August 14, 2015

U. S. Department of Transportation

Docket Operations, West Building Ground Floor

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and Part 11 of the Federal 

Aviation Regulations from 14 CFR 61.113 (a) & (b); 91.103(b); 91.119; 91.121; 

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

Dear Sir or Madam: 

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform 

Act) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, CAM Pacific (CAM), an engineering and construction 

company, hereby applies for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations 

(“FARs”) to allow commercial operation of its Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

(“sUAS”) for aerial imaging for safety and monitoring of secured and controlled 

environment construction sites, so long as such operations are conducted within and 

under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA as required by 

Section 333. 

As detailed in this document and the attached “Maintenance and Flight Log”(Flight 

Log), the requested exemption would permit the operation of sUAS under controlled 

conditions in airspace that is 1) limited 2) predetermined 3) controlled as to access and 4) 

would provide safety enhancements to the already best practices safety protocols 

followed by CAM at each one of its construction sites. Approval of this exemption would 

thereby enhance safety and fulfill the Secretary of Transportation’s (the FAA 

Administrator’s) responsibilities to “...establish requirements for the safe operation of 

such aircraft systems in the national airspace system.” Section 333(c) of the Reform Act. 

The name and address of the applicant is: 

CAM Pacific

1314 S. King Street, Suite 417

Honolulu, HI 96814

PH: 808-593-0001

Email: aye@campacific.com

Regulations from which the exemption is requested: 

14 C.F.R. Part 21

14 C.F.R. 45.23(b)

14 C.F.R. 61.113 (a) & (b) 14 C.F.R. 91.7 (a)

14 C.F.R. 91.9 (b) (2)

14 C.F.R. 91.103

14 C.F.R. 91.109

14 C.F.R. 91.119
14 C.F.R. 91.121

14 C.F.R. 91.151 (a) 

14 C.F.R. 91.203 (a) & (b) 14 C.F.R. 91.405 (a)

14 C.F.R. 407 (a) (1)

14 C.F.R. 409 (a) (2)

14 C.F.R. 417 (a) & (b) 

I. STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR EXEMPTIONS 

The Federal Aviation Act expressly grants the FAA authority to issue exemptions. This 

statutory authority includes exempting civil aircraft, as the term is defined under §40101 

of the Act, including sUASs, from the requirement that all civil aircraft must have a 

current airworthiness certificate.

The Administrator may grant an exemption from a requirement of a regulation prescribed 

under subsection (a) or (b) of this section or any sections 44702-44716 of this title if the 

Administrator finds the exemption in the public interest. 49 U.S.C. §44701(f) See also 49 

USC §44711(a); 49 USC §44704; 14 CFR §91.203(a) (1).

Section 333(b) of the Reform Act assists the Secretary in determining whether sUAS may 

operate in the National Airspace System (NAS) without creating a hazard to the user, the 

public, or a threat to national security. If the Secretary determines that a sUAS “may 

operate safely in the national airspace system, the Secretary shall establish requirements 

for the safe operation of such aircraft in the national airspace system.” Id. §333(c).

CAM’s sUAS are multirotor vehicles, weighing 10 or fewer lbs. including payload. They 

operate under normal conditions at a speed of no more than 50 knots and have the 

capability to hover, and move in the vertical and horizontal plane simultaneously. The 

sUAS will operate only in the Pilot’s visual line of sight at all times and will operate only 

within the sterile area described in the Flight Log, attached as Exhibit 1. Such operations 

will insure that the sUAS will “not create a hazard to users of the national airspace 

system or the public.” Reform Act Section 333 (b).

Given the small size of the sUAS involved and the restricted and sterile environment 

within which they will operate, our application falls squarely within the zone of safety 

(an equivalent level of safety) in which Congress envisioned that the FAA must, by 

exemption, allow commercial operations of sUAS to commence immediately. Also due 

to the small size of the sUAS and the low altitudes and restricted areas in which the 

sUAS will operate, approval of the application presents no national security issue.

Given the clear direction in Section 333 of the Reform Act, the authority contained in the 

Federal Aviation Act, as amended; the strong equivalent level of safety surrounding the 

proposed operations, and the significant public benefit, including enhanced safety, the 

grant of the requested exemptions is in the public interest. Accordingly, CAM

respectfully requests that the FAA grant the requested exemption without delay. 
II. PUBLIC INTEREST 

This exemption application is expressly submitted to fulfill Congress’ goal in passing 

Section 333(a) through (c) of the Reform Act. This law directs the Secretary of 

Transportation to consider whether certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely 

in the NAS before completion of the rulemaking required under Section 332 of the 

Reform Act. By granting an exemption the FAA will fulfill Congress’s intent of allowing 

UAS to operate with significant safety precautions in low risk environments.

The use of sUAS on a construction site can significantly reduce the risk to workers of 

falls while inspecting, surveying, or monitoring site progress. sUAS can inspect, 

photograph, and collect data on hard to get to areas that otherwise would require worker

inspection. Falls are a leading source of workplace fatality and injury on construction

sites, and reducing falls through sUAS use for site imaging could save workers lives.

Additionally, sUAS could replace the use of helicopters and small aircraft to monitor 

sites. The sUAS we propose to fly in this application are under five pounds, and carry no 

combustible material on board, as opposed to the much larger conventionally powered 

small aircraft. Shifting to sUAS from helicopters presents a marked safety increase for 

our workers and the public.

Lastly, sUAS reduce the environmental impact by dramatically decreasing the energy 

used for aerial imaging and data collection over a construction site. Our sUAS use 

rechargeable lithium ion batteries, as opposed to fossil fuels burned in operation of small 

aircraft that are many hundreds of times heavier.

III. EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY 

CAM proposes that the exemption requested herein apply to sUAS that have the 

characteristics and that operate with the limitations listed herein. These limitations 

provide for at least an equivalent or even higher level of safety to operations under the 

current regulatory structure because the proposed operations represent a safety 

enhancement to the already safe protocols followed on construction sites and imaging and 

surveying operations conducted with helicopters and other conventional aircraft.

CAM will be bound by the following limitations when conducting its sUAS operations 

under an FAA issued exemption:

1. The sUAS will be less than 10 pounds.

2. Flights will be operated within visual line of sight of a pilot.

3. Maximum total flight time for each operational flight will be 30 minutes. The 

UAS calculates battery reserve in real time, and will return to its ground station 

with at least 20% battery power reserve should that occur prior to the 30 minute 

limit.

4. Flights will normally be operated at an altitude of 200 feet AGL, never exceeding 

400 feet AGL.

5. Any site within 5 miles of an airport will not be flown without notification and 

approval of the local FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) and airport 

controller.
6. Crew for each operation will consist of the sUAS Pilot who will keep the sUAS 

within his visual line of sight at all times.

7. The sUAS Pilot will be trained in flight, operations, and safety procedures and as 

detailed in the DJI Manual.

8. The sUAS will only operate within a confined area as defined in this document 

and the Flight Log. The Flight Log also requires the establishment of a “Security 

Perimeter” for the flight operations area.

9. A briefing will be conducted in regard to the planned sUAS operations prior to 

each day’s production activities. It will be mandatory that all personnel who will 

be performing duties within the boundaries of the safety perimeter be present for 

this briefing.

10. All onsite personnel will consent to the sUAS flyover on site by waiver, and the 

operator will obtain additional verbal or written consent of all persons who will be 

allowed within 100 feet of the flight operation.

11. Pilot will have been trained in operation of sUASs generally and received up-todate information on the particular sUAS to be operated as required by this 

document.

12. Written and/or oral permission from the relevant property holders will be 

obtained.

13. All required permissions and permits will be obtained from territorial, state, 

county or city jurisdictions, including local law enforcement, fire, or other 

appropriate governmental agencies.

14. If the sUAS loses communications or loses its GPS signal, it will have capability 

to return to a pre-determined location within the Security Perimeter and land.

IV. DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC REGULATIONS

14 CFR 61.113 (a) & (b): Private pilot privileges and limitations: Pilot in command 

Sections 61.113 (a) & (b) limit private pilots to non-commercial operations. Because the 

UAS will not carry a pilot or passengers, the proposed operations can achieve the 

equivalent level of safety of current operations by requiring the pilot operating the 

aircraft to have completed a UAS flight training course of 10 hours before flying a UAS. 

Unlike a conventional aircraft that carries the pilot and passengers, the UAS is remotely 

controlled with no living thing or cargo on board. The area of operation is controlled and 

restricted, and all flights are planned and coordinated in advance as set forth in this 

document. The risks associated with the operation of the UAS are so diminished from the 

level of risk associated with commercial operations contemplated by Part 61 when 

drafted, that allowing operations of the UAS as requested with a pilot who has met the 

minimum requirements of this document exceeds the present level of safety achieved by 

14 C.F.R. §61.113 (a) & (b).

14 C.F.R. 91.103: Preflight Action 

This regulation requires each pilot in command take certain actions before flight to 

ensure the safety of flight. An exemption is needed from this requirement as the Pilot will 

take separate preflight actions, including checking for weather conditions, checking flight 

battery requirements, checking takeoff and landing distances, and all other actions in the 
Preflight Checklist in this document and the DJI manual. These actions will provide an 

equivalent level of safety. 

14 C.F. R. 91.119: Minimum Safe Altitudes 

Section 91.119 establishes safe altitudes for operation of civil aircraft. Section 91.119 (d) 

allows helicopters to be operated at less than the minimums prescribed, provided the 

person operating the helicopter complies with any route or altitudes prescribed for 

helicopters by the FAA. This exemption is for a multirotor craft that flies similarly to a 

helicopter, with vertical take off and vertical landing, which will typically operate at 

altitudes of 200 AGL, so an exemption may be needed to allow such operations. The 

sUAS will never operate at altitude higher than 400 AGL and will be in a restricted area 

with security perimeter, where buildings and people will not be exposed to operations 

without their pre-obtained consent. 

The equivalent level of safety will be achieved given the size, weight, speed of the sUAS 

as well as the location where it is operated. No flight will be taken without the permission 

of the property owner or local officials. Because of the advance notice to the property

owner and any onsite personnel as outlined in this document, all affected individuals will 

be aware of the planned flight operations. Unlike flight operations with aircraft or 

rotorcraft weighing far more than the maximum 10 lbs. proposed herein, our sUAS will 

not carry flammable fuel. In addition, the low-altitude operations of the sUAS will ensure 

separation between sUAS operations and the operations of conventional aircraft that must 

comply with Section 91.119. 

14 C.F.R. 91.121: Altimeter Settings 

This regulation requires each person operating an aircraft to maintain cruising altitude by 

reference to an altimeter that is set “...to the elevation of the departure airport or an 

appropriate altimeter setting available before departure.” As the sUAS may not have a 

barometric altimeter, but instead a GPS altitude read out, an exemption may be needed. 

An equivalent level of safety will be achieved by the operator, pursuant to this document, 

confirming the altitude of the launch site shown on the GPS altitude indicator before 

flight.

14 CFR 91.151 (a): Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions 

Section 91.151 (a) outlines fuel requirements for beginning a flight in VFR conditions. 

Our sUAS is limited to operations in sterile and controlled environments as outlined in 

the this document, and has a limited range and flight time which require an exemption 

from 14 CFR 91.151(a).

The battery powering the sUAS provides approximately 35 minutes of powered flight. To 

meet the 30 minute reserve requirement in 14 CFR §91.151, sUAS flights would be 

limited to approximately 5 minutes in length. Given the limitations on the sUAS’s 

proposed flight area and the location of its proposed operations within a predetermined 

area, a longer time frame for flight in daylight or night VFR conditions is reasonable.

CAM believes that an exemption from 14 CFR §91.151(a) falls within the scope of prior 

exemptions. See Exemption 10673 (allowing Lockheed Martin Corporation to operate 
without compliance with FAR 91.151 (a)). Operating the small sUAS, in a tightly 

controlled area where only people and property owners or official representatives who 

have signed waivers will be allowed, with less than 30 minutes of reserve fuel, does not 

engender the type of risks that Section 91.151(a) was intended to alleviate given the size 

and speed of the small UAS. Additionally, limiting sUAS flights to 10 minutes would 

greatly reduce the utility for which the exemption will be granted. 

An equivalent level of safety can be achieved by limiting flights to 30 minutes, or enough 

battery reserve to ensure that the sUAS lands at the ground station with at least 20% of 

battery power (as determined by the onboard monitoring system and the Pilot), whichever 

happens first. This restriction would be more than adequate to return the sUAS to its 

planned landing zone from anywhere in its limited operating area.

Similar exemptions have been granted to other operations, including Exemptions 2689F, 

5745, 10673, and 10808.

14 CFR 91.405 (a); 407 (a)(1); 409 (a)(2); 417 (a) & (b): Maintenance inspections 

These regulations require that an aircraft operator or owner “shall have that aircraft 

inspected as prescribed in subpart E of this part and shall between required inspections, 

except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, have discrepancies repaired as 

prescribed in part 43 of this chapter...,” and others shall inspect or maintain the aircraft in 

compliance with Part 43. 

Given that these sections and Part 43 apply only to aircraft with an airworthiness 

certificate, these sections will not apply to CAM. Maintenance will be accomplished by 

the operator pursuant to the flight manual and operating handbook as referenced in this 

document and the DJI Manual. An equivalent level of safety will be achieved because 

these small sUAS are very limited in size and will carry a small payload and operate only 

in restricted areas for limited periods of time. If mechanical issues arise the sUAS can 

land immediately and will be operating from no higher than 400 feet AGL. As provided 

in this document, the Pilot will ensure that the sUAS is in working order prior to 

initiating flight, perform required maintenance, and keep a log of any maintenance 

performed. Moreover, the Pilot is the person most familiar with the aircraft and best 

suited to maintain the aircraft in an airworthy condition to provide the equivalent level of 

safety.

**********

Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. Part 11, the following summary is provided for publication in the 

Federal Register, should it be determined that publication is needed: 

Applicant seeks an exemption from the following rules: 14 C.F.R. §21, subpart H; 14 

C.F.R 45.23(b);14 C.F.R. §§ 61.113( a) & (b);91.7 

(a); 91.9 (b) (2);91.103(b);91.109; 91.119; 91.121; 91.151(a);91.203(a) and (b); 91.405 

(a); 91.407 (a) (1); 91.409 (a) (2); 91.409 (a) (2) and 91.417 (a) & (b) to operate 

commercially a small unmanned vehicle (55lbs or less) in construction operations.

Approval of exemptions allowing commercial operations of sUAS in the construction 

industry enhances safety while reducing risk. Manned aircraft monitoring and surveying 
creates a greater risk because the craft are much larger, have combustible fuel, and carry 

an onboard human pilot. In contrast, a sUAS weighing fewer than 10 lbs. and powered by 

batteries eliminates virtually all of that risk given the reduced mass and lack of 

combustible fuel carried on board. The sUAS will carry no passengers or crew and, 

therefore, will not expose them to the risks associated with manned aircraft flights.

The operation of small sUAS, weighing less than 10 lbs., conducted in the strict 

conditions outlined above, will provide an equivalent level of safety supporting the grant 

of the exemptions requested herein, including exempting the applicant from the 

requirements of Part 21 and allowing commercial operations. These lightweight aircraft 

operate at slow speeds, close to the ground, and in a sterile environment and, as a result, 

are far safer than conventional operations conducted with turbine helicopters operating in 

close proximity to the ground and people.

All flights will occur over private or controlled access property with the property owner’s 

prior consent and knowledge. Images taken will be of individuals who have also 

consented to being filmed or otherwise have agreed to be in the area where aerial 

photography will take place. 

Satisfaction of the criteria provided in Section 333 of the Reform Act of 2012--size, 

weight, speed, operating capabilities, controlled operating environment and operation 

within visual line of sight and national security – provide more than adequate justification 

for the grant of the requested exemptions allowing commercial operation of applicant’s 

sUAS in the construction industry. 

Sincerely,

Andrew C. Yee, P.E., PMP

Principal

CAM Pacific

Attached: Exhibit 1 – Maintenance and Flight Log

Referenced: http://www.dji.com
DJI	Phantom 3 -	Maintenance	and	Flight	Log

GENERAL	

Project:__________________________________				Date:____________________

Operator:	________________________________

Visual	Observer:	___________________________

Location:	_____________________________________________	

AIRCRAFT:

Name/Model	No.:______________________________________

Pre-flight	Inspection:	Yes	No

Aircraft	Maintenance	Status:______________________	

Comments:	_________________________________________________	

WEATHER

Ceiling:__________	Visibility:_____________	Winds:_______________	

FLIGHT	DETAILS	

Proximity	to	airport:	_________________	(attach	map	indicating	approximate	location	of	flight)	

Airport	notified:	Yes	No	Date:_______________

Time:	______________	Phone	Number:	_______________________

Contact	Name:	__________________________	COA	Requested:___________	

Nearest	major	intersection:	____________________________________________________	

Proximity	to	local	road:	_________________________________________________

Proximity	to	structures:	________________________________________________	

Approx.	Takeoff	Time	:___________________	Approx.	Landing	Time:______________________	

Estimated	Elevation:_______________________	

Safety	Issues/Concerns:	

Additional	Comments:	

Prepared	by:__________________________

Make	this	available	to	administrator/local	law	enforcement	upon	request.