July 8, 2015 

Jacob Jones 

1351 Grand Canyon Cir 

Franklin, IN 46131 

Cell (219) 669-7622 

Email: jjones1986@gmail.com

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Management System 

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

RE: Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act of 2012 

Attachments: 

1) Phantom 2 Vision+ User Manual V1.6 

2) 3DR Solo User Manual 

3) Flight Log 

References: 

1) FAA Exemption No. 11138, Regulatory Docket No. FAA20140481 

in the matter of the petition of DOUGLAS TRUDEAU 

2) FAA Exemption No. 11136, Regulatory Docket No. FAA–2014–0508 in 

the matter of the petition of ADVANCED AVIATION SOLUTIONS LLC 

3) FAA Exemption No. 11080 Regulatory Docket No. FAA20140355 

in the matter of the petition of FLYING CAM INC 

4) FAA Exemption No. 11437 Regulatory Docket No. FAA20150221 

in the matter of the petition of MARCUS D MELHUS 

Dear Sir or Madam, 

In accordance with the FAA’s Guidelines for Submitting a Petition for Exemption under 

section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, I Jacob N. Jones, referred to 

hereafter as the petitioner, request exemption from the following sections of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations §§ 

61.113(a); 61.113(b); 91.119(c); 91.121; 91.151(a); 91.405(a); 91.407(a)(1); 91.409 

(a)(1); 91.409(a)(2); 91.417(a) & (b); 

In order to operate small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) commercially in airspace 

regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the purposes of aerial photography, 

cinematography, videography, and other flight operations that could be performed safely and 

more cost effectively with the use of small UAS at low altitude within the U.S. national airspace 

system as compared to a manned aircraft. Operations will be in support of local fire 
departments and related emergency service agencies, focusing on pre-incident planning and 

imaging that would form the basis for incident action plans in the event of a real emergency. 

Operations will be performed only at the request of and with the authorization and permission 

of clients (municipalities) or their authorized agents in order to improve incident pre-planning 

and raise awareness of the beneficial uses of small unmanned air systems for use within the fire 

service to improve their ability to respond in the event of a real incident. 

So long as such operations are conducted within and under the conditions outlined 

herein or as may be established by the FAA as required by Section 333. The conditions 

identified and proposed by the petitioner are drawn from references 1-3. 

The FARs 

The petitioner seeks exemption from the above mentioned FARs for the following 

reasons; 

61.113(a) & (b); 

The petitioner requests relief in order to facilitate the utilization of an experienced UAS 

operator with the addition of a trained observer. All pre-flight inspection, maintenance and 

flight logs will be saved and made available to the FAA and Secretary of Transportation (SoT) for 

review; with the purpose of safely integrating civil UAS operation in the National Airspace 

System. 

91.119(c) 

As discussed in Exemption 11138 (DOUGLAS TRUDEAU), operations conducted closer 

than 500 feet to the ground may require that the UA be operated closer than 500 feet to 

essential persons, or objects that would not be possible without additional relief. The petitioner 

requests modification, waiver or exemption and clarification concerning the terms “congested 

areas” and “densely populated”. The petitioner requests waiver for this condition to allow 

reasonable and responsible operations in areas of subdivisions and neighborhoods if required. 

The petitioner will primarily operate the UAS between ground level and 200 feet. The UAS will 

be operated over designated properties with the consent of the local municipality or their 

designated agent and while maintaining a safe distance from persons. The petitioner will 

compile flight data from the logs. This data may assist the FAA in development of regulations 

for commercial operations in low-risk, controlled environments. 

91.121 

As discussed in Exemption 11138 (DOUGLAS TRUDEAU) is inapplicable since the 

UAS does not have an altimeter and instead utilizes electronic GPS with a barometric sensor for 

altitude information. 

91.151(a) 

As discussed in Exemption 11136 (ADVANCED AVIATION SOLUTIONS LLC) prior relief has 

been granted for manned aircraft to operate at less than the prescribed minimums, including 

Exemption Nos. 2689, 5745, and 10650. In addition, similar UAS specific relief has been granted 

in Exemption Nos. 8811, 10808, and 10673 for daytime, VFR conditions. The UAS provides 

battery power remaining in percent to the PIC. The UA batteries provide approximately 

25 minutes of powered flight. Information provided in the operating documents discusses 

procedures regarding remaining battery power management. Those documents contain a 

condition in which the PIC will initiate a landing procedure when battery remaining reaches a 
specified level. Given the limitations on proposed operations and the location of those 

proposed operations, The FAA found that a reduced minimum power reserve for flight in 

daytime VFR conditions was reasonable. 

91.405(a); 91.407(a)(1); 91.409 (a)(1) & (2); 91.417(a) & (b) 

As discussed in Exemption 11138 (DOUGLAS TRUDEAU), The petitioner proposes to 

inspect and ensure that the UAS is in a condition for safe flight in accordance with the operating 

documents. The FAA found that adherence to the petitioner’s operating documents and the 

conditions and limitations specified, describing the requirements for maintenance, inspection, 

and recordkeeping, were sufficient to ensure that safety would not be adversely affected. 

The UAS 

The DJI Phantom 2 vision plus & 3DR SOLO are highly successful consumer grade small 

rotorcrafts in the quadcopter configuration with an advertised weight of less than 44 Ounces 

(1242g) designed primarily to carry aloft a high definition camera. It has an advertised 

maximum speed of less than 30 knots (15m/s) and a maximum climb rate of less than 1200 feet 

per minute (6 m/s). It is powered by four electric motors with a distance between motors of 

less than 14 inches (350mm). It utilizes an internal inertial measuring unit (IMU) with integrated 

barometric sensor augmented with global positioning system (GPS) to maintain its geospatial 

orientation and position. It is controlled primarily through an FCC certified radio control (RC) 

unit. Real time video and telemetry information is transmitted back to a ground control station 

allowing the operator and/or PIC to monitor battery level, GPS signal strength, altitude (AGL), 

distance from PIC, camera imagery, and control camera angle. It has failsafe modes of 

operation for either loss of RC or GPS signal. Altitude can be limited by the onboard flight 

controller and maximum altitude can be preprogrammed by the PIC. Battery life limits flight 

times to approximately 25 minutes. The onboard flight controller will warn the pilot via 

telemetry and external lighting cues before reaching a low battery state. An automatic 

termination of flight and landing will be initiated when the battery reaches a predetermined 

low state. It is anticipated that flights will usually last less than 12 minutes. More information is 

available in attachments. 

Risk mitigation 

The petitioner has reviewed FAA exemptions reference’s 1-3 Conditions and Limitations 

section and believes that the procedures specified therein are reasonable and will be utilized in 

order to manage and mitigate risk and ensure public safety. A preflight checklist will be 

developed and employed to ensure that the UA airworthiness will be verified before launch. 

Airworthiness will be maintained by performance of routine inspections before each flight, 

maintaining flight and maintenance logs to record time on failure prone components. These 

documents will be made available to the FAA and SoT to assist in future implementation of 

safety standards and regulations. The petitioner will only operate the UAS over designated 

properties with the clients consent. Flight plans will be predetermined to limit the UASs flight 

time and limit safety concerns. The petitioner will take into account distance from persons and 

potential flight obstacles prior to operating the UAS. UAS operation will always be within VLOS 

of the PIC and the observer. 
Public interest 

Use of the UAS in lieu of a manned aircraft would enhance safety and reduce the 

environmental impact as compared to similar operations conducted with manned aircraft of 

greater proportions, carrying a crew and flammable fuel. With the ability to easily and cost 

effectively gain a perspective of complex and possibly high risk environments, fire departments 

can more effectively develop pre-plans to mitigate any situations that arise. Moreover, the 

ability to periodically review building roof modifications and loads significantly improves 

situational awareness and improves the safety of both firefighters and occupants. Additionally, 

effective use of this technology will allow smaller fire departments to maximize their resources 

on mitigating actual issues as opposed to wasting precious time getting a “big picture” 

perspective in a real incident. Operations for this petition will enable fire departments to gain 

an enhanced perspective for characteristics, exposures and hazards associated with a particular 

property that cannot be gained through ground level inspection. Aerial surveying and 

inspections can increase planning efficiency, improve resource estimations, and reduce risks to 

personnel and property. 

The petitioner will provide clients with photographic data for these purposes on a ‘for hire’ 

basis acting as an independent contractor. A visual observer will be utilized. Flight data 

including UA flight time, Control Unit operation time, incident, accident, and details concerning 

any deviations from normal operations will be available to FAA for use in collecting data 

regarding the use of UAS as part of this application. This data may be submitted to FAA via 

traditional means or other means as required. 

Conclusion 

The petitioner is requesting this exemption for the purposes of “aerial photography, 

cinematography, videography, inspections and other flight operations”. The reason for such a 

general and broad based request is that the petitioner wishes to provide services to fire 

departments and other emergency service providers that can only be provided through the 

quick deployment and cost effective operations provided by a UAS. It is believed that these 

services will allow clients to significantly improve their pre-planning and situational awareness 

which in turn will lead to more efficient mitigation of incidents, thereby reducing property loss 

and improved the safety of both building occupants and emergency services personnel. The 

petitioner's business model is based on the idea of offering ad hoc small UAS services to clients 

who wish to employ these services as a safe, effective, and legal option to enhance their 

operations. By providing this service to multiple clients, the petitioner can ensure adherence to 

standards and protocols and can develop and refine generally applicable safety guidelines and 

processes. The petitioner has refrained from engaging in commercial use of the UAS. The 

primary purpose of seeking this exemption is to obtain the capability to offer those services 

while remaining in compliance. The petitioner has 4 years of experience in the radio control 

model aircraft hobby. 

Respectfully submitted 

Jacob N. Jones