4114 Rose Garden Dr. Toledo, Ohio 43623 E

- Mail: phil@toledoaerialmedia.com

Web: www.toledoaerialmedia.com

Phone: 567

- 225

- 2323

Date: November 17, 2014

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



### RE: Petition of Utility Aerial Services, Inc. for Exemption Pursuant to Section 333
of the FAA Reform Act

Attn: To whom it may concern

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act) and
14 C.F.R . Part 11, Toledo Aerial Media LLC, operator of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“sUASs”) equipped to conduct aerial photography and videog raphy , hereby applies for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations (“FARs”) to allow commercial operation of its sUASs, so long as such operations are conducted within and under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established by th e FAA as required by Section 333.1

As described more fully below, the requested exemption would permit the operation of small, unmanned and relatively inexpensive sUAS under controlled conditions in airspace that is 1) limited 2) predetermined and 3) con trolled

. The proposed exemption, if granted, would allow Toledo Aerial Media LLC to conduct commercial operations of small unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”) meeting or exceeding all of the operational and safety requirements Congress has set
forth in Secti on 333

.Page 2

Toledo Aerial Media LLC is a media/ technology company that plans to exploit the capabilities of Unmanned Aerial Systems to offer a multitude of services, including:

- Aerial surveying

- Remote sensing

- Event Photography /Videography

- Agriculture purposes

- Real Estate Photography

- Aerial filmmaking and photography

- Construction site inspections and monitoring

- Wildlife a nd forestry monitoring

- Educa tional and research operations

Statutory Authority Section 333, titled “Special Rules for Certain Unmanned Aircraft Systems”, provides a mechanism for seeking expedited FAA authorization of safe civil UAS operations i n the NAS. Section 333(a) states that the FAA “shall determine if certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the national airspace system before completion of the (comprehensive) plan and rulemaking required by section 332(b)(1) of this Act or the guidance required by section 334 of this Act.” In Section 332(b)(1), Congress made it clear that Section 333 provides a mechanism for “expedited operation authorization” if several factors are met. Petitioner meets all requirements to permit FAA appro val of commercial UAS ope rations.

The Petitioner Requests Relief From the Following: Regulations from which the exemption is requested:
14 C.F.R. Part 21 14 C.F.R. 45.23 (b) 14 C.F.R. 61.113(a) and (b) 14 C.F.R. 91.7 (a) 14 C.F.R. 91.9 (b) (2)
14 C.F.R. 91.109
14 C.F.R . 91.119 14 C.F.R. 91.121Page 3

14 C.F.R. 91.151(a) 14 C.F.R. 91.203 (a) & (b) 14 C.F.R. 91.205 (b)
14 C.F.R. 91.215 14 C.F.R. (91.401

- 91.417)

Unmanned Aircraft System sUAVs are oftentimes seen as superior to helicopters due to the smaller devices che aper equipment and personnel cost, reduced noise and as such, a much smaller environmental impact which promotes public safety.

We are petitioning for exemption to enable Toledo Aerial Media LLC to operate a DJI Phantom 2 vision plus equipped with a thr ee - axis g imbal s and using High

- Def c amera s . This sUAV has a
built

- in capability to limit the height it flies above the ground, to limit the radius of the distance it flies from the operator and to exclude it from Class B, C and D airspace including a no f ly zone
feature. The Phantom also has the failsafe function of the Naza

- M autopilot system which
means when the communication between the Main Controller and the transmitter is disconnected, the outputs of all command sticks from controller will go to the center position. If the GPS signal is good enough, the system will automatically trigger Return to Home and will land safely.

The above specifications meet with the Model Aircraft Operating Standards as set
below:

• Toledo Aerial Media LLC will only ope rate its sUAS in line of sight of a pilot and/or observer and will operate at sites that are a 'sufficient distance' from populated areas within the sterile area described in the FOPM. Such operations will insure that the sUAS will "not create a hazard
to users of the national airspace system or the public."

• When flying sUAV within 3 miles of an airport, airport operators will be notified and the operator will give the right of way to avoid flying in the proximity of full

- scale aircraft.

• Maximum flight time for each operational flight will be 30 minutes.

• Flights will be terminated at 25% battery power reserve should that occur prior to the
30 minute limit.Page 4

• The sUAV will be programmed so that it will not be operated at an altitude of no more
than 4 00 feet AGL, and not more than 200 feet above an elevated platform from which filming is planned.

• Minimum crew for each operation will consist of the sUAS Pilot, and Visual Observer.

• The sUAS operated by the petitioner weighs less than 55 pounds, includ ing the payload (i.e. camera, lens, and gimbal).

• The sUAV will operate at speeds of no more than 50 knots, can hover, and can simultaneously move vertically and horizontally.

• Given the small size of the sUAS and the restricted sterile environment withi n which they will operate, our sUAS operations adhere to the Reform Act's safety requirements.

The UA, powered by batteries, is smaller, lighter and more ma neuverable 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 an d maximum flight time of only 20 minutes, this is offers little or no risk to n ational security.

Low level oblique photos and video from several angles are far more effective than ground based imagery for displaying the characteristics of large, complex properties with several buildings and large trees. The applicants in the past h ave chartered 2

- seat full

- sized helicopters for this purpose, which has proven more costly t han many potential clients have been able to afford. The benefits of reduced cost and improv ed quality of presentation from
the UA will be valuable to and benefit m any buyers and sellers of real property.

Additionally, we request that we be allowed to use our sys tem to benefit first responders nearby who might require assistance, including fire fighters, the police, the sheriff, et al., while remaining subje ct to all limitations cited in this application as we do so.

(a) No flight will be made with a Gross weight exceeding 55 pounds;Page 5

(b) All operations must occur in FAA Class G airspace at no more than 400 ft AGL, at

an airspeed of no more than 2 5 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 pr ivate property with the permission of
the property owner; ( e ) All required permits will be obtained from state and local government prior to operation; (f ) Toledo Aerial Media LLC will not be operate over densely populated areas; (g ) Toledo Aeri al Media LLC w ill not be operating over any open - air assembly of people; (h ) Toledo Aerial Media LLC will not be operating over heavily trafficked roads; (i) Toledo Aerial Media LLC will not be operating within 5 NM of an airport or heliport;

Add itionally Toledo Aerial Media LLC is a member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA # 1061631) the largest model aviation association in the world. The AMA is a world class association is 170,000 modelers and 2394 clubs throughout the United States. The AMA offers numerous competitions, educational programs, advocacy, liability protection, outstanding publications and the world’s largest model aviation museum.

We respectfully request exemption under Section 333 to enable Toledo Aerial Media LLC to oper ate efficient, limited, low

- risk commercial sUAV operations for the activities stated respecting at all times the space and privacy of citiz ens and property whilst keeping
our skies safe.

Sincerely

Phil Myers
Toledo Aerial Media LLC
www.tol edoaerialmedia.com phil@toledoaerialmedia.com
567

- 225

- 2323Page 6

EXEMPTION REQUESTS AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

Toledo Aerial Media LLC requests an exemption from the following regulations as well as any additional regulations that may technically apply to the operation of the sUAV System:

14 CFR Part 21, Airworthiness Certificates This part establishes the procedures for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate. While the FAA continues to work to develop airworthiness standards f or Unmanned Aerial Systems, we request an experimental certificate be issued for the DJI Phantom 2 vision plus under either or both of the following provisions: 21.191 Experimental certificates. Experimental certificates are issued for the following purpo ses:

(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 a nd 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 fu nction 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 plast ic, 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 o f 14 CFR Part 21, Subpart H,Page 7

and the requirement for an airworthiness certificate in general, citing the equivalent level of safety outlined in the previous paragraph.

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 sUAV 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 (Pilot In Control) , VO (Visual Observer) and others in the vicinity of the aircraft while it is preparing for launch will be able to see the designation. Additiona lly, 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 "U nmanned 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.

1 4 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 co mpensation 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
pa ssengers or property for compensation or hire. Our proposed operations require that the PIC must hold at least a Private Pilot Certificate issued by the FAA and since the aircraft cannot carry passengers or property, we feel we meet the intent of 61.113 Su bparagraph (b) even though the intent of this application is to conduct a business.

14 CFR 91.7 Prohibits the Operation of an aircraft without an airworthiness certificate

. As no such certificate will be applicable in the form contemplated by the FARs, t his Regulation is inapplicable.Page 8

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 i ntent 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 w ould 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 sUAS Flight Manual must be available to the crew at the ground station anytime the aircraft is in, or preparing for, flight. 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 sUAS System ground

based control station consists of a small hand

- held 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 "hands

- on" the controls during flight, we feel that this technique meets the intent 91.109 and provides an equivalent level of safety.

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 typical mission of the sUAS would be photography or survey of persons, vessels, vehicles or structures i t would be necessary to operate closer than 500 feet to the items listed. Operations will only be flown over property or persons where permission has been obtained and careful pre

- planned has been performed. 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 UAS, the hazard to persons, vehicles and structures is minimal compared to manned airc raft, which should be considered in granting the exemption.

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 sUAS
wi ll 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 thePage 9

takeoff point is transmitted via radio from the sUAS on

- board 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 day

- vFR
conditions unless t here 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 sUAV is battery operated and the maximum duration of flight from a single battery charge is 12 minutes with a 20% reserve. Since the aircraft will never fly more than 3f4 NM from the point of intended landing, a full battery charge
at launch will ensure that we meet the reserve en ergy requirement of this paragraph. We request an exemption to the word "fuel" and ask for an equivalent interpretation with the word "energy".

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 tha t it is legible to passengers or crew." At a maximum gross weight of 5.3 pounds, the sUAS 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 th e intent of 91.203, we propose that documents deemed appropriate for this aircraft by the FAA will be co

located with the crew at the ground control station and available for inspection upon request. In order to identify the aircraft, we propose that the i nformation 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.

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." ThePage 10

PIC will ensure that the aircraf t 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 on

- board 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, co nstruction, and simplicity of the aircraft, the PIC can ensure an equivalent level of safety.

Safety and Benefits of the UAS
T oledo Aerial Media LLC will be using the UAS in a variety of applications that generally require expensive full

- size manned aircraft to complete. Small, light, unmanned aerial vehicles offer myriad benefits over the use of full

- sized manned aircraft for el ectric power line inspection, oil/gas pipeline inspection, advanced agriculture, film and still photography, just to name a few. Replacing significantly larger manned aircraft carrying crew and flammable fuel with small UAS carrying no passengers or crew c reates a much greater margin of safety for the pilots and crew. By granting Toledo Aerial Media LLC ‘ s requested exemptions, the FAA will help drive development of safe and successful commercial UAS operations and will advance the public knowledge base fo r such operations. Toledo Aerial Media LLC is committed to promoting the UAS research efforts of policymakers including the FAA, NASA, DOD and DARPA by sharing data from its commercial UAS operations and serving as a resource for future UAS research operat ions. Thus, the FAA has good cause to grant this Petition.

Conclusion

As pointed out in this application, all the SUAs which our company would use, under authorization by the US DOT

- FAA, are small, light

- weight devices operated within the line of sight of the Pilot

- in

- Command (PIC), less than 400 feet above the ground and outside 5 miles from any airport, heliport, seaplane base, spaceport, or other location with aviation activities, unless the air traffic control authorities (ATC) have been notified an d have authorized each flight
within a radius of this distance.Page 11

All our SUAs have proven capability for controlled flight. They are devices offered for general
sale on the market around the world and have often been used as Model Aircraft in the USA.
We a re certain that the studies conducted until now by the FAA, about Section 332, Public Law
112

- 95, 2014, have already provided you with the assurances on the airworthiness of SUAs
such as ours.

For the foregoing reasons, the exemptions requested herein sh ould be granted and Toledo
Aerial Media LLC should be permitted to conduct small UAS operations in accordance with its manuals and all other operating parameters deemed necessary and appropriate by the FAA. The submission of this application and its conte nts is the best demonstration that indeed it is possible to pursue the authorization process so that some SUAs may be used for legitimate commercial activities and under reasonably safe conditions.



### 4114 Rose Garden Dr. Toledo, Ohio 43623 E

- Mail: phil@toledoaerialmedia.com

Web: www.toledoaerialmedia.com

Phone: 567

- 225

- 2323