May

22, 2015 U. S. Department of Transportation Docket Management Sy stem 1200 New Jersey

Ave., SE Washington DC 20590 Exemption Request Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and Part 11 of the Federal Aviation Regulations from: Part 45.23(b) D isplay

of Markings Part 21 SubH Certification procedures for products and parts, Airworthiness Certificates Part 61 Certification: Pilots, L ight Instructors, and Ground Instructors Part 91 General Operating and Flight Rules 91.103(b)(2) Preflight act ion 91.105 Flight crewmembers at stations 91.109 Flight instruction 91.119 Minimum safe altitudes 91.121 Altimeter settings 91.151 Fuel requirements for flights in VFR conditions 91.405 Maintenance required 91.407 Operation after maintenance 91.409 Inspections 91.417 Maintenance records Dear Sir or Madam: Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 and 14 C.F.R., I, Jacob Thomas, an operator of an Unmanned Aircraft Sy stem for aerial photography /videography

for the tel evision, print and online news industry , hereby applies for an exemption from the Federal Aviation Regulations to allow commercial operation of my , Jacob Thomas', sUAS. I , Jacob Thomas, am in possession of a DJ I Phantom 2 Vision Plus. The UAS operated b y Jacob Thomas weighs less than 10 pounds, including the payload (i.e. camera, lens, and gimbal). It has a maximum speed of 34MPH, can hover, and can simultaneously move verticall y and horizontally . Jacob Thomas will only operate its UAS in line of sight onl y and will operate onl y with permission of the municipality in which it is being operated. Operations of the UAS will be utilized for electronic gathering of news events and weather in the East Tennessee area. The overwhelming majority of the East Tennesse e area is comprised of areas which would not usually necessitate the altitude of the UAS to go above 200 feet. Such operations will insure that the UAS will “not create a hazard to users of the national airspace sy stem or the public.”The Aircraft an d it’s operation: **DJI -**  **Phantom 2 Vision Plus**  This UAS has flight control using a remote control operating the 5.728
- 5.85Ghz frequency in compliance with FCC regulations. The range extender operates within a frequency of 2412
- 2462MHz in accordance with FCC regulations.  At any

time that communication is lost the UAS will return to and land within 6 feet of its take
- off location  The UAS locks onto multiple GPS satellites to establish a “home” position prior to flight.  All flights will be operated within line of sight b y the pilot and observer.  Maximum flight time of each event will be limited to 20 minutes or less, this will leave approximately 50% of reserve time on the UAS.  Flights will be well below the 400 feet AGL requirement, Jacob Thomas will never operate a UAS above 400 feet AGL.  Flights will alway s have a UAS operator and a camera operator who will control the recording via the DJIapplication on either a smart phone, or other manufacturer suggested compatible device.  UAS operation will not be commenced if within 5 miles of an airport which will ensure no danger to manned aircraft traffic.  Preflight procedure will be as follows: o Power supply

test of UAS, Controller, Range Extender and DJ I application device(smart phone) o Calibration of compass o Weather considerations o Flight obstructions o GPS lock of no less than 6 satellites o Link between controller and UAS o Link between application and UAS  All maintenance will be conducted in accordance with all manufacturer’s specifications  All maintenance and repair/modifications will be logged in a permanent file for future reference.  All of the latest firmware will be updated as needed via the DJ I software as well as controller calibrations. As with any

news gathering equipment used properly and safel y, the use of the UAS would benefit the public greatl y in the collection and dissemination of news and weather related occurrences. The use of this new equipment would be a great addition to existing equipment and in my opinion could revolutionize the news collection indus try . In addition I , Jacob Thomas, personall y will be the onl y operator of the UAS mentioned above. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact the undersigned at 865
- 399
- 3551 or email to thomasinspectionphotography @gmail.com
. Thank You for your consideration,

Jacob Thomas (865) 730
- 6650 (865)399
- 3551 thomasinspectionphotography @gmail.com