U. S. Department of Transportation Geoff Kline

Docket Management System CEO Depp Imaging 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE 2315 Las Gallinas, San Rafael, CA Wa shington, DC 20590 CEO Depp Imaging 94903 (415) 259

- 4747 geoff.kline@gmail.com http://www.deppimaging.com

**Re: Exemption Request Section 333 of the FA A**  **Reform A ct and Part 11 of the**  **Federal A**

**viation Regulations from 14 C.F.R. 45.23(b);14 CFR Part 21;14 CFR 61.113 (a) & (b); 91.7 (a);91.9 (b)**  **(2);91.103(b); 91.109;91.119; 91.121; 91.151(a);91.203(a) & (b);91.405 (a); 91.407(a) (1); 91.409 (a) (2);91.417 (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. Part 11 , Depp Imaging, operator of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“sUASs”) equipped to conduct aerial photography for the still photography, videography, and survey mapping hereby applies for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations (“FARs”) to allow commercial operation of its sUASs, so long as such operations are conducted within and under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA as required by Section 333.1 As described more fully below, the requested exemption would permit the operation of small, unmanned and relatively inexpensive sUAS, primarily DJI phantom 3 model, under conditions adhering to the conditions for safe operation and fulfill the Secretary of Transportation’s (the FAA Administrator’s) responsibilities to “...establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft systems in the national airspace system.” Section 333(c) of the Reform Act.

The name and address of the applicant is:

Depp Imaging Attn:Geoff Kline Ph:415

- 259

- 4747 Email:geoff.kline@gma il.com Address: 2315 Las Gallinas Ave., San Rafael,CA 94903

Regulations from which the exemption is requested:

14 CFR Part 21 14 C.F.R. 45.23(b)14 CFR 61.113 (a) & (b)

14 C.F.R. 91.7 (a) 14 CFR 91.9 (b) (2) 14 C.F.R. 91.103 14 C.F. R. 91.119 14 C.F.R. 91.121 14 CFR 91.151 (a) 14 CFR 91.203 (a) & (b) 14 CFR 91.405 (a) 14 CFR 407 (a) (1) 14 CFR 409 (a) (2) 14 CFR 417 (a) & (b) This exemption application is expressly submitted to fulfill Congress’ goal in passing Section 333(a) through (c) of the R eform Act. This law directs the Secretary of Transportation to consider whether certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the national airspace system (NAS) before completion of the rulemaking required under Section 332 of the Reform Act. In making this determination, the Secretary is required to determine which types of UASs do not create a hazard to users of the NAS or the public or pose a threat to national security in light of the following: • The UAS’s size, weight, speed, and operational capability; • Operation of the UAS in close proximity to airports and populated areas; and • Operation of the UAS within visual line of sight of the operator. Reform Act § 333 (a). Lastly, if the Secretary determines that such vehicles “may operate safely in the national airspace system, the Secretary shall establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft in the national airspace system.” Id. §333(c) (emphasis added)2.

The Federal Aviation Act expressly grants the FAA the authority to issue exemptions. This statutory authority by its terms includes exempting civil aircraft, as the term is defined under §40101 of the Act, that includes sUASs, from the requirement that all civil aircraft must have a current airworthiness certificate.

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Depp Im aging sUASs are rotorcraft, weighting 55 or fewer lbs. including payload. They operate, under normal conditions at a speed of no more than 50 knots and have the capability to hover, and move in the vertical and horizontal plane simultaneously. They will op erate only in line of sight

Given the small size of the sUASs involved and the, conditions outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA as required by Section 333.1 the applicant falls squarely within that zone of safety (an equivalent level of safety) in which Congress envisioned that the FAA must, by exempt ion, allow commercial operations of UASs to commence. Also due to the size of the UASs and the restricted conditions in which the relevant sUASs will operate, approval of the application presents no national security issue. 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, economic benefits through future job creation, efficient gathering of imaging for survey and mapping at a fraction of the environmental cost a large fixed wing or rotorcraft incurse on the environment, the grant of the requested exemptions is in the public interest. Accordingly, t he applicant respectfully requests that the FAA grant the requested exemption.AIRCRAFT AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

The applicant proposes that the exemption requested herein apply to the use commercially available sUAS components for its sUAS. These sUAS systems are purchased directly from a certified manufacturer of sUAS aircraft and will be tested for quality & safety before being deployed to the field. These limitations and conditions to which Depp Imaging agrees to be bound when conducting commerc ial operations under an FAA issued exemption include:

1. The sUAS will weigh less than 55 lbs. 2. Flights will be operated within line of sight of a pilot and/or observer. 3. Maximum total flight time for each operational flight will be 23 minutes. Flight s will be terminated at 25% battery power reserve should that occur prior to the 23 minute limit. 4. Flights will be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet AGL or, not more than 200 feet above an elevated platform from which filming is planned. 5 . sUAS pilot will be an FAA licensed airman with at least a private pilot’s certificate and third class medical. 6. sUAS Pilot will be Pilot in Command (PIC). 7. Pre flight planning will be conducted in regard to the planned sUAS operations prior to each day’s activities.. 8. The operator will obtain the consent of all persons involved in the operation and ensure that only consenting persons will be allowed within a safe distance of the flight operation. 9. Pilot will have been trained in operation of UA S generally and received up

- to

- date information on the particular UAS to be operated. 10. Wr itten and/or oral permission from the relevant property holders will be obtained. 11. If the sUAS loses communications or loses its GPS signal, the UAS will have

ca pability to return to a predetermined location within the Security Perimeter and land. 12. The sUAS will have the capability to abort a flight in case of unpredicted obstacles or emergencies.

**14 C.F.R. Part 21, Subpart H: A irw**  **orthiness Certificates 14 C. F.R. §91.203 (a) (1)** 

Subpart H, entitled Airworthiness Certificates, establishes the procedural requirements for the issuance of airworthiness certificates as required by FAR §91.203 (a) (1). Given the size and limited operating area associated with the a ircraft to be utilized by the Applicant, an exemption from Part 21 Subpart H meets the requirements of an equivalent level of safety under Part 11 and Section 333 of the Reform Act. The Federal Aviation Act (49 U.S.C.§44701 (f)) and Section 333 of the Refo rm Act both authorize the FAA to exempt aircraft from the requirement for an airworthiness certificate, upon consideration of the size, weight, speed, operational capability, and proximity to airports and populated areas of the particular UAS. In all cases , an analysis of these criteria demonstrates that the UAS operated without an airworthiness certificate, in the restricted environment and under the conditions proposed will be at least as safe, or safer, than a conventional aircraft (fixed wing or rotorcraft) operating with an airworthiness certificate without the restrictions and conditions proposed.The sUAS to be operated hereunder is less than 55 lbs. fully loaded, carries neither a

pilot nor passenger, carries no explosive materials or flammable liquid fuels. Airworthiness certificates issued under 14 C.F.R. Part 21, Subpart H. Lastly, application of these same criteria demonstrates that there is no credible threat to national security posed by the UAS, due to its size, speed of operation, location of operation, lack of explosive materials or flammable liquid fuels, and inability to carry a substantial exte rnal load.

**14 C.F.R. § 45.23 (b). Marking of the A ircraft** 

The regulation requires: Wh en marks include only the Roman capital letter "N" and the registration number is displayed on limited, restricted or light

- sport category aircraft or experimental or provisionally certificated aircraft, the operator must also display on that aircraft near each entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or pilot station, in letters not less than 2 inches nor more than 6 inches high, the words "limited," "restricted," "light

- sport," "experimental," or "provisional," as applicable.

Even though the UAS will have no airworthiness certificate, an exemption may be needed as the UAS will have no entrance to the cabin, cockpit or pilot station on which the word

“Experimental” can be placed . Given the size of the sUAV, two

- inch lettering will be impossible. The word “Experimental” will be placed on the fuselage in compliance with §45.29 (f).

The equivalent level of safety will be provided by having the sUAV marked on its fuselage as require d by §45.29 (f) where the pilot, observer and others working with the sUAV will see the identification of the UAS as “Experimental.” The FAA has issued the following exemptions to this regulation to Exemptions Nos. 10700, 8738, 10167 and 10167A.

**14 C.F.R. § 61.113 (a) & (b): Private Pilot Privileges and Limitations: Pilot in Command.** 

Sections 61.113 (a) & (b) limit private pilots to non

- commercial operations. Because the UAS will not carry a pilot or passengers, the proposed operations can achieve the equ ivalent level of safety of current operations by requiring the PIC operating the aircraft to have a private pilot’s license rather than a commercial pilot’s license to operate this small UAS. Unlike a conventional aircraft that carries the pilot and passen gers, the sUAS is remotely controlled with no living thing on board. The area of operation is controlled and restricted. The risks associated with the operation of the sUAS are so diminished from the level of risk associated with commercial operations cont emplated by Part 61 when drafted, that allowing operations of the sUAS as requested with a private pilot as the PIC exceeds the present level of safety achieved by 14 C.F.R. §61.113 (a) & (b).

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

The regulat ion requires that no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is in airworthy condition. As there will be no airworthiness certificate issued for the aircraft, should this exemption be granted, no FAA regulatory standard will exist for determining air worthiness. Given the size of the aircraft and the requirements contained in the operating manual for maintenance and use of safety check lists prior to each flight, as set forth in Sections J, L and Q, an equivalent level of safety will be provided.**14 C .F.R. § 91.9 (b) (2): Civil A** **ircraft Flight Manual in the A ircraft.** 

Section 91.9 (b) (2) provides:

No person may operate a U.S.

- registered civil aircraft ... (2) For which an Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual is not required by §21.5 of this chapter, unless there is available in the aircraft a current approved airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual, approved manual material, markings, and placards, or any combination thereof.

The sUAS, given its size and configuration has no ability or place to carry such a flight manual on the aircraft, not only because there is no pilot on board, but because there is no room or capacity to carry such an item on the aircraft. The equivalent level of safety will be maintained by keeping the flight operating manual at t he ground control point where the pilot flying the sUAS will have immediate access to it. The FAA has issued the following exemptions to this regulation: Exemption Nos. 8607, 8737, 8738, 9299, 9299A, 9565, 9565B, 10167, 10167A, 10602, 32827, and 10700.

**14 C.F.R. § 91.103: Preflight action** 

This regulation requires each pilot in command to take certain actions before flight to insure the safety of flight. As FAA approved rotorcraft flight manuals will not be provided onboard for the aircraft an exemption wi ll be needed. An equivalent level of safety will be provided as set forth in preflight checklists at the origin of a flight. The PIC will take all actions including reviewing weather, flight battery requirements, landing and takeoff conditions and surround ings and aircraft performance data before initiation of flight.

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

Section 91.119 establishes safe altitudes for operation of civil aircraft. Section 91.119 (d) allows helicopters to be operated at less than the min imums prescribed, provided the person operating the helicopter complies with any route or altitudes prescribed for helicopters by the FAA. As this exemption is for a sUAS that is a helicopter and the exemption requests authority to operate at altitudes up to 400 AGL, or not more than 200 above an elevated platform from wh ich imaging is planned, an exemption may be needed to allow such operations. The UAS will never operate at higher than 400 AGL.

The equivalent level of safety will be achieved given the s ize, weight, speed of the UAS as well as the location where it is operated. No flight will be taken without the permission of the property owner. Because of the advance notice to the property owner and participants in the imaging activity, all affected ind ividuals will be aware of the planned flight operations. Compared to flight operations with aircraft or rotorcraft weighting far more than the maximum 55lbs. proposed herein and the lack of flammable fuel, any risk associated with these operations is far l ess than those presently presented with conventional aircraft operating at or below 500 AGL for imaging. In addition, the low

- altitude operations of the sUAS will ensure separation between these small

- UAS operations and the operations of conventional aircraft that must comply with Section 91.119.**14 C.F.R. §91.121 A ltimeter Settings** 

This regulation requires each person operating an aircraft to maintain cruising altitude by reference to an altimeter that is set “...to the elevation of the departure airport o r an appropriate altimeter setting available before departure.” As the sUAS may not have a barometric altimeter, but instead a GPS altitude read out, an exemption may be needed. Altitude information will be provided to the sUAS pilot via a digitally encode d telemetric data feed, which downlinks from the aircraft to a ground

- based on

- screen display. This altitude information will be generated by equipment installed on board the aircraft, using GPS triangulation, or digitally encoded barometric altimeter, or radio altimeter, or any combination thereof. Prior to each flight, a zero altitude initiation point will be established and confirmed for accuracy by the pilot.

**14 C.F.R. § 91.151(a): Fuel Requirements for Flight in VFR Conditions**

Section 91.151 (a) proh ibits an individual from beginning “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

– (1) During the day, to fly after that for at least 30 minutes; or (2) At night, to fly after that for at least 45 minutes.”

Operating the sUAS in a pre

- def ined area with less than 30 minutes of reserve fuel does not raise the type of risk contemplated by §91.151, i.e., that an aircraft could run out of fuel in the event it has to be flown to an alternate airport or circle the planned airport in the event of unanticipated conditions. DFAM does not intend to use the sUAS for point

- to

- point flights and will not operate the sUAS beyond visual line of sight. Nor will the sUAS require an airport in order to land. Rather, DFAM will operate the sUAS usin g pre

- planned flight paths (taking into account weather conditions) designed to allow the sUAS to fly to the point of intended landing. As such, there is no need for a time based excess fuel requirement. Rather it should be sufficient to require only as mu ch additional excess flight capacity as necessary to safely land the sUAS. Applicant believes that an equivalent level of safety can be achieved by limiting flights to 30 minutes or 25% of battery power whichever happens first. This restriction would be

mo re than adequate to return the sUAS to its planned landing zone from anywhere in its limited operating area. Similar exemptions have been granted to other operations, including Exemptions 2689F, 5745, 10673, and 10808.

**14 C.F.R. §91.203 (a) and (b): Carry ing Civil A**  **ircraft Certification and Registration**

The regulation provides in pertinent part: (a) Except as provided in § 91.715, no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it has within it the following: (1) An appropriate and current airworthiness cer tificate. . . . (b) No person may operate a civil aircraft unless the airworthiness certificate required by paragraph (a) of this section or a special flight authorization issued under §91.715 is displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is leg ible to passengers or crew. The UAS fully loaded weighs no more than 55 lbs and is operated without an onboard pilot. As such, there is no ability or place to carry certification and registration documents or to display them on the sUAS.An equivalent leve l of safety will be achieved by keeping these documents at the ground control

point where the pilot flying the sUAS will have immediate access to them, to the extent they are applicable to the sUAS. The FAA has issued numerous exemptions to this regulation . A representative sample of other exceptions includes Exemption Nos. 9565, 9665, 9789, 9789A, 9797, 9797A, 9816A, and 10700.

**14 C.F.R. §91.405 (a); 407 (a) (1); 409 (a) (2); 417(a) & (b): Maintenance Inspections**

These regulations require that an aircraf t operator or owner “shall have that aircraft inspected 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 chapte r...,” and others shall inspect or maintain the aircraft in compliance with Part 43. Given that these section and Part 43 apply only to aircraft with an airworthiness certificate, these sections will not apply to the applicant. Maintenance will be accompli shed by the operator pursuant to the flight manual and operating handbook. An equivalent level of safety will be achieved because these small UASs are very limited in size and will carry a small payload and operate only in restricted areas for limited peri ods of time. If mechanical issues arise the UAS can land immediately and will be operating from no higher than 400 feet AGL. The operator will ensure that the UAS is in working order prior to initiating flight following preflight checklists perform require d maintenance, and keep a log of any maintenance performed. Moreover, the operator is the person most familiar with the aircraft and best suited to maintain the aircraft in an airworthy condition to provide the equivalent level of safety.

**14 C.F.R. 91.407 (a) (1), 14 C.F.R. 91.409(a) (1)&(2) and 14 C.F.R. 91.417(a) & (b)** 

§91.407 Operation after maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration. (a) No person may operate any aircraft that has undergone maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration un less

– (1) It has been approved for return to service by a person authorized under §43.7 of this chapter**** §91.409 Inspections. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no person may operate an aircraft unless, within the preceding 12 cal endar months, it has had __ (1) An annual inspection in accordance with part 43 of this chapter and has been approved for return to service by a person authorized by §43.7 of this chapter; or (2) An inspection for the issuance of an airworthiness certifica te in accordance with part 21 of this chapter. ***** §91.417 (a) & (b) ***** Depp Imaging believes that an exemption from these three maintenance requirements is appropriate because the FAA has not developed maintenance standards that would allow an operat or to meet the part 91 maintenance requirements. In particular, there are no individuals authorized by the FAA to approve a sUAS for return to service under §91.407(a) or to conduct the initial airworthiness and annual return to service inspections require d by §91.409(a). Depp Imaging will maintain the aircraft as instructed in the owner’s manual and, and will not operate the aircraft until it has reasonably determined that any needed repairs have been made. However, because of the technical impossibility o f meeting the requirements of §§91.405(a), 407(a), 409(a) and 417(a)&(b), we believe an exemption from these provisions is appropriate.

Sincerely, CEO for Depp Imaging Geoffrey D Kline