Below please find revised text for the “Comments” portion of our Request for Exemption (FAA-2016-

0363-0004) as per US DOT/FAA Request for Additional Information (FAA-2016-0363-0011). This text is 

intended as an update to the text originally submitted in Response to RFIA (FAA-2016-0363-0012).

14 CFR 91.119(c)

Exemption to 14 CFR, Section 91.119(c); Minimum Safe Altitude

Section 91.119(c) states:

"except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following 

altitudes:

(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to 

persons or property on the surface.

(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air 

assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 

2,000 feet of the aircraft. 

(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water 

or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any 

person, vessel, vehicle, or structure."

As PrecisionHawk will be operating an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), PrecisionHawk will be flying the 

Lancaster MK III, Rev 4 UAV at or below 1000 feet over uncongested and unpopulated areas

However, the PIC and all observers will be within 500 feet of the aircraft during the experimental 

operations. PrecisionHawk will mitigate risk through vigilant ground operations, with all participants 

notified and on alert throughout the duration of the experiments. As such, PrecisionHawk is requesting 

exemption to 14 CFR Section 91.119 (c). The FAA recently revised its policy with respect to operations 

within 500 feet laterally from the UAS operation. PrecisionHawk intends that only the pilot in 

command, visual observers, and other persons involved in the Precision Hawk operations, will be within 

the 500 feet perimeter. Per the FAA policy, these participants will be briefed and provide consent. 

PrecisionHawk will not operate within 500 feet of nonparticipants unless there is a barrier or structure 

protecting such nonparticipants from the risk of an errant UAS (this requirement is already reflected in 

the PrecisionHawk Flight Operations Manual).

The Lancaster MK III weighs 5.5 pounds with its payload camera or sensor equipment. This light weight, 

along with the slow speed of the gliding aircraft to land if it loses power would have very little kinetic 

energy. That low kinetic energy state, along with the aircraft wing construction being made of foam, and 

the fact that the aircraft propeller would not be turning creates a situation that would preclude 

significant risk to anyone on the ground. The fact that these operations are over rural farm fields in 
sparsely populated areas where there are not any people or vehicles to be at risk makes for an 

equivalent level of safety. 

It is anticipated that 14 CFR §91.113 See and Avoid will be waived as a part of the COA process, and so it 

is not included in the list of exemption petitions. However, to be clear about the view of this section, the 

following is provided. The pilot in command has a responsibility to see any intruder aircraft at all times 

and must avoid any intruding aircraft. This EVLOS operation will be a “See and Avoid” operation at all 

times. During the research flights a Safety Observer (SO) will be stationed next to the pilot in command 

as an extra set of eyes to supplement the pilot’s observation of the sky. The remote visual observer will 

be part of the flight crew to enhance situational awareness of the pilot in command and to maintain 

visual surveillance of the airspace in which the UAV is flying at all times. Prior to conducting UAS 

operation a notification will be sent out to impacted aviation community to ensure awareness and 

enhance safety, and a NOTAM will be filed for every day that flight activities will be conducted. These 

requirements for the flight crew obligation to see traffic and the pilot’s responsibility to maneuver to 

avoid the traffic combined with the notification provisions and the NOTAM will provide an equivalent 

level of safety.

In addition, approval of this exemption will benefit the public by enabling the FAA's Pathfinder program 

to eventually extend the commercial use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the NAS to include extended 

and beyond visual line of sight operations, thereby opening up countless new commercial opportunities 

for American businesses. The Pathfinder initiative is a public-private partnership with the FAA with the 

objective of expanding the current regulatory framework for the benefit of the Unmanned Aircraft 

Vehicle industry at large. Under EVLOS operations a UAS operator will be able to conduct its agriculture 

analysis over a much larger area, possibly 5 times as large, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of this 

air commerce and providing a better service to the farmers and property owners. In addition to this 

improved service, the cost of these services can be reduced through economies of scale.