apply to sUASs, the re is no cockpit and the size limitations prevent this. **14 CFR 91.205** refers to cockpit instruments and cannot reasonably apply to sUASs as there is no cockpit. **14 CFR 91.215** requiring a transponder cannot reasonably apply to sUAVs operated by OHM because they will be operated below ATC radar capabilities as outlined in this exemption request. **14 CFR 91.405, 14 CFR 407 (a) (1) (2), 14 CFR 409 (a) (2), 14 CFR 417 (a) & (b)** referring to maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations to the sUAV. The op erator will provide minor maintenance and inspection to the sUAV, documented as outlined in the operational and safety guidelines. Given the size and simplicity of the sUAV combined with the operational and safety guidelines outlined in this petition the o perator can maintain or exceed the required level of safety

As described within this document, the requested exemption would permit the operation of a UAV under controlled conditions in airspace that is has been predetermined to be easily accessed by use of a UAV, Safety planned and executed, and found to be within regulations determined by the FAA. Approval of this exemption would greatly increase the amount safety associated with various projects completed by OHM. The use of an Unmanned Aerial vehicle w ill allow OHM to obtain high quality images in an environment where safety is imperative

.

Sincerely,

Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc. Christopher S. Lamus, P.S. (734) 637

-3406 chris.lamus@ohm

-advisors.com 34000 Plymouth Road Livonia, MI 48150