October	25,	2015

U.S.	Department	of	Transportation,	Docket	Operations West	Building	Ground	Floor,	Room	W12

- 140 I200	New	Jersey	Ave.,	SE Washington,	DC	20590

**Purpose:** Exemption	Request	Section	333	of	the	FAA	Reform	Act	and	Part	II	of	the	Federal Aviation Regulations	from	14	CFR	Part	21	subpart	H;	14	CFR	45.23	(b)	;14	CFR	61.113	(a)	& (b);	91.103(b);	91.119;	91.121; 91.151 (a);	91.405	(a);	91.407(a)	(1);	91.409 (a)	(2);	91.4I7	(a) &	(b) for:
Flight	Club	Drone s 26	Diamond	Oak	Court The	Woodlands,	Texas 77381

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,	Flight	Club	Drone s (Flight	Club)
, an aerial data collection company, hereby	applies	for	an	exemption	from	the	listed	Federal	Aviation Regulations	("F	ARs")	to allow	commercial	operation	of	its	Small	Unmanned	Aircraft Systems	(''sUAS")	for	aerial imaging of	events	and	private	property, 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.
As	detailed	in	this	document,	the	requested exemption	would	permit	the	operation	of	sUAS under	controlled	conditions	in	airspace that	is limited to	outside	FAA	designated	No	Fly	Zones and	100	f

eet	away	from	persons	who	have	not	been	notified	of	sUASs operations

. Approval	of this	exemption	would	thereby	enhance	safety 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.



## REGULATIONS	FROM	WHIC H	THE	EXEMPTION	IS	REQUESTED 

## : 14	C.F.R.	Part	21	Subpart	H I4	C.F.R.	45.23(b) 14	C.F.R.	61.113	(a)	&	(b) 14	C.F.R.	91.7	(a) 14	C.F .R.	91.9	(b)	(2) 14	C.F.R.	91.103 14	C.F.R.	91.109 14	C.F.R.	91.119 14	C.F.R.	91.121 14	C.F.R.	91.151	(a) 14	C.F.R.	91.203	(a)	&	(b) 14	C.F.R.	91.405	(a) 14	C.F.R. 91. 407	(a)	(1) 14	C.F.R. 91. 409	(a)	(2) 14	C.F.R. 91. 417	(a)	&	(b)

## E QUIPMENT 

## S PECIFICATIONS

Flight	Club	will	be	using	the	Yuneec	Typhoon	Q500+	Quadcopter	UAV	(Typhoon).		This	UAV	is a	3.5	lb	(1587	oz)	quadcopter	design	with	many	safety	features	built	in.		The	Typhoon	has software	installed	that	doesn’t	allow	it	to	fly	within	3	mile s	of	any	airport	or	FAA	designated	No Fly	Zone	or	fly	above	400ft.		The	maximum	achievable	speed	of	the	Typhoon	is	18	miles	per hour,	well	below	the	mandatory	speed	limit	of	100	miles	per	hour.

This	UAV	also	comes	equipped	with	a	return	home	feature	that automatically	lands	the	UAV where	it	took	off	from	if	either	the	battery	is	under	20%,	the	transmitter	and	UAV	loose connection,	or	the	return	home	feature	is	initiated	by	the	PIC.		This	feature	will	help	ensure	the safety	of	persons	and	property	around	th e	flight	zone.


## I. STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR EXEMPTIONS The	Federal	Aviation	Act	expressly	grants	the	FAA	authority	to	issue	exemptions. This	statutory	authority	includes	exempting	civil	aircraft,	as	the	term	is	defined	under §40101	of	the	Act,	including	sUAS s,	from	the	requirement	that	all	civil	aircraft	must have	a current	airworthiness	certificate.
The	Administrator	may	grant	an	exemption	from	a	requirement	of	a	regulation prescribed under	subsection	(a)	or	(b)	of	this	section	or	any	sections	44702

- 44716	o f	this title	if	the Administrator	finds	the	exemption	in	the	pub lic	interest.	49	U.S.C.	§44701(f ) See	also	49	USC	§44711(a);	49	USC	§44704;	14	CFR	§91.203(a)	(1).
Section	333(b)	of	the	Reform	Act	assists	the	Secretary	in	determining	whether sUAS may operate	in	the	National	Airspace	System	(NAS)	without	creating	a	hazard	to the	user,	the public,	or	a	threat	to	national	security.	In	making	this	determination,	the Secretary	must consider:
•	The	sUAS's	size,	weight,	sp eed,	and	operational	capability •	Whether	the	sU	AS	operates	within	the	visual	line	of	sight	of	the	operator •	Whether	the	sUAS	operates	outside	of	highly	populated	areas	and	away	from close	proximity to	airports
Reform	Act	§333(a) If	the	Secretary	determines	that	a	sUAS	"may	operate	s afely	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).
Flight	Club 's	sUAS	are	multirotor	vehicles,	weighing 5 or	fewer	lbs.	including payload .	They operate	under	normal	conditions	at	a	speed	of	no	more	than 80 knots (92	miles per	hour) and have	the	capability	to	hover,	and	move	in	the	vertical	and	horizontal	plane simultaneously.	The sUAS	will	operate	only	in	the	Pilot's	visual	line	of	sight	at all	times and	will	operate	only	within FAA	airspace	guidelines	of	below	400	ft	AGL,	more	than	3	miles from	any	airport	or	landing strip,	outside	of	NOAA	zones	and	TFRs/FRZs. Such	operations	will e nsure	that the	sUAS	will "not	create	a	hazard	to	users	of	the	national	airspace	system	or	the	public." Reform	Act	Section 333	(b).Given	the	small	size	of	the	sUAS	involved	and	the	restricted environment	within	which	they

will	operate,	our	application	falls	squarely	within	the zone	of	safety	(an	equivalent	level of safety)	in	which	Congress	envisioned	that	the	FAA must,	by	exemption,	allow	commercial operations	of	sUAS	to	commence	immediately. Also	due	to	the	small	size	of	the	sUAS	and	the low	altitudes	and	restricted	areas	in	which the	sUAS	will	operate,	approval of	the	application prese nts	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,	the	grant	of the	requested	exemptions	is	in	the	public	interest. Accordingly, Flight	Club respectfully requests	that	the	FAA	grant	the	requested	exemption without	delay.



## II. PUBLIC INTEREST This	exemption	application	is	expressly	submitted	to	fulfill	Congress'	goal	in passing	Section 333(a)	through	(c)	of	the	Reform	Act.	This	law	directs	the	Secretary	of Transportation	to consider	whether	certain	unmanned	aircraft	systems	may	operate	safely in	the	NAS	before completion	of	the	rulemaking	required	under	Section	332	of	the Reform	Act.	By	granting	an exemption	the	FAA	will	fulfill	Congress's	intent	of	allowing UAS	to	operate	with	significant safety	precautions	in	low	risk	environments.

The	use	of	sUAS in	many	commercial	or	industrial	uses can	significantly	reduce	the	risk	to workers	of	falls	while	inspecting,	surveying,	or	monitoring	physical	property	that	would otherwise	require	climbing	of	scaffolding,	ladders	or	cherry	pickers .	sUAS	can inspect, photograph,	and	collect	data	on	hard	to	get	to	areas	that	otherwise	would	require worker inspection.	Falls	are	a	leading	source	of	workplace	fatality	and	injury	on construction	sites ( "Commonly	Used	Statistics",	Occupational	Safety	&	Health	Adm inistration.	Available	at: https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/ commonstats.html) ,	and	reducing	falls	through	sUAS	use	for	site imaging	could	save workers	lives.

Additionally,	sUAS	could	replace	the	use	of	helicopters	and	small	aircraft	to monitor	sites.	The sUAS	we	propose	to	fly	in	this	application	are	five	pounds	or	less,	and carry	no	combustible material	on	board,	as	opposed	to	the	much	larger	conventionally powered	small	aircraft. Shifting	to	sUAS	from	helicopters	presents	a	marked	safety increase	for	our	wo rkers	and	the public.
Lastly,	sUAS	reduce	the	environmental	impact	by	dramatically	decreasing	the energy	used	for aerial	imaging	and	data	collection.	Our	sUAS	use rechargeable	lithium	ion	batteries,	as	opposed to	fossil	fuels	burned	in	operation	of	small aircraft	that	are	many	hundreds	of	times	heavier.



## III. EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY Flight	Club proposes	that	the	exemption	requested	herein	apply	to	sUAS	that	have the characteristics	and	that	operate	with	the	limitations	listed	herein.	These	limitations p rovide	for at	least	an	equivalent	or	even	higher	level	of	safety	to	operations	under	the current	regulatory structure	because	the	proposed	operations	represent	a	safety enhancement	to	the	already	safe protocols	followed	on	co nstruction	sites	and	imaging	and surveying	operations	conducted	with helicopters	and	other	conventional	aircraft.Flight	Club will	be	bound	by	the	following	limitations	when	conducting	its	sUAS operations

under	an	FAA	issued	exemption:

1. The	sUAS	will	be less	than	50 pounds. 2. Flights	will	be	operated	within visual	line	of	sight	of	a	pilot. 3. Maximum	total	flight	time	for	each	operational	flight	will	be	30	minutes.	The s UAS calculates	battery	reserve	in	real	time,	and	will	return	to	its	ground	station	with	at least 20%	battery	power	reserve	should	that	occur	prior	to	the	30	minute	limit. 4. Flights	will	normally	be	operated	at	an	altitude	of	200	feet	AGL,	never	exceeding	400 feet	AGL. 5. Crew	for	each	operation	will	consist	of	the	sUAS	Pilot (PIC) and	a	Visual	Observer	(VO) who	will	keep	the	sUAS within their vi sual	line	of	sight	at	all	times

. 6. The	sUAS	Pilot	will	be	trained	in	flight,	operations,	and	safety	procedures. 7. The sUAS	will	only	operate	within	the	predetermined	flight	area,	agreed	upon	by	both the	PIC	and	VO based	on	the	safety	of the	surrounding persons	and	property

. 8. A	briefing	will	be	conducted	in	regard	to	the	planned	sUAS	operations	prior	to	each day's	production	activities. 9. Pilot	will	have	been	trained	in	operation	of s UASs	generally	and	received	up

-to

- date information	on	the	particular s UAS	to	be	operated. 10. Written	and/or	oral	permission	from	the	relevant	property	holders	will	be	obtained. 11. All	required	permissions	and	permits	will	be	obtained	from	territorial,	state,	county	or city	jurisdictions,	includi ng	local	law	enforcement,	fire,	or	other	appropriate governmental	agencies. 12. If	the	sUAS	loses	communications	or	loses	its	GPS	signal,	it	will	have	capability	to enter "loiter	mode"	and	hover,	reestablish	satellite	connection,	and	return	to	a p redetermined location	within	the	Security	Perimeter	and	land.


## IV. DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC REGULATIONS

14 CFR 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 sUAS will	not	carry	a	pilot	or	passengers,	the	proposed	operations	can	achieve	the equivalent	level	of safety	of	current	operations	by	requiring	the	Pilot	operating	the aircraft	to	have	completed sUAS	flight	training as	deemed	necessary	by	the PIC .	Unlike	a	conventional	aircraft	that carries the	pilot	and	passengers,	the	sUAS	is	remotely	controlled	with	no	living	thing	or cargo	on board.	Flight	Club’s sUAS	is	also	operated	by	an	autopilot,	which	greatly	reduces the	danger	of human	error.

The	s UAS	to	be	operated	hereunder	is	less	than	10	lbs.	fully	loaded,	carries	neither	a	pilot nor passenger and carries	no	explosive	materials	or	flammable	liquid	fuels.	Like	other	civil	aircraft, operations	under	this	exemption	will	be	tightly	controlled and	monitored	by	the	operator, and under	the	requirements	and	in	compliance with	local	public	safety	requirements,	to	provide security	for	the	area	of	operation

. The	risks	associated	with	the	operation	of	the	sUAS	are therefore	diminished	from	the level	o f	risk	associ ated	with	commercial	operations

c ontemplated	by	Part	61	when drafted,	and	allowing	operations	of	the	sUAS	as	requested	witha	Pilot	who	has	met	the minimum	requirements	achieves	the	level	of	safety contemplated	by

14	C.F.R.	§61.113	(a)	&	(b).



### 14 C.F.R. 91.103: PREFLIGHT 

### A CTION

This	regulation	requires	each	pilot	in	command	take	certain	actions	before	flight	to ensure	the safety	of	flight.	An	exemption	is	needed	from	this	requirement	as	the	Pilot	will take	separate preflight	actions,	including checking	for	weather	conditions,	checking	flight battery requirements,	checking	takeoff	and	landing	distances,	and ensuring	all	persons	are	a safe distance	from	sUAS	operation .	These	actions	will	provide	an	equivalent	level	of safety.



### 14 C.F. R. 91.119: MINIMUM 

### S AFE 

### A LTITUDES

Section	91.119	establishes	safe	altitudes	for	operation	of	civil	aircraft.	Section	91.119	(d) allows	helicopters	to	be	operated	at	less	than	the	minimums	prescribed,	provided	the person operating	the	helicopter	complies	with	any	route	or	altitudes	prescribed	for helicopters	by	the FAA.	This	exemption	is	for	a	multirotor	craft	that	flies	similarly	to	a helicopter,	with	vertical take

- off	and	vertical	landing,	which	will	typically	operate	at altitudes	of 200	AGL,	so	an exemption	may	be needed	to	allow	such	operations.	The sUAS	will	never	operate	at	altitude higher	than	40 0	AGL.
The	equivalent	level	of	safety	will	be	achieved	given	th e	size,	weight,	speed	of	the	sUAS as	well as	the	location	where	it	is	operated.	No	flight	will	be	taken o n	private	property without	the permission of	the	property	owner	or	local	officials.	Because	of	the	advance	notice	to	the property owner,	all	affected	individuals	will	be aware	of	the	planned	flight	operations.	Unlike flight	operations	with	aircraft	or	roto rcraft weighing	far	more	than	the	maximum	10	lbs. proposed	herein,	our	sUAS	will	not	carry flammable	fuel.	In	addition,	the	low

- altitude

o perations	of	the sUAS	will	ensure separation	between	sUAS	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 referenc e	to	an	altimeter	that	is	set	" ...	to	the	elevation	of	the	departure	airport	or	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. An	equivalent	level	of	safety	will	be	achieved	by	the	operator, by	calibrating	all equipment before	each	flight	to	ensure	accurate	altitude	read	outs	and confirming	the	altitude	of	the launch	site	shown	on	the	GPS altitude	indicator	before	flight.



### 14 CFR 91.151 (

A 

### ): FUEL	REQUIREMENTS	FOR FLIGHT	IN 

### VFR CONDITIONS

Section	91.151	(a)	outl ines	fuel	requirements	for	beginning	a	flight	in	VFR	conditions. Our sUAS	is	limited	to	operations	in daylight	and	has a	limited	range	and	flight	time	which	require an	exemption	from	14 CFR	91.151(a).The	battery	powering	th e	sUAS	provides	approximately	3 0 minutes	of	powered	flight.	To meet

the	30	minute	reserve	requirement	in	14	CFR	§91.151,	sUAS	flights	would	be limited	to approximately 0 minutes	in	length.	Given	the	limitations	on	the	sUAS's proposed	flight	area and	the	location	of	its	proposed	operatio ns	within	a	predetermined area,	a	longer	time	frame for	flight	in	daylight	or	night	VFR	conditions	is	reasonable.
Flight	Club	believes	that an	exemption	from	14	CFR	§91.151(a)	falls	within	the	scope	of prior exemptions.	See	Exemption	10673	(allowing Lockheed	Martin	Corporation	to operate	without compliance	with	FAR	91.151	(a)).	Operating	the	small	sUAS,	in	a	tightly controlled	area	where only	people	and	property	owners	or	official	representatives	who have been	notified	of	sUAS operation with	less than 30	minutes	of	reserve	fuel does	not engender	the	type	of	risks	that Section	91.151	(a)	was	intended	to	alleviate	given	the	size and	speed	of	the	small	UAS. Additionally,	l imiting	sUAS	flights	to less	than 5	minutes	would greatly	reduce	the	utility	for whi ch	the	exemption	will	be	granted.
An	equivalent	level	of	safety	can	be	achieved	by	limiting	flights	to	30	minutes,	or	enough battery	reserve	to	ensure	that	the	sUAS	lands	at	the	ground	station	with	at	least	20%	of battery power	(as	determined	by	the	onboard	monitoring	system	and	the	Pilot),	whichever happens first.	This	restriction	would	be	more	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 CFR 91.405 (

A 

### ); 407 ( A 

### )(1); 409 (

A 

### )(2); 417 (

A 

### ) & ( B 

### ): M AINTENANCE	INSPECTIONS

These	regulations	require	that	an	aircraft	operator	or owner	"shall	have	that	aircraft inspected as	prescribed	in	subp art	E	of	this	part	and	shall	between	required	inspections, except	as p rovided	in	paragraph	(c)	of	this	section,	have	discrepancies	repaired	as prescribed	in	part	43 of	this	chapter.

..,"	and	others	shall	inspect	or	maintain	the	aircraft	in compliance	with Part	43.
Given	that	these	sections	and	Part	43	apply	only	to	aircraft	with	an	airworthiness certificate, these	se ctions	will	not	apply	to	Flight	Club .	Maintenance	will	be	accomplished	by the	operator pursuant	to	the	flight	manual	and	operating	handbook of the	manufacturer. An equivalent level	of	safety	will	be	achieved	because	these	small	sUAS	are very	limited	in	size	and	will	carry a	small	payload	and	operate	only	in	restricted	areas	for limited	periods	of	time.	If	mechanical issues	arise	the	sUAS	can	land	immediately	and will	be	operating	from	no	higher	than	400	feet AGL. The	Pilot will	ensure	that	the	sUAS	is	in	working	order	prior	to	initiating	flight,	perform required maintenance,	and	keep	a	log	of	any	maintenance	performed.	Moreover,	the	Pilot	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.

*****************Pursuant	to	14	C.F	.R.	Part	11,	the	following	summary	is	provided	for	publicati on	in	the

Federal	Register,	should	it	be	determined	that	publication	is	needed:
Applicant	seeks	an	exemption	from	the	following	rules:	14	C.F.R.	§21,	subpart	H;	14 C.F.R	45.23(b);l4	C.F.R.	§§	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)	and	(b);	91.405(a);	91.407	(a)	(1);	91.409	(a)	(2);	91.409	(a)	(2) and	91.417	(a)	&	(b)	to	operate commercially	a	small	unmanned	vehicle	(55lbs	or	less)	in aerial	data	collection operations.
Approval	of	exemptions	allowing	commercial	operations	of	sUAS	in	the aerial	data	collection industry	enhances	safety	while	reducing	risk.	Manned	aircraft	monitoring	and	surveying creates	a	greater	risk	because	the	craft	are	much	larger,	have	combustible	fu el,	and	carry an onboard	human	pilot.	In	contrast,	a	sUAS	weighing	fewer	than	10	lbs.	and	powered	by batteries eliminates	virtually	all	of	that	risk	given	the	reduced	mass	and	lack	of combustible	fuel	carried on	board.	The	sUAS	will	carry	no	passengers	or crew	and, therefore,	will	not	expose	them	to the	risks	associated	with	manned	aircraft	flights.
The	operation	of	small	sUAS,	weighing	less	than	10	lbs.,	conducted	in	the	strict conditions outlined	above,	will	provide	an	equivalent	level	of	safety	supporting	the	grant of	the exemptions	requested	herein,	including	exempting	the	applicant	from	the requirements	of Part 21	and	allowing	commercial	operations.	These	lightweight	aircraft operate	at	slow	s peeds, close	to	the	ground and,	as	a	result, are	far	safer than	conventional	operations	conducted	with turbine	helicopters	operating	in close	proximity	to	the	ground	and	people.



### PRIVACY

All	flights	will	occur	over	private	or	controlled	access	property	with	the	property	owner's prior consent	and	knowledge.	Image s and	video	footage	will	only	be	taken of	individuals	who	have also consented	to	being	filmed	or	otherwise	have	agreed	to	be	in	the	area	where	aerial photography	will	take	place.

*****************

Satisfaction	of	the	criteria	provided	in	Section	333	of the	Reform	Act	of2012

-- size, weight, speed,	operating	capabilities,	proximity	to	airports	and	populated	areas	and operation	within visual	line	of	sight	and	national	security

- - provide	more	than	adequate justification	for	the grant	of	the	requested	exemptio ns	allowing	commercial	operation	of applicant's	sUAS	in the aerial	data	collection industry.