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

0363-0008) as per US DOT/FAA Request for Additional Information (FAA-2016-0363-0009). This text is 

intended as an update to the text originally submitted in Response to RFIA (FAA-2016-0363-0010).

14 CFR 91.151(a)

Exemption to 14 CFR, Section 91.151, Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions

Section 91.151 (a) prescribes that no person may begin a flight in an airplane under VFR conditions 

unless (considering wind and forecast weather conditions) there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of 

intended landing and, assuming normal cruising speed, (1) during the day, to fly after that for at least 30 

minutes.

(b) No person may begin a flight in a rotorcraft under VFR conditions unless (considering wind and 

forecast weather conditions) there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing and, 

assuming normal cruising speed, to fly after that for at least 20 minutes.

The current standard condition in FAA exemptions under section 333 is to require 5 minutes of reserve 

power instead of the 30 minute and 20 minute requirements above, in recognition of the low altitude of 

sUAS operations and their ability to be brought down to the ground safely in less than one minute. 

Because of the local nature of the operations, this will provide an equal level of safety for all EVLOS 

research operations.

PrecisionHawk will be operating UAVs for these experimental trials. The PrecisionHawk UAV (Lancaster 

MK III) has a total flight endurance of up to 45 minutes. The UAV uses a battery charge estimation 

algorithm that automatically lands the UAV with approximately 2 minutes of flight time left over. The 

PrecisionHawk PICs will not begin a UAS flight unless (considering wind and forecast weather conditions) 

there is enough available power for UAS to operate for the intended operational time, and to operate 

thereafter for at least five minutes. As such, PrecisionHawk is requesting an exemption to 14 CFR, 

Section 91.151 (a) to be consistent with the FAA’s policy under section 333.

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.