Eugene Koval

1 Jasmine way

S.Dennis, Ma, 02660

mailts@gmail.com

508-648-7778

UAS CERTIFICATE NUMBER: FA3P3TWL93

January 15, 2015

Hon.	Michael	Huerta

Administrator

Federal	Avia6on	Administra6on

U.	S.	Department	of	Transporta6on	Docket	Management	System

1200	New	Jersey	Ave.,	SE	Washington,	DC	20590

RE: Section 333 Petition to Operate Small Unmanned Aerial 

Systems

Petition Summary:

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 

2012, Pub. L. No. 112-95 (2012), 126 Stat. 11 (“Section 333”) and the 

Federal Aviation Administration’s (“FAA”) general exemption authority 

under 49 U.S.C. section 44701(f), Eugene Koval (“Petitioner”) hereby 

petitions for exemptions from 14 C.F.R Part 21, Subpart H 

(Airworthiness Certificates), 14 C.F.R. Part 27 (Airworthiness 

Standards: Normal Category Rotorcraft), 14 C.F.R sections 61.113(a)-

(b), 91.103(b)(1), 91.119(c), 91.121, 91.151, 91.405(a), 91.407(a)(1), 

91.409(a)(2), and 91.417(a)- (b).

The proposed exemption, if granted, would allow Petitioner to conduct 

commercial operations of small unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”) 

meeting or exceeding all of the operational and safety requirements 

Congress has set forth in Section 333.

Statutory Authority
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), Congress made it clear that Section 333 provides a 

mechanism for “expedited operation authorization” if several factors are 

met. Petitioner meets all requirements to permit FAA approval of 

commercial UAS operations.

Characteristics of the Aircraft

The petitioner states that the unmanned aircraft (UA) to be operated 

under this request are less than 55 lbs. fully loaded, fly at speeds of no 

more than 50 knots, carry neither pilots nor passengers, carry no 

explosive materials or flammable liquid fuels, and operate exclusively 

within a secured area. The aircraft in use are:

DJI Inspire 1 (already approved by the FAA in prior exemption no. 11153A) 

DJI Matice 100 (already approved by the FAA in prior exemption no. 11814) 

DJI S1000 (already approved by the FAA in prior exemption no. 11694)

3DR Solo (already approved by the FAA in prior exemption no. 11309A) 

3DR Iris+ (already approved by the FAA in prior exemption no. 11490) 

3DR AeroM (already approved by the FAA in prior exemption no. 11617)

DJI Phantom 3 (already approved by the FAA in prior exemption no. 11974)

All UAS’s are vertical takeoff multi-engine helicopters(multi-rotors) with GPS, full 

autonomous autopilot capabilities, telemetry, manual ground control and an on-screendisplay with first-person-view system. 

In addition, all aerial photo platforms have integrated safety features built into their 
design, as described in the accompanying manuals, to ensure the safety of persons and 

property within and surrounding the limited operating area. The petitioner further 

describes that, in the event either UAS loses communications or its GPS signal, the UAS 

will have the capability to return to a pre-determined safe location within the Security 

Perimeter and land. 

Description of Operations 

The Petitioner, Eugene Koval is the proposed Pilot In Control (PIC) who 

would operate the UAS's in question. Mr. Koval is a professional 

photographer with 7 years of experience flying remote control aircraft. 

Mr. Koval has logged over 500 hours of flight time with the UAS's in 

question and over 200 hours in control of other remote control aircraft 

without any incident. Mr. Koval plans to offer a multitude of services, 

including: 

- Aerial surveying & mapping

- Aerial filmmaking and photography 

- Construction site inspections and monitoring - Wildlife and forestry 

monitoring 

- Educational and research operations 

- Remote asset inspection

The Petitioner Requests Relief From the Following: 

Eugene Koval requests an exemption from the following regulations as 

well as any additional regulations that may technically apply to the 

operation of UAS’s listed in characteristics of aircraft section : 14 C.F.R. 

Part 21, Subpart H:

Airworthiness Certificates 14 CFR § 91.203(a)(1) Section 91.203 

requires all civil aircraft to have a certificate of airworthiness. Part 21, 

Subpart H, entitled Airworthiness Certificates, establishes the procedural 

requirements for the issuance of airworthiness certificates as required by 

FAR § 91.203(a). Given the size of UAS in this petition and their very 
light weight and the limited operating area associated with its utilization, 

it is unnecessary to go through the certificate of airworthiness process 

under Part 21 Subpart H in order to achieve or exceed current safety 

levels. Such an exemption meets the requirements of an equivalent level 

of safety under Part 11 and Section 333 of the Reform Act. The Federal 

Aviation Act and Section 333 of the Reform 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 UAS involved. An 

analysis of these different criteria demonstrates that the DJI and the 3DR 

multi-rotors listed in characteristics of aircraft section operated without 

an airworthiness certificate, under the conditions proposed in that 

exemption will be at least as safe, or safer, than a conventional aircraft 

with an airworthiness certificate. 

14 C.F.R. § 45.23 & 14 C.F.R. § 45.29: Display of marks; size of marks 

These regulations provide that each aircraft must display "N" and the 

aircraft's registration number in letters at least 3 inches high. 

Additionally, the aircraft must display the word "EXPERIMENTAL" in 

letters at least 2 inches high near the entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or 

pilot station. Given the small size of the aircraft (there is no surface area 

on the aircraft large enough) this requirement is impossible to match.

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

This regulation requires that no person may operate a civil aircraft unless 

it is in airworthy condition. The petitioner has 25 years of experience 

building and operating remote control aircraft (both fixed wing and 

rotating wing). The Petitioner received AMA training from certified 

instructors on safe operation of remotely controlled vehicles including 

how to execute pre-flight safety and control inspections. The petitioner 

asserts that these pre-flight inspections of airworthiness will be 

conducted prior to flight following the manufacture’s recommended preflight safety checklist procedure outlined in the included Operations 

Manuals.
14 C.F.R. § 91.9: Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard 

requirements.

This regulation provides that no person may operate an aircraft unless a 

current, approved flight manual is in the aircraft. The Petitioner assumes 

that the intent of this requirement is to ensure that flight manual 

information is available to the aircrew while operating the aircraft. The 

Petitioner requests an exemption to this requirement since the

documentation would not be available to PIC if on the aircraft. The 

equivalent level of safety will be achieved by keeping a hard copy of the 

flight manual in the UAS transportation boxes.

14 C.F.R. § 91.109(a) & 91.319(a)(1): Flight Instruction

Section 91.103 provides that no person may operate a civil aircraft 

(except a manned free balloon) that is being used for flight instruction 

unless that aircraft has fully functioning dual controls.

By design, UAS and remotely piloted aircraft do not have fully 

functional dual controls. Flight control is accomplished through the use 

of a control box that communicates with the aircraft via radio 

communications. The equivalent level of safety is provided by the fact 

that neither a pilot nor passengers will be carried in the aircraft, the 

ability to control the UAS via radio signals from the controller and by 

the size and speed of the aircraft. The UAS also are equipped with 

backup systems that will return the aircraft to a pre- determined safe 

location upon loss of signal from the pilots radio control system.

14 CFR § 91.119: Minimum Safe Altitudes

The regulation provides that over sparsely populated areas the aircraft 

cannot be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or 

structure. Since the aircraft will be operating at a maximum of 400 feet 

AGL, the UAS cannot comply with this requirement.
The equivalent level of safety will be achieved because operator will 

define before every flight a working area radius and a flight area ceiling, 

preventing the UAS from going beyond the flight area.

The persons who may be on the ground in the flight area will be briefed 

of the expected route of flight and the associated risks to persons and 

property on the ground. Due to the small size of the UAS and the 

materials that they are built from, the hazard to persons, vessels, 

vehicles, and structures is not comparable to manned aircraft and should 

be considered in granting the exemption.

14 CFR 91.121 – Altimeter settings

This section 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 an altimeter that is set, when operating below 

18,000 feet MSL to:

The current reported altimeter setting of a station along the route and 

within 100 nautical miles of the aircraft: If there is no station within the 

area prescribed in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, the current reported 

altimeter setting of an appropriate available station; in the case of an 

aircraft not equipped with a radio, the elevation of the departure airport 

or an appropriate altimeter setting available before departure.

To provide an equivalent level of safety, the UAS calculate the reference 

altitude (ground level) with the on-board GPS during the pre-flight tests.

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

The regulation provides that no person may begin a flight in an airplane 

under day-VFR conditions unless there is enough fuel to fly to the first 

point of intended landing and to fly after that for at least 30 minutes.

Given the limited area of operation for the UAS, the Petitioner believes 

that an equivalent level of safety is achieved with the low battery failsafe 

feature in which enforce that these UAS will automatically land if the 

battery reaches below a determined safety point.
14 C.F.R. § 91.203 (a) & (b): Carrying Civil Aircraft Certification and 

Registration This regulation provides as follows: No person may operate 

a civil aircraft unless it has an appropriate and current airworthiness 

certificate.

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 legible to passengers or crew.

Both UAS weigh less than 4 pounds. As such, there is no ability or place 

to carry certification and registration documents or to display them on 

the UAS. In addition, there is no pilot or passengers on board the 

aircraft.

To obtain an equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91.203, the 

Petitioner proposes that the documents deemed appropriate for this 

aircraft by the FAA will be co- located with the operator at the ground 

control station in the transportation box and available for inspection 

upon request.

14 CFR Subpart E (91.401 - 91.417) - Maintenance, Preventive 

Maintenance, and Alterations: The regulation requires that the operator 

is primarily responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy 

condition, including compliance with Parts 39 and 43. Paragraphs 

91.407 and 91.409 require that the aircraft be "approved for return to 

service by a person authorized under 43.7" after maintenance and 

inspection. Section 91.409(a)(2) requires an annual inspection for the 

issuance of an airworthiness certificate. Section 91.417(a) requires the 

owner or operator to keep records showing certain maintenance work 

that has been accomplished by certificated mechanics, under Part 43, or 

licensed pilots and records of approval of the aircraft for return to 

service.

The Petitioner proposes that the maintenance of the UAS will be 

accomplished by the owner/operator according to the maintenance 

manual, provided by the manufacturer.
An equivalent level of safety will be achieved because the UAS are 

small in size. Are not a complex mechanical devices, and will not carry 

any external payload; furthermore, they will operate only in restricted 

predetermined areas. The operator is the person most familiar with the 

aircraft and is best suited to maintain the aircraft in an airworthy 

condition and to ensure an equivalent level of safety. Finally, before 

every flight, both UAS run automatic sequences of pre-flight tests to 

make sure that every sensor and every critical part is running properly.

14 CFR Subsections (a) and (b) of § 61.113 requires an individual 

operating an aircraft for compensation or hire to hold a commercial pilot 

certificate. The FAA has the statutory authority to waive the pilot 

requirements for commercial operations 49 U.S.C. § 44701(f).

The Petitioner submits that the equivalent level of safety established by 

Section 61.113(a) and (b) will be maintained because no PIC will be 

allowed to operate the DJI and the 3DR multi-rotors listed in 

characteristics of aircraft section unless that PIC has demonstrated, by 

meeting minimum flight-hour and currency requirements, that the PIC is 

able to safely operate the UAS in a manner consistent with the 

exemption, including evasive and emergency maneuvers and 

maintaining appropriate distances from people, vessels, vehicles and 

structures.

Specifically, the PIC must have accumulated and logged, in a manner 

consistent with 14 C.P.R. § 61.51 (b), 25 hours of total time as a UAS 

rotorcraft pilot (with a minimum of 5 hours of those hours as a UAS 

pilot operating the same make and model of UAS to be used for 

operations under the exemption). In addition to the hour requirements, 

the PIC must accomplish 3 takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 

days (for currency purposes).

Considering the Petitioner’s proposed area of operations, the operating 

limitations set forth above and the airmanship skills necessary to safely 

operate DJI and the 3DR multi-rotors listed in characteristics of aircraft 

section, the Petitioner submits that the additional manned airmanship 
experience of a commercially certificated pilot would not correlate to the 

airmanship skills necessary for the specific proposed flight operations.

Further, Mr. Koval submits that all flights of the DJI and the 3DR multirotors listed in characteristics of aircraft section, conducted by the him to 

the grant of this Petition: (1) will be incidental to Mr. Koval's business; 

and (2) will not carry passengers or property for compensation or hire.

The FAA has previously granted relief from Section 61.113(a) and (b) 

specific to UAS, in circumstances similar, in all material respects, to 

those presented herein (e.g. Exemption Nos. 11062, 11063, 11064, 

11065, 11066, 11067, 11080, 11109, 11110, 11112, 11136, 11138, 11150, 

11153, 11156, 11158, 11159, 11160, 11161).

Pre-flight Inspection, Maintenance 

Before each flight, the Pilot In Command, will perform a series of preflight and takeoff checks as defined by the Operation Manuals supplied. 

After every 60 minutes of airtime, the craft will undergo a thorough 

inspection of all aircraft components, including, but not limited to: 

a. Actuators / Servos

b. Motors, wiring and connectors

c. Propellers, smooth, no chips

d. Electronic speed controller, wiring and connectors e. Batteries, wiring 

and connectors e. Remote command and control

f. Ground control station 

UAS Operating Parameters 

The petitioner states that all flights will be operated within visual line of 

sight (VLOS) of the pilot. Daytime Visual Flight Rules and all 

operations will be conducted with the assistance of a second spotter/

observer. The UAS flights will be limited to a maximum altitude of 300 

feet AGL. Altitude is accurately measured by the GPS. The petitioner 

further states that an operator will ensure that only consenting 
production personnel will be allowed within 100 feet of the UA 

operation and UAS will be kept at least 100’ from any inhabited 

structure. 

Flight Standards District Offices (FSDOs) will be notified as required 

prior to operations to describe intended coordination for proposed 

operation(s). Petitioner will obtain an Air Traffic Organization (“ATO”) 

issued Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (“COA”) prior to 

conducting any operations under this grant of exemption. In fulfilling its 

requirements under the COA, Petitioner will be required to request a 

NOTAM no more than 72 hours in advance, but not less than 48 hours 

prior to the operation. 

Petitioner’s UAS will remain clear and yield the right of way to all 

manned operations and activities at all times (including, but not limited 

to, ultralight vehicles, parachute activities, parasailing activities, and 

hang gliders). Petitioner will not conduct UAS operations within 5 

nautical miles of the geographic center of a non-towered airport unless a 

letter of agreement with that airport’s management is obtained and the 

operation is conducted in accordance with a Notice to Airmen 

(“NOTAM”). 

Radio Frequencies

Both UAS will use the 2.4GHz frequency, which is allotted by the FCC 

for data transmission and vehicle control in unlicensed frequency bands. 

All devices used will comply with FCC usage and emissions regulations.

Safety and Benefits of the UAS

The petitioner will be using the UAS in a variety of applications that 

generally require expensive full-size manned aircraft to complete. Small, 

light and unmanned aerial vehicles offer a myriad of benefits over the 

use of full-sized manned aircraft such as for electric power line 

inspection, oil/gas pipeline inspection, and film and still photography. 

Manned aircraft that are carrying crew and flammable fuel are being 

replaced with small UAS carrying no passengers or crew creating a 

greater margin of safety for the pilots and crew. By granting Petitioner’s 

requested exemptions, the FAA will help drive development of safe and 
successful commercial UAS operations and will advance the public 

knowledge base for such operations. Petitioner is committed to 

promoting the UAS research efforts of policymakers including the FAA, 

NASA, DOD and DARPA by sharing data from its commercial UAS 

operations and serving as a resource for future UAS research operations. 

Thus, the FAA has good cause to grant this Petition.

Conclusion

For reasons stated, the exemptions requested herein should be granted 

and Petitioner should be permitted to conduct small UAS operations in 

accordance with its manuals and all other operating parameters deemed 

necessary and appropriate by the FAA. Also Petitioner already has small 

UAS certificate of registration displayed on all UAS he operates.

Respectfully Submitted,

Eugene Koval EKoval

1 Jasmine way S.Dennis, Ma, 02660 mailts@gmail.com 508-648-7778

Federal Aviation

Administration

Small UAS Certificate 

of Registration

CERTIFICATE HOLDER:

Eugene Koval

UAS CERTIFICATE NUMBER:

FA3P3TWL93

ISSUED:

12/22/2015

EXPIRES:

12/22/2018

For U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and certain noncitizen U.S. corporations, this document constitutes a 

Certificate of Registration. For all others, this document 

represents a recognition of ownership.

For all holders, for all operations other than as a model 

aircraft under sec. 336 of Pub. L. 112-95, additional safety 

authority from FAA and economic authority from DOT may 

be required.

Safety guidelines for flying your unmanned aircraft:

• Fly below 400 feet

• Never fly near other aircraft

• Keep your UAS within visual line of sight

• Keep away from emergency responders

• Never fly over stadiums, sports events or groups of people

• Never fly under the influence of drugs or alcohol

• Never fly within 5 miles of an airport without first contacting air 

traffic control and airport authorities