7/29/15

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

Re: Exemption Request under Section 333

- Small UAS

Section 333, titled “Special Rules for Certain Unmanned Aircraft Systems”, provides a mechanism for seeking expedited FAA authorization of safe civil UAS operations in the NAS. Section 333(a) states that
the FAA “shall determine if certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the national airspace system before completion of the (comprehensive) plan and rulemaking required by section 332(b)(1) of this Act or the guidance required by section 334 of this Act.” In Section 332(b ) ( 1), The
Petitioner “ Boca Sky LLC ” proposes the following exemptions and meets all requirements to permit FAA approval of commercial UAS operations. The proposed exemption, if granted, would allow Petitioner to

c onduct commercial operations of small unmanned aerial systems (“UAS”) meeting or exceeding all of
the operational and safety requirements Congress has set forth in Section 333.

Petitioner is an aerial photography company that plans to utilize the unique capabilities of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to offer a multitude of services, including:

- Aerial surveying

- Aerial filmmaking and photography

- Educational and research operati ons

- Real Estate

- Construction site inspections and monitoring

This exemption will cover use of the following airframes, all of which will weigh less than 55 pounds including payload and energy sources:

DJI Inspire

- Exemption 11398
3DRobotics Solo

- Exemption 11961 Other models to be added by future amendment to this exemption.

(a) The name and contact information of the applicant are: Boca Sky LLC

2799 NE 25 Terrace Boca Raton, FL 33431

Attn: Chris Johnson Phone: ( 561 ) 247

- 1301
Email: info@bocasky.com(b) S pecific section or sections of 14 CFR from which exemption is sought to the extent necessary to
allow Boca Sky LLC to operate a UAS to perform traini ng, research, and aerial data collection. 1) 14 CFR 21 2) 14 CFR 36 3) 14 CFR 45.23, 45.27 4) 14 CFR 45.29 5) 14 CFR 61.113 6) 14 CFR 91.9 7) 14 CFR 91.103 8) 14 CFR 91.119 9) 14 CFR 91.151 10) 14 CFR 91.20 3 11) 14 CFR 91.405, 91.407, 91.409, 91.417

( c) The extent of relief sought is for the duration of the Grant of Exemption, unless otherwise specified.

The reason s to seek relief is as follows:

I. 14 CFR 21

1. The petitioner requests relief from 14 CFR part 21. The UA S is a small rotorcraft

w eighing less than 55 pounds during operation. The UAV maximum speed is 35 mph and
the operating area will be limited to remote or im passable locations where vehicular
traffic is non

- existent or controlled. The PIC will maintain VFR Rules flying at no more than 400 feet and will operate the UA S during the day in line

- of

- sight so as not to create a hazard to users of the National Airspac e System or the Public or pose a threat to
national se

II. 14 CFR 36

1. The Petitioner requests relief fr om any associated noise certification and testing requirements of part 36.

III. 14 CFR 45.23, 45.27

1. The UAV does not currently display marks consisting of the Roman capital lette r “N” followed by the registration number of the aircraft in compliance with 14 CFR 45.23
and 14 CFR 45.27. The Petitioner will register the UA S with the FAA and ensure UAV is marked as appropriate before using the UA S in the NAS for commercial purposes.

IV. 14 CFR 45.29

1. Th e Petitioner request relief from the size requirements under this section due
to the size limitations of the UA S . We propose to use marks as large as possible on the

UAV as well as keep registration information with the PIC during operation.

V. 14 CFR 61.113

1. This relief is requested since the limitations set for th in Section 61.113(a) and (b) state that 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 doe s not carry passengers or property for
compensation or hire. As set forth more fully below, Boca Sky LLC submits that an equivalent level of safety will be maintained because no PIC will be allowed to operatethe UAV ’s unless that PIC has met certain flight

- hour and current requirements, demonstrating that the PIC is able to safely operate either the UAV ’s in a manner consistent with the operations specifications as described in this e xemption, including

evasive and emergency maneuvers, as well as maintaining appropriate distances from people, vessels, vehicles and structures. Further, Boca Sky LLC submits that all flights of

the UAS conducted by the PIC pursuant to the grant of this Petition: (1) will be incidental

to Boca Sky LLC business; and (2) will not carry passengers or property for compensation

or hire.

VI. 14 CFR 91.9

1. Releva nt materials shall be kept in a location accessible to the PIC in compliance with the regulations.

VII. 14 CFR 91.103

1. T he UA S will not be operated within any Class B, C, or D airspace; but, the PIC will follow all other applicable pre

- flight actions including reviewing weather, flight battery requirements, landings, and takeoff distances and aircraft performance data before initiation of flight.

VIII. 14 CFR 91.119

1. The Petitioner requests relief from this section because PIC will ensure the UA S

is operated in c ontrolled environments o utside of populated are as aw ay fr om p ublic an d traffic; a voiding o f areas which are d epicted in “yellow” on V FR c harts, as well as obtaining an d as sessing in formation re garding c ongested are as fr om t he l ocal F light

Stan dards D istrict O ffice (FSDO) an d a voiding are as of c ongestion. The UA S will not b e operated wi thin 5 00 f eet o f v ehicles or objects i n open a reas. Th e Petitioner r equests
that if barriers or structures are p resent that c an s ufficiently p rotect n onparticipating

persons f rom th e UAS or debris in t he e vent of an accident, t he P IC may operate closer

than 5 00 f eet t o p ersons a fforded s uch p rotection. T he o perator w ill e nsure that
nonparticipating persons r emain u nder s uch p rotection.

IX

. 14 CFR 91.151

1. The Petitioner requests exemption from this section due to th e maximum flight

time available from the UAS . The UAS total flight time is limited to 30 minutes and
therefore the PIC would not be able to meet the minimum standards and still conduct
the inspections. The UAS is equipped with a visual battery indicator that displays the battery levels at all time. Additionally, the UAS has a visual and haptic alarm that indicates when the battery reaches a state of 2 5 % battery life, or approximately 7 minutes of flight time. These indicators, coupled with pilot awareness and the

eme rgency return

- to - station setting will supply ample time to land the UAS safely in the event of low battery.

X

. 14 CFR 91.203

1. The Petitioner requests relief from 14 CFR 91.203 as the appropriate
airworthiness certificate does not exist for th ese U AS

. Additionally, the certificate cannot
be displayed in the aircraft due to the size and physical structure of the UAS

. XI. 14 CFR 91.405, 91.407, 91.409, 91.417

1. regulations require, in general, aircraft owners and operators to inspect the

aircraft “...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 of this chapter.” These regulations apply to aircraft with an

Airworthiness Certificate. Therefore, these sections are not applicable to th ese UA S

. Operators will adhere to requirements located within th e operations manual as directed by the manufacturer.

( d) The reasons why granting this request would be in the public interest

O ur use of UAS for imaging and survey mapping can reduce the required manpower as well as the likelihood of inspection related injuries. The environmental impact can also be reduced when using
small UAS instead of traditional methods via helicopter and fixed wing aircraft. Small UAS can inspect, photograph and collect data in hard to reach areas that otherwise would require worker inspection. Manned aircraft have a greater possibility of becoming a threat to the general public through potential catastrophic crashes resulting in loss of life. Our small UAS po se no such threat due to their small size (each weighing less than 1 5 pounds), no onboard pilot, and lack of combustible fuel. This alleviates a large amount of potential threats to the public. Additionally, small UA V’s reduce the environmental impact by dramatically decreasing the energy used for aerial imaging. Our UAS are powered by Li

- Po batteries, which are much safer than combustible aviation fuel. All flight operations will be conducted by at least two individuals (PIC and observer) who will maintain verbal communication capability with each other at all times during the flight, and who will remain stationary on the ground during the flight operations:

A ll flight operations will comply with the following: 1) The manufacturers’ user manuals. 2) Conducted during daylight hours. 3) PIC and VO will maintain VLOS at all times. 4) Pre

- flight inspections (including ground control station, if any) and safety risk assessments will be conducted prior to each flight. 5) Flight altitudes will remain below 400 feet above ground level. 6) Flight ground speeds will not exceed 50 knots. 7) Not intrude into Class B, C or D airspace, or published approach, SID or STAR, or take place within 5
nautical miles of an airport. 8) Not be made near persons as required in 14 CFR 91.119 and not over persons on the ground without their prior permission. 9) Not exceed 75% of the battery or fuel capacity of the aircraft, or 30 minutes, whichever occurs first. 10) All other applicable regulations concerned with the operation of aircraft. 11) Aircraft will use FCC compliant 2.4 GHz for command & control of the aircraft

O n March 24, 2015, the FAA announced that it has implemented a new policy of granting "blanket" COAs to applicants requesting exemptions from the Federal Aviation Regulations under Section 333 of
the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012.

B oca Sky LLC hereby requests that a "blanket" COA that conforms to the terms set forth in https://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsId=82245 upon approval of Boca Sky LLC s’ exemption
request.