US Department of T ransportation

Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington DC 20590

RE: Exemption Request Under Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and Part 1 of the Federal Aviation Regulations

Dear Sir or Madame,

In accordance with Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act Section 333) Subsection Subsection (f): Exemptions of 49 U.S.C. § 44701 and 14 C.F.R. Part 11 (§11.61

- §11.101), Part §61.3, The VMJR Companies respectfully seeks exemption from the following FAA regulations:

14 C.F.R. § 61.23 (a) (c)

14 C.F.R. § 61.315 (a)

14 C.F.R. § 61.101 (e 4

- 5)

14 C.F.R. § 91.121

14 C.F.R. § 91.151 (a: 1)

14 C.F.R. § 91.405 (a)

14 C.F.R. § 91.409 (a: 1

- 2)

14 C.F.R. §91.417 (a)

14 C.F.R . § 61.113 (a)(b) Pilot in Command

14 C.F.R. § 91.7 (a) Airworthiness

14 C.F.R. §91.109 (a) Flight Instruction

14 C.F.R. § 91.407 (a: 1)

14 C.F.R. § 91.7 (a) Airworthiness

The VMJR Companies is a construction firm that collectively is comprised of itself and

two subsidaries subsidiaries ; Adirondack Construction and Sweet Construction. The VMJR Cos. provides construction services as a general contractor in Healthcare, Education, Industrial, Hospitality, Retail, Office . Historic Restoratio n and Corporatevenues. We are requesting exemption from the aforementioned FAA Regulations and to

be allowed to use and operate the DJI Phantom 2 Vision Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) in order to attain aerial imagery, inspection and data collection for our pr ojects at various construction sites in primarily central Upstate New York State primarily . The information collected by the UAS will aid The VMJR Companies in inspection and monitoring of these sites, which will ultimately result in enhancement of safety for our employees and economic efficacy of our clients.

The safety and public benefits of using the UAS in commercial construction are enormous. Use of an UAS will completely eliminate the necessity of operating a manned aircraft in unconventional operatio ns, such as hovering over a site for aerial footage. Not only will the UAS provide the same benefits of footage taken by a

manned aircraft, but with a maximum flight time of 25 (twenty

- five) minutes. This would translate to a significantly reduced impact o n our environment insofar as fuel that would be used to operate a manned aircraft and the known hazards to avian species in our region. The use of an UAS will also provide a limit to the number of inspections necessary to operate and maintain a constructio n site, which will inherently mean a limitation to the frequency of use of: lifts, scaffolding, ladders and other equipment used for heights above surface levels. Injuries (and even fatality) of work such as this are well known and well documented. As such , the use of an UAS will inherently translate to increased safety of our employees and subcontractors.

Operations relative to this exemption will be manifested with strict operational procedure requirements and pre

- operational conditions that will ensure a minimal level of safety to that which has been prescribed and which are required currently by the FAA. The DJI Phantom 2 Vision weights 1000 grams (approximately 2.204 lbs) and is powered electrically via lithium batteries that electrically drive propelle rs. The maximum speed of this UAS is no more than 15 m/s, which will be operated (pending your review of this request) under controlled conditions and low altitudes and is designed with integrated fail

- safe components.

The following criterion will be used for all flights:

I. All flight operations will be subject to a mandatory pre

- flight inspection in which the operator or Pilot in Command and Visual Observer will verify and validate (using a two point checking system for increased operational safety):

II. ?

a) ?

Perform a visual inspection of the UAS for:

1. UAS in clean operating condition, with no exterior damage to body to: i. Propellers ii. Body

2. Transmission signal verification3. Router verification

4. Toggle switches verification

5. Gimbal lock/ Lens cap removed

6. SD Card Inserted

7. UAS battery fully charged and inserted

8. UAS in clear, safe launch position if it returns to home

9. Wifi connection secure

10. Satelite connection(s) verified

11. Video recording on

If there is a discrepancy relative to verification of any of the chec k points mandated, the UAS will not be operated until both parties have resolved, using a third party source (manual, maintenance provider or expert of the product).

3. Operator Designations

1. a) All operations will be overseen by both a designated pilot (PIC) and a visual

observer (VO)

2. b) The UAS will always remain in the visual line of sight (VLOS) of BOTH

the Visual Observer and the PIC,

3. c) The designated Pilot and Visual observers must remain in a range close

enough at all times, to communicate verbally without aid(s).

4. d) The positions and appointments of the PIC and VO will be delineated prior

to flight

5. e) The PIC and VO designations will not be transferred at any point during the

flight.

4. Flight Parameters

1. a) The UAS will not exceed an operational alt itude of 400 feet

2. b) The UAS will not be operated at a speed greater than 33 miles per hour

during any operation.

3. c) The UAS shall not be operated at any location with a high

density population4. d) The UAS shall not ever be operated within five (5) miles of any municipal airport are 1 mile from any operation in which a control tower/ radio tower is used for communication of aviation endeavor

5. e) The UAS shall not be operated at any site in which anyone other than the

employees of VMJR Companies or affilia te(s) of the client are present and furthermore:

6. f) That the individuals at the site of flight operation(s) are all notified of such

operations

7. g) The UAS shall not be used in any location aside from those work site’s or

project site’s in which The VMJR Companies is directly affiliated with as a General Contractor (or in the rare case of subcontracting, shall seek to attain a separate CAO for that specified site).

The VMJR Companies seeks relief such as in the precedent set with Douglas Trudeau under exem ption 11138 in which relef was granted under similar circumstance such as air

- worthiness of the UAS being used for the same purpose of collection of aerial photography, aerial videography and for educational purpose of heighteing the awareness of the site. Contrary to this exemption, we will be educating our employees and project management of data collected that can not otherwise be attained at ground level without scaffolding, ladders and the like.

The VMJR Companies seeks relief from:

14 C.F.R. § 61.113 (a)(b) Pilot in Command

The VMJR Companies seeks relief from 14 C.F.R. 61.113 (a) (b) to operate our single UAS (DJI Phantom 2 Vision) without a Commercial Pilot Certification from the FAA or third class airman medical certification. The size of this aircr aft and other operational delineations such as weight, speed and maximum flight time would render this aircraft as being safe to operate wi th such credentials such as our Project Management and affiliated employees. We will propose that any employee select ed to operate our UAS will meet a requirement of having at minimum 20 hours of prior experience; documented and signed off on by a supervisor for each employee that would be considered for PIC or VO).

This exemption is especially important to us because this would significantly effect the operational success of our company insofar as having to send any one of our talented project enginee rs to gain such a certification, in addition to the undue cost of such a certification (which we have found to cost anyw here from $3k

- $8k. As such, the cost incurred in such an endeavor, the loss of talent on any given job site as weighed to the benefits of attaining ‘proper certification’ would not balance.

We propose that we employ not only a self designated PIC (provid ed that we attain exemption relief) AND a Visual Observer for each and every flight operation that occurs. We propose operational flight parameters that entail a single individual to pilot our UAS and an additional ’spotter’ to maintain sight of the UAS IN ADDITION to the pilotalways having the UAS in a visual line of sight. We believe that this action would suffice

the need to maintain an additional certification that is specific to piloting the UAS under these regulations.

* If the FAA finds that relie f may not be granted, alternatively we request a 180 day grace period in which we may operate our UAS in accordance with legal requirements , to afford us the 4

- 6 months of training that must be allocated for one of our employees in seeking a private pilot license.

Section 91.109

We seek relief from Section 91.109 so that in the future, if an employee expresses interest in maintaining the minimum flight requirements necessary to operate our UAS (of 20 hours of flight time) that we have the ability to allow for these trainings. We p ropose that we conduct dedicated training sessions in which a previously designated PIC may conduct new training exercises with new employees and that relief from 61.113 translates into a designee (rather than one holding a private pilot license) be able t o train new pilots on operational matters.

We further assert that all training exercises will be documented in terms of recording both hours spent on operations and subject content domains that were covered in these exercises. We propose that these recor ds also be maintained for a minimum of five (5) years from the date of each training.

14 C.F.R. Part 21, Certification Procedures for Products

We are seeking relief for this statutory criterion in accordance with Section 333 since our aircraft meets the conditions of Section 333. As such, it is not necessary to mandate testing requirements and noise certifications of part 36. Our aircraft is ~ 2lbs (including camera component), unlike the manned aircrafts that would generally be subject to a requirement s uch as this. With our ~2 lb UAS, we will be able to accomplish conducting aerial photography and site inspection(s) if necessary without endangering the lives of onboard crew members; which often times are on a craft weighing many thousands of pounds. Our pilot and crew will be safely at ground level, greatly reducing any associated risk of flying an aircraft in standard aerial operations. Additionally, our UAS operates without fuel (electrically)safely and will hold the same level of safety (at least, if n ot a greater level of safety) insofar as having presets that allow for auto

- piloting in the event of a failure, back to a pre

- designated home base (which is delineated at take off).

14 C.F.R. 91.405 (a), 91.407 (a) (1), 91.409 (a) (1), 91.409 (a) (1) (2) , 91.417 (a) (b): Inspection, Maintenance and OperationThe VMJR Companies employs Engineers and construction professionals who are well

equipped to (as an alternative to the prescribed91.409 & (a) (2) regarding inspection, self

inspect the UAS prior to an y operation. We seek relief from mandate and propose that we inspect the UAS with a prescribed checklist (preflight) that ensures that all components of the UAS are fully operational in addition to a pre

- flight test consisting of movement in North, South, East, West, max/ min altitude and confirmation that all directionals are fully functional with RC for a safe flight.

Each and every operation that takes place will be signed off on the crew

- members (PIC) and (VO) and kept for 5 years.

Section 91.7(a ) wh ich prescribes that no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is in an airworthy condition.

The VMJR Companies asserts that with the exemption, we will in lieu of an airworthiness certification, shall maintain pre

- operational flight check list that will be checked and validated with two separate individuals and that if a discrepancy occurs, that the UAS shall not take flight until the UAS is replaced or the issue has been resolved with a third party expert or consult.

We also further assert that the pilot in command will adhere to pre

- flight action referenced above and take any necessary precaution that must be maintained in observation of the weather m and visibility, UAS battery power, aircraft performance in

pre

- flight test and any other associated risk in the vicinity. The return to home navigation sequence will also be employed to further mitigate any risk associated with operating the UAS.

The VMJR Co mpanies asserts that the designated operator (PIC) shall be held responsible for all documentation of pre

- flight records, maintenance records and other such documents pertaining to flight, operation, incidental FAA reporting and maintenance of UAS for each flight.

We also re assert that the craft will not be used outside of designated ‘ work ’ or construction zones and will only be used when those areas are free of human occupants other than the designated operator and visual observer at all times.