11030 Cochiti Road SE Albuquerque NM 87123 (505) 503

- 6153 www.SilentFalconUAS.com August 17, 2015

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

Subject: Request for Summary Grant of Exempti on Under Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and Part 11 of the Federal Aviation Regulations

Dear Sir:

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Bye UAS Inc., doing business as Silent Falcon UAS Technologies

, developer and operator of a s mall Unmanned Aircraft System ( sUAS ) equipped to conduct aerial imagery , hereby apply for an exemption from the relevant Federal Aviation Regulatio ns to allow

commercial operations . The operations anticipated shall be conducted within and under the

conditions outlined in the attached peti tion or established by the FAA as required by Section

333.1

As described more fully in the attached petition documentation , the requested exemption would permit the operation of our sUAS under controlled conditions . Under these conditions the operations will be in such a manner that would provide safe ty enhancements as compared to operati ons using conventional aircraft . Approval of this exemption would thereby enhance

overall safety and fulfill the Secretary of Tr ansportation’s and 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.

Sincerely,

Gregory W. Walker Chief Operating Officer Silent Falcon UAS TechnologiesPetition material for FAA 333 exemption application

1 

## Petition Documentation Request for Summary Grant of Exemption Under Section 333 of the

FAA Reform Act and Part 11 of the Federal Aviation Regulations

1. The name and address of the applicant
Bye UAS Inc. DBA: Silent Falcon UAS Technologies

11030 Cochiti Road SE Albuquerque, NM 87123 (505) 503

- 6153



### 2. Regulations from wh ich the exemption is requested

• 14 CFR Part 21, Subpart H: Certification procedures for products and parts,

Airworthiness Certificates

• 14 C.F.R. 45.23(b) : Display of marks; general

• 14 CFR 6 1 Certification: Pilots, Light Instructors, and Ground Instructors

• 14 C.F.R. 91.7 (a)

• 14 CFR 91.9 (b) (2): Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements

• 14 C.F.R. 91.103 (b) (2): Preflight action

• 14 C.F.R. 91.109 : Flight Instruction

• 14 C.F. R. 91.119 : Minimum safe altitudes

• 14 C.F.R. 91.121 : Altimeter settings

• 14 CFR 91.151 (a) : Fuel requirements for flights in VFR conditions

• 14 CFR 91.203 (a 1 ) & (b) : Civil aircraft: Certifications required

• 14 CFR 91.405 (a) : Maintenance r equired

• 14 CFR 407: Operation after maintenance

• 14 CFR 409: Inspections

• 14 CFR 417: Maintenance records



### 3. The Silent Falcon UAS will be operated by a Pilot

- in

- Command who ful fill the following requirements

• Has successfully passed a manufacturer’s trai ning program for the Silent Falcon UAS.

• Has at a minimum, a Ground School Certification and a third class medical certificate.



### 4. Aircraft System Description
Aircraft Type: Electric motor fixed wing

Aircraft Description:

The Silent Falcon is a small , long endurance unmanned system. The Silent Falcon UAS

houses a stabilized pan/tilt camera turret, designed to track an object of interest for extended periods of time. The turret can be fitted with visible, electro

- optical, or mid

-Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

2 wave infrared cameras f or day and night operation. Additionally a NADIR looking high

resolution mapping camera can be installed as a mapping payload.

The Silent Falcon provides extended mission endurance through an integrated solar
power system that reduces battery discharg e.

The system’s specifications are in Table 1 below.

Silent Falcon TM sUAS Aircraft Specifications Payloads Trillium Orion 50 HD EO/IR. IR camera is a FLIR 640 Quark with a 59mm lens

and 9 Hz frame rate. HD video camera is a Hatachi DI

- SC120R Global Shutter 720p Camera. Mapping payload is a Sony Alpha

- 7 24.3MP Full Frame Sensor with 28mm lens and integrated GPS/INS for shutter control.
Range Up to 100 km depending on flight conditions

Endurance Up to 5 hours practical mission planning depending on flight conditions Speed 45

- 83 km/hr (25

- 4 5 knots), optimum loiter speed 50 km/hr (27 knots) Operating Altitude 46 m (150 ft) AGL to 6,000 m (20,000 ft) MSL Wingspan 4.27 m Length 2 m

GTOW 16 kg Autopilot MicroPilot MP2128 g2

Comms Persistent Systems Gen 4 Wave Relay MANET in 2.4 GHz ISM band

Airborne Antenna Dual 3dBi blade(s)

Launch Catapult
Recovery Inverted under parachute
Transponder SageTech Mode S transponder with ADS

- B out

Fuel Source Electric (Li

- Ion Battery) / Solar (Ascent Solar Thin F ilm Photovoltaic)

Silent Falcon TM sUAS Ground Control Station Specifications

GCS Software Horizon Unified Ground Control Station on Rugged Laptop

Comms Persistent Systems Gen 4 Wave Relay Quad Radio Router MANET 2.4GHz

Ground Antenna 27 dBi grid p arabolic dish tracking antenna Packaging Aircraft packed in Pelican case; Catapult launcher and spares packed in separate

Pelican cases.

Table 1. Silent Falcon sUAS System Specifications

Control Station: The Silent Falcon uses the MicroPlot autopilo t and the MicroPilot Horizon ground

control software. The control station controls the Silent Falco n during all phases of flight, from launch , throughout its mission profile, and finally to its parachute recovery.

The control station allows the Pilot

- in

- Command (PIC) to upload real

- time flight profiles, as well as to monitor all aspects of the aircraft.

The ground control station consists of one Windows based computer system for flight operations and a separate computer for payload interaction. The gr ound

- based unit

communicates with the embedded controller within the MicroPilot avionics suite via a wireless message stream that travels over the Telemetry and Control (T&C) data link.Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

3 Communication Description: Normal communications equipment used on th e Silent Falcon UAS provides two
functions:

• Telemetry and control (T&C)

• Payload and sensor uplink/downlink

The T&C provides bi

- directional communications all the flight control system, including reporting of aircraft state to the ground station , and upli nk of c ommands to operate the

aircraft. The T&C communications link is provided by a digital radio system housed in the fuselage and various antennas on the ground, either tracking or Omni depending on the range requirements

.

The Payload and sensor upl ink/downlink provides bi

- directional communications dedicated to control of and reporting from the payload sensor. This communications system also sends real

- time payload data (i.e. images) from the aircraft to the ground

station.

Both the T&C and Payloa d and sensor radio system s operate simultaneously within a single internationally unlicensed, less than 1 Watt ISM 2.4 GHz frequency band radio system. This radio system is either a 12 Mb/s MicroHard radio system or a 37 Mb/s Persistent Systems radio syst em.

Spectrum Authorization : To comply with the appropriate National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) or Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorization/approval the Silent Falcon transmits on the radio frequencies authorized for public. The Silent Falcon uses the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio

bands. These bands are reserved internationally for the use of radio frequency (RF) energy for industrial, s cientific and medical purposes other than telecommunications . As such, any radio equipment must been designed and tested to tolerate any interference generated by ISM equipment or other radio equipment and users have no regulatory protection from ISM device operation. With advanced signal management radio communications within these bands has been proven highly effective and are used in many critical application.

Certified TSO Components:

Th ere are no TSO components within the Silent Falcon UAS system.

Physical Characteristics Wingspan : 14 ft Length: 6.5 ft Gross Takeoff Weight: 35 lbsPetition material for FAA 333 exemption application

4 Performance Characteristics

Climb Rate: 45 0 ft/min (7.5 ft/sec.)

Descent Rate: 400 ft/min

Tu rn Rate: 6 deg/sec

Maximum Level Flight Speed: 45 knots

Stall Speed: 23 knots Mission Cruise Speed: 27 knots Operating Maximum MSL: 20,000 ft Operating Minimum AGL : 150 ft Battery Only Flight Duration: 5+ hours

Maximum Solar Assist Duration: 9 h ours Maximum Flight Range: 60 miles (with tracking GCS antenna)

Launch : Catapult Recovery: Parachute



### 5. Procedures

Launch:

The Silent Falcon UAS is launched via a spring

- tensioned catapult system. The small, tensioned launcher gives the Silent Fal con UAS an initial velocity in excess of 35 knots

and a positive rate of climb

. The aircraft is launched at a 10

- degree pitch angle.

After launch the aircraft rotates to a 15

- degree climb attitude and climbs wings level until it reaches a pre

- designated s afe altitude of 15 0 ft AGL. At this point the aircraft turns towards its first programmed waypoint and continues to climb or maintain the minimum safe operating altitude as it heads to the first waypoint. The altitude can vary depending on the waypoint’s designated altitude. The 15 0 ft AGL safe altitude can be reduced when required to as low as 100 ft AGL.Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

5 Recovery:

The Silent Falcon recovers with a parachute system. The parachute is stored in the parachute bay on the bottom of the fuselage and is rele ased by the PIC upon a confirmed command. Unless in an emergency situation the electric motor is stopped for 3

- second delay prior to deploying the parachute to allow the propeller blades to fold into a more protected state. The parachute is harnessed to the Silent Flacon UAS by 3 hard points on

the bottom of the fuselage. Minimum safe deployment altitude for the parachute to

ensure it is arresting the descent is 10 0 ft AGL. The descent rate under the opened parachute is 15 ft/sec.

In normal operation t he aircraft is flown back to the designated landing area and altitude above the minimum safe deployment altitude . Once the aircraft is in its designated position and altitude the PIC will activate the parachute, allowing the parachute to

release. The aircr aft will then drift down until it is on the ground whereby the ground

crew collect s the aircraft and its parachute for post

- flight inspection.

Lost Link : The Silent Falcon UAS has a series of mission parameters that are physically loaded into

the aircraft ’s flight control computer’s non

- volatile memory prior to flight. These parameters define the locations of “home” where it will deploy the parachute recovery system if in a failure pattern due to lost link as well as timing for considering when a link

is l ost and safety limits , such as minimum MSL altitude used by the aircraft in the event

of a lost link or lost

- navigation event occurs as the system navigates to it’s home location

. These parameters are uniquely selected for a given launch and recovery site and are configured for the anticipated f light environment and mission being executed

.

Upon return to base the Silent Falcon UAS will initiate a recovery procedure. The aircraft

will return to home, climb/descend to its pre

- designated parachute deploymen t altitude, then deploy its parachute for its recovery.

Emergency: Emergency procedures for the Silent Falcon UAS are resolved via automatic logic and emergency procedure checklists. Portions of the checklists are automated within the

Control Station an d the Pilot

- In

- Command is extensively trained on emergency procedures. The following is a brief overview of the basic safety

- related considerations implemented during the execution of the major emergency types.

Major Emergency Types & Procedures Emergen cy Procedure

Launch

Failures The UAS is launched in a direction and manner such that, in the unlikely event of a failed launch for any reason, the air vehicle will not incur damage to property or personnel. When selected the launch range

is clear of all obstruc tions to a minimum horizontal distance of 3 00 feet.

Motor In the unlikely event of an in

- flight electric motor failure, the PICPetition material for FAA 333 exemption application

6 Failure directs the UAS to the nearest safe recovery point and depending on altitude initiates the parachute recovery pr ocedure.

Lost Link If communications are lost with the UAS, the vehicle proceeds direct to

home where it maintains station for a pre

- designated period of time. The aircraft and ground control system detects this loss by not receiving their unique timin g based round

- trip heartbeat messages that are built into the radio systems. The PIC is alerted to this loss by displayed information on the GCS control panel as well as rudimentary lights on

the radio’s themselves. This position is located in the immedi ate vicinity of the control station, so that while the UAS is holding, additional attempts can be made to re

- establish communications with

the vehicle. If communications are not re

- established prior to the designated period of time elapsing , the UAS will initiate a parachute

recovery. If communications are re

- established while enroute to home, such as if the aircraft flew beyond radio line

- of

- sight, the PIC will have the option to resume the mission, modify the mission, or continue to

return to home.

Rec overy without

Parachute In the event of a failed parachute bay release, the Silent Falcon UA S will be flown by the PIC via arcade mode, where the aircraft attitude, direction, and throttle are controlled on the GCS to a pre

- designated belly landing area.

Battery

Failure The aircraft tracks battery state, allowing the operator to monitor the state of the battery. To trigger a failsafe battery issue the battery has to have a persistent failed state that lasts for more than an operator defined (factory defin ed) duration. If a low battery failsafe is triggered, one of

two things will happen:

1. If the aircraft is more than 100 meters from home it will return home and initiate an automatic parachute recovery.

2. If the aircraft is less than 100 meters from home it w ill initiate an automatic parachute recovery.

GPS Failure The PIC will be notified of this failure. The PIC will have the option to

land

- navigate with compass and airspeed assistance back to the home area to initiate a parachute recovery or can initiate a parachute recovery upon failure if navigating back is not feasible or desirable due to the

location or conditions.

Misc. UAS

Health and

Status Emergencies The UAS regularly transmits the health and status of the air vehic le and its systems to the GCS w here all systems are monitored real

- time by the PIC. Should the air vehicle parameters become degraded at any time, the PIC will be notified by both visual and audible alarms, and then will take the appropriate immediate action(s), and initiate emergency procedures as required.

Sensor Loss

of Function This will degrade the performance of the system and depending on the severity of the sensor failure will force the operator to initiate a return home to recover. The only safety loss that such a failure cou ld cause,Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

7 and this depends on the mode of failure, is that the PIC will be unable to

land

- navigate with visual information such as terrain to return to the recovery point.

6

. Operational Risk Management The nature of operations, and the location of effo rt may both necessitate a detailed investigation to identify hazards and implement controls to mitigate risk. The purpose of this Operational Risk Management (ORM) plan is the serve as an initial attempt of this management of risk. It shall be updated as h azards arise or are identified . This plan serves only to detail the ORM for the safety

of the crew and supporting parties and equipment. While the primary focus of this ORM is the mitigation of risk as it pertains to the Silent Falcon , all identifiable haz ards will be addressed for any unique operation because any hazard becomes at least slightly more complicated with the sUAS potentially involved.

General Plan for Flight Operations

A walk

- through of the complete process to launch the aircraft will be co nducted to familiarize any participating staff not familiar with the aircraft operations. Flight operations will only commence after all parties are familiar wit h the process and protocol.

Flight operations will be below 400 ft AGL altitude. Depending on the language within the FAA’s Certificate of Authorization or waiver (COA) the operations will most likely

be within one mile from qualified aircraft observers at all times.

General Operating Criteria and Flight Restrictions To some degree these restri ctions may be come more restrictive based on the COA issued by the FAA.

1. Daytime UAS operations.

2. Operations will not be conducted if:

• Ceiling is known to be less than 500 ft minimum

• Visibility less than 0.5 nmi.

• Wind greater than 20 kts or

• Rain more than 0.2 5 in/hr.

3. No operations will occur in clouds or less than 500 feet below or 2,000 feet horizontally from a cloud.

4. Either the PIC or Observer maintain s visual contact with the UAV at all times.

5. The PIC will brief all participants on safe zones for all phases of the operation prior to mission initiation.

6. VHF/UHF air band transceiver will be available for communication with non

participating aircraft in the area.

7. The maximum operating distance from control station to the unmanned aircraft

will be limited to the visibly monitoring the airspace where the operation will occur. This is notionally a one mile range however can be less if the visibility is obscured by terrain or weather

. 8. Any non

- participating aircraft encountered will be avoided by a distance no less

than 0.5 nm

.Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

8 Hazards and Control Measures

This review of the system level safety of the Silent Falcon small UAS describes the analysis techniques used to identify hazards and the criteria used to assess the associated

risk of each hazard to an individual

, the unmanned aircraft system , other equipment, or to

the environment.

1. Hazard Categories. Each hazard was assessed for the safety risks that it presents. Safety risk is defined as the combination of the severity of the likely harm that can be

infli cted and the probability of suffering that harm. The safety criteria used to assess

the identified risk are in Table 2

.

Accident Severity Category Definition

– as pertaining to an individual

Catastrophic Injuries permanent total disability or death.

Cr itical Injuries resulting in permanent partial disability or temporary total disability in excess of 3 months. Marginal Injuries resulting in hospitalization or a limited period of disability

of less than 3 months. Negligible Injuries not resulting in h ospitalization but requires only minor supportive treatment.

Table 2 . Accident Severity Categories

The probability ranges in Table 3 are based on a single operation, including a launch, flight, and recovery combination, basis rather than the “life of th e system basis”. The quantitative values are intended to add a more precise measure of the risk being assessed. The risks are analyzed given the documented assumptions about the system and the p ossible operation

.

Occurrence (ba sed on a per flight hour evaluation) Accident Frequency

Levels Probability Ranges Qualitative Definition

Frequent 10 - 1 > ≤ 1 Routinely could be experienced

Occasional 10 - 2 > ≤ 10 - 1 Likely to occur (< 10% chance)
Unlikely 10 - 3 > ≤ 10 - 2 Possible to occur (<1% chance)

Remote 10 - 6 > ≤ 1 0 - 3 Unlikely to occur (<0.1% chance)
Improbable ≤ 10 - 6 Less than “on

- in

- a

- million” chance to occur

Table 3 . Probability Ranges

The goa l of the risk mitigation effort is to reduce each hazard’s risk to Class C or

below as defin ed in Table 4 and Table 5 below.Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

9 Catastrophic Critical Marginal Negligible

Frequent A A A B

Occasional A A B C Unlikely A B C D

Remote C C D D Improbable D D D D

Table 4 . Risk Classification Scheme

Risk Class Interpretation

Class A Intolerable

Class B Undesirable, an d shall only be accepted when risk reduction is impractical

Class C Tolerable with review

Class D Tolerable with the approval of a specific operation

Table 5 . Risk Class Definitions

2. Hazard Identification and Analyses Processes. The hazard analys is techniques used focuses on identifying top level operating hazards that pose risks to the system’s operators, other participating personnel, and the general public, or non

- participating personnel. The purpose of this analysis is to document the actual operational risk in a format suitable for independent analysis of system safety and of the risk mitigation processes implemented. Additionally, this analysis provides a method for identifying and validating assumptions.

Typically, hazard analyses are bas ed on the evaluation of single failure or malfunction scenario. However, the scope of this analysis covers a specific operation

at system

- level hazard taxonomy. All identified safety concerns are documented in an effort to fully evaluate and ensure that a thorough representation of the risk is presented. The analysis techniques conducted on this system are described below.

Operating & Support Hazard Analysis

- This analysis steps through the various mission phases and looks for hazards associated with each phase with special emphasis placed on human interaction with the system. The five mission phases identified for analysis are: 1) Preflight Planning 2) Mission Preparation 3) Takeoff 4) In

- Flight 5) RecoveryPetition material for FAA 333 exemption application

10 Hazard Classification and Analysis

- The methods for ha zard identification and review is from ongoing research being documented by the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems research office using the approach outlined in figure 1.

Figure 1. UAS Hazard Classification and Analysis System

3. Mission Phases Hazard Log

The following hazard log provides the details of each identified hazard, including a description of the concern, mitigation either in process or design, and the final risk. The intent is that each mitigation or control will reference evidence as proo f that the

control is in

- fact in place and provides the safety function desired. The objective is to mitigate the risks minimizing each risk associated with the UAS operations to achieve the lowest risk class possible.

Hazard #1. Failed UAS hazard ide ntification Inexperience with UAS operations can cause confusion, miscommunication or improper action resulting in potential for injury to personal, or damage or loss of

UAS

Risk Probability: Occasional Risk Severity: CriticalPetition material for FAA 333 exemption application

11 Risk Classification: A

Mitigations:

• Prior to operations the all

- observing staff will complete a walkthrough of operations to familiarize all aspects of launch, flight and recovery.

• Prior to every operational mission a pre

- flight briefing that outlines the objectives, intend, an d known hazards will be shared with all participating

individuals.

• Prior to all flights a comprehensive pre

- flight checklist will be followed and reviewed by both the PIC and the designated aircraft maintainer.

• A designated person on the team will be ass igned the task to ensure that other people avoid the area of any hazardous operations that are defined during the

pre

- flight briefing.

Post Mitigation Probability: Remote Post Mitigation Severity: Critical Post Mitigation Classification: C

Hazard #2. Lost link with UAS Due to many possible failures communications between the UAS ground control station and the vehicle may be lost resulting in an aircraft that will operate without direct pilot direction.

Risk Probability: Unlikely Risk Severity: Marg inal

Risk Classification: C

Mitigations:

• In the event that this happens all participants will be informed to be looking for the aircraft to return to the launch point and if communications is not re

established prepare for an autonomous parachute recov ery.

Post Mitigation Probability: Unlikely Post Mitigation Severity: Marginal Post Mitigation Classification: C

Hazard #3. Recovery of lost UAS on land or water Due to unknown reasons the aircraft go down while flying. This crash or remote landing h appens at an unspecified location

.

Risk Probability: Unlikely Risk Severity: Critical

Risk Classification: B

Mitigations:Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

12 • PI C will determine risk/benefit of conducting recovery on case by case basis

• Use precautions and prepare for a fire when recove ring to reduce the possibility of injury to crew

• A lost UAS will not be recovered if recovery endangers participants. Prior to any recovery attempts, the operation will be discussed between the PI C, crew,

and all participants that would be involved.

Pos t Mitigation Probability: Unlikely Post Mitigation Severity: Negligible Post Mitigation Classification: D

Hazard #4. Fire damage resulting from UAS catching fire An aircraft battery could catch something on fire.

Risk Probability: Unlikely

Risk Seve rity: Critical

Risk Classification: B

Mitigations:

• Prior to any phase of the mission, battery charging, preflight checks, launch operations, and recovery operation, fire extinguishers will be readied to support a possible hazard.

• All safety procedure s in the operations of the aircraft regarding batteries will be followed such as no battery will be charged without human supervision.

Post Mitigation Probability: Unlikely Post Mitigation Severity: Negligible Post Mitigation Classification: D

Hazard #5. Injury resulting from collision of UAS with a person During flight operation a person is hit with the aircraft while flying.

Risk Probability: Unlikely Risk Severity: Catastrophic

Risk Classification: A

Mitigations:

• All non

- essent ial personnel a re to remain clear during the launc h and recovery.

• No low altitude over flight of individuals will be planned.

• The parachute recovery of the Silent Falcon will be planned no closer than 50 meters from participants.

Post Mitigation Probability: Improbabl e Post Mitigation Severity: Remote Post Mitigation Classification: CPetition material for FAA 333 exemption application

13 Hazard #6. Ground based equipment damage resulting from collision of UAS During flight operations an aircraft hits and damages equipment.

Risk Probability: Unlikely Risk Severity: M arginal Risk Classification: C

Mitigations:

• Ensure all known hazard areas are clear of non

- essential gear during UAS operations

Post Mitigation Probability: Remote Post Mitigation Severity: Marginal Post Mitigation Classification: D

Hazard #7. In jury from propellers This event is most likely to occur during take

- off, landing, or recovery procedures.

Risk Probability: Occasional Risk Severity: Critical

Risk Classification: A

Mitigations:

• PIC will insure that all personnel are aware when batter y is placed in the

vehicle

• PIC will designate launch personnel.

• Establish safe zone around launch personnel

• PIC will ensure safe zone is clear prior to launch

• During transit of the Silent Falcon aircraft from the parachute impact site back

to the ground op erations station , the crew will ensure first ensure that the motor safety key is installed in the aircraft and that the base station is secured
to prevent activation of the aircraft motor.

• The checklists for the aircraft system recovery will be followed.

Post Mitigation Probability: Remote Post Mitigation Severity: Critical Post Mitigation Classification: C

Hazard #8. Mid

- Air Collision with Other Aircraft Notice to Airmen will be issued for the area of operation.

Risk Probability: Remote

Risk Sev erity: Critical

Risk Classification : CPetition material for FAA 333 exemption application

14 Mitigations:

• Notice to Airmen will be issued for the area of flight operations.

• External observers will be monitoring the airspace during all flight operations.

• The operations will be conducted in remote areas not f requented by general

aviation traffic.

• VHF/UHF air band transceiver will be available for communication with

unforeseen aircraft.

• If an aircraft is detected the PIC shall be notified and will determine if evasive maneuvering is required

.

Post Mitigation Probability: Improbable Post Mitigation Severity: Critical Post Mitigation Classification: D

Final Assessment Though there can be no guarantee that all possible hazards have been identified or all risks completely mitigated, safe completion of this a nd the flight operation is certainly possible. Operations should proceed slowly and conservatively and ensure all participants are comfortable with operations and have gained a keen situational awareness to the UAS operations.

The following are the argum ents and evidence to demonstrate that the Silent Falcon is tolerably safe for use for remote area experimentation . Tolerably safe is defined as meeting the safety risk goals established by this ORM plan.

1. Top Level Arguments. Two main arguments were i dentified that demonstrate the

Silent Falcon is safe to operate. They are discussed below.

1. Identified and Mitigated Hazards

. The main hazards associated with launch

, flight, and recovery of the Silent Falcon UAS have been identified and are either

m itigated by design or can be mitigated sufficiently through established procedures to meet the ORM plan’s risk goals.

2. Intrinsically Low Hazards

. The general risk of flight operations of Silent Falcon is intrinsically low because:

• It is a small aircraf t, about the size of a large bird,

• It is a light weight aircraft,

• Its total energy that is relatively low during flight,

• Its design includes automated safety features,

• Its position and health are monitored in real

- time during the flight,

• The pilot has imme diate capability to correct the aircraft and put it back to

course,

• The system contains an integrated flight termination capability,Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

15 • Its operation is monitored by external observers when not operating in controlled airspace,

• F light operations will be condu cted over unpopulated areas or within controlled airspace.

2 Flight Operations Safety Evidence

. Unmanned aircraft in general present two significant risks to personnel during flight operations. The following paragraphs address the potential for the Sile nt Falcon to strike personnel during a crash landing or uncontrolled flight as well as its the potential to impact other aircraft while in flight during the anticipated operations.

1. Ground Impact: The prime safety concern during flight operations is an aircraft crash in an area where there is a potential to injure or kill personnel. Based on the small size of the aircraft and its lightweight, it is judged that it would take a direct hit of the fuselage to result in fatal injuries. Therefore operations are only planned in remote locations. The population density under the flight airspace would need to be greater than 100 people per square mile, in the open without any protection, a number well above that in expected operational areas to present a proba bility of impacting an individual on the ground of greater than one

- in

- a

million with the current mishap rate. A mishap is defined as an anomalous launch, flight, or recovery that involves an “out

- of

- control” crash.

2. Airborne Impact: The ability unde r normal operations to maneuver to avoid any other air traffic, make the likelihood of a mid

- air collision less than that of a ground causality for a couple reasons:

1. The other aircraft has 3

- dimensions of spatial variability and not merely two

as an indivi dual on the ground.

2. The other aircraft also has the ability and responsibility to avoid a mid

- air collision. This task can be challenging because the small UAS is harder to see than a manned aircraft but large bird strikes are avoided by small aircraft an d the UAS flight behavior and color markings make it far easier to avoid than a camouflaged and very dynamically agile bird.



### 7. Application Silent Falcon UAS Technologies intends to use the Silent Falcon to conduct imaging flights for product evaluation

, land survey, and security missions. The aircraft will be used over controlled access property and only used to image property for which we have either contracted by the

landowner or have landowner permission to image

.



### 8. Operational Expectations

Silen t Falcon UAS Technologies established the following list of operational expectations for their anticipated flights. Furthermore Silent Falcon acknowledges that any specific FAA Certificate of Authorization granted might augment this list and any FAA opera tional expectation that contradicts any of these will supersede the expectation described here.Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

16 1. Operations authorized by a grant of exemption are limited to the aircraft described in the operating documents . Any other aircraft will require a new petiti on. 2. The UA S may not be flown at an indicated airspeed exceeding 4 5 knots.

3. The UA S must be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet above ground level (AGL).

4. The UAS must be operated within visual line of sight (VLOS) of the PIC at all times. This requires the PIC to be able to use human vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses, as specified on the PIC’s FAA

- issued airman medical certificate.

5. All operations must utilize a visual observer (VO). The VO may be used to satisfy the VLO S requirement as long as the PIC always maintains VLOS capability. The VO and PIC must be

able to com municate verbally at all times. The PIC must ensure that the VO can perform their expected functions.

6. The operating documents and any grant of exemption m ust be maintained and made available to the FAA Administrator upon request.

7. Prior to each flight the PIC will inspect the UAS to ensure it is in a condition for safe flight. If the inspection reveals a condition that affects the safe operation of the UAS, the aircraft is prohibited from operating until the necessary maintenance has been performed and the UAS is found to be in a condition for safe flight and proper documentation in the aircraft logbook is complete. The Ground Control Station must be included in the preflight inspection.

8. Any UAS maintenance or alterations that affect the UAS operation or flight characteristics, e.g. replacement of a flight critical component, must undergo a functional test and make appropriate annotations in the aircraft reco rds.

9. The pre

- flight inspection mus t account for all discrepancies

. 10. The operator must follow the UAS aircraft/component, maintenance, overhaul, replacement, inspection, and life limit requirements.

11. The operator must carry out its maintenance, inspections, and record keeping requirements, in accordance with the operating documents. Maintenance, inspection, and alterations must be noted in the aircraft records, including total flight hours, description of work accomplished, and the signature of the responsi ble maintenance party returning the UAS to

service.

12. Each UAS operated under this exemption must comply with all manufacturer System and Safety Bulletins.

13. The PIC must make an entry in the aircraft record of the corrective action taken against discrepancie s discovered between inspections.

14. A record of training must be documented and made available upon request by the FAA Administrator. Training operations may only be conducted during dedicated training

sessions.

15. UAS operations may not be conducted during n ight, as defined in 14 CFR 1.1. All operations must be conducted under visual meteorological conditions (VMC).

16. The UA may not operate within 5 nautical miles of the airport reference point as denoted on

a current FAA

- published aeronautical chart.

17. The UA may not be operated less than 500 feet below or less than 2,000 feet horizontally from a cloud or when visibility is less than 3 statute miles from the PIC.Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

17 18. If the UA loses communications or loses its GPS signal, it must return to a pre

- determined

locatio n within the planned operating area and land or be recovered in accordance with the operating documents.

19. The PIC must abort the flight in the event of unpredicted obstacles or emergencies in accordance with the operating documents.

20. The PIC is prohibited from beginning a flight unless there is enough power to complete

mission with 30% battery power remaining.

21. The operator must obtain an Air Traffic Organization (ATO) issued Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) prior to conducting any operations.

22. If a COA require s the operator to request a Notice to Airman (NOTAM) it will be obtained as mandated by the COA.

23. The documents required under 14 CFR 91.9 (aircraft flight manual) and 91.203 (registration certificate) must be available to the PIC at the Gro und Control Station of the UAS any time the aircraft is operating. These documents must be made available to the FAA Administrator or any law enforcement official upon request.

24. The UA S must remain clear and yield the right of way to all other manned aviat ion operations and activities at all times.

25. The UA S may not be operated over congested or densely populated areas.

26. All operations shall be conducted over private or controlled

- access property with permission

from the land owner/controller or authorized r epresentative. Permission from land owner/controller or authorized representative will be obtained for each flight to be

conducted.

27. Any incident, accident, or flight operation that transgresses the lateral or vertical boundaries of the operational area as defined by the applicable COA must be reported to the FAA's UAS Integration Office (AFS

- 80) within 24 hours. Accidents must be reported to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) per instructions contained on the NTSB Web site: www.ntsb.gov. Unles s otherwise specified operations must comply with all applicable parts of 14 CFR including, but not limited to, parts 45, 47, 61, and 91.

28. Flight operations must be conducted at least 500 feet from all nonparticipating persons, vessels, vehicles, and struc tures unless:

a. Barriers or structures are present that sufficiently protect nonparticipating persons from the UA and/or debris in the event of an accident. The operator must ensure that nonparticipating persons remain under such protection. If a situation a rises where nonparticipating persons leave such protection and are within 500 feet of the UA, flight operations must cease immediately and/or;

b. The aircraft is operated near vessels, vehicles or structures where the land owner/controller has granted permis sion and the PIC has made a safety assessment of the risk of operating closer to those objects and determined that it does not present an undue hazard, and

c. Operations nearer to the PIC, VO, operator trainees or essential persons do not present an

undue ha zard to those persons per § 91.119(a).Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

18 ANNEX A EXEMPTION REQUEST AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

SHOWINGS UNDER APPLICABLE RULES SUBJECT TO EXEMPTION

Bye UAS Inc, DBA as Silent Falcon UAS Technologies requests an exemption from the following regulations as well as any additional regulations that may technically apply to the operation of the Silent Falcon s UAS :

14 CFR Part 21 : Certification procedures for products and parts This regulation provides standards for aircraft certification including various Type Certificates, Production Certificates, and Airworthiness Certificates. This sUAS does not have any certified components installed and as of today there are only standards for Restricted Category or Experimental Category certificates , neither of which this aircraft qualifies for and thus the request for a Grant of Exemption Under Section 333

14 CFR 45.23(B) : Display of marks Due to the limited size of the Silent Falcon sUAS an exemption to marking the aircraft registration number as per CFR 45.23 is re quested. The aircraft’s “N” number shall be as large as practical but will not be the size standard within the regulation.

14 CFR 61.133: Commercial p ilot privileges and limitations The regulation provides that no person that holds a private pilot certif icate may act as pilot in command of an aircraft for compensation or hire. Subparagraph (b) allows a private pilot to act as pilot in command of an aircraft in connection with any business or employment if: (1) The flight is only incidental to that busines s or employment; and (2) The aircraft does not carry passengers or property for compensation or hire. To obtain a commercial pilot certificate a candidate must demonstrate a level of aeronautical knowledge and aircraft handling beyond what is required to o perate a UAS. Our proposed operations would require that a Pilot

- In

- Command have the aeronautical knowledge and aircraft handling skills currently required to obtain a private pilot certificate. Given the lack of passengers or cargo on board the UAS, contr olled access operations area we operate in and the simplicity of the UAS we believe that an equivalent level of safety can be achieved by requiring the pilot in command hold, at a minimum, a ground

school certificate and a third/first class medical certifi cate.

14 CFR 91.7(a): Civil aircraft airworthiness This regulation requires that no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is in airworthy condition. Should the exemption be granted allowing commercial operation of the Aero UAV

without an airwort hiness certificate, no standard will exist for airworthiness of the Aero. An equivalent level of safety will be achieved by insuring compliance with the Aero manuals prior to each flight.

14 CFR 91.91.9 (b) (2) : Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, an d placard requirements

Due to the nature of the sUAS a requested exemption to aircraft placard and carrying a flight manual aboard the plane is requested.Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

19 14 CFR 91.103 : Preflight action Due to the fact this aircraft will not operate within 5nm of an air port and due to the fact that the aircraft does not launch or recover on a runway an exemption is requested to allow the PIC to only become familiar with the aircraft performance and associated safety limitations and not the “runway” length.

14 CFR 91.109 : Flight instruction; simulated instrument flight and certain flight tests As this aircraft does not have dual functioning controls an exemption to this regulation for operating the sUAS in flight instruction is requested. It is recognized that during an y flight instruction the PIC will remain in charge of the aircraft and the flight.

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 Aero cannot comply with this requirement. The equivalent level of safety will be achieved because the Aero will only fly over private property with the permissi on of the landowner. The operator will define before every flight a working area radius and a flight area ceiling, preventing the Aero to go beyond the flight area. The landowner and the persons who may be on the ground in the flight area will be briefed o f the expected route of flight and the associated risks to persons and property on the ground. Due to the small size of the Aero and the material with which the Aero is built of, the hazard to persons, vessels, vehicles, and structures is not comparable by far to manned aircraft and should be considered in granting the exemption. Moreover, the aircraft will not be operated over congested areas nor over any

open

- air assembly of persons. The aircraft will be operated at an altitude allowing, if a power

unit f ails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.

14 CFR 91.121 : Altimeter settings. Due to the limited flight distance and MSL altitudes allowed under this 333 exemption it is not practical to conduct flight operati ons based on a barometric altimeter. It is requested that the altitude of the flight operations be managed with GPS and shall reference the elevation below the

aircraft at all times.

14 CFR 91.151(a): Fuel Requirements for Flight in VFR Conditions

The re gulation 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 area of operation for the Aero, M 2 Flight Solutions believes that an equivalent level of safety is already achieved with the specific procedure preventing the Aero to accept a takeoff order if the battery level is below a given value. Moreover, 3D Robotics has integrated “low” and “critic al” battery level warnings and implemented a “return to Home” (and “Go Land”) actions in these situations to the ground station preventing any hazards of the craft to continue to fly.

14 CFR 91 .203 9a0 & (b) : Civil Aircraft Certification required A recognized FAA airworthiness certificate does not exist for this sUAS and thus an exemption under 333 is requested. As such the certification cannot be displayed in the cockpit.Petition material for FAA 333 exemption application

20 14 CF R Subpart E (91.401

- 91.417)

- Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, and

Alterations The regulation provides that the operator is primarily responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compliance with Parts 39 and 43. Par agraphs 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. M2 Fli ght Solutions proposes that the maintenance of the Aero will be accomplished by the owner/operator according to the maintenance manual, provided by 3D Robotics. An equivalent level of safety will be achieved because the Aero is small in size, it is not a c omplex mechanical device, it will carry no external payload, and it will operate only in restricted predetermined areas. Moreover, the operator is the person most familiar with the aircraft and is best suited to maintain the aircraft in an airworthy condit ion and to ensure an equivalent level of safety. Finally, before every flight, the Aero runs automatically a sequence of pre

- flight tests to make sure that every sensor and every critical part is running properly. If a problem is detected,

the Aero will no t be able to be switched

- on and a message error is displayed on the main screen of the flight management software. The operator can then refer to the maintenance manual to troubleshoot this issue. Several parts of the Aero are easily interchangeable (prope llers, Legs antenna), which allows the operator to make sure the landing gear and propulsion system are always airworthy when a mission is initiated.