Below please find revised text for the “ Comments ” porti on of our Request for Exemption ( FAA

- 2016

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0363

- 0004 ) as per US DOT/FAA Request for Additi onal Inform ation ( FAA

- 2016

- 0363

- 0011 ) . This tex t is
intended a s an update to the tex t originally submitted in Response to RFIA ( F AA

- 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 hi ghest 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 c loser 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 ar eas 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 t he 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

com mand, 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 nonp articipants 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 payloa d 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 insparsely populated areas where there are not any p eople 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 thi s 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 Ob server (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 eve ry 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 equiva lent level of safety.

In addition, approval of this exemption will benefit the public by enabling the FAA's Pathfinder prog ram 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 op erations 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 addi tion to this improved service, the cost of these services can be reduced through economies of scale.