Page 1 of 5 **06 November 2015**

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

**Re: Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act** 

**To Whom It May Concern,**
**In accordance with Section 333 of the FAA Moderniza tion and Reform Act of 2012 and 14 C.F.R. Part 11**  **I, Mr. Asia L. Stewart dba For Official Use Only LL C, do hereby apply for exemptions from the**  **following Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) in or der to operate an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)**  **for hire in and around airspace governed by the Fed eral Aviation Administration (FAA).**  **I, Asia L. Stewart, Licensed Private Pilot (3046548 ), Licensed U.S.C.G. Charter Boat Captain (OUPV**  **less than 100GT), Active Duty Service Member and ow ner of For Official Use Only LLC, request these**  **exemptions in order to perform the following for hi re flight operations with a commercially purchased**  **radio controlled quadcopters or UAS:**

• **Aerial photography**

• **Aerial videography**

• **Aerial Surveying**

• **Search & Rescue**

**Regulations from which an exemption is requested: 14 CFR 61.113(a)**  **14 CFR 91.7(a) 14 CFR 91.119(c)** 
**14 CFR 91.121 14 CFR 91.151(a)**  **14 CFR Subpart E (91.401 – 91.417)**Page 2 of 5

**PROPOSED UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM: Due to the low cost of operation, small size, reduc**  **ed noise and environmental impact, we believe that or**  **UAS will be an efficient and economical solution fo r public and private consumers of our services.**  **I am seeking this exemption in order to operate a D JI Phantom 3 (series) quadcopter equipped with a 3-**  **axis gimbal and camera all weighing less than 55 po unds. The DJI Phantom (series) quadcopter include**  **the following safety features:**

• **Geo-fence capability that will limit the height and horizontal distance that the Phantom can fly**  **from the operator.**

• **RTL mode- In the case of low battery or lost commun ication between the Phantom and the**  **operator, the Phantom will return to the point of t akeoff and land itself. This mode can be**  **manually activated by the operator at any point in the flight.** 

• **Land mode- Loss of GPS signal will engage land mode . The Phantom will land automatically at**  **its current position if in a flight mode that requi res GPS signal.** 

• **Telemetry radio communication provides real time fe edback of flight data, including current**  **altitude, latitude, altitude change rate, and GPS c oordinates.**  **The above indicated safety features combined with t he PIC’s personal and career knowledge and**  **experience obtained during UA and Private Pilot fli ght training will successfully mitigate operational**  **safety issues that may exist before or during the o peration of the UAS.** 
**FLIGHT OPERATIONS The operator, Mr. Asia L. Stewart dba For Official**  **Use Only LLC, the pilot in command and visual observer will guarantee that operations adhere to r**  **egulations as required by current or future Federal ,**  **State and Local regulations:**

• **The PIC will check open source publications, deskto p and mobile applications to assure that**  **location and airspace is safe and not restricted fr om operating the UA.** 

• **The UA will not exceed airspeeds or ground speeds o f 87knots.** 

• **The UA will not operate above 400 feet above ground level (AGL) without prior consent from the**  **FAA and its nearest facility.**

• **The UA will be operated within visual line of sight (VLOS) at all times.** 

• **All operations will utilize a visual observer (VO). The UA will be operated within the visual line**  **of sight (VLOS) of the PIC and VO at all times.**

• **The VO will not perform any other duties beyond ass isting the PIC with seeing and avoiding**  **traffic and other ground based obstacles.**

• **Proper preflight inspections will take place before each flight.** 

• **The UA will not be operated less than 500 feet belo w or less than 2,000 feet horizontally from a**  **cloud or when visibility is less than 3 statute mil es from the PIC.** 

• **The PIC will maintain a battery reserve that allows the UA to return to point of landing at normal**  **cruise speed and land with 20% battery power.**

• **The UA will remain clear of give way to all other a ir traffic.** 

• **Flight operations will remain 500 feet from any non -participating persons, vehicles, and**  **structures unless:**Page 3 of 5

**a. Barriers or structures are present that sufficie ntly protect nonparticipating persons from debris i**  **n the event of an accident.**  **b. All participating persons are aware of the dange rs UA and the safety precautions and features that**  **are in place.**  **c. If the aircraft is operated near vessel, vehicle s, or structures where the property owner/controlle**  **r has granted permission and the PIC has made a safety as**  **sessment in regard to the close operation to these objects.**  **d. Operations near the PIC or VO do not present an undue hazard to the PIC or VO per 91.119(a).** 

**EXEMPTION REQUESTS AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY For Official Use Only LLC requests an exemption fro**  **m the following regulations as well as any additional regulations found by the FAA to be neces**  **sary for safe and efficient UAS flight operations. 14 CFR 61.113(a), Private pilot privileges and limi**  **tations: Pilot in command This regulation states that no person holding a pri**  **vate pilot certificate may act as pilot in command of an**  **aircraft that is carrying passengers or property fo r compensation or hire; nor may that person, for**  **compensation or hire, act as pilot in command of an aircraft.**  **We believe that a PIC with a private pilot license has sufficient skill and knowledge to complete**  **operations, especially after completing a UAS knowl edge and training course. We do not think that a**  **commercial pilot license will significantly improve a PIC’s performance while operating a UAV.**  **Therefore, we ask for an exemption from 14 CFR 61.1 13(a) in order to operate commercially with the**  **minimum of a private pilot license. 14 CFR 91.7(a) Civil aircraft airworthiness**  **As a UAS will not require an airworthiness certific ate, we believe that this regulation is not applica**  **ble. Therefore, we request exemption from this regulatio**  **n. 14 CFR 91.119(c) Minimum safe altitudes**  **This regulation states that no person may operate a n aircraft below 500 feet above the surface as well**  **as within 500 feet of any person, vessel, vehicle, or**  **structure. We believe that, because of the nature of most UAS**  **operations, an exemption is required in order to al low**  **operation closer than 500 feet to vessels, vehicles , or structures as long as permission is granted fr**  **om the owning/controlling parties and an assessment is mad**  **e to assure that people and property are safe from undue harm. We also request that operations be allo**  **wed over congested areas as long as the operations stay within the following standards:** 

• **Flight operations will remain 500 feet from all non participating persons, vehicles, and structures**  **unless: a. Barriers or structures are present that sufficie**  **ntly protect nonparticipating persons from debris i n the**  **event of an accident.**Page 4 of 5

**b. Participating persons are made aware of the dang ers of the UAS operation and the safety precautions**  **that have been put into place. c. The aircraft is operated near vessel, vehicles,**  **or structures only where the property owner/control ler has**  **granted permission and the PIC has made a safety as sessment in regard to the close operation to these**  **objects. d. Operations near the PIC or VO do not present an**  **undue hazard to the PIC or VO per 91.119(a). e. All operations will be conducted over private or**  **controlled-access property with prior permission f rom**  **the property owner/controller or authorized represe ntative.**  **14 CFR 91.121 Altimeter settings**
**As our UAS does not utilize a standard barometric a ltimeter, we request exemption from 91.121 to the**  **extent necessary to comply with applicable conditio ns and limitations. The altimeter reading for our U**  **AS is calculated by GPS. The accurate and continuous r**  **eadings that we receive from this GPS system allow us to operate our drone below set minimums at all t**  **imes. 14 CFR 91.151(a) Fuel requirements for flight in VF**  **R conditions This regulation states that no person may begin a f**  **light in an airplane under day-VFR conditions unles s**  **there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of i ntended landing and, after that, fly for an additio**  **nal 30 minutes. This regulation is intended to create a sa**  **fe flying environment by creating sufficient fuel reserves. Therefore, we do not request an exemption**  **from this regulation but, instead, request that th e**  **term “fuel” be changed to “battery power.” We also request that our battery power reserve for our UAS**  **operations be 20%. Our UAS has capabilities that allow the PIC to moni**  **tor battery power levels as well as a return to lan d**  **feature that will engage when battery levels reach a critical level, therefore returning the UAS**  **automatically to the point of takeoff. 14 CFR Subpart E (91.401 – 91.417)**  **I requests an exemption from the stringent maintena nce regulations that are designed to increase the**  **safety of the flying environment by ensuring adequa te inspections and servicing of aircraft. We are**  **requesting exemption from these regulations because we believe that, due to the simplicity and the eas**  **e of repair, general and preventive maintenance can be p**  **erformed by the PIC. The PIC is required to make a thorough preflight inspection before each operation**  **. In the case of a discovery of faulty equipment, m ost**  **replacement and repair can simply be done on site a s long as repairs are of an airworthy manner. Major**  **repair will still have to be performed by a license d repair facility which will be logged in the UAS**  **records. We believe that the simplicity of the UAS itself, t**  **he simplicity of the UAS’s operations, and the fact that**  **no passengers are on board the aircraft make our op erations eligible for exemption from CFR Subpart E**  **(91.401 – 91.417).**Page 5 of 5

**I, Asia L. Stewart dba For Official Use Only LLC, d o respectfully request exemptions under Section 333**  **in order to pursue for hire UAV operations.**

**Thanks,**
**Mr. Asia L. Stewart For Official Use Only LLC**  **804 Kearney Place Virginia Beach, VA 23462**  **(757) 528-0443**

**/S/ ASIA L. STEWART**