Aridlands

Natural Resource Consulting

2440 Santa Rosa Lane

Grand Junction, CO 81507 Phone: 970-270-1973

www.aridlands-nrc.com Email: ralward@aridlands-nrc.com

Richard D. Alward, Ph.D.

Certified Senior Ecologist

Ecological Society of America

February 08, 2016

U.S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management System

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE

Washington DC 20590

RE: Exemption Request under Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and Part 11 of

the Federal Aviation Regulations

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, Aridlands Natural Resource Consulting (“Aridlands NRC”) hereby applies for

an exemption from the Federal Aviation Regulations (“FARs”), listed below, to allow

commercial operation of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“sUAS”) to perform aerial mapping

and data collection functions. Aridlands NRC is an environmental consulting company, founded

in 2004, that provides services in vegetation, wildlife, and geological surveys, including

inventory, monitoring, analysis, and interpretation for public and private clients. The principal of

Aridlands NRC, Richard Alward, has a PhD in Ecology and has been certified by the Ecological

Society of America at the level of Senior Ecologist, the only such professional in private

business in western Colorado.

Aridlands NRC intends to employ a sUAS to map and survey remote and rugged lands where

personnel access may be difficult and unsafe, and agricultural lands where operation of manned

aircraft may put crews and non-participants at risk. Under these conditions, the use of sUAS will

confer numerous public benefits, including improved safety, economics, efficiency, and reduced

impacts on the environment.

To ensure public safety and benefits, all operations will adhere to any and all conditions and

limitations required in the FAA Grant of Exemption, including, but not limited to, weight, speed,

altitude and visual line of sight restrictions; training and licensing requirements for pilots,

operators, and/or observers; as well as maintenance and inspection protocols and documentation.

The name and contact information of the applicant

Aridlands Natural Resource Consulting

Richard Alward, PhD

Certified Senior Ecologist

2440 Santa Rosa Lane Ph: 970-270-1973

Grand Junction, CO 81507 Email: ralward@aridlands-nrc.com
Sect. 333 Exemption Petition Aridlands NRC p. 2

Aridlands NRC respectfully requests exemptions from the following FARs

 14 C.F.R. Part 21, subpart H  14 C.F.R.§ 91.113

 14 C.F.R.§ 45.23(b)  14 C.F.R.§ 91.119

 14 C.F.R.§ 61.101(e)  14 C.F.R.§ 91.121

 14 C.F.R.§ 61.113(a) & (b)  14 C.F.R.§ 91.151

 14 C.F.R.§ 61.133(a)  14 C.F.R.§ 91.203(a) & (b)

 14 C.F.R.§ 91.7  14 C.F.R.§ 91.207

 14 C.F.R.§ 91.9(b)(2)  14 C.F.R.§ 91.405(a) & (b)

 14 C.F.R.§ 91.103  14 C.F.R.§ 91.407(a)(1)

 14 C.F.R.§ 91.105  14 C.F.R.§ 91.409(a)(1)-(2)

 14 C.F.R.§ 91.109  14 C.F.R.§ 91.417(a)

14 C.F.R. Part 21, subpart H and 14 C.F.R. § 91.203(a) & (b) – Airworthiness Certification

and Carrying Civil Aircraft Certification and Registration: Petitioner requests an

exemption from these FARs; the sUAS under consideration pose significantly less risk

that conventional, manned aircraft, due to their small size, weight, low speeds, distance

operated from airports, lack of an onboard crew, and the absence of flammable fuels on

board. Furthermore, the small size of the sUAS means it is not possible to carry such

documents on the craft. All relevant materials will accessible by the PIC at the ground

station and will be provided to any authorized official upon request.

14 C.F.R. § 45.23 (b) – Marking of the Aircraft: Petitioner requests an exemption to this FAR

because the aircraft under consideration are too small to accommodate the marking size

requirements. Aridlands NRC will mark all sUAS used in its operations with uniquely

identifying symbols, as large as practical, including any registration numbers that may be

required by the FAA or other authorities with jurisdiction.

14 C.F.R. § 61.101 (e), 61.113 (a) & (b), 61.133 (a) – Recreational and Private Pilot

Privileges and Limitations, Pilot in Command; Commercial Pilot Privileges and

Limitations: Petitioner requests an exemption to allow operation of the sUAS for

compensation or hire, under the conditions that the owner or manager with jurisdiction

over the lands to be mapped or surveyed has granted permission for each operation and/or

flyover.

14 C.F.R. § 91.7 (a) – Civil Aircraft Airworthiness: Petitioner requests an exemption to the

part of this FAR that requires an airworthiness certificate. Aridlands NRC will adopt

practices and documentation to ensure that the sUAS has been inspected, maintained, and

repaired and will accomplish each flight mission safely.

14 C.F.R. § 91.9 (b) (2) – Civil Aircraft Flight Manual in the Aircraft: Petitioner requests an

exemption for requirements of having flight manuals on board; there is no cockpit or

other space on the sUAS for these documents. All relevant materials will accessible by

the PIC at the ground station and will be provided to any authorized official upon request.

14 C.F.R. § 91.103 – Preflight Action: Petitioner requests exemptions from the requirements in

this FAR that are relevant to manned aircraft only. Aridlands NRC will perform and

document a pre-flight inspection and safety check before every flight to meet any

standards in place by the FAA or other authorities with jurisdiction.
Sect. 333 Exemption Petition Aridlands NRC p. 3

14 C.F.R. § 91.105 – Crewmember Requirements: Petitioner requests an exemption for crew

location and safety practices that are relevant only to manned aircraft.

14 C.F.R. § 91.109 (a) – Flight Instruction: Petitioner requests an exemption from the

requirement that any aircraft being used for flight instruction have fully functioning dual

controls. Radio controlled sUAS do not have this feature. However, an equivalent level of

safety is achieved without this requirement since sUAS also do not carry a pilot or

passengers onboard.

14 C.F.R. § 91.119 – Minimum Safe Altitudes: This FAR requires all flights operate above 500

feet AGL. Petitioner requests an exemption to operate its sUAS at altitudes no greater

than 400 feet AGL. This will allow sUAS operations that do not interfere with manned

aircraft adhering to minimum safe altitude restrictions, and will achieve equivalent public

safety given the minimal size, weight, and speed of the sUAS, as well as absence of

flammable fuels on board.

14 C.F.R. § 91.121 – Altimeter Settings: Petitioner requests an exemption to the mandated

altimeter settings described in this FAR. The sUAS does not have an altimeter as set

forth. Aridlands NRC will operate its sUAS to flights not exceeding 400 feet AGL,

whether under manual control of the PIC, or during pre-programmed mission routines.

14 C.F.R. § 91.151 – Fuel Requirements for Flight in VFR Conditions: This FAR requires

aircraft carry in reserve sufficient fuel to operate for an additional 30-45 minutes beyond

the planned flight time. This reserve time is the equivalent of, or exceeds, the maximum

flight time for each of the sUAS, using current lithium-polymer battery technology, being

considered by the petitioner. To meet an equivalent level of safety, Aridlands NRC

requests an exemption to plan flights and operate its sUAS to maintain at least 5 minutes

of reserve battery power.

14 C.F.R. § 91.207 – Emergency Locater Transmitter: Petitioner requests an exemption from

the requirement of equipping the sUAS with an emergency locator transmitter.

14 C.F.R. § 91.405 (a) & (b); 91.407 (a) (1); 91.409 (a) (1) & (2); 91.417 (a) – Maintenance

Inspections: These FARs require aircraft undergo inspections at prescribed intervals by

qualified personnel. Petitioner requests an exemption, and will adopt practices and

documentation to achieve an equivalent level of safety, including pre-flight checks and

regular inspections, maintenance, repairs, and flight tests in accordance with the

manufacturer’s recommendations

All the above requested exemptions have been waived or otherwise found inapplicable in Grants

of Exemption to petitioners employing a sUAS for many of the same functions that this

petitioner seeks. See, for example, FAA Grants of Exemption to Astraeus Aerial (#11062,

Docket No. FAA-2014-0352), Clayco, Inc. (#11109, Docket No. FAA-2014-0507), VDOS

Global, LLC (#11112, Docket No. FAA-2014-0382), Aeryon Labs, Inc. (#11213, Docket No.

FAA-2014-0642) and Allied Drones (#12654, Docket No. FAA-2014-0804). Aridlands NRC

respectfully requests similar consideration.
Sect. 333 Exemption Petition Aridlands NRC p. 4

Description and Airworthiness of the sUAS

Aridlands NRC intends to operate one or more sUAS, selecting a multi-rotor or fixed-wing

configurations depending on which will best achieve mission objectives. The sUAS platforms

under consideration include the Aerial Technology International AgBot, BirdsEyeView

FireFLY6, Draganflyer X4-P, and/or Sentera Phoenix A. All of these platforms, including full

payloads, weigh less than 12 pounds.

Technical specifications for each of these platforms can be found in Table 1, below, and on the

manufacturers’ websites.

Table 1. Basic technical specifications for the sUAS platforms proposed for use by Petitioner.

Manufacturer

Aerial Technology

International BirdsEyeView DraganflyInnovations, Inc Sentera, LLC

Model AgBot FireFLY6 X4-P Phoenix A

Website aerialtechnology.com birdseyeview.aero draganfly.com sentera.com

General Description Quadcopter VTOL Fixed-wing, VTOL Quadcopter VTOL Fixed-wing, hand

launch

Dimensions cm in cm in cm in cm in

Width 102 40.5 152.4 60 87 34.25 100 39

Length 102 40.5 95 37.4 87 34.25 60 24

Height 33.5 13.25 45.7 18 30 12 -- --

Weight Characteristics kg lbs kg lbs kg lbs kg lbs

Weight (incl. batteries) -- -- 4 8.8 1.7 3.7 1.4 3

Payload -- -- 0.7 1.5 0.8 1.8 -- --

Max take-off weight 4.7 10.4 4.7 10.4 2.5 5.4 -- --

Flight Characteristics m/s ft/s m/s ft/s m/s ft/s m/s ft/s

Max climb rate -- -- 3 9.8 2 6.5 -- --

Max descent rate -- -- 3 9.8 2 6.5 -- --

kph mph kph mph kph mph kph mph

Max air speed 61.7 38.4 104 65 50 30 72.4 45

Cruise speed -- -- 54 33.5 -- -- 55 34

Min air speed 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- --

* "--" indicates specifications not readily available on manufacturer's w ebsite.

Proposed Operations and Operator Requirements

Aridlands NRC will employ practices and procedures for sUAS operations that achieve an

equivalent or higher level of safety and protection intended by the above FARs. These practices

will include all recommendations in the sUAS manufacturer’s manuals and operations guides,

and all additional conditions required by the FAA. Aridlands NRC will adopt a pre-flight

checklist as recommended by the sUAS manufacture, and has adopted a commercially available

UAS pilot’s log. All operations will take place within visual line of sight of the operator. No

operations will include carrying explosives or other dangerous materials. No operations will take

place in close proximity to airports (≤5 miles) nor will any take place over populated areas.
Sect. 333 Exemption Petition Aridlands NRC p. 5

The Public Interest and Benefit

The requested grant of exemption is in the public interest as described in Section 333, the

Federal Aviation Act. The proposed operations of sUAS will provide equivalent or higher levels

of safety compared to use of manned aircraft, or by conducting these mapping and survey

operations by on-the-ground personnel.

In the course of normal business by Aridlands NRC, mapping of wildlife and rare plant habitat

requires on-the-ground surveys on steep, eroding terrain. In some cases, the risks to human

safety are too great and surveys in these areas are foregone. Typically, vegetation surveys require

data collection in small sample areas, conclusions about which are then inferred to the much

larger, but not sampled area. These restraints are commonly due to unaffordable costs to inspect

very large areas on the order of several square miles, sometimes extending for tens of miles and

hundreds of feet of elevation change. The use of sUAS will allow for data collection over much

larger areas, perhaps to the entire proposed project area.

Conventional manned aerial surveys are much more expensive, put crews and the general public

at risk from low flying aircraft carrying combustible fuels, require long flight distances from

airports to remote areas targeted for surveying, and contribute to global warming when the fuel is

combusted.

The general public, in addition to public and private clients, will benefit from the increased

safety and vastly expanded information gathering capabilities of operating sUAS in the field.

Benefits will also be accrued due to the considerable efficiencies and cost-savings realized by

sUAS operations.

Finally, Aridlands NRC respectfully requests the FAA grant the requested exemption without

undue delay. By granting this exemption, the FAA will fulfill Congress’ intent of permitting

sUAS operations employing safe practices in low risk environments.

Sincerely,

Richard Alward, PhD

Certified Senior Ecologist

Aridlands Natural Resource Consulting