Exemption No. 10028 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION 

WASHINGTON, DC 20591 

 

In the matter of the petition of 

 

HISTORICAL FLIGHT Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2009-0382 

FOUNDATION, INC. 

 

for an exemption from §§ 91.146, 

91.147, 119.5(g), 119.23(a), and 125.1 

of Title 14, Code of Federal 

Regulations 

GRANT OF EXEMPTION 

 By letter dated March 27, 2009, Mr. Roger Jarman of Historical Flight Foundation, Inc., 

(HFF), 3500 NW. 119th Street, Miami, FL 33167, petitioned the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) on behalf of HFF for an exemption from §§ 91.146, 91.147, 119.5(g), 

119.23(a), and 125.1 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed 

exemption, if granted, would allow HFF to operate historical aircraft carrying passengers on 

local educational flights for compensation or hire. 

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulations:

The Historical Flight Foundation (HFF) is requesting an exemption from the following 

regulations in Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): 

§ 91.146, which prescribes, in part, requirements for operators conducting passengercarrying flights for the benefit of a charitable, nonprofit, or community event. 

§ 91.147, which prescribes, in part, requirements for operators conducting passengercarrying flights for compensation or hire. 

§119.5 (g) prescribes, in part, requirements for certifications, authorizations, and 

prohibitions. Subsection (g) states that no person may operate as a direct air carrier or 

as a commercial operator without, or in violation of, an appropriate certificate and 

appropriate operations specifications. No person may operate as a direct air carrier or 

AFS-09-219-E 
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as a commercial operator in violation of any deviation or exemption authority, if 

issued to that person or that person's representative. 

§119.23(a), prescribes, in part, requirements for operators engaged in passengercarrying operations, cargo operations, or both with airplanes when common carriage is 

not involved. Subsection (a) states, each person who conducts operations when 

common carriage is not involved with airplanes having a passenger-seat configuration 

of 20 seats or more, excluding each crewmember seat, or a payload capacity of 6,000 

pounds or more, shall, unless deviation authority is issued— 

(1) Comply with the certification and operations specifications requirements of 

part 125 of this chapter; 

(2) Conduct its operations with those airplanes in accordance with the 

requirements of part 125 of this chapter; and 

(3) Be issued operations specifications in accordance with those requirements. 

§ 125.1, prescribes, in part, requirements for part 125 applicability. Section (1) 

prescribes rules governing the operations of U.S.-registered civil airplanes which have 

a seating configuration of 20 or more passengers or a maximum payload capacity of 

6,000 pounds or more when common carriage is not involved. 

The petitioner requests an exemption to part 125, with the exceptions of part 125 Subpart D - 

Airplane Requirements, Subpart H - Airman and Crewmember Requirements and Subpart I - 

Flight Crewmember Requirements. 

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner requests authority to conduct all operations in accordance with 14 CFR part 91 

in conjunction with FAA policy regarding requests for exemption from the rules governing 

the operation of aircraft for the purpose of carrying passengers on living history flights in 

return for compensation. The FAA previously provided a position related to such flights in 

FAA Docket Number FAA-2006-24260. And as published in the Federal Register on 

October 9, 2007 (72 FR 57196), the FAA stated, “Aircraft holding any category of 

airworthiness certificate issued under 14 CFR part 21 may be considered for an exemption to 

provide living history flight experiences.” 

 A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on December 22, 2009 

(74 FR 68092). The FAA received seven comments in support of the petition. 

The FAA's analysis is as follows:
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The FAA has fully considered the petitioner’s request and supporting information. The FAA 

finds that a grant of exemption would be in the public interest and would provide an 

equivalent level of safety to that provided by the current regulation. 

The HFF is unique in that its Douglas Aircraft Co. DC-7B aircraft represents the only U.S.-

based, 4-engine, passenger propliner in operation today. With the advent of jet aircraft, most 

of the DC-7 aircraft disappeared from commercial airline service by the early 1970s. The 

majority of DC-7 airframes were simply scrapped as they were seen as being un-economical 

to operate. In this unique case, the aircraft being operated by HFF was still in its original 

passenger configuration as delivered to Eastern Air Lines in January 1958. Of the 112 DC-7 

aircraft produced, this is the only surviving passenger configuration aircraft. 

In considering the public interest, by granting this petition, the petitioner would be allowed to 

collect compensation to help cover expenses associated with maintaining and operating the 

aircraft. Without these contributions, the cost of maintaining the aircraft would be cost 

prohibitive. The petitioner states that replacement parts and the specific gasoline will 

eventually be in short supply and may substantially reduce the aircraft performance capability 

or require the airplane to be grounded. Therefore, the petitioner would like the FAA to allow 

such flights to be conducted while conditions allow for such operations. 

The FAA must ensure the petitioner can maintain an equivalent level of safety when deviating 

from a regulation. The petitioner has submitted, and the FAA concurs, that the conditions and 

limitations cited below provide for an equivalent level of safety and therefore require the 

following to be accomplished when conducting flights under the provisions set forth in this 

exemption. 

The FAA’s Decision 

 In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption is in the public interest. 

Therefore, under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 40113 and 44701, delegated to me 

by the Administrator, Historical Flight Foundation, Inc. is granted an exemption from 

14 CFR §§ 91.146, 91.147, 119.5(g), 119.23(a), and 125.1 to the extent necessary to allow 

HFF to operate historical aircraft carrying passengers on local educational flights for 

compensation or hire, subject to the conditions and limits described below relating to aircraft 

type and certification. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. This exemption is limited to aircraft registration: N836D, a Douglas Aircraft Co. DC7B. Serial # 45345. The date of manufacture is January 13, 1958. Douglas Aircraft 

issued type certificate TC4A10 on May 25, 1955, under a Standard Airworthiness 

Certificate.

2. HFF must maintain 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. The IRS certified HFF as a 501(c)(3) 

organization. HFF’s federal tax identification number is 45-0594791. Its certification 
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provides the following information for HFF: Historical Flight Foundation, Inc., 3500 

NW 119 Street, Miami Florida, 33167. Tel: 305-883-2012. Contact Roger Jarman, 

Secretary.

3. This transport category aircraft must maintain a standard airworthiness certificate as 

issued in January 1958.

4. The petitioner must meet the passenger briefing requirements of § 125.327 and 

passengers must acknowledge in writing that the flight is operating under an 

exemption from the FAA and that the aircraft does not meet the normal standards for 

the carriage of passengers.

5. The petitioner must maintain the aircraft in accordance with part 125 subpart G.

6. All passenger seats on the DC-7 must be FAA approved and installed per Douglas 

Report SM-14762 or other FAA-approved basis. The aircraft may have a non-standard 

seating arrangement to maintain its historical accuracy.

7. The pilot in command (PIC) shall hold an FAA airline transport pilot certificate with 

DC-6/DC-7 type rating. The second in command (SIC) must hold a minimum of a 

FAA commercial pilot certificate with instrument and multi-engine ratings. The flight 

engineer (FE) shall hold an FAA FE certificate with reciprocating engine rating. All 

required flight crew members shall hold at least a 2 class medical certificate. HFF 

crews must comply with the requirements of 14 CFR part 125 subpart H and subpart I.

nd

a. Minimum flight experience for PIC must include the following requirementsi. Completion, within the previous 12 calendar months, of HFF PIC 

qualification flight and ground training for DC-7 aircraft. 

ii. Completion, within the 12 previous calendar months, of an HFF PIC 

proficiency check in DC-7B aircraft. The proficiency check will 

consist of the appropriate maneuvers and procedures currently required 

for the issuance of a DC-6/DC-7 type rating. 

iii. Completion of at least 2,500 hours of aeronautical flight experience, 

1000 hours of aeronautical flight experience in multi-engine land 

airplanes, and 25 hours in DC-6/DC-7 series aircraft, or have at least 

1000 hours of aeronautical flight experience, 200 hours of aeronautical 

flight experience in a multi-engine land airplane and 100 hours and 

50 takeoffs and 50 landings in DC-6/DC-7 series aircraft. 

b. Minimum flight experience for SICi. Completion, within the previous 12 calendar months, of HFF SIC 

qualification flight and ground training DC-6/DC-7 aircraft. 

ii. Completion of at least 1,500 hours of aeronautical flight experience, 

250 hours of aeronautical flight experience in a multi-engine land 
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airplane, or at least a total of 500 hours of aeronautical flight 

experience, 100 hours of aeronautical flight experience in a multiengine land airplane, and 25 hours and 10 takeoffs and 10 landings in 

DC-6/DC-7 series aircraft; or at least 250 hours of aeronautical flight 

experience, 50 hours in multi-engine aircraft, and 50 hours, 20 takeoffs 

and 20 landings in DC-6/DC-7 series aircraft. 

c. Flight engineers must meet the requirements of 14 CFR § 125.265. 

8. Initial and recurrent training for the PIC must be performed to current ATP Practical 

Test Standards for this type of aircraft. The SIC must meet the standards prescribed in 

14 CFR § 61.55. 

9. HFF must develop and maintain a written DC-7 qualification and re-current ground 

training program for its PICs, SICs and FEs that covers the training subjects listed 

below. The training will include all information, procedures, and limitations of a 

DC-7B. Each crew member must receive the following training within the previous 

12 calendar months and must be found competent and proficient in these areas as crew 

members in PIC, SIC or FE positions in the DC-7B prior to carrying passengers. 

REQUIRED TRAINING TASKS 

a. General information and description of the airplane; 

b. Aircraft limitations; 

c. Aircraft servicing; 

d. Normal operating procedures; 

e. Fuel system; 

f. Electrical system; 

g. Hydraulic system; 

h. Engines; 

i. Instruments and avionics; 

j. Landing gear, brakes, controls, and flaps systems; 

k. Propeller; 

l. Emergency procedures; 

m. Weight and balance; 

n. Performance planning; and 

o. Crew resource management practices.

10. A current ground training program must be developed and used by the HFF for use by 

all pilots on an annual cycle. 

11. HFF must conduct annual proficiency checks and, if necessary, flight training. 

12. A qualified FAA inspector or designee rated in the DC-6/7aircraft will conduct all 

flight checks 
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13. HFF must maintain crewmember training records in accordance with part 125 

subpart L. 

14. Flight crewmembers must meet the recent flight experience requirements of 14 CFR 

§ 125.285. 

15. Flight attendants must meet the requirements of 14 CFR § 125.269. 

16. HFF must report all National Transportation Safety Board 830 reportable incidents to 

the geographical FSDO. 

17. The aircraft must be registered in the name of Historical Flight Foundation, Inc. 

18. Passenger-carrying operations for compensation may be conducted at distances 

greater than 25 nautical miles of the departure airport up to 50 nautical miles with 

concurrence of the FAA FSDO having geographic responsibility for the aviation 

event. For such flights, landings are only permitted at the departure airport. 

This exemption terminates on March 30, 2012, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 22, 2010. 

/s/ 

John W. McGraw 

Acting Director, Flight Standards 

 Service