May 22, 2015

U. S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management System

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) Display of Markings

Part 21 SubH Certification procedures for products and parts, Airworthiness Certificates

Part 61 Certification: Pilots, Light Instructors, and Ground Instructors

Part 91 General Operating and Flight Rules

91.103(b)(2) Preflight action

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 System for aerial photography/videography for the television, 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 DJI Phantom 2 

Vision Plus.

The UAS operated by 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 vertically and 

horizontally. Jacob Thomas will only operate its UAS in line of sight only and will operate only 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 Tennessee 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 system or the public.”
The Aircraft and 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 by 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 always have a UAS operator and a camera operator who will control the recording via the 

DJI application 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 DJI 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 DJI software as well as controller 

calibrations.

As with any news gathering equipment used properly and safely, the use of the UAS would benefit the public 

greatly 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 industry. In addition I, Jacob Thomas, personally will be the only 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