Septe m

ber 30, 2015

U. S . Depar t m ent of T

ransportation

Docket M a n age m ent System

1200 New Je r sey A

ve., SE

W ash i ngton, DC 20590

Re: Pet i tion of Jensen Design and Survey Inc.

, f or an Exemption Pur s u a nt t o Se c t ion 333

of the F AA Mode r niz a t i on and Re f o r m Act of 2012

.

Director: Fl i ght S tand a rds Servic e :

Pursuant t o Sect i on 333 of the F AA Mode r niza t i o n and Re f o rm Act of 2012 ("Reform Act") and

14 C. F .R. P a rt 1 1, Jensen Design and Survey Inc. ( “ J D S ”) h er e by ap p l i e s for an exe mpt i on

from the Federal A

via t ion R e gulations ( " F

A R s") i d ent i fied b e l o w to al l ow c o m m er c ial o peration

of s m all u n m a n ned aerial v e hic l e s ( i

. e., "s m all un m a nned a i rcraf t " or "UA S ") f

or t he purp o se o f

conduc t ing a erial cont r o l l ed f l igh t s for ae r ial geo m at i c s (sur v e y ing) fac i l i ti e s, bui l di n gs,

cons t ruction insp e c t i on a nd ae r ial photog r am m et r y for i ts custo m er s ; pub l ic a g encies, schools,

co mm er c ial and res i d ential deve l op e rs, ene r gy companies a nd a gr i c u l t ure.

This peti t ion for exe m

pt i on is m ade ba s ed on infor m at i on outlined i n th i s Pet i tion f or E xe m pt i on,

as well as t h e ac c o m

panying I m agin a t i on T

ech n olog i es d o c u m ent s ;

1. PIC Flight Opera t ions Manual an d ;

2. Opera t ions Manuals

(Collectiv e ly 2 and 3 are referred to as “ Docu m e nts & Man u al s ")

3. User Guide and;

4. Flight Man u al 1

(Collectiv e ly 3 and 4 are referred to as "M a nuf a ctu r e r ' s Manu a ls")

JDS su b m i t s th e s e support i ng m at e r i als as confidential docu m ents pursuant to 1 4 C. F .R. §

1 1.35(b )

, a s the m at e r i a ls cont a in con f iden t ial c omm er c ial a n d/or pro p r i e tary infor m at i on that

JDS h as not and w i l l n o t share with o t h e r r e ques t ing pa r t i es. Add i t i o nal l y

, the s e docu m ents

cont a in ope r at i ng con d it i ons and p r o c edures t h at are not ge n e rally availab l e to t he pu b lic and a re

pro t e c ted f

r o m rele a se u nder the Fr e edom o f Infor m at i on Act, 5 U.S. C . § 552 et. s eq.

1

. T he t e rm "Manufac t

urer ' s M an u a l " al s o i n c ludes all r e l ev a nt m an u fact u r e r publ i ca t ion s

, i nclu d i ng, but n o t l i m i t ed

to: o pe r a t i o ns and fli g ht m an u a l s, us e r g u i d e s, c o m p o n e nt m a i ntena n ce m an u a ls , pi l ot t r a i ning m an u a l s, se r vice

in f o r m a t ion le t t e rs a n d, safet y /s e r v i c e b u l l e t in s

.U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 2

For your c o nveni e nce, t h is Pe t ition is o r gani z ed as follows:

I. Descr i ption of Pe t ition e r

II. Descr i ption of P r oposed Opera t i o ns

A. Aer i al Con t

rolled Flights for Aer i al G eo m at i cs ( Surveying) F ac i li t ie s , Bu i ldings,

Constru c ti o n Inspection a nd Aerial Photogram m et r y

III. Relevant S ta t utory A u t h ori t y

IV. JDS ’ s P r oposed U A S Opera t ions Me e t the R equi r ements of Section

333 of t he Reform Act

A. Approval i s W

ar r ant e d B ased on t he U A S ' s Siz e

, W eigh t , Speed, and Oper a tional

Capabi l ity

B. Approval is W

ar r ant e d B ased on t he Opera t io n al R es t rict i o n s Set Forth in the

Opera t ions Manuals

V. Regulat i ons F r om Which Exempti o n is Request e d

A. 14 C. F

.R. P a rt 21, Subp a rt H

– Airwor t hi n ess Cer t ifica t e s and 14 C. F .R. §

91.203(a) ( 1 )

B. 14 C. F

.R. P a rt 27 Airworthiness S ta n dards: Nor m al Ca t eg o ry R oto r cr a ft

C. 14 C. F

.R. §§ 91.9(c), 45

. 23(b) and 4 5 .27(a): Airc r aft Ma r king and Identi f ication

Require m ents

D. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.405(a), 91

. 407(a) ( 1), 91

. 409(a) ( 1 ) and (2); 91

. 417(a) and (b):

Ma i n t enance Inspectio n s

E. 14 C. F

.R. P a rt 61, 14 C. F

.R. § 61.3, 14 C

. F

.R. § 61. 1 13: Pri va te P i l o t Pri v ileges and

Li m i t at i ons

F. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.7(a): C ivil Aircraft A i rwor t hiness

G. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.9(b ) (2): Civil Aircra f t F l i g h t M a n ual i n the A i rc r aft and 14 C. F .R. §

91.203(a) a n d (b ) : Carrying C iv i l Aircraft Certif i ca t ion and Registration

H. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.103: Preflight A c t i on

I. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.109(a): F l i ght Instru c t i on

J. 14 C. F

.R. § 91. 1 19(c): Min i m

u m S afe Alt i tudes

K. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.121: Alti m et e r Se t t i n gs

L. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.151(a): F uel Requ i r em ents for F l ight in V F R C ondi t ions

V1. Drug and Alcohol P r ogram

VII. Pu b l i c Int e r est

VIII. Privacy

IX. Federal R e gis t er Su m mary

X. Conclusion

I. D E SCRIPTION OF PE T ITIONER

Based in Ventura, Ca l ifornia, is a we l l

- k n own leader in engin e e r i n g,U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 3

geo m at i cs ( s urveying) p lanning, per m i t t i ng, ins p ec t ion, energy m anage m ent, a nd cons t r u c t i on

se r vices.

Brandon Th o m

pson o f Jensen Design and Survey Inc. and his sta f f, a r e ut i lizing the new

te c hno l ogy of ae r ial geo m at i cs (surveyin g ) as part of the Co m pany ’ s engin e e r i ng se r vices. JDS is

ded i c a ted t o prov i ding technol o gically innovative engin e e r i ng solu t io n s for education, indust r y

, and govern m ent t hrough its aerial geo m at i c s and com m er c ial insp e c t i on s ervices. JDS ’ st a f f are

we l l t ra i ned and ex p er i e n ced i n prov i ding support as v isual observ e rs (“V O ”) for the pilot in

com m and (“PIC”) in addit i on to any other needed on site as s istance.

All of the equip m ent o w ned by JDS i s of the high e s t q uality ge a r a nd has been able to prov i de

these se r v i ces sa fely and without any cl a i m s or inc i d ent. JDS ’ goal i s to adv i s e the perspective

cl i e n t t h a t JDS is following all the applica b le s tate and f ede r a l r u l es to en s ure the s afety of the

public w hi l e pro v i d ing t he c l i e n t wi t h a co m petit i ve and cost e f

fective produc t

.

Build i ng u p on i t s e x tensive h i s to r y a nd innovati o n, JDS seeks a n e xe m pt i on to al l ow f

or the

c o m m e r ci a l o p erations of a s m all, le s s than 5 5lbs UAS to facilita t e aerial geo m at i cs

(surve y ing) of f

ac i l i ties, bui l dings a n d cons t ruct i on inspe c t i o n and aerial photog r am m et r y.

Upon the grant of the 3 3 3 Exe m pt i o n the Co m

p a ny’s busin es s will sp e ciali z e in phot o graphy and

videog r aphy m apping a nd geospatial se r vices f or their client bas e

.

JDS ’ st a f f are well t r a ined a nd expe r ienced in p r ovi d ing support as v isu a l obser v ers

(“VO”) for the pil o t i n c o m m and (“ P IC”) in addi t ion t o any o t h er needed on site ass i s tanc e

.

All of the equip m ent o w ned by JDS is of the highe s t q uality ge a r a nd h a s been able to prov i de

these se r v i ces sa fely and without any cl a i m s or inc i d en t

. JDS ’ goal is to adv i s e the perspect i ve

cl i e n t t h a t JDS is fol l owing a ll the a pp l ic a b le s tate and f ede r a l r u l es to en s ure the s afety of the

public w hi l e pro v i d ing t he c l i e n t wi t h a co m petit i ve and cost e f

fective produc t

.

JDS seeks an exe m

pt i on to al l ow f

or photog r aph y , vi d eography a n d other rel a ted m edia

products. T h e con t a c t i n f or m at i on f

o r Pe t itioner is as f

ol l ows:

B randon Thompson, PLS

Jensen Design and Survey Inc.

1672 Donlon Street

Ventura, CA 93003

Telephone: (800)676

- 1916

Email: bthompson@jdscivil.com

II. D E SCRIPTION OF P R OPOS E D OP E R A TION

JDS seeks an exe m

pt i on pursuant to Se c tion 333 of the Refo r m A c t t o op e ra t e t h e DJI phantom

II, Phantom III Pro, DJI Inspire I and 3DR Iris + ( referred to J D S

- U A S) (under 55 l b s) for the

proposed operat i ons d is c u ssed h e rein belo w

. All U A S operations will o cc ur under ti g ht l y

co n t r o l led conditions on private proper t y w h ereU.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 4

JDS h as r e c eiv e d verifia b le p e r m is s ion t o operate f rom the l and o wne r , cont r o l l e r or authoriz e d

represe n tati v e. The propos e d U A S o p er a tions will be conducted in ac c o rdance with the

c ond i t i o ns and l i m itat i ons of t h is P et i tion f or Exe m pt i on and JDS ’ Operat i ons Manuals. A s

de t a i l ed in JDS ’ Opera t ions Manuals, a ll U AS operat i ons will be l i m i t ed to dayt i m e VFR

condit i on s , with i n v i s u al lin e

- o f

- s i g ht ( "VLO S ") of the opera t o r

, in un c ont r o l led ai r sp a ce, and

w i l l oc c u r at l e ast 5 m m away f r o m an a i rport refer e nce p oin t . More o ve r

, JDS ’ Opera t ions

Manuals incorporate r e d undant s afe g uards to a s s ure the airc r aft does not

t r av e l ou t s i d e the co n t r o l led a rea of U A S o p er a tions, inclu d i n g GPS "ge o

- fencing" technologies.

A. Aer i al Digi t al Photogra p hy and V i deography for Mapping and Inspect i on

Servi c es

JDS seeks to use s m all JDS

- UAS for the pu r pose of conducting ae r ial photography,

vide o graph y

, m apping a nd surveying services f or their clie n t bas e

. JDS has pu r posefully

tailo r ed i t s o perations to m eet the r e q ui r e m ents e s tablish e d by the FAA in pr i or grants of

exe m pt i on autho r izing c o m m er c ial u se of U AS i n the real es t ate ind u st r y, inc l u d in g :

 T rudeau, R e al t o r® (Ex em

pt i on No. 1 1 138)

 Alon Sicher m an (Ex e m pt i on No. 1 1 728)

 Sokoler M e dly (Exe m pt i on No. 1 1341)

All UAS re a l e s tate ph o t o graphy and videog r ap h y operations will occ u r on p r i v a te p r o perty in a

cont r o l l ed a

rea away f

rom spec t ators and pe r sons not invol ve d in t he re c o rd i ng proce s s. In

addition, t he fil m ing wi l l be conduc t e d between da w n and dusk t o ensu r e m ax i m u m s afety for

the public a nd those involved in the m anipu l at i o n and ope r a tion of the UA S ; VFR condit i ons, at

alti t udes b elow 400' ab o ve ground level (“A G L” )

.

As set for t h belo w

, JDS ’ oper a t i ons pro v i d e an equ i v a lent le v el of safety which is s uperior to

pe r for m ing t he sa m e work us i ng conven t io na l fixe d

- wing ai r c raft or h el i co p ters.

S m all U A S re a l es t a te v i deo product i on is a lso s a fer than tradit i o n al manned a i rcraft

perfor m ing t he sa m e funct i on. Vide o grapher

- inspecto r s al s o f requently n e ed to c li m

b roof

top s , trees, o r o t herw i se perform el e vat e d work, which exposes them to t he risk of d a ngerous

falls, e lectr o cut i on o r o t h er work related in j u r i e s

. In addition, d epend i ng on the n a t u re o f the

video n e ed e d and in s pe c t i on, pro x imity t o equip m ent, a nd other m echan i cal ha z ards asso c iated

with i ndu s t r ial sites and const r u c t i on facilities of t en invo l v e s a risk of ex p osure to ha z ardous

conditions. The use of JDS

- UAS s m i t iga t es these ha z a rds and is ulti m at e ly a m uch safer and

cost e f ficient m ethod of perfor m ing t hese a nd m o st o t h e r t yp e s of i nspections.

Moreove r

, convent i on a l operations u sing r ot o rcr a ft and f ixe d

- wing ai r c raft i n low lev e l

operations p re s ent risks asso c iated w i t h ve h ic l e s weighing tens of thousands of pounds

( i n c lud i ng p aylo a d) and ca r rying la r ge a m ounts of f uel which inh e rently presents signi f ic a nt fire

haza r ds as well a s exposure to o ther che m ic a l con t a m ina t e s

. It is i m por t ant t o note t h e use o f

s m all U A S i n th i s a

rea w i l l n o t on l y be safer and m ore cost e f fective to t h e pe r sp e ct i v e user or

purchaser of the s ervic e

, but t he qu a lity and expanse of acqu i red infor m at i on will be far m ore

robust g i v en the l ow co s t asso c iated with i ts acq u is i tion and o ther p o tential consu m ers an

inexp e n s ive produc t

.U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 5

U A S re a l e s tate video p r oduct i on is m ore reliab l e, and allows for the c o l lection, disse m ina t ion,

and s t ora g e of visual a n d other se ns ory data wi t h greater pr e ci s ion and d uration at a very low

cos t . S m all U A Ss will al s o be capa b le of acc e s s i n g and in s p e ct i ng a re a s t h at would otherwi s e be

ina c c e ss i b le or h i ghly d a ngerous using convent i o nal a irc r aft or o t her inspect i on m ethod s

.

III. R E LE V

ANT S T A TU T O R Y A U TH O RI T Y

This Pe t iti o n for Ex e m

p t i on is sub m i t ted purs u a nt t o Se c t i on 333(a) t h rough (c) of t h e

F AA Mode r niz a tion and Re f o r m Act of 2 0 12 ( " Re f

o r m Act" )

. Congress h as d i rected t h e F AA

" t o safely a c ce l e ra t e the i nteg r a t i on o f civil un m anned a i rcraft sys t e m s into the natio n al a irspa c e

sys t e m ." Pursuant to Sec t ion 333 of the Refo r m Act, the F AA Ad m in i strator is t o p e r m it

u n m anned a i rcraft syst e m s to operate in t he N a tional Ai r s p a c e Syste m s ( " N A S") where i t is s afe

to do so ba s ed on the fo l lowing con s ide r a t i on s :

● The U A S's size, weight, speed a n d operation a l c a pa b i l ity;

● Ope r ation of the U A S i n clo s e pro x i m i t y to a i rports and po p ula t ed ar e a s; and

● Ope r ation of the U A S with i n t h e visual line of s ight of the o perato r

.

Addit i on a l l y , the F

AA A d m in i strator has gen e ral authori t y to grant exe m p t i ons from the a gency ' s

safety r eg u lations and mini m u m st a ndards when the Ad m in i strator d ec i d e s a r equest e d

exe m pt i on is in t he pu b lic interest. S ee 49 U.S. C

. § 106(f) (d e fining the a u tho r ity of t h e

Ad m in i st r a t o r ) ; 49 U.S

. C. § 4 4701( f ) ( per m i t ting exe m

pt i ons fr o m §§ 44 7 01(a), ( b ) a n d

§§ 44702

– 44716, et s e q.). A party requesting an exe m pt i on m ust e xplain the reaso n s why the

exe m pt i on: (1) would bene f

it the public as a who l e, and ( 2) w ould not ad v er s ely a f fect safety ( or

how it would p r ovide a level of safe t y at l e ast e q ual t o the e x is t ing rules). See 14 C. F .R. § 1 1.81

(petitio n s for exe m

pt i on).

I V

. JDS ’ P R OPOS E D JDS

- UAS OPER A TIONS MEET THE R EQUIR E M E N T S OF

S E C T I ON 333 OF THE R EF O RM A C T

The s m all JDS

- UAS o p er a tions proposed by JDS as no t ed above i n th i s Pe t iti o n for Exe m pt i on

qual i fy f or expedited a p proval purs u ant t o Se c t i o n 333 of the Refo r m Act as e a ch of the

s tatutory criteria and re l e v ant factors are sa t isfied.

A. A p p r oval i s W

arranted Based on the U A S's Size, W eig h t, Speed, and

Operational Capa b i l i t y

A Grant of E xe m

pt i on is appropriate f

or operat i ons conducted us i ng the U A S s due to t heir size

weight, s pe e d, and ope r a t i on a l c a pa b i l it y

.

 The JDS

- UAS ut i l i z e d by JDS has been a pproved for use i n prior Sect i on

333 Grants of Ex e m

pt i on fr o m the F

A A

. 2

 The JDS

- UAS weighs le s s t h an 55 pounds, including payl o ad

2 See e

. g

. , Gr a nt of E xe m

ption to T r udea u , R e a l tor® ( E xe m

ption No. 1 1 1 3 8); G ra n t of E xe m ption to Alon

Sicher m an ( E xe m

ption No. 1 1728 ) ; G r a nt of E xe m ption to So k oler M e dly (E x e m pti o n No. 1 1341).U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 6

 The JDS

- UAS will not be flown at a g r ound sp e ed in e xc e ss of 50 knots.

 Alt i tu d e infor m at i on will be ge n era t ed by equ i p m ent onbo a rd t he U A S as

spec i fied u s i n g G P S triangulation, digitally enc o ded ba r o m et r ic alti m et e r , radio

alti m et e r , or any co m

bi n at i on the r eo f

. This i nfor m at i on will be t r ans m i t ted to the p ilot

via t e le m et r ic data feed.

 The JDS

- UAS will have sy s tem redundanc i es a nd indepen d ent funct i o n ality t o

ensu r e the o verall safety and predic t abili t y of the sys t e m . If c onnec t ion to the r e m ote

cont r o l or gro u nd cont r o l st a tion is l o st, fai l s afe syste m s will per m it the UA S s to

re t urn to a p redeter m ined l ocation a nd safely l a n d without i n j u ry or da m age.

 The radio f

r equenc i e s used f

or operations a nd co n t r ol of the JDS

- UAS comply

with t he Fe d er a l Co m m

u nic a tions C o mm is s ion ( " F C C ") and oth e r ap p ropria t e

govern m ent ov e rsig h t agency require m ent s

. The operating f requency f

or the D P SI

U A S is 2.4 G H z frequency b a nds.

If the sa m e ope r ations were conducted us i ng a h el i co p te r

, t h e a i rcraft ' s tak e

- o f f w eight would

l i k e ly ex c e e d 6,000 pounds depending on payload. The di f ference in weight between the D P SI

U A S and a hel i co p ter signi f ic a n t ly reduces t h e p otential ha r m to t he par t ic i p a t i ng a n d non

participating individ u als and / or s u r r o unding property in t he e vent of an unin t ended a c cid e nt o r

inc i de n t. I n addition, t he r i sk to the onboard pilot and ca m era operator is e l i m ina t ed.

B. A p p r oval i s W

arranted Based on the Operati o nal Restric t ions Set Fo r th in

JDS ’ Operations Manuals

Opera t ions Manuals a n d the M anufacturer's Manual for t he se l e c ted JDS

- UAS will cont a in all

the p r o c edures and li m i t at i ons n e ces s ary to s a f e ly and succes s fully pe r fo r m the op e rations

spec i fied in t h is Petition for Ex e m pt i on. T o assist the F

AA in m aking a sa f

ety a ssess m ent of

JDS ’ proposed o p er a tions, b e l o w is a su m m ary o f operational l i m i t ations and condit i ons that

JDS will ad he re to, and w hich will ensure an e q u i v al e nt o r h i g h er level of safety to operations

c onduct e d u n der current regulat o ry g u ideline s :

1. The JDS

- UAS weighs l ess t han 55 pounds, wi t h paylo a d.

2. All operati o ns shall b e c onduct e d o v er pr i v ate o r controlle d

- a cce s s pro p erty with

verifia b le per m is s ion from the land o wner/contro l l er or auth o rized repres e ntative.

Per m is s ion f

rom land o w ner/contr o l l e r or author iz ed representative w i ll be obta i ned

for each sc h edul e d flig h t pr i or to op e ratio n

.

3. All U A Ss operated un d er the Grant of E x e m pt i on will be identified by serial nu m be r

, registered in accord a n ce with 14 CFR part 47, and have identification ( N

- Nu m ber)

m arkings i n acco r da n ce with 14 CFR part 45, Subpa r t C. M arkings will be as la r g e a s

practica b le.U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 7

4. Min i m

u m crew f

or each flight opera t ion wi l l co n si s t of a p i l o t, who will b e Pi l o t

- in

Co m m and ( "PIC") of t h e CS

- UAS, and one or m ore V isu a l Observers (" O bse r ver") a s

nece s s a ry t o safely con d uct t he m is s i o n.

5. PICs sha l l p osse s s a t l e a st a Sport o r Priv a te P i l o t ' s Cer t ifica t e sha l l po s sess at least a

current Cla s s III Med i ca l Certi f ic a te and/o r a va l i d an d cu r ren t d r ive r ’ s l i c ens e i s sue d

w i th in t h e U n i te d S t a t e s

. The PIC w i l l a l so m eet t he flight re v iew requir e m ents

spec i fied in 14 C. F

.R 61.56 in an air c raft i n which the P I C is rated on his o r her pilot

ce r ti f ic a te.

6. The JDS

- UAS sha l l be oper a ted w ithin V L OS o f the PIC and Observer a t all t i m es.

The PIC m

u st u s e hu m an vi s ion unaided by any devi c e o ther than c orre c tive le n ses,

as spec i f i ed on the PIC ' s F

AA

- is s ued m edi c al c ertifica t e.

7. The PIC and Observer d e sign a ted f or any oper a t i o n will be a b le to com m u nic a te

verbally at a ll t i m es.

8. Electron i c m ess a ging or texting will not be p e r m i t ted du r i n g flight operation s

.

9. The additio n al r eq u i r e m ents identifi e d in t he Gr a nt of Ex e m p t i on sh a ll be added t o the

JDS ’ Operati o ns Manual s

. The Opera t i o ns Manuals w i l l be m ain t ain e d and m ade

av a i l able to the Ad m in i strator upon requ e s t. I f a discr e pancy ex i s ts between the

conditions a nd l i m i t at i o ns in the Grant of E xemption and JDS ’ Op e rations Manuals,

t h e cond i tions and l i m i t ati o ns in the Grant of E x e m pt i on sh a ll take precedence and

m ust be followed. Otherwi s e, JDS shall follow the procedures out l i n ed in their

Ope r ations Manu a ls.

10. JDS m ay upda t e or rev i se its Opera t ions Manuals. R e vis i ons w i ll be t r a cked and a

r e v ised copy of the M anual w i ll be p rov i d e d to t he A d m in i st r ator upon reque s t. JDS

will a lso p r e sent an upd a ted a nd revi s ed Operati o ns Manuals if it petit i ons for

extension or a m en d m ent t o i t s Grant of E xe m pt i on. If an upda t e o r revision would

a f fect the b a sis upon wh i ch the F A A g r ants the e x e m pt i on, JDS will seek a n

a m en d m ent to i ts Grant of E x e m pt i on. JDS will cont a c t t he FA A ’s U A S In t egration

Of f ice (AFS

- 80) i f ques t ions a rise r e garding updates or revisions to the operating

d o cu m ent s

.

11. JDS Opera t ions Manuals a n d i ts Gra n t o f E x e m pt i on will be a v ailable to t he

PIC at t he g round cont r o l st a tion anyti m e the JDS

- UAS is op e rating.

12. The PIC is p r ohibited fr o m beginn i ng a JDS

- UAS flight unless (con s ider i ng wind

and foreca s t weather co n di t ions) the r e is enough power to f ly t o the first intended

point of lan d ing, and a s s u m ing no r m al c ruising s peed, t o fly after that f or at least 10

m inu t es.

13. Max i m

u m t otal flig h t t i m e for each ope r ational f l i ght using the JDS

- UAS will be

l i m i t ed to 40 m inu t es or t h e a m ount o f ti m e the UAS can be flown and s t ill m ain t ain a

re s erve ba t tery power of no less t h an 25%, whic h ever occ u rs firs t

.U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 8

14. Flights will be oper a ted at an altitu d e of no m ore than 400 feet A G L and will never

ent e r navig a

ble c on t roll e d ai r sp a ce w i t hout t i m ely pr i or w r it t en au t horiz a t i on and

approval fr o m the F

A A

. In t he e v ent the struc t u re being ins pe ct e d ex c eeds 400 f eet

A G L, the U AS will not be ope r a ted m ore than 100 f eet abo v e the highest point on the

st r u c tu r e, a n d no m ore t h an 50 feet h or i zo n tally from the s t r u ctu r e.

15. Flight oper a t i ons m

ust be conduc t ed at l e ast 500 feet from all nonpartici p at i ng

persons. ( pe rsons oth e r than the P I C, V O , operator t r a inees o r essential p er s ons),

vessel s

, v ehicles, a nd s tructu r es u n less:

a. Barriers or s t r u c tu r es are present th a t su f ficien t ly p r otect non p artic i p a t i ng

persons fr o m the UA and/or debris in the e ve n t of an accident. The operator

m ust e nsure that nonp a

rt i cip a ting pe r sons r e m ain und e r such p ro t e c t i on. If a

si t u a t i on a

rises where n onparticipating persons leave su c h p rotection and are

with i n 500 f

eet of the U A, f

l i ght operations m

ust c ease im m e dia t e ly and/or;

b. The aircraft is op e rated n ear vessels, vehicles or structures w h ere t h e

owner/cont r ol l e r of such vesse l s, v e h ic l e s or s t r u c tu r es has granted per m ission

and the PIC has m ade a s afety ass e s s m ent of the r i sk of operating closer to

those ob j ects and de t e rmined t h a t it d oes not pre s ent a n undue haza r d, an d ;

c. Opera t ions nearer to t h e PIC, V O

, o perator t ra i n ees or e s sential p e rsons d o not

present an u ndue haz a rd to those p ersons per § 91. 1 1 9(a).

16. The JDS

- UAS m ay not be ope r a ted less t h an 5 0 0 feet be l ow or l ess than 2,000 f eet

hor i zo n tally fr o m a c l oud or when vi s ib i lity is l e ss than 3 s tat u te m i l es from the PIC.

17. The JDS

- UAS m ay not operate w i t h in 5 nm o f an airport r eference p o int as den o ted

on a cu r rent F

A A

- publ i shed aerona u t i c a l chart unless a letter of agree m e nt wi t h t h at

ai r port ’ s m a nage m ent i s obtain e d, a n d the op e rat i on is condu c ted i n a ccordance wi t h

a N O T AM a s required b y the JDS C O A. The letter of agree m ent wi t h the ai r port

m anage m ent wi l l be m ade av a i l a b le t o the Ad m in i st r a t o r upon r eq u es t

.

18. Prior to each f

l i ght t he P IC sha l l i n s p ect t h e CS

- UASs to confi r m that it i s in a

condition sa f

e for flight. The pr e

- fli g ht i nsp e ct i o n will a c co u nt for a l l d iscrepancies,

e.g. inop e r a

ble co m po n ent s

, i te m s, or equip m ent, not a l r ea d y cove r ed in the r e lev a n t

sections of t he ope r a t i ng docu m ents as well as e q uip m ent upd a te s

. The P I C shall not

operate any CS

- UASs if the i ns p ecti o n reve a ls a c ondi t ion that a f fects t he s afe

operation of the JDS

- UAS unt i l t he nece s s a ry main t e n ance has been per f or m ed and

the JDS

- UAS is found to be i n a c o ndi t ion for sa f e fligh t

. The ground control s tati o n

sha l l b e inc l uded in t he preflight inspect i on. A l l m ain t enance and a l tern a tions m ust be

proper l y d oc u m ent e d in t h e U A S ’ s re c ords as required by JDS ’ Operations Manuals.

19. JDS will ti m ely ca r ry out its m ain t enanc e , inspe c t i on s , and rec o rd keeping

require m ents in a c c o rdance with t h e Opera t ions Manuals. M ain t e n ance, inspection,

and a l ter a t i o ns will be f

u l l y no t ed in the JDS

- UAS re c ords, inc l u d ing t o t al ti m e inU.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 9

14. Flights will be oper a ted at an altitu d e of no m ore than 400 feet A G L and will never

authoriz e d p er s on return i ng the JDS

- UAS to s e rvice.

20. Any JDS

- UAS that has unde r gone m ain t enance or alterations that a f fect the U A S

operation or flight ch a racteristics (e. g ., replace m e nt of a f l i ght critical co m

ponent)

m ust t i m ely unde r go a functional t e st f l i ght i n a c c ordance w i th JDS ’ Operations

Manuals. T h e PIC who conducts t h e functional test flight m ust m ake a n ent r y in the

U A S ai r cr a ft rec o rds of t he fligh t

. The require m ents and pro c edures for a functional

te s t f l ight a n d JDS

- UAS re c ord e n try shall be included i n t h e JDS ’ Oper a t i o n s

Manuals.

21. The JDS

- UAS will be ope r ated and m ain t ain e d acco r d ing t o the Manuf a ctu r e r ' s

Manuals a n d any requi r ed m an u factur e r Safety / Serv i ce Bu l letins and product updates.

22. Prior to the operation, a Miss i on P ac ket will be created in a cc ordance w i th the

require m ents on JDS ’ Operat i ons Manuals.

23

. JDS will ob t ain an Air T ra f fic O r gani z ati o n ( " A

T O") i s sued Certi f

ic a te of W

aiv e r or

A utho r iza t ion, othe r wise k nown as a C O A, prior to conduc t ing any operations u nder

t h is Grant of Exe m

pt i on. A N O T

AM w i l l be i ssued as r equi r ed by the CO A

. A l l

ope r a t i ons will be con d uct e d in accor d ance wi th ai r sp a ce r e qui r e m ents in t he A T O

issued C O A inc l uding cl a ss of ai r space, altitude level and pot e nt i a l t r ansponder

require m ent s

.

24. All r eq u i r ed per m is s ions a nd per m i t s will be o b tained fr o m terr i t o r i a l, state, county or

ci t y ju r isdi c tions, including loc a l law enforce m e n t, fire or ot h er appro p r i a te

govern m ent a l ag e n c ie s

.

25. If the JDS

- UAS los e s c o m m unic a tion with the PIC, it wi l l have t he c a p abili t y to

safely return to a p r e

- deter m ined l oca t ion within the op e rati o nal a rea and land s afel y

.

26. Contingency plans wi l l b e in p l a ce t o safely t e r m i nate flig h t i f there is a l o ss of

com m unic a t i on between the PIC and the Observe r

.

27. The JDS

- UAS will have t he capability t o s afely abort flig h t in the c a s e of

unpredicted obsta c les or e m e r genc i es.

28. PICs and Observ e rs will have at le a s t a cu r re n t C l ass I II Me d ical Ce r t i fic a te or a v al i d

and cu r rent st a te dri v er’s license is s ued within t h e Unit e d S t at es

.

29. Prior to co n duct i ng op e rations for fil m ing, t he PIC will have accu m ula t ed and l ogged,

in a m anner cons i stent w i t h 1 4 C F R § 61.51(b), a m in i m u m o f 200 flight cyc l es and

25 hours total ti m e as a U A S rotorcra f t p i lot and at l e ast 10 h ours logged as a UAS

pilot w i th a si m i l ar JDS

- UAS type pla t for m . T h is r eq u i r e m ent c an be a c hiev e d by

flights con d uct e d and l o gged as a h o b b yis t

.

30. Prior to co n duct i ng op e rations for fil m ing, t he PIC will have accu m ula t ed and l ogged,

in a m anner cons i stent w i t h 14 C F R § 61.51(b ) , a m in i m u m o f ho u rs pursuant to 54

C F R § 61.51(b) as UAS pi l ot oper a ting the m ake and m odel of JDS

- UAS to beU.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 10

ut i lized for operations u nder the ex empt i on and three tak e

- o f fs and thr e e landing in

the p r e ced i n g 90 day s

.

31. Opera t ions s hall o c cur d ur i ng da y ti m e VFR Me t eor o log i c a l Condit i on s ; flights und e r

spec i a l v i s u al fl i ght ru l e s ("SVF R ") sha l l n o t be conducted.

32. The JDS

- UAS sha l l r e m ain c le a r and yield the right of w ay to a ll oth e r m anned

operations a nd ac t i v ities at all ti m es ( inc l u d ing, but not li m i t ed to, u l tra l i g ht veh i c le s

, parach u te a c t i v i t i e s, pa r a sa i ling a c t i v i t ies, hang g l i d e rs, etc.).

33. JDS

- UAS Opera t ions under Instr u m ent F l ight Rules, at n i g ht, or beyo n d V L OS a r e

proh i b i ted.

34. The JDS

- UAS will not be ope r a ted f r o m an e l eva t ed platfo r m or m oving

devi c e /veh i c le.

35. Be f ore conduc t ing oper a t i ons, t h e r a dio frequen c y spect r um used for ope r ation and

cont r o l of the JDS

- UAS will co m ply wi t h the F ede r a l Co mm unic a t i ons Co m m is s ion

(FC C ) or o t her appro p riate government ove r s ig h t ag e ncy require m ent s

.

V

. R E GUL A

TIONS F R OM WHICH E X EMPTI O N IS R E Q U E STED

The Feder a l A

via t ion Act expressly g r ants t h e F AA the a uthority to is s ue e xe m pt i ons. This

st a t u to r y a u t h or i t y , by i t s te r m s, in c l u des exe m pt i ng civil airc r aft, as t he term is d e fined under §

40101 of the Act, in c lu d i n g U A Ss, f ro m i t s safety regulations and m in i m u m st a ndards when the

Ad m in i st r a t o r decides a requested e x e m pt i on is in the public in t e re s t. 3

JDS seeks an exe m

pt i on from several i n terrelat e d p rovisions of T itle 14 of the Code of Federal

Re g ulations ( " 1 4 C. F

.R") Pa r ts 21, 45, 6 1 and 91 for purpos e s of conduct i ng t h e requested

o p er a tions u s i n g JDS

- UAS pla t for m s noted above. Lis t ed b e l o w are: (1) t h e specific sections of

14 C. F .R for w hich e xemption i s sou g ht, and ( 2) t he ope r a t i ng procedures and safeguards t hat

Petitio ne r has establ i shed which will ens u re a lev e l of sa f ety b e tter t h an or equ a l to t he ru l es

f rom which exe m

pt i on is sought. 4

U N MAN N ED AIRCRAFT S Y S TEM

A. 14 C. F

.R. Part 21, Subpart H

– A i r w orthiness Cer t ificat e s and 14 C

. F .R.

§91.203(a ) (1)

The F AA h a s s t ated th a t no exe m pt i on is needed f

rom th i s se c tion if a f

inding is m ade under the

Re f o r m Act that the UAS se l e c ted provides an e q uiva l e n t l e v el of safety when c o m pared to

ai r c raft nor m al l y used f

or t he sa m e app l ication. These cri t e ria are m et and in point of fact

3 49 U.S.C. § 4 4 701( f

) ( a uth o riz i ng t

he gr a nt of exe m

ptio n s from r eq u ire m ents of r e g u l a t i o n s pres c rib e d pur s ua n t t o

Sec t ions 4 4 701(a) a nd (b) a nd Sect i ons 447 0 2

- 44716).

4 14 C. F .R § 11

. 81(e), w h i c h r e q u i res a peti t i o n for e xe m ption to inc l ude: T he reas o ns w hy g r a nti n g the exe m ption

would n ot a dversely af

f ect s a fet y , or how t

he e x e m ption w o u l d pr o vide a l e vel of s a fety at l e ast e q ual t o that

pr o vi d e d by t

h e r ule from w h i ch y o u se e k e xe m ptio n

.U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 11

exce e de d

, a nd therefore no exe m pt i on is needed. 5 If, ho w eve r , the F AA det e r m ines that there

are so m e cha r a c teristics of the chosen U AS that fail to m eet the r equirements of the R efo r m Act,

an exe m pt i on is requ e sted.

Eq u iva lent Level of S a

fety

JDS ’ use of the JDS

- UAS is safe when t a king i nto a c count its si z e, weigh t , s p eed, and

operational ca p abili t y

. A s set forth in the d e s c r i p tion of proposed ope r a t i o ns in Secti o n IV(A),

the JDS

- UAS weighs le s s th a n 55 pounds, including pay l o ad and wi l l not be flo w n at a ground

speed i n e xc ess of 50 knots. The JDS

- UAS is also equipped w i t h safety features whi c h will

al l ow Pe t i t i o ner to operate the JDS

- UAS safely after exp e r i e n c ing c e r t a in i n

- flig h t

cont i nge n cies or fai l ures as no t ed b e l o w

. 6 7

Addit i on a l l y , the JDS

- UAS ca rr ies nei t h e r pilots nor pas s e n gers, carries no explo s i v e m at e r i a ls

or flam m ab l e l i q u i d fue l s, or o t h e r ele m ents identified by Ho m el a nd Securi t y as bei n g

proh i b i t i ve a nd operate e xclu s i v ely w i t hin the pa r a m et e rs st a ted in JDS ’ Operat i ons Manual s

.

Opera t ions c onduct e d u n der t h is e x empt i on will be c l os e ly controlled and m oni t ored by the PIC

operator and will be co n duct e d in c ompl i ance with loc a l public safety require m ent s

, t o prov i de

secu r ity f or the area of o peration. JDS will al s o pro v ide the F AA w i th adv a nce n ot i ce of a l l

operations v ia NO T

AMs as r equired by the appl i cab l e C O A. I n all cases, operation of the D P SI

U A S under the p r oposed conditions will be a t l e ast as sa f e a s, or safer t h an, convent i onal

ro t orcraft o p er a ting with an a i rwo r thiness c e rtifi c at e . La s t l y

, t he CS

- UA S s do not ne e d a m eans

to com m un i ca t e w i th other aircra f t or A TC, because t hose c apab i li t ies w i l l b e solely possessed by

5 See Gr a nt of E xe m

ption No. 1 1062 to A str a eus A e rial ( F A A

- 2014

- 0352 a t pgs. 13

- 14, 2 2).

6 See e

. g

. , Gr a nt of E xe m

ption No. 1 1 1 8 4 to L ow C o u n t ry R C, C o rp. ( F

AA

- 2 0 14

- 0 8 03 at pg. 3): " T he [D JI S 1000]

has t he c a pa b i l i t y t o o p e rate s afely after e x p erienci n g c e rt a in i n

- fli g ht c ont i n g encies or f a i lures a nd us e s an au t o

pilot sys t em to m a i ntain U A S st a bil i ty a n d c ont r ol. T he U A S is also a b le t o resp o nd to a loss of g l o b al posi t ion i ng

sys t e m ( GP S ) or a l ost

- l i nk e ve n t with a pr e

- c o ordinat e d, predic t able, a u t o m a t ed flight m ane u v e r

, a nd m an u al f l i ght

co n t r o l functiona l i t y as a ba c kup. T hese s af e t y fea t u r es p r o v i de a n e q u i v a l e nt level of s afety c o m pa r e d to a m an n e d

a i rc r aft p e rfor m ing a si m

i l ar o p e rat i on."

7 See e

. g

. , Gr a nt of E xe m

ption No. 1 1 1 8 4 to V DOS Globa l

, L LC. ( F AA

- 201 4

- 0382 at pgs. 4

- 5 ) : The JDS

- UAS c a n

be op e rated e n t

ire l y by a t o u c h

- s c re e n, m a p

- bas e d inte r fac e

. T his m eans the opera t or only n e e ds t o c om m and the

sys t e m w he r e to go, a nd the s ys t e m d oes a l l the fl y i n g f or t he o p e rat o r

. T he A L

- UA S c a n be operat e d in both s e m i

and f ully a u t o no m o u s f

l i ght m o d e s, w i t

h t he o p e rat o r si m

ply c l i c king o n a m ap to crea t e a pr e

- pla n ned f l i g h t pa t h

for a fli g ht. I n ad d i t i o n, t

he o pe r a t or c a n cr e a t e n o fly z o n e s or m ax i m u m flight ranges a nd al t i t u d es s o t he sys t em

cannot e nter ar eas dee m ed u n safe or u n nec e ssary to f ly ov e r

. The p e t i t ion e r st a t e s f u rther that t

he U A S h a s bui l t

- in

inte l l i ge n t f

a ult h a n d l i ng w hich a l l o ws t he A L

- U AS to det e ct a system f a u lt w hile i n t

he a ir and a

uto m a t i c a l ly f

ly

back to i t s t a

k e o f f loca t i on and la n d. F a ults that can b e de t ec t ed inc l u d e: l oss of c om m uni c a t ion; exce e d i ng pre

- set

wind t h re s h o l ds; and l o w bat t ery l e vels.

All fl i ght o p er a t ions a re glo b al p os i t i o n i n g s ys t e m ( GP S ) c o n t r o l l e d

, m aking the sys t e m easy to nav i gate. At a n y

p o i nt if t he o p e rator is n o t e x p l i c i tly co mm an d i n g the sys t em to m o v e , the sys t e m a u to m a t i c a l ly h olds i ts GPS

p o si t i o n. The f

l ight c o n t r o l s y stem e m

ploys n o t only G P S posi t ion i ng but a v a rie t y of se n sors inc l u d i ng son a r

, baro m e t ric pr e ssur e , te m

pe r a t u r e , wi n d s pe e d a nd o t

he r s to e n s u r e stabi l i t y so l ong as w i nd t h reshol d s a re n o t

exceed e d. Also a fl i ght t er m inat i on l i nk

– t o p r e v e nt a ' fly awa y ' o r oth e r p otenti a l l y dan g erous si t uation

– is

avai l able to the opera t o r ."U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 12

the P I C and Observe r

, w ho are not onboard the JDS

- UAS

. 8 In addition, no sense

- a n d

- avoid

te c hnology is necessary for the CS

- UASs because they will be operated at all t i m es i n V F R

conditions and with i n V L OS of the PIC and Opera t o r

. 9

B. 14 C. F

.R. Part 27 Airworthiness S ta n dards: Normal Cat e gory Roto r cra f t

T i t le 14 C. F

. R. P art 27 s e ts for t h t h e p rocedural r e qui r e m ents for ai r wo r thiness c e rtifi c at i on of

nor m al c ategory rot o rcraft. T o the e xtent that JDS ’ s m all CS

- UA Ss would otherwise require

c e r t i f ic a t i on un d er Part 27, P etit i on e r se e ks an exe m p t i on from P a rt 27 ' s a i rw o r t hi n ess st a ndar d s

for the s a m e reasons i de n ti f ied i n t h e request for e xe m pt i on f ro m 14 C. F

. R. R. P art 21, Subpart

H, s upra

.

C. 14 C. F

.R. §§ 91.9(c), 45

. 23(b) and 45.27(a): Ai r cra f t Ma r k i n g and Iden t ification

Requi r em e nts

JDS seeks an exe m

pt i on from the a irc r aft m arking and i denti f ic a ti o n require m e nts

cont a i n ed in 14 C

. F

.R. §§ 91.9(c), 45

. 23(b) and 4 5.27(a).

● 14 C. F

.R. § 91.9(c), Civ i l Aircraft Flight Manual, Ma r king a n d Placard

require m ent s , prov i des t h at:

No person m ay ope r ate a U.S.

- registered civil a i rc r aft u n le s s that a i r c raft

is i de n t i fied in a c c o rdan c e with Part 4 5 of this ch a pte r

.

● 14 C. F

.R. § 45.23(b )

, M arkings of t h e Aircra f t, stat e s :

W hen m arks in c lude on l y the Ro m an cap i tal l ett e r " N" and t h e registration

n u m ber is displayed on li m i t ed, res t r i ct e d or lig h t

- sport cate g ory aircraft

or experi m e ntal o r p r ov i sion a lly c e rtifica t ed aircra f t, t he ope r ator m

ust

al s o display on that airc r aft near e a ch ent r a n ce t o the c a b in, cockpit, or

pi l ot st a t i on, in l e t t e rs n o t l ess than 2 inch e s nor m ore than 6 inches high,

the words " l i m i t ed," " re s t r icted

, " " li g h t

- sport, "e x peri m ent a l," or

"p r ovisional," as applicable.

● 14 C. F

.R. § 45.27(a), R o to r cra f

t, s t a tes:

Each ope r a t o r of a ro t orcraft m ust d i spl a y on that ro t orcraft h or i zo n tally

on both surfaces of the c abin, fuse l a g e, boo m , or t ail the m arks required b y

§ 45.23.

In a pre v io u s Grant of E xe m pt i on, the F

AA d et e r m ined t hat e xe m pt i on f ro m the s e re q ui r e m ents

was warranted provided that the a irc r aft "have i de nt i fic a t i on ( N

- Nu m ber) m arkings i n

acco r da n ce with 14 C. F

.R P art 45, Subpart C if t he m arkings a re as la r ge as p r a c t i c able. " 10

8 See Gr a nt of E xe m

ption No. 1 1062 to A str a eus A e rial ( F A A

- 2014

- 0352 a t pg. 13).

9

. IdU.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 13

Eq u iva lent Level of S a

fety

All JDS

- UAS s flo w n b y JDS will be a r N

- n u m ber m a r kings that are as la r g e as practicable in

a c c o rdan c e with 14 C. F

.R. P art 45, Subpart C

. 11

D. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.405 ( a), 9 1 .407(a ) (1), 91.409(a ) (1) and (2); 91

. 417(a) and ( b):

Main t enan c e Inspec t i o ns

JDS seeks an ex em

pt i on from the m ain t enance inspec t ion r eq u i r e m ents cont a i n ed in 14

C. F .R. § 91.405(a), 91. 4 07(a) ( 1 ), 91

. 409(a) ( 2 ); 9 1.417(a) and (b )

. These regulations s pec i fy

m ain t enance and in s pe c tion standar d s in r efere n ce to 14 C. F .R. Part 43. Se e , e.g., 14 C. F .R. §

91.405(a) (s t at i ng that ea ch owner or operator of an a i rcraft "[ s ]hall have the aircraft i ns pec t ed a s

prescribed in subpa r t E of this part a nd sha l l b et w een r equi r ed in s pe c t i o ns ...have disc r epa n ci e s

repaired as p re s cribed in part 43 of t h is c ha p te r " )

. An exemption f r om the s e r

eg u la t io n s is needed

because Pa r t 43 and t h e se sections o nly app l y to ai r cr a ft w i th an airwort h ine s s cer t i f i c ate, which

the UAS platforms to be opera t ed u n der t his gr a nt of e x emp t ion wi l l n o t hav e .( E m p h as i s adde d )

Eq u iva lent Level of S a

fety

An equiva l e nt l ev e l of safety will be achieved o r exceeded b ecau s e m ain t enance and insp e c t i ons

will be t i m ely perfor m ed in a c c o rda n ce wi t h t h e Manufacturer ' s Manu a l and any required

m an u facturer Safety or Service B ul l e t i ns. Fu r the r

, as r e qu i red by JDS ’ Oper a t i o n s Manuals, t h e

PIC will c onduct a pr e

- flight inspect i on of the JDS

- UAS and a l l associa t ed equip m ent t o account

f o r all discre p anc i es and/or inoperable co m ponent s . Ma i n t enance w i l l be perfor m ed a nd verified

to address a n y cond i tions potentially a f fecting s afe operation of the

JDS

- UAS and no flights will o c cur unle s s, and unt i l, all f l i g ht cri t ical c omponents of the D P SI

UAS have b een found to be ai r wo r t h y and in a c o ndi t ion sa f e for operati o n. A functional t e st

flight wi l l b e c onduct e d following t h e replace m ent of any fligh t

- cri t ical c o m ponent s

. As requ i red

by JDS ’ Oper a t i o n s Manu a ls, t he PIC who conducts the f unct i onal t est flig h t will m ake an ent r y

in t he JDS

- UAS ai r c raft r e c o rds of the f light.

JDS ’ Opera t ions Manual also inc l ud e s re q ui r e m ents to follow the m an u facture r ’ s U A S

ai r c raft / co m ponent, m ain t enanc e , o v erhaul, repl a ce m ent, i nspect i on, and li f e l i m it require m ents

for the foll o wing appl i c able co m ponent s : pow e r t rain sy s tem (powerplant), p r op e ll e rs, avionics

and cont r o l surfaces (in c lud i ng a i l e rons/elevons), structures & ai r fra m e, ca m era sys t em,

el e c t r ical s y st e m s (inc l u ding batteri e s), ground control s tati o n, haza r d ac cessories, a n d spa r e

parts. Furth e r

, JDS ’ Operations Manuals a lso include p rocedures to docu m ent a nd m ain t ain a

rec o rd of the JDS

- UAS ’ s m ain t e nance, p r e ve ntative m ain t enanc e

, alt e rations, s tat u s of

replace m ent / overha u l co m ponent p a r t s, and the total t i m e in serv i c e of t h e JDS

- UAS s used

under t h is Grant of Ex empt i on. As a whole, the m ain t en a nce and i nspection procedures required

in JDS ’ Oper a t i o n s Manu a ls e nsure that an equiv a lent or h i gher level of safety will be ach i eved.

PILO T

- IN

- COMMAND OF THE U AS

10

. F AA Do c ket No. F A A

- 201 4

- 0 3 52.

11 See, e

. g., FA A Do c ket No. F A A

- 2014

- 0352, at 1 4.U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 14

E. 14 C. F

.R. § 61. 1 13: Pr i v ate Pil o t Privileg e s and L i m i t a t i ons

JDS seeks exe m

pt i on from 14 C F R § 61. 1 1 3, which r e s t r icts p r i v a te pilot certif i ca t e holde r s fr o m

flying a i rcraft f

or c om pensat i on or h i re, and would al s o require a second class m edi c al c ertifica t e.

The purpose of P art 61 is t o e nsure that the skill and co m pet e ncy of any PIC m at c hes t he a i rsp a ce

i n which the P I C w i l l be operating, as w ell a s req u i r i n g ce r ti f ic a t i ons if the pr i v a te pilot is

c arrying p ass e ngers or ca r go f o r hire. I n t h is c a se, whi l e the JDS

- UAS will be operated as part of

a c omm er c ial o p e r ation, they ca rr y n ei t he r passengers nor ca r go. In t he Gra n t of E x e m pt i on to

Astrae u s Aerial, the F

AA det e rmined t h a t t he unique ch a ract e r i s t i cs of U A S operation o u ts i de of

con t ro l led a i rsp a ce d i d not w ar r a n t t he a d di t io n al co s t and restrictions at t en d ant with req u i r ing

the P I C to h ave a Commer c ial P i lot Certificate a nd Class II I Med i c a l Certificate. 1 2 The

f ulfil l m ent of the a d di t io n al req u i r e m ents for a pr i v a te pi l ot t o beco m e

qual i fied a s a com m er c ial p i lot wou l d not l ead to any add i ti o nal s afety b e nefits when U AS

operations are inv o lved.

Eq u iva lent Level of S a

fety

The re s tri c tions JDS has p l a ce d on i t s JDS

- UAS operat i ons m eet or exceed t h e re s tri c t i ons

s i m i l ar l y i m

posed on Astraeus Aerial. JDS will op e ra t e on pr i v a te proper t y away f r o m p er s ons

and p roper t y n o t i nvolved in t h e ope r a t i o n

. JDS will a lso obtain a n A T O issued C O A pr i or t o

conduc t i n g any ope r a tions under t h is Grant of Exe m pt i on. All operations will be con d uct e d in

accordance w i th ai r sp a ce r e qui r e m ents i n the A T O issued C O A inc l u d ing class of air s p a ce,

alt i tu d e level and p o tential trans p onder req u ire m ent s

. A NO T AM w i l l al s o be is s u e d as r equir e d

by the ap p l i ca b le CO A

.

In add i t i on t o the s e flig h t r e s triction s

, JDS will further ensu r e safe operation by requiring that

any P IC be tho r oug h ly ve r s e d n o t on l y in air s pace a nd c omm unic a t i o n is s ues p e rtain i ng to all

a i r c raft o perators but al s o in the unique aspec t s of JDS

- UAS flight. As set for t h in the

Opera t ions Manuals, p ilots wi l l h ave expe r ience not on l y in JDS

- UAS operations g ene r a l l y but

have logged f

l i ght ti m e in t he spe c if

i c m ake and m odel u s ed for the operations b e fore they a re

per m i t ted t o participate in com m er c ial flights on beha l f of JDS

. The pi l ot qualif i ca t ion, t r a in i ng,

and currency r e qui r e m ents i n the Ope r a tions Manua l s ensure t h at JDS pi l ots are co m pet e nt and

p r oficie n t i n t h e JDS

- UAS they a re op e rati n g. JDS ’ trai n ing and qual i fic a t i on require m ents are

consistent with th o se con t a ined in pr i o r F AA Sect i on 3 33 Grants of E x e m pt i on, and will p rov i de

a h i g her level of co m

p e ten c y and proficiency f or i ts p i lo t s and will ens u re a t l e a st a n e q uiva l e n t

l e v el of safety to the publi c

.

OPER A TING P A R A M E T ERS OF THE U AS

F. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.7 ( a): Ci v il Ai r cr a ft Air w orthi n ess

Inas m uch as t here w i ll b e no a i rwo r t h ine s s cer t ificate i s s u ed f o r t he U A S s, JDS seeks an

exe m pt i on f r om 14 C. F

. R . § 91.7(a), w hich r equires t h a t a ci v il a i r c raft be in airwort h y condition

to be op e ra t ed. The F

AA has stated that no exe m pt i on is req u i r ed for 14 C. F .R. § 91.7(a) t o the

12 Exe m ption No. 110 6 2 (FAA D o c ket No. F A A

- 2014

- 035 2 ).U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 15

ext e nt that t h e requirements of Part 21 are waived or f ound inappl i c abl e

. 1 3 Accord i ngl y

, Pet i tioner requests t h at t

he requirements for § 9 1 .7(a) be t r e ated in ac c o rdance with

Sect i on V(A), supra.

G. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.9 ( b)(2): Civil Ai r cr a ft F l ight M anual in the Ai r cra f t a n d 14 C. F

.R.

§ 91.203(a) and (b): Carrying Civil Ai r cra f t C e rt i fic a t i on a nd R egi s tration

T i t le 14 C. F

. R. § 91.9(b) (2) and § 91

. 203(a) and (b) require t h e ope r a tor to ca r ry airw o r t hi n ess

docu m ents and oth e r aircraft m anua l s onboa r d the aircraft. Pu r suant to 14 C. F .R. § 91.9( b ) (2):

(b) No per s on m ay ope r ate a U.S.

- r e gis t e red c ivil airc r aft

–

... (2) For which an Airp l a n e or Rotorc r aft Flight Manual is required by § 21.5 of th i s

chap t e r , un l ess t h e re is a vai l a b le i n t h e a i rcraft a current approved Airp l a ne or Rotorcraft

Flight M a n u al, a ppro v ed m anual m a t er i a l, m arkings, and pl a c ards, or any co m bina t ion

the r eof.

Pursuant t o 14 C. F

.R. § 91.203(a) a n d (b ) :

(a) Exce p t as provid e d in § 91.715, no per s on m ay ope r a te a civil airc r aft unle s s it h a s

with i n i t t he following:

(1) An appropriate and current airworth i n ess c e rtific a te...

(b) No pers o n m ay ope r a te a c iv i l ai r cr a ft unless t he a i rwo r thiness c e rtifi c ate required by

paragraph ( a ) of this sec t ion or a spe c ial flig h t author i z a t i on issued under § 91.715 is

disp l a y ed at the c a b in or cockp i t entrance s o t h at it i s legible to passengers or cre w

.

Given the s m all si z e a n d configuration of the JDS

- UAS , it would be imposs i ble to k eep

ai r wort h iness docu m ents and oth e r aircr a ft m anua l s on boa r d t h e JDS

- UAS becau s e th e re is

si m ply no r o o m and the JDS

- UAS has no cabin or cockpit. As a way to co m ply wi t h the c ode

JDS will m ain t ain the documents with the P IC and m ake t hem ava i lab l e for inspect i on.

Eq u iva lent Level of S a

fety

In an F AA O f fice of C h ief Counsel's Opinion dated August 8

, 2 014, and pr e pared by Dean E.

Gri f fith, Atto r ne y

, A G C

- 220, it was a cknowledged that the i n tent of 14 C. F .R. 91.9(b) and

91.203(a) a n d (b) is m et if the pi l ot of the un m an n ed a i rcraft h as a c c e ss t o the UAS f l i ght

m anua l , regis t ration cert i ficat e , and o ther r equir e d docu m ents fr o m the g r ound cont r o l st a tion

fr o m which he or she is operating the aircraft. 1 4 As this F AA O f fice of Chief C ounsel O pin i on

cl a ri f ie s , t h e in t e n t of the ru l e is t o e n sure the p i l o t has a c cess to t he s e key docu m ents dur i ng

13 See I d. at 1 3

- 14, 2 2.

14 M e m o r andum f

r om Mark B ur y

, F

A A Assis t ant Chief C o u n sel f or I n t e r n a t ional L a w

, L e g is l a t ion and R e g u l a t i on,

to J ohn D u n c a

n, F A A Fli g ht S t a n d ar ds S er v i ce (A u g. 8, 2 0 14); see al s o D oc k et N o. F A A

- 2 0 14

- 0 3 52 at 16

- 18.U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 16

flight. Therefore, an equivalent level of sa f ety wi l l be a c h ieved by ensuri n g that the pilot has

acc e ss to t he docu m ents at t he g round cont r o l s t a t i on from wh i ch he or s he is p i loti n g the UAS.

H. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.103: P r ef

l ight A c t i o n

JDS seeks an exe m

pt i on from 14 C. F

.R. § 91.103, which requires a P IC to bec o m e fa m i l iar with

spe c ific i nfor m at i on before each f l i ght, i n c l u ding i nfo r m at i on cont a ined i n the F A A

- approved

Fl i ght M a nu a l on board the aircraft. W h i l e the P I C will be fa m i l iar w i th all in f o r m at i on nece s s a

ry

t o safely con d uct t he f

l ight, an exe mpt i on is requ e sted to the extent th a t an F A A

- approved Fl i ght

M a nu a l is requ i red.

Eq u iva lent Level of S a

fety

An equiva l e nt l ev e l of safety will be provided by f ol l owing the JDS ’ Oper a t i o n s Manuals and

the Ma n ufact u re r ' s Manu a l. The PIC will p e rform a se r ies of checkl i s ts d e signed t o identify any

defects or i noperab l e co mpone n ts i n a cco r d a nce wi t h t h e JDS ’ Opera t ions Manuals, inc l u d ing

checklists co v er i ng Pre

- F l i g ht, Launch, Landing, and P os t

- Flig h t p r oced u res. The PIC will a lso

be required to review w ea t h e r , flight require m ent s , bat t e ry cha r g e, l a nding a nd tak e o f f dis t a n ce,

UA perfo r m ance d a ta, and cont i nge n cy land i ng a rea s

— before initiat i on of flight. JDS ’

Opera t ions Manuals a n d the M anufacturer's Manual w ill be kept a t the ground cont r o l s t a tion

and will be ac c e s sible to the P IC at a ll t i m es while op e ra t ing t he U A S.

I. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.109 ( a): F l i ght Instr u ct i on

JDS seeks an exe m

pt i on from 14 C. F

.R. § 91.109(a), w hich p r o v ides in pertine n t part t h a t "[n ] o

person m ay ope r ate a civil aircraft (except a m anned f r ee balloon) t hat i s b eing used f or flight

instr u ct i on u n le s s that a i r c raft has fully fu n ct i o n ing dual controls." U A Ss and remotely pi l o t ed

aircra f t, by t heir des i gn, do n ot have fun c t i on a l dual c ont r ols. Instead, f l i ght control is

acco m pl i shed t hrough t h e use of a d e vice t h at c omm unic a tes with t he a i r c raft v i a radio

com m unic a t i ons. Accor d ing l y , an e xempt i on will be required for the flig h t ins t ruc t ion

require m ents of 14 C. F

. R. § 91.109(a).

Eq u iva lent Level of S a

fety

Given the s ize and speed of the U A S s th a t JDS in t ends to use, an e q uiva l e n t l e v el of safe

t r a in i ng can st i ll be p e rfor m ed without dual c o n t r o ls b e cause n o pi l ot o r passenge r s are aboa r d

the UAS, and as requir e d by the JDS ’ Oper a tions Manuals, all persons will be a safe dis t a n ce

a w ay in t he ev e nt t h a t t he U AS expe r iences any d i f ficulties duri n g flight inst r uct i on. Moreove r

,

a s required b y the JDS ’ Operat i ons Manuals, all flig h t t r ain i ng w i ll b e conduc t ed in cont r o l l ed

and st e ri l e e nvi r on m ent. As a whole, the safety p rocedures provided for in JDS ’ Oper a t i o n s

Manu a ls e nsure that the proposed U AS operations provide an equiv a lent o r h i gher level of

sa f ety t h an th a t p rovided by the f l ight instr u ction regulations.

J. 14 C. F

.R. § 91. 1 19(c): Minimum S afe Altitud e s

JDS reques t s an e xe m

pt i on f ro m the m in i m

u m safe alt i tu d e req u ire m ents of 14 C. F .R. §

91. 1 19(c). 1 5 Sect i on 91

. 1 19 prescrib e s the m in i m u m safe alt i t u des under which a i rcr a ft m ay not

15 R e l i ef f r om § 91.11 9 (a) will not be n ec e ssary b ec a use Pet i ti o n e r wi l l be a

b l e to p e rf

o rm a n e m er g ency l a n d i ngU.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 17

operate, in c l u ding 500 feet above the surface and away f r o m any pe r son, v ess e l, vehi c le, or

st r u c tu r e in no n

- congested a r e a s. S e e 14 C. F .R. § 91. 1 19(c). S ec t ion 91

. 1 19(d) allows for a

hel i co p ter to operate at less than those m in i m u m alti t udes w h en it c an be operated "w i thout

haza r d t o p e rsons or p roperty on the surface," provided t h a t "e a ch p e rs o n operating the helicopter

co m pl i es wi t h any ro u tes or altitudes specifically prescribed f or helicopte r s by the F

A A ."

An ex e m pt i on is req u i r e d becau s e t h e proposed JDS

- UAS operation w i ll no r m al l y need t o occur

b e low 400 f

eet A G L. In c i rcu m st a nces w here the JDS

- UAS is u s ed to i ns pe ct a s t r u c ture whose

heig h t exce e d s 4 0 0 feet A G L, the JDS

- UAS will not be ope r a ted m ore than 100 f eet above t he

h i g hest point on the structure, and within 50 feet h or i zo n tally of the s t r u c ture. Addit i on a l l y , due

the n a t u re of the proposed operations, the P i l ot and/or O bse r vers(s) m ay need to be l e ss t h an 500

feet a w ay fr o m the JDS

- UAS

.

Eq u iva lent Level of S a

fety

Co m pared to fl i ght operations with r oto r cra f t weig h ing far more t han the m ax i m u m w e igh t s

proposed herein, and g i v en the l ack o f f l a m m able fuel with t he above no t ed U A Ss, any r i sk

asso c i a ted w i t h t h ese operations i s far le s s than t h ose which presen t ly ex i s t with conv e nt i on a l

air c raft. An equivalent level of safe t y will be ac hiev e d giv e n the s ize, w eigh t , and s p eed of the

JDS

- UAS

, as well as t h e con t rolled loc a tion where t h e operat i ons w i ll o ccu r . In o rder to av o id

any risk to m anned a i rc r aft, f l i ght operations w i ll be re s tri c ted to 400 f eet A G L or be l ow, or

when inspecting a U.S. s t r u c tu r e wh o se heig h t exceeds 400 f e et AGL, w i t hin 100 feet above t he

highe s t p o i n t on t h a t structure and 50 feet horizontally of the stru c tu r e.

As set for t h in t he Ope ra t i ons Man ua ls, t he JDS

- UAS will be ope r a ted in a restricted ar e a, and all

flig h ts will be op e rat e d at a l ateral dis t a n ce of at l e ast 500 feet from a n y nonpartic i pat i ng

persons, unless t h a t pe r s on is in a posit i on wh e re he or she is shi e l d ed from the JDS

- UAS and

any possible debris resulting from its failu r e. As r equi r ed by t h e Operations Manual s

, flights will

be t e r m ina t e d if a nonparticipating p e rson with i n 500 f eet of the JDS

- UAS le a ves a shi e l d ed

posit i on. F u r t he r

, its op e rations will occur a t l e as t 500 feet a w ay fr o m v e hic l e s or s tructu r es

unle s s the p r oper t y own e r / co n t r o l ler ti m ely has g r ant e d p e r m i ss i on and the PIC has m ade a

safety a s ses s m ent of the r i sk of operating closer to those ob je cts and, op e rations near t h e PIC or

Observer w i ll not present an undue h aza r d p e r § 9 1

. 1 19(a). Adherence to these res t r i ct i ons in

JDS ’ Opera t ions Manuals w i ll ensure o pe rations c an b e conduc t ed without co m pro m is i ng publ i c

s afet y

. 16

without undue haza r d t o pers o ns or prop e rty o n t he g ro u nd in the e v e nt of a fai l u r e

. P e t i t ion e r ' s p r opos e d UAS

o p e rat i ons will not oc c ur o v e r con g e st e d a r e as, a nd ther ef ore a n e xe m

ption from § 91.119 ( b) wi l l n ot be n ecess a ry.

See e

. g

. , Gr a nt of E xe m

ption No. 11157 t o S lugwea r , Inc

. , dba Like o n a t ree Ae r i a l ( FAA

- 2014

- 0534 a t 15).

16 See e

. g

. , Gr a nt of E xe m ption No. 11138 t o Do u glas T rud e au (FAA

- 2 0 14

- 0 4 81 at 1 9 ) : " If b a rriers or s t r u c t u r es are

p r es e nt that c a

n s uffic i ently pr o t e ct nonpart i c i pating p e r s ons f r om the UA or d e b r is in t he e v e nt of a n a c c i d ent, t

h e n

the UA m ay o p e rate c l os e r th a n 500 feet to persons a f for d e d s u c h prote c t i on. T he o pe r a t or m ust a l so ensure that

nonpart i c i pati n g pers o ns re m a in u n der su c h p r o t e c t i o n. If a s i t uation a rises w h e re nonpart i c i pating p e r s ons leave

su c h prote c t i on and a

re within 500 feet of the UA, fl i ght o p e rat i o n s m ust ce a se i mm edia t ely. W h en cons i d e r i ng h o w

to i mm edia t e l y cease o p e rat i ons, t he pri m ary c o ncern is t

he s a fety of t h ose nonpart i c i pati n g pers o ns. I n a d d i t i on, t he

FAA f i nds that operat i ons m ay b e c onduc t ed c l oser th a n 500 feet to vesse l s, v e hicl e s a nd struct u res w h e n the

o w n e r/c o ntr o l l er of a ny s u c h vessels, v e hicl e s or st r uct u res grants p e r m

is s ion f or t he o p e rat i on and t

he PIC m akes a

safety assess m ent of t

he ri s k of o pe r a t i n g c l oser to t hose objec t s and d e t e r m ines that it does not p res e nt an undue

h aza r d

. "U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 18

K. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.121: Altime t er S e t t i n gs

JDS seeks an exe m

pt i on from 14 C. F

.R. § 91.121, which requires a person operat i ng an ai r c raft

t o m ain t a in c r u ising alti t u d e or flight level by refe r e n ce t o an a lt i m et e r t hat i s set to the

el e v a t i on of the d e p a

r t ure airp o rt o r baro m et r ic pressure. An exe m pt i on is requ i red to the e x t ent

that the UASs do not ha v e a ba r o m et r ic a l t i m et e r , but r a ther a G P S al t i t u d e read o u t.

Eq u iva lent Level of S a

fety

The F AA h a s s t ated th a t an equ i v a lent lev e l of safety to the r e qui r e m ents of 14 C. F

. R. § 91.121

can be a c h ieved in circu m st a nces w here: (1) the U A S s will be ope r a ted below 400 f eet A G L or

below 17 , (2) w i t h i n V L O S , (3) where G PS based a l titude information is rel a yed in r e al t i m e to t he

operator at a groun d

- ba s ed on

- screen disp l ay and, (4) where p r i or to each f l i ght, a z e ro al t i t ude

in i tia t ion point is established for the P IC to confirm accu r acy of the onboa r d G P S. 18

The CS

- UASs th a t JDS in t en d s to use for the proposed operations will m eet all the s e

operational characterist i cs. Moreov e r , as r eq u ir e d by JDS ’ Operat i ons Manuals, the PIC will be

requ i red to cali b rate t h e aircra f t ' s GPS compass p r ior to e ach flig h t ope r a t i on. Like p r i o r F AA

Sect i on 333 Grants of Ex e m pt i on, the CS

- UASs JDS in t en d s to use, and the safety m i t iga t ion

procedures c o nta i ned in t h e Operations Manual s

, b oth en s ure t h at a n eq u i v al e nt level of sa f ety

or g r eater level will be a chieved, and a Grant of E xe m pt i on to t he requirements of §

191.121 is therefore ap p rop r iat e

.

L. 14 C. F

.R. § 91.151 ( a): F uel Requi r ements for F l i ght in V F R C ondit i ons

JDS reques t s an e xe m

pt i on f ro m 14 C. F

. R. § 91.151(a) ' s fuel require m ents for f l ight in

VFR condi t i o ns. Sec t i o n 91.151 st a te s :

(a) No pers o n m ay beg i n a flight in a n ai r p lane u nder V F R c ondi t ions u n le s s (considering

wind and forecast weath e r cond i t i on s ) there is en o ugh f uel t o fly to t h e first point of

in t ended landing and, assu m ing no r m al c ru i sing speed

– (1) During t h e da y , to f

l y after that f

or at le a s t 3 0 m inu t es; o r

(2) At night, to fly after that for at least 45 m inu t es.

Here, t he technologic a l l i m i t at i ons on U A S bat t ery po w er m e ans t h a t no m ean i ngful flight

operations c an be cond u c t ed while still m ain t a ining a 3 0

- m inu t e batte r y reserve. An e xe m pt i on

fr o m the fuel r eq u i r e m ents of 14 C. F

. R. § 91.151(a) i s therefore r e qu i red. Moreove r

, it is not

JDS ’ in t ention to fly the CS

- UASs at night.

Eq u iva lent Level of S a

fety

17 If t he hei g ht of the st r

uct u re b e ing i nspec t ed e xceeds 400 f e et A G L, t

he U AS will not be o p era t ed m o r e than 1 00

feet a b ove the highest p o i nt on the st r uct u re.

18 See Gr a nt of E xe m

ption No. 11062 t o Astr a eus Aerial (F A A

- 2014

- 0352 a t 21).U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 19

In t he Gra n t of E x e m

pt i on to V D OS ( Exe m

pt i on No. 1 11 12), the F

AA det e r m ined t hat an

equiv a lent level of sa f

ety to the fuel require m ents for f l i ght in V F R con d i t ions could be ach i e v ed

by proh i b i ting the PIC from beginn i ng a JDS

- UAS flight unle s s (con s idering wind and forecast

weather co n di t ions) the r e was enough power t o fly to t h e first intended p oint of landing and,

assu m ing n o r m al c ru i sing speed, to fly after that for at l e a st 10 m inu t es. In reac h ing this

conc l u s ion, the F

AA co n sid e red that the UAS batteries for the JDS

- UAS prov i de ap p roxi m at e ly

50 m inu t es of p o wered f

l i ght (wi t h p aylo a d) and prov i ded b a ttery lev e l a n d bat t e ry time

re m ain i ng in m inu t es and seconds t o t h e PIC

. 1 9 The F AA al s o cons i dered the f

act the JDS

- UAS

operating m anual s ta t e s: “start ev e ry f l i ght with a fully cha r g ed ba t tery in the a e r i a l v ehi c le”, and

that in t he e vent t h a t t he JDS

- UAS should run low on pow e r , the P I C w ill be alerted and can

safely land th e

- JDS

- UAS as soon as pos s i b le. L ike t he V D OS Grant of Exe m pt i on, JDS ’ use of

the JDS

- UAS , c o m

bined with the req u i r e m ents of Pe t i t io n er's Operations Ma n ual s , ensu r e that a n

equiv a lent lev e l of sa f

ety c an be a chi e ved and in fact exce e ded.

Si m i l ar l y , in the Grant of Exe m pt i on to Alan Pu r win (Exe m p t i on No. 1 1 1 61), t he F

AA

det e r m ined that a n eq u i v al e nt level o f sa f ety t o t h e fuel requi r e m ents for f l ight in V F R conditions

could be ac h iev e d by pr o hib i ting the PIC f r o m b e ginn i ng a flight with t h e UA unle s s

(considering w ind and fore c a s t wea t h er conditions), there was enough power t o safe l y fly at

nor m al c ru i s ing speed to the i n tend e d land i ng p o i n t and l and t h e UA with 25% battery power

re m ain i ng. JDS will adh e re to th i s li m i t ation f or its JDS

- UAS flights.

The JDS

- UAS inc l udes a low ba t te r y warning s yst e m and the a m ount of bat t e ry r e serve power

re m ain i ng is cont i nuou s ly t r ans m i t ted to the PIC via t e le m et r ic data feed, which downlinks from

the JDS

- UAS to a g r ound

- base d

- o n

- sc r e en di s p la y

. 2 0 As required by JDS ’ Opera t ions Manuals,

t h e PIC will p ro m

pt l y fly the JDS

- UAS back t o the ho m e l aunch l oc a t i on or p re

- de t er m ined

a bort loc a ti o n where it m ay safely land, w hi l e still m ain t aining a m in i m u m of 2 5 % re s erve

ba t tery powe r

. JDS su b m i t s that t h e proced u res requ i ring f lights t o be sa fely te r m ina t ed o nce t he

b a t t e r i es fa l l be l o w 25% capa c i t y , co m bined wi t h the r equi r e m ent that fl i gh t s only be co n duct e d

with i n a secure, i sol a ted ar e a, using a U A S w eigh i ng l ess t han 55 pounds, and with i n V L OS of

the PIC and Obse r v er ( s ), ensure that the p r o posed opera t ion wi l l p rovide an equiv a lent o r h i gher

level of sa f

ety to the public to that p rov i d ed by the r e gulations fr o m which exe m pt i on is sough t

.

VI. D R UG AND ALCOHOL P R O G R A M

JDS will have p o l i c ies in p lace to en s ure t hat no p e rs o n m ay pa r t i c ipa t e in CS

- UASs flight

operations if they a re u n der t he infl u ence of al c o hol or any d rug.

VII. P U B L I C I N TER E S T

19

. G r a nt of E x e m

p t ion No. 11112 t o VDOS Globa l , LLC (F A A

- 2014

- 0 3 82 at 1 0).

20

. T h e JDS

- UAS g r ound co n t r o l s t a t i o n displa y s, t

he U ASs posi t ion, n a viga t i o n rout e , tail n u m be r

, a l t i t u d e,

hea d i ng, nor t

h seeki n g a

rr o w, range t o t ar ge t s, ca l cula t ed target posi t ion, da t e / ti m e, a n d s en s or he a ding and

o r i e n t a t i on rel a t i ve to t h e UAS.U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 20

The publ i c i n te r e s t will be served by gran t ing JDS ’ Petition f o r Ex em pt i on. Congress has

es t a b l i shed a na t io n al policy that f a vors early i n teg r a t i on of U A S into the NAS in controlled, s a f e

work i ng en v i r on m ents such as tho s e proposed in this Petitio n . Granting t h is Petition f o r

Exe m pt i on helps ful f

i l l Congress' goal i n p a ss i n g Sect i on 3 3 3(a) t h rough (c) of the R efo r m Act

—

the F AA Ad m in is t r a to r ' s assess m ent of wh e ther certa i n U A S m ay o perate sa f ely in the

N A S be f ore co m ple t ion of the s t atu t or i ly requ i red rule m aking.

The proposed JDS

- UAS operations in t his Pet i tion f or Ex e m pt i on sig n if

i can t ly i m prov e s the

safety and reduc e s risk of har m , physical i n ju r y a n d proper t y d a m age to the pub l ic at l a r g e , the

proper t y o w ners from wh o m per m i s sion was granted for use by Pet i tion e r and abutting

properties, s ta f

f of Petitione r , unsus p ec t i ng p assersb y , insp e cting enginee r s fr o m relevant

o r gani z a t i o n s and all th o se who m ay be i n the lo c al v i c init y

. T raditional m ethods of providing

surveillance and m odel i ng se r vices r e qui r es location personnel to cli m b towers, t r e es, ventu r e

onto p r e c arious roofs and oth e r dan g erous sce n ario s , perform el e v a ted work for w hich the

ind i vid u al is nei t h e r tra i n ed nor equ i pped to p e r f or m

, which expos e s them to unnecessary risk of

se r ious ph ys ic a l in

j u ry fr o m dange r ous falls or o ther physi c al m ish a p s . Moreove r

, insp e c to r s /sur v eyors a

re o f ten unne c ess a rily ex p osed t o ha za rdous condi t ions, unsafe

envi r on m ent s , cul t u rally ten s e s i t u a tions and other haz a rds associated with identifying spe c ific

loc a tions for potential recording s i t e s to be u s ed in the e nd p r oduc t

. The use of s m all U A Ss can

el i m ina t e these hazards and ulti m at e ly create a m uch safer m ethod of p erfor m ing t hese t ypes of

insp e c t i ons cr e a t i ng a sa fer environ m ent for t he publ i c a s well a s JDS e m plo y ees.

The use of s m all UASs a l so enhan c es safety and reduces risk to the s urro u nding pub l ic becau s e,

unl i ke m anned a i rcraft w eigh i ng tho u sands of p o unds, ca r ryi n g crew in a d di t ion to fl amm able

fuel, t he U A Ss ca r ry no passengers, cr e w or ex p l o sive fue l

. F ur t he r m or e

, in t he u n l i k e ly ev e nt of

an ac c i d ent, JDS ’ s m all bat t ery powered JDS

- UAS presen t s s ign i f i can t ly le s s d anger to persons

on the ground when co m

pared to op e rat i ons by c o nvent i on a l m a nned a i rcraf t

. 2 1 As Pet i tioner ' s

JDS

- UAS are b a t t e ry p o wered, t he publ i c w i ll a lso b e nefit f r o m a reduc t i o n in har m ful

petroleum based e m is s ions a ssoc i a ted with conventi o nal a irc r aft perfor m ing i n the s a m e

functions pro p osed here i n. Air quality will n a tu r a l l y be i m pr o ved with the reduction of f uel

powered vehicl e s.

Last l y

, a s r e cogni z ed by the F AA in p r ior Se c t i o n 333 Grants of Ex e m pt i on to fil mm ake r s, U A Ss

prov i de an a ddi t io n al e c on o m ic tool for the aerial f i l m ing notwi t hst a n d i n g the industr y , adding a

greater de g ree of flexib i lit y , which s u pple m ents the c urrent capabilities o f fered by m a nned

ai r c raft. 2 2 T h e qua l ity of t he finished product is enhanced and provides a greater fini s hed product

de m and which will aid the cu r rent U AS indust r y and prov i de additional j o bs as the c os t of

prov i ding t h e need e d pr o duct i s g rea t ly r edu c ed while r ed u cing the di f ficul t y with w h ich the

21 See Gr a nt of E xe m

ption No. 11158 t o Te a m 5

, LLC (FAA

- 2014

- 0783 at 12): "M a n n e d h e li co p t e rs c o n d ucting

aerial f i lm ing c an we i gh 6,000 pou n ds or m o r e a n d a re o p e r a t e d by a n o nbo a rd p i l ot, in a ddi t ion t o oth e r on b oard

crew m e m be r s, a s n ece s sary. T he pet i t i o n e r ’s UAs w i l l w e i gh less t han 55 pounds wi t

h n o on b oard pilot or c r e w.

The pi l ot a nd c rew wi l l be r e m ot e ly locat e d from the airc r aft. T he l i m ited wei g ht si g ni f

i c antly r e d uces the p o t e ntial

for harm to p ar t i c i pating a nd nonpart i c i pati n g i n div i d u a l s or pro p e rty in t he e v e nt of a n i ncid e nt or ac c i de n t.

risk t o a n on b o a rd p i l ot a nd cr ew dur i ng a n i ncid e nt o r acc i de n t i s eli m inat e d with the u s e of a U A f or t he a e rial

fil m ing op e rat i on."

22 See e

. g

. , Gr a nt of E xe m ption No. 11178 t o P i c ture Fac t o r y, I n c . (F A A

- 2014

- 0794 at 18).U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 21

finished p r o duct i s cr e a te d

. The de m and for the cur r e n t i nd u st r ial p roduct is i n creasi n g and will

cont i nue to increa s e gi v e n the e nhan c ed flexib i l i ty of product i o n ; t h er e fo r e, giv e n t h e lower cos t

, owner/oper a to r s and o t h ers in the relevant ind u stry will b e more inclined to u t ili z e the services of

com m er c ial U A S along with a n appropriate lice n sed PIC ’ s

.

VIII. P R I V

ACY

All JDS

- UAS operat i o ns will be c o nduct e d in a cco r dan c e with a p p l i ca b le f ede r al, st a te, and loc a l

laws r e garding pri v ac y

. All ope r at i ons sha l l be conducted over pr i v ate or control l e d

- access

proper t y w i th per m is s ion fr o m the l and owner / c ont r o l ler o r authoriz e d represe n tati v e. Per m is s ion

fr o m land owne r

/controller or auth o rized repres e ntative will be obt a i n ed for each fli g ht t o be

conduc t ed.

IX. FE D ERAL R E GISTER SUMMA R Y

Pursuant t o 14 C. F

.R. P a rt 1 1, the fo l lowing su m m ary is p r ovided for pub l ication in t h e

FE D ERAL RE G IST E R, should it be det e r m ined t hat publica t ion i s n e ed e d: Pe t itioner seeks an

exe m pt i on f r om the fol l owing ru l es in T i t le 14 of the Code of Federal R e gulations:

Part 21, Su b part H; Part 27; 45.23 ( b); 45.27(a); 6 1. 1 13; 91.7(a); 91.9( b ) ( 2 ); 91.9(c);

91.103; 91.109 ( a); 91

. 1 1 9(c); 91.12 1 ; 91.151 ( a); 91.203 (a) & ( b); 91.4 0 5(a); 91.40 7 (a ) (1);

91.409(a) ( 1 ) & (2); 91. 4 17 (a) & (b )

.

The exe m pt i on will enh a nce s a fety b y reducing r i sk to the aircraft cre w , production c r e w , gene r al

publ i c, p roperty owners a n d ci t y st r u ctu r es from the s ubsta n tial haz a rds a s soc i a ted with

perfor m ing equiv a lent f

ilm work and aerial v i d eo production with conve n t i on a l fixed

- wing

ai r c raft, r o t o rc r aft, o r o t h er m ethod s

.

X. CON C LUSI O N

JDS ’ Pet i tion f

or E xe m pt i on sa t isfies the c r i ter i a artic u la t ed in Section 333 of the Re f o r m Act of

2012 which inc l u des weight; spee d ; op e rating c a p abil i t i es; proxi m i ty t o a i r ports and populated

a r ea s ; op e rati o n with i n V L OS and na t i o nal s ec u rit y

. The propos e d JDS

- UAS operations will

benef i t the p u bl i c as a whole by i m prov i ng s a fety and re d ucing risk by alle v iating h u m an

exposu r e to d a n g er while lowering the at t endant rel a ted costs thereby increasing the de m and for

the finished product. In c onsider a t i on of the f oregoing, t his Pe t i tion f

or Exe m pt i on prov i des the

F AA with more t han a dequa t e just i ficat i on f o r gran t ing t he requested e x e m pt i ons al l owing JDS to

use s m all JDS

- UAS s in t he r e cord e d production of its p r od u ct.U.S Depar t m ent of T ransportation

Septe m ber 30, 2015

Page 22

We thank you for your prompt consideration of our requested exemptions.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jensen Design

1672 Donlon Street Respectfully Submitted,

randon Thompson, PLS

Jensen Design and Survey Inc.

1672 Donlon Street

Ventura, CA 93003

Telephone: (800)676

- 1916

Email: bthompson@jdscivil.com

(The following attached items contain proprietary and commercial information exempt from

disclosure under the Freedom of lnformation Act, 5 U.S.C. § 522 et seq., and should be held in a

separate file pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 11.35( b )).

Attachments:

1. General Operations Manual

2. PIC Operating Manual

3. Company Protocols

4. Location Protocols

5. Flight Communications Protocols

6. Departing Location Protocols

7. Transmitter Protocols

8. Preflight Checklist

9. Post Flight Checklist

10. Equipment Checklist

11. UAS Manufacturer's Manuals

a. User Manuals

b. UAS Maintenance Manuals