August 6, 2015

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

Re: Exemption Request Under Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and Part 11 of the Federal
Aviation Regulations

Dear Madam, Sir,

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the “Reform Act”)
and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Vau ghan Engineering, Inc. (“ VAU GHAN ”), an operator of the eBee Unmanned Aircraft System (“eBee”) seeks an exemption from the Federal Avi ation Regulations (“FARs”) listed below:

• 14 C.F.R. 21

• 14 C.F.R. 45.23

• 14 C.F.R 45.29

• 14 C.F.R. 61.133(a)

• 14 C.F.R. 91.7(b)

• 14 C.F.R. 91.9(b)(2)

• 14 C.F.R. 91.109(a)

• 14 C.F.R. 91.119

• 14 C.F.R. 91.151(a)

• 14 C.F.R. 91.203(a) & (b)

• 14 CFR Subpart E (91.401

- 91.417)

The requested exemption would authorize commercial operations using the eBee for mapping and survey applications. These operations will be subject to strict operating requirements defined in the eBee user manual ( VAU GHAN r equests the FAA treat the eBee training program as proprietary under 14 C.F.R. 11.35(b) and does not include this document in the public docket) and conditions defined by the Safety Code of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (see Annex B), in order to ensure at least an equivalent l evel of safety to currently authorized operations using manned aircrafts.

The eBee will be operated by an individual who fulfill s the following requirements:

• Has successfully passed a manufacturer’s training program for the eBee; VAU GHAN requests the FAA treat the eBee training program as proprietary under 14 C.F.R. 11.35(b)

and does not include this document in the public docket.1. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AIRCRAFT

The eBee is a small (37.8 inches wingspan) and ultra

- light (maximum take

- off weight of 1.7 pounds) platform made of flexible foam that performs pre

- programmed precision aerial mapping

missions thanks to the on

- board GPS and the related flight management software (eMotion) that allows the operator to plan safely and efficiently a mission in 3D, and then monitor it in real

- time. Thanks to the embedded camera, protected by a foam envelope, the eBee takes a collection of high

definition still images that are used later to generate maps and contour lines of the surveyed area.

The four main characteristics of the eBee are:

a. Very light weight

The eBee is so light that the operator can launch it by hand and let it land on almost any surface without requiring a parachute or landing net (belly land). Its low impact energy ( 38 J in c ase of a controlled emergency landing ) also significantly reduces the risk of hazardous situations. Finally, the wings of the eBee are detachable and made of flexible foam with no sharp or hard edges and almost no internal strengthening structure.

b. Ele ctric

- powered

The eBee is electric powered. A brushless engine technology makes it silent and reliable. The propeller is attached with a rubber band to the body of the plane so that it can easily flex away in case of contact with any object.

c. Semi

- automatic flight

The artificial intelligence incorporated within the eBee autopilot system continuously analyzes data from the Inertial Measurement Unit and from the onboard GPS and takes care of all the aspects of the flight under the supervision of the operator.

d. Option for Manual control

Additionally, the eBee provides an override capability that allows the operator to take manual actions during the flight (Go to Home, Go Land, Hold and Resume the mission) and also suspend automated operations and take manual control of the aircraft should it become necessary to respond emergent circumstances, thanks to the remote controller provided with the system.

2. APPLICATIONS

The eBee will be used to map natural resources, endangered species and plant life, agriculture,
topography, as

- built construction conditions and progress, quarry and mining operations (non

congest ed areas), and for c rew training.

3. APPLICABLE LEGAL STANDARD UNDER SECTION 333

a. Airworthiness assessment of the eBee

VAU GHAN notes that the airworthiness of the eBee has already been demonstrated for different projects in the United States, involving state/federal agencies or universities (among others the New Mexico State University: https://newscenter.nmsu.edu/Articles/view/10208/nmsu

- uas

- flight

- test

center

- conducts

- ebee

- airworthiness

- assessment , and the USACE New Orleans, who coordinatedwith the D epartment of Army and the FAA to obtain all authorizations required i n order to operate the eBee UAS).

Moreover, SenseFly obtained flight approvals for the eBee (delivered by national civil aviation authorities) in many countries, among others:

• Switzerland (flight approval for VLOS operations)

• Canada (flight approval for VLOS operations)

• Australia (flight approval for VLOS operations)

• France (flight approval for Extended

- VLOS operations)

• Germany (flight approval for VLOS operations)

• United Kingdo m (flight approval for VLOS operations)

• Norway (flight approval for VLOS operations)

• Sweden (flight approval for VLOS operations)

• Denmark (flight approval for VLOS operations)

b. Operating requirements

Grant of the exemption to VAU GHAN f or the eBee will be subject to the following operating conditions, based on the operating conditions set forth by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (see Annex B). The main restrictions are summarized below:

• Operations are to be conducted over private, controlled

- access, or public property where approved;

• Permission from the land owner/authority will be required before commencing any flight;

• Operations over congested areas shall be avoided;

• Operations must not interfere with manned aircraft operations, must yield the right o f way to manned aircraft, and operators must See & Avoid other aircraft and obstacles at all times

• Operations will be limited to Visual Flight Rules Meteorological Conditions (VMC) and daylight hours

• Aircraft operations will remain within Visual Line of Si ght (VLOS) and will be visually
monitored at all times;

• VLOS will be guaranteed with a GPS geo

- fence around operator of 0.5 miles

• Flight ceiling will be pre

- programed at 400 feet or less above the ground surface ;

• All operations conducted within 5 miles from an airport shall only be initiated after verbal coordination with the airport authority, or air traffic control when a control tower is present at the airport;

• All operations shall comply with required permissions and permits established by territorial, state, county or city jurisdictions; including local law enforcement, fire, or other appropriate governmental agencies.

• The eBee operations will be compliant with existing safety procedures inherent to th e activities of the related company.

3. CONCLUSION

VAU G HAN ( Vau ghan Engineering , Inc.) is a consulting engineering and survey firm in its thirty

ninth year of business. The use of the eBee and its technology will make our work more profitable

and effic ient and will enable u s to deliver accurate results in near real time to our clients. This accuracy and time saving ability will allow our clients to make on

- time decisions. Obtaining mapping information with the eBee will be tremendously safer than havi ng VAU GHAN employees deployed in the field performing similar function s for projects

. VAU GHAN work site settings oftenpose threats to employee safety in the mining, quarry, and construction environments that we

service. The use of the eBee will be safe for other aircraft with the implementation of mission specifications (below 400 feet above ground surface) and eBee integrated safety features including return to home on low power or high winds

.

We are prepared to m odify or amend any part of this request to satisfy the need for an equivalent level of safety. We look forward to working with your office regarding this matter. Please contact

us at any time if you require additional information or clarification. We can be reached by email at

scottv@madisonville.com

.

Very truly yours,

VAU G HAN ENGINEERING

Wm. Scott Vau ghan, P.E., P.L.S.

Phone: 270.821.2013

Cell: 270.836.1790

VE FAA Exemption 333.docxANNEX A: EXEMPTION REQUEST AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

SHOWINGS UNDER APPLICABLE RULES SUBJECT TO EXEMPTION

Vau ghan Engineering, Inc. (“ VAU GHAN”) requests an exemption from the following regulations as well as any additional regulations that may technically apply to the operation of the eBee Unmanned Aircraft System (“eBee”) :

14 C.F.R. Part 21, Subpart H: Airworthiness Certificates

14 CFR § 91.20 3(a)(1)

Section 91.203 requires all civil aircraft to have a certificate of airworthiness. Part 21, Subpart H, entitled Airworthiness Certificates, FAR § 91.203(a). Given the size of the eBee, its very light weight (the maximum take

- off weight is 1.7 poun ds) and the limited operating area associated with its utilization, it is unnecessary to go through the certificate of airworthiness process under Part 21 Subpart H in order to achieve or exceed current safety levels.

Such an exemption meets the requirem ents of an equivalent level of safety under Part 11 and Section

333 of the Reform Act. The Federal Aviation Act and Section 333 of the Reform Act both authorize the FAA to exempt aircraft from the requirement for an airworthiness certificate, upon consider ation of the size, weight, speed, operational capability, and proximity to airports and populated areas of the UAS involved. An analysis of these different criteria demonstrates that the eBee operated
without an airworthiness certificate, under the conditi ons proposed in that exemption, will be at least as safe, or safer, than a conventional aircraft with an airworthiness certificate. A proprietary risk assessment for operations with the eBee, which demonstrates that assertion, is also being

submitted to th e FAA as part of this application. VAU GHAN requests the FAA treat the eBee risk assessment as proprietary under 14 C.F.R. 11.35(b) and not include this document in the public

docket.

14 C.F.R. § 45.23 & 14 C.F.R. § 45.29: Display of marks; size of marks

These regulations provide that each aircraft must display "N" and the aircraft's registration number in letters at least 3 inches high. Additionally, the aircraft must display the word "EXPERIMENTAL" in letters at least 2 inches high near the entrance t o the cabin, cockpit, or pilot

station.

Given the size of the eBee (wingspan of 37.8 inches), this requirement is impossible to match.

14 C.F.R. § 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 eBee without

an airworthiness certificate, no standard will exist for airworthiness of the eBee. Given the size of

the aircraft and the previous airworthiness assessments given to the eBee, among others:

• New Mexico State University: https://newscenter.nmsu.edu/Articles/view/10208/nmsu

uas

- flight

- test

- center

- conducts

- ebee

- airworthiness

- assessment

• USACE New Orleans, who coordinated with the Department of Army and the FAA to obtain all authorizations required in order to operate the eBe e UAS for levee systemmonitoring, documentation of construction progress, and extensive oblique photography of

USACE structures & activities

An equivalent level of safety will be achieved by insuring compliance with the SenseFly manuals prior to each fli ght.

14 C.F.R. § 91.9: Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements.

This regulation provides that no person may operate an aircraft unless a current, approved flight

manual is in the aircraft. VAU GHAN assumes that the intent of thi s requirement is to ensure that flight manual information is available to the aircrew while operating the aircraft. VAU GHAN

re quests an exemption to this requirement since the aircraft is not only too small to carry
documentation, the documentation would not be available to the crew.

The equivalent level of safety will be achieved by keeping a hard copy of the flight manual in the eBee transportation box.

14 C.F.R. § 91.109(a) & 91.319(a)(1): Flight Instruction

The regulation provides that "No person may operate a civil aircraft that is being used for flight

instruction unless that aircraft has fully functioning dual controls."

Flight instruction will be accomplished through an elaborated training program, using first the

simulation mode of the flight management software eMotion. The equivalent level of safety during the training will be achieved by the manufacturer or authorized distributor providing the training and through the use of experienced and qualified operators familiar with the eBee.

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 eBee cannot comply with this requirement.

The equivalent level of safety will be achieved because the eBee will only fly over private property with the permission of the landowner. The operator will define before every flight a working area radius and a flight area ceiling, preventing the eBee to go beyond the flight area. The landowner and the persons who may be on the ground in the flight area will be briefed of the expected route of flight and the associated risks to persons and property on the ground. Due to the small size of the eBee and the material with which the eBee is built, the hazard to persons, vessels, vehicles, and structures is not comparable 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 fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.

14 CFR 91.121

– Altimeter settings

This section requires that each person operating an aircraft shall maintain the cruising altitude or flight level of that aircraft, as the case may be, by reference to an altimeter that is set, when operating
below 18,0 00 feet MSL to:• The current reported altimeter setting of a station along the route and within 100 nautical
miles of the aircraft;

• If there is no station within the area prescribed in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, the current reported altimeter set ting of an appropriate available station;

• In the case of an aircraft not equipped with a radio, the elevation of the departure airport or an appropriate altimeter setting available before departure.

To provide an equivalent level of safety, the eBee autop ilot calculates the reference altitude (ground level) with the on

- board GPS during the pre

- flight tests. The GPS and barometer data are merged with respect to their respective precisions. The GPS provides reliable information to correct potential barometri c bias, while rapid variations in altitude are detected through the barometer. Hence, barometric bias induced by environmental factors is rejected.

14 C.F.R. § 91.151(a): Fuel Requirements for Flight in VFR Conditions

The regulation 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 eBee, VAU GHAN believes that an e quivalent level of safety is already achieved with the specific procedure preventing the eBee to accept a take

- off order is the battery level is below a given value. Moreover, SenseFly has integrated “low” and “critical” battery level warnings and impleme nted a “return to Home” (and “Go Land”) action in these situations.

14 C.F.R. § 91.203 (a) & (b): Carrying Civil Aircraft Certification and Registration

This regulation provides as follows:

• No person may operate a civil aircraft unless it has an appropriate and current

airworthiness certificate.

• No person may operate a civil aircraft unless the airworthiness certificate required by
paragraph (a) of this section or a special flight authorization issued under §91.715 is
displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew.

The eBee weighs only 1.7 pounds (max take

- off weight). As such, there is no ability or place to carry certification and registration documents or to display them on the UAS. In addition, there is no pilot or passengers on board the aircraft.

To obtain an equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91.203, VAU GHAN propose s that documents deemed appropriate for this aircraft by the FAA will be co

- located with the operator at the ground con trol station in the eBee box and available for inspection upon request

.

14 CFR Subpart E (91.401

- 91.417)

- Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, and

Alterations

The regulation provides that the operator is primarily responsible for maintaining the aircr aft in an airworthy condition, including compliance with Parts 39 and 43. Paragraphs 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) r equires 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 license d pilots and records of approval of the aircraft for return to service.VAU GHAN proposes that the maintenance of the eBee will be accomplished by the owner/operator according to the maintenance manual, provided by SenseFly. VAU GHAN requests that the FAA treat the eBee training program as proprietary under 14 C.F.R. 11.35(b) and not include this document in the public docket.

An equivalent level of safety will be achieved because the eBee is small in size, it is not a complex
mechanical device, it will ca rry 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 condition and to ensure an equivalent lev el of safety. Finally, before every flight, the eBee 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

eBee will not be able to be switched

- on and a m essage 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 eBee are easily interchangeable (propellers, wings), which allows the op erator to make sure the wings and propulsion system are always airworthy when

a mission is initiated.

ANNEX B: ACADEMY OF MODEL AERONAUTICS SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

http://www.modelaircraft.org/files/105.pdf

http://www.modelaircraft.org/files/540

- D.pdf

http://www.modelaircraft.org/files/560.pdf