FAA Exemption Rulemaking

Section 333

Of The FAA Reform Act and Part 11

Prepared by

Rick Potter ­ Rick Potter Aerial Photo and Video

Private Pilot

October 20, 2015

512 Market Street

Osage City, Kansas 66523

785.640.5941 ­ osagebarber@gmail.com

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October 15, 2015

Rick Potter Aerial Photo and Video

512 Market Street

Osage City, Kansas 66523

U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Docket Operations

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,

Washington, DC 20590

Rick Potter Aerial photography and video

Real estate, Car shows and Local school sporting events

My Qualifications:

Private Pilot license ­ 1977. Proficient in these Aircraft ­ Cessna 150, 152, 172.

RC aircraft enthusiast since 1972

Kansas University 1980 ­ 1986 FA Degree in Industrial Design

Owner of Potter’s Barber Shop, Osage City, Kansas 66523

Aircraft Manufacturer:

Yuneec Inc., 5555 Ontario Mills Parkway, Ontario, CA 91764, USA

(855) 284 8888 avenue

Typhoon Q500

Serial number: YU15160160B02001

We are prepared to modify or amend any part of this request to satisfy the need for an equivalent

level of safety. Please contact me at any time if you require additional information or clarification.

We look forward to working with your office.

Sincerely,

Rick Potter Aerial Photo and Video

512 Market Street, Osage City, Kansas 66523

Rick Potter Aerial Photo and Video

(785)640.5941 osagebarber@gmail.com

Attachments:

Addendum containing Exemption Requests and Equivalent Level of Safety.

Appendix A ­ Flight Manual

Appendix B ­ Owner’s Manual for UA and Specifications

Appendix C ­ FAA airmans verification

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Re: Exemption Request under Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and Part II of the

Federal Aviation Regulations

Dear Sir or Madam:

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the “Reform Act”)

and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Rick Potter Aerial Photo and Video seeks an exemption from Federal

Aviation Regulations (“FARs”) detailed below for the following described Unmanned Aerial

System called in this application the ME System, which includes an Unmanned Aircraft (UA) and

ground station­based equipment and crew:

THE UNMANNED AIRCRAFT (UA):

● A lightweight (2.8 lb gross weight with all on­board equipment), battery operated 4­motor

rotorcraft in the form of a quadcopter that takes off and lands vertically, manufactured by

Yuneec. Model Q500 that includes all the following equipment in flight:

● An on­board flight computer with GPS navigation and location ability that receives signals

for flight controls from a ground­based transmitter/controller;

● An on­board camera capable of capturing imagery in the form of full color, high definition

still photos and video;

● An on­board telemetry system that delivers flight data from the on­board flight computer

to the on­board radio transmitter including altitude AGL, horizontal and vertical speed,

compass direction of flight and direction back to its launch site;

● A 2.4GHz on­board radio transmitter that transmits live video from the on­board camera

plus all the flight data from the telemetry system described above.

THE GROUND STATION —BASED PART OF THE SYSTEM

● A Pilot in Command (PIC) in operational control of a flight operation from beginning to end

and who controls the UA while in the air,

● A 2.4GHz radio transmitter/controller operated by the PIC to control the UA while in flight;

● A radio receiver receiving live video and flight data from the on­board camera and

computer projects it all together onto a screen for the PIC to view during flight;

● A Visual Observer (VO) is a person who provides a second pair of eyes to visually track

the UA while in flight.

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The requested exemption would support an application for a commercial Certificate of

Authorization to use the above described ME System to support aerial photography and

video primarily of real estate, car shows and local school sporting events.

The UA, powered by batteries, is smaller, lighter and more maneuverable than larger aircraft

running on combustible fuel, it operates at lower altitudes with no people on board and will

thereby reduce current risk levels and thereby enhance safety and diminish the likelihood of

death or serious bodily injury. With a small payload and maximum flight time of only 20 minutes,

this is offers little or no risk to national Security.

Low level oblique photos and video from several angles are far more effective than ground­based

imagery for displaying the characteristics of large, complex properties with several buildings and

large trees. The alternative could be to charter a full­sized helicopter for this purpose, which has

proven more costly than many potential clients are able to afford. The benefits of reduced cost

and improved quality of presentation from the UA will be valuable to and benefit many buyers and

sellers of real estate property.

The ME System will be operated in the field with both a PIC and a VO in accordance with FAA

Policy N 8900.227 Section 14 "Operational Requirements for UAS" and with the following

Restrictions:

A ­ No flight will be made with a UA Gross weight exceeding 2.8 pounds.

B ­ All operations must occur in FAA Class G airspace at no more than 400 ft AGL, at an

airspeed of no more than 50 knots and no further than 3/4 NM from the PIC.

C ­ All operations must utilize a visual observer (VO). The VO and PIC must be able to

communicate by voice at all times during a flight operation.

D ­ Operations will be restricted to flights over property with the permission of the

property owner.

E ­ The PIC must have accumulated and logged, a minimum of 100 flight cycles and 25

hours of total time as a UA rotorcraft pilot and at least ten hours logged as a UA pilot

with a similar UA type.

F ­ All required permits will be obtained from state and local government prior to

operation.

G ­ The ME System will not be operated over densely populated areas.

H ­ The ME System will not be operated at air shows.

I ­ The ME System will not be operated over any open­air assembly of people.

J ­ The ME System will not be operated over heavily trafficked roads.

K ­ The ME System will not be operated within 5 NM of an airport or heliport.

L ­ Operations will be restricted to day only and weather conditions equivalent to VFR.

M ­ The PIC will brief the VO and property owner about the operation and risk before the

first flight at each new location.

N ­ No flight may be made without a Pre­Flight Inspection by the PIC before each

operation to ascertain that the UA is in a condition safe for flight (see Appendix A.)

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The PIC and VO will meet the requirements outlined in FAA Policy N 8900.227 Section 16

personnel Qualifications. Additionally, the PIC and VO will perform maintenance on the system

and will complete a course of maintenance instruction as part of their initial training.

We submit that the combination of the UA's light ­weight, flight performance and ability, fully

qualified flight crew and strict operation under the guidelines established in 8900.227, and under

all of the Restrictions (a) through (n) listed above, the FAA can have full confidence that the

operation will have an equivalent or greater level of safety than manned aircraft performing the

same mission.

Rick Potter

512 Market Street

Osage City, Kansas 66523

Owner ­ Rick Potter Aerial Photo and Video

(785)640.5941 osagebarber@gmail.com

The regulations from which the exemption is requested are listed below. Beside each regulation

number is the page of the attached Addendum upon which each may be found together with our

proposed equivalent level of safety for each regulation:

­ 14 CFR Part 21 ..................................................Addendum Page 1

­ 14 CFR 91.203 ..................................................Addendum Page 1

­ 14 CFR 45.23, 45.29 ...........................................Addendum Page 2

­ 14 CFR 91.9 ...................................................... Addendum Page 2

­ 14 CFR 61.113, 61.133................................... ....Addendum Page 2

­ 14 CFR 91.109, 91.119, 91.121 ......................... Addendum Page 3

­ 14 CFR 91.151............................................Addendum Page 3

­ 14 CFR Subpart E (91.401 ­ 91.417) ................. Addendum Page 3

­ FAA Policy 8900.227 Paragraph 16(c)(4) and Paragraph 16(e)(1) ...Addendum 1 Page 4

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ADDENDUM EXEMPTION REQUESTS AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

Rick Potter Aerial Photo and Video, requests an exemption from the following

regulations as well as any additional regulations that may technically apply to the operation

of the ME System:

14 CFR Part 21, Subpart H. Airworthiness Certificates

This part establishes the procedures for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate. While the

FAA continues to work to develop airworthiness standards for Unmanned Aerial Systems,

we request an experimental certificate be issued for the ME System under either or both of

the following provisions: 21.191 Experimental certificates.

Experimental certificates are issued for the following purposes:

(a) Research and development. Testing new aircraft design concepts, new aircraft

equipment, new aircraft installations, new aircraft operating techniques, or new uses for

aircraft.

(b) Showing compliance with regulations. Conducting flight tests and other operations

to show compliance with the airworthiness regulations including flights to show compliance

for issuance of type and supplemental type certificates, flights to substantiate major design

changes, and flights to show compliance with the function and reliability requirements of the

regulations.

Since the experimental certificate can be used for commercial purposes such as market

surveys, sales demonstrations, and customer crew training, we would expect that an

experimental certificate would permit our commercial purpose as well.

The aircraft will not carry persons or property, will not carry fuel, and will only fly under strict

operational requirements. Combined with the UA’s light weight, being constructed primarily

of carbon fiber and plastic, we propose that the UA will be at least as safe, if not safer, than

a conventionally certificated aircraft performing the same mission.

If an experimental airworthiness certificate is not appropriate for this application, then we

request an exemption of 14 CFR Part 21, Subpart H, and the requirement for an

airworthiness certificate in general, citing the equivalent level of safety outlined in the

previous paragraph.

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14 CFR 91.203(a) & (b) Civil aircraft: Certifications required.

The regulation provides that an airworthiness certificate, with the registration number

assigned to the aircraft and a registration certificate must be aboard the aircraft.

Additionally, subparagraph (b) provides that the airworthiness certificate be "displayed at

the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew."

At a maximum gross weight of 2.8 pounds, the UA is too small to carry documentation,

does not have an entrance, and is not capable of carrying passengers or crew. To obtain

an equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91.203, we propose that documents

deemed appropriate for this aircraft by the FAA will be co­located with the crew at the

ground control station and available for inspection upon request. In order to identify the

aircraft, we propose that the information found on airworthiness and registration certificates

be permanently affixed to the aircraft via placard containing the following information plus

the word “EXPERIMENTAL” to satisfy the requirement of 14 CFR 45.23, which follows

immediately after the proposed placard description below:

Manufacturer:

Yuneec Inc., 5555 Ontario Mills Parkway, Ontario, CA 91764, USA

(855) 284 8888 avenue

Purchased from:

Peter Ellin ­ Aces Deals

10 Winges Ave. Patchogue, NY 11772

If found please contact: Rick Potter (785)640­5941

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14 CFR 45.23 Display of marks; general and 45.29 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 to the cabin, cockpit,

or pilot station. The UA does not have an entrance in which the word "EXPERIMENTAL"

can be placed, and may not have a registration number assigned to it by the FAA.

We propose to achieve an equivalent level of safety by including the word

"EXPERIMENTAL" in the placard on the top of the aircraft, as shown above, where the

PIC, VO and others in the vicinity of the aircraft while it is preparing for launch will be able

to see the designation. Additionally, we feel that the permanent placard discussed in the

previous paragraph will provide the aircraft's registration information at the ground station.

Finally, we will display at the ground station a high contrast flag or banner that contains the

words "Unmanned Aircraft Ground Station" in letters 3 inches high or greater. Since the

aircraft will operate within 3/4 NM of the ground station, the banner should be visible to

anyone that observes the aircraft and chooses to investigate its point of origin.

14 CFR 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. We assume that the intent of this requirement is to ensure

that flight manual information is available to the aircrew while operating the aircraft. We

request 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 during flight

operations. To obtain an equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91.9, we propose

that a current, approved UA Flight Manual (Appendix A) must be available to the crew at

the ground station anytime the aircraft is in, or preparing for, flight.

14 CFR 61.113 Private pilot privileges and limitations:

Pilot in Command and 61.133 Commercial pilot privileges and limitations. The regulation

provides that no person that holds a private pilot certificate may act as pilot in command of

an aircraft for compensation or hire. Subparagraph (b) allows a private pilot to act as pilot

in command of an aircraft in connection with any business or employment if: (1) The flight is

only incidental to that business or employment; and (2) The aircraft does not carry

passengers or property for compensation or hire.

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Our proposed operations require that the PIC must either:

1. Hold a Commercial Pilot Certificate issued by the FAA, and have logged 25 hours of

flight experience in this type of UA, or

2. Meet the requirements of 8900.227 para 16(c)(2)(c) "Operations without a pilot

certificate" in which the PIC is required to complete "FAA private pilot ground instruction"

and pass "the FAA Private Pilot written examination." Since there are currently no means

available for the pilot of a UAS to gain the experience in an equivalent category and class

in order to apply for a commercial pilot's license, we propose to generate an equivalent

level of safety by requiring our pilots to complete, at a minimum, FAA commercial pilot

ground instruction and pass the FAA Commercial Pilot written examination in addition to

completing the private pilot requirements. Since the aircraft cannot carry passengers or

property, we feel we meet the intent of 61.113 Subparagraph (b) even though the intent of

this application is to conduct a business.

14 CFR 91.109 Flight Instruction; Simulated instrument flight and certain flight tests The

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

instruction unless that aircraft has fully functioning dual controls." The ME System

ground­based control station consists of a small hand­held radio transmitter and while it

does not offer a second set of "controls", both the student and instructor can, and will,

operate the single set of controls simultaneously. With both student and instructor having

"hands­on" the controls during flight, we feel that this technique meets the intent 91.109 and

provides an equivalent level of safety.

14 CFR 91.119 Minimum safe altitudes: General. The regulation states 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, we cannot comply with this requirement. In order to provide an equivalent

level of safety we will only fly over private property with a size of at least two acres with the

permission of the owner of the property flown over. The aircraft will not be operated over

congested areas or over any open air assembly of persons. The property owner will be

briefed on the expected route of flight and the associated risks to persons and property on

the ground. The aircraft will be operated at a low altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an

emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface. Therefore

we maintain that due to the small size of the UA, the hazard to persons, vehicles and

structures is minimal compared to manned aircraft, which should be considered in granting

the exemption.

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14 CFR 91.121 Altimeter settings. The regulation requires that aircraft shall maintain

cruising altitudes by reference to an altimeter setting available within 100 NM of the aircraft.

The UA will always fly below 400 feet AGL and will not need to maintain cruising altitudes in

order to prevent conflict with other aircraft. An Above Ground Level altimeter measurement

above the takeoff point is transmitted via radio from the UA on­board computer to the

display screen held by the PIC, providing a constantly updated AGL readout.

14 CFR 91.151 Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions. The regulation provides that

no person may begin a flight in an airplane under day­VFR 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. We feel the intention of this paragraph is to provide an energy reserve as a safety

buffer for delays to landing. The UA is battery operated and the maximum duration of flight

from a single battery charge is 18 minutes with a 20% reserve. Since the aircraft will never

fly more than % NM from the point of intended landing, a full battery charge at launch will

ensure that we meet the reserve energy requirement of this paragraph. We request an

exemption to the word "fuel" and ask for an equivalent interpretation with the word "energy".

14 CFR Subpart E (91.401 ­ 91.417) ­ Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance,

Alterations

The regulation provides that the operator is primarily responsible for maintaining the

aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compliance with part 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. It is our intention that the PIC

perform maintenance and inspection of the aircraft and "be authorized to approve the

aircraft for return to service." As provided in the Pre­Flight Checklist in Appendix A, the PIC

will ensure that the aircraft is in an airworthy condition prior to every flight and in addition

conduct detailed inspections after every two hours of flight. Maintenance performed by the

PIC is limited to repairing Small cracks, replacing a propeller, checking electrical

connections and updating software and firmware for the on­board computer. All other

maintenance will be performed by the manufacturer or their designated repair facility. The

PIC will document work performed in accordance with 91.417. We feel that due to the size,

construction, and simplicity of the aircraft, the PIC can ensure an equivalent level of safety.

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8900.227 Paragraph 16(c)(4) PIC Medical. and Paragraph 16(e)(1) Observer

Medical.

This policy provides that both the PIC and VO must have a valid FAA second­class

medical certificate issued under part 67 in order to perform as a pilot or observer. The UA

maximum gross weight is 3.5 pounds, it is constructed of carbon fiber and plastic and the

PIC is not on board. Both the PIC and the VO are required to be in VLOS. Given the

unlikely event that both the PIC and VO become medically incapacitated while the aircraft

is in flight, the UA will return autonomously to the site of launching and land without crew

intervention.

Therefore, requiring the PIC and VO to meet the same medical requirements as a

commercial pilot carrying passengers in a large aircraft is an unnecessary burden. We

propose that the minimum medical requirements for the PIC and VO be vision corrected to

20/20 and a valid, state issued driver's license. The 20/20 vision requirement will ensure

that the PIC and VO can see and avoid air traffic; a licensed driver is medically qualified to

operate a much larger vehicle.

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APPENDIX A – FLIGHT MANUAL

FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS

A ­ No flight will be made with a UA Gross weight exceeding 55 pounds;

B ­ All operations must occur in FAA Class G airspace at no more than 400' AGL, at an

airspeed of no more than 50 knots and no further than 3/4 NM from the PIC;

C ­ All operations must utilize a visual observer (VO). The VO and PIC must be able to

communicate verbally at all times during a flight operation;

D ­ Operations will be restricted to flights over property with the permission of the property

owner;

E ­ The PIC must have accumulated and logged, in a manner consistent with 14 CFR §

61.51 (b), a minimum of 100 flight cycles and 25 hours of total time as a UA rotorcraft pilot

and at least ten hours logged as a UA pilot with a similar UA type;

F ­ All required permits will be obtained from state and local government prior to

operation; The ME System will not be operated over densely populated areas; The ME

System will not be operated at air shows;

G ­ The ME System will not be operated over any open­air assembly of people;

H ­ The ME System will not be operated over heavily trafficked roads; The ME System will

not be operated within 5 NM of an airport or heliport; Operations will be restricted to day

only and weather conditions equivalent to VFR; The PIC will brief the VO and property

owner about the operation and risk before the first flight at each new location; No flight may

be made without a successful Pre­Flight Inspection by the PIC before each operation to

ascertain that the UA is in a condition safe for flight.

PREFLIGHT CHECKLIST

1. Remote controller, aircraft battery, and mobile device are fully charged.

2. Propellers are mounted correctly and firmly.

3. Micro­SD card has been inserted if necessary.

4. Gimbal is functioning as normal.

5. Motors can start and are functioning as normal.

6. Q500’s Pilot app connected to the aircraft.

TO REGAIN CONTROL AFTER LOST RADIO CONTACT

If radio contact is lost and not restored within 3 seconds, an automatic Return to Home

feature is activated and will bring the UAV back to the PIC.

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