AirView Corp

David Mauer

4168 W Berteau

Chicago, IL 60641

773

- 286

- 3112 77

dave@airv.co

August 14 , 2015

U. S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management System

1200 New Jersey Ave.

Washington, DC 20590

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

Regulations

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, AirView Corp (“AirView”), the operator of Sma ll Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“UAS ”),

including the DJI Phantom 2, seeks an exemption from the Federal Aviation Regulations (“FARs”) listed

b elow . AirView seeks exemption from the list ed FARs to allow its use of UAS in commercial operations,

such as insurance claim monitoring, building inspections and security

, and structural assessments so long as

such operations are conducted within and under the conditions outlined herein or as established by the FA A

in an exemption granted under either Section 333 or Section 49 U.S.C. § 44701(f).

As discussed below, AirView is willing to abide by conditions the FAA has required in issuing recent

Section 333 exemptions, specifically Exemptions 11109 (Clayco, Inc.) a nd 11110 (Trimble Navigation

Ltd.), 11215 (B.E.V. Roof Inspections), 11171 (Asymmetric Technologies), 11188 (State Farm), 11230

(Montico Inc.) and 11241 (Phoenix Air Unmanned). This agreement on UAS, Inc.’s part and the strong

similarity of its operations to those approved in Exemptions 11109, 11110, 11215, 11171, 11230 and 11241

should give the FAA a basis for prompt consideration and processing of this request.

AirView is an information delivery company. It proposes to use a UAS (e.g

. DJI Phantom 2 ) and proprietary

cloud

- based software to collect, process, and analyze aerial data principally for purposes of insurance claim

monitoring, building inspections and security, and structural assessments

. In doing so, AirView will be a

market leader in a tra nsformative industry by providing high quality and actionable informat ion to users.

Indeed, use of UAS would contribute to various soc ial good including making insurance claims faster and

more accurate and reducing risks to humans through safety inspection s, property damage assessm ent and

enhancing security of properties

.

Regulations from which the exemption is requested:

14 C.F.R. § 61.113(a) & (b);

14 C.F.R. § 61.133(a);

14 C.F.R. § 91.7(a);

14 C.F.R. § 91.119(c);

14 C.F.R. § 91.405(a);14 C.F.R. § 91.407(a)(1);

14 C.F.R. § 91.409(a)(2);

14 C.F.R. § 91.417(a) & (b) Extent of relief I seek, and reasons why:

AirView requests an exempt i on from the following r e gulations a s well as any additional regulations

t hat may te c hnically apply to the operation of the DJI Phantom 2:

14 C.F.R. § 61.113(a) & (b); 61.133(a): Private Pilot Privileges and Limitations; Pilot in

Command; Commerci a l Pilot Privileges and Limitations.

Section 61. 1 13(a) & (b) limit private pilots to non

- commercial operations. Unlike a co nv entional aircraft

that carries a pilot, passen g ers, and ca r go, the DJI Phantom 2 in this c a se is remotely controlled with no

pass e ngers or pr o perty of others on board. Section 61

. 133(a) requires an individual with a commercial

pilot’s license to be p ilot in command of any aircraft for c o mpensation or hire. AirView respectfully

proposes t h at operator requirements should take into accou n t the charact e ristics of the particular U AS.

AirView’s DJI Phantom 2 has a hi g h degree of pre

- programmed control and various built

- in tec h nical

cap a bilities that strictly limit the potential for operation o u tside of the operating c o nditions set forth in the

ex emption a p plication.

The DJI Phantom 2 has an autonomous navigation and cont r ol system. Flights are p re

- programm e d

with precision GPS guidance and d o not requi r e human intervention. In the case o f unplanned ev ents,

the operator can manually intervene to take one of t h e following a c tions:

(i) command the aircraft t o begin to a utonomously return to the recovery area and la n d; (ii) command the

aircraft to autonomously return to the recovery area w h ere the pilot will assume control and land the

airc r aft; or (iii) manually ass u me control of the aircraft via the hand controller and return the craft to t h e

recovery a rea where the operator lands it.

Additional a utomated safety functions and safety enhancing f eatures of t h e DJI Phantom 2 inclu d e the

followin g :

Auto

- pilot d etection of l ost GPS or of insuff i cie n t satelli t es i n itiates a st a nd

- by loiter pattern until

such time as GPS is re

- established or the PIC assumes manual c o ntrol of the a ircraft.

Low battery power on the aircraft triggers the l a nding sequ e nce and the craft will fly to the

recovery area. In the event the ground station reac h es a low p o wer state, it will alert the pilot.

If the auto

- pilot detects a lost

- li n k to t he ground control stati o n for longer than 30 seconds,

landing procedure begi n s

. The aircraft, weighing f

e wer than 6 lbs.

Given these safety features, AirView propo s es that o p erators of t h e DJI Phantom 2 should not be required

to hold a commercial pilot certification. The risks associated wi t h the operat i on of the DJI Phantom 2

(given its s i ze, speed, o perational capabili t ies, and lack of combustible fuel) are so diminished f rom the

lev e l of risk ass o ciated with commercial operations contemplated by Part 61 with conventional aircraft

(fixed wing or rotorcraft) that allowing operations of the UAS as set forth above mee t s or exceeds the

prese n t level of sa f

ety provided under 14 C.F.R. § 61.113(a) & (b) and does not rise to the level of

requiring a commercial pilot to ope r ate the airc r aft under § 61.133(a).

Given these conditio n s and restrictions, an equivalent level of safety will be provided by allowing

operation of the DJI Phantom 2 with a private pilot’s certifica t e, under the conditio n s set forth in the

exempt i on request. The FAA has granted exemptions to conduct similar operatio n s in Ex e m ptions

11062 through 11067, 1 1080, 1110 9

, and 11110.

14 C.F.R. § 91.7(a): Civil Aircraft Air w orthin e ss.This regulation requires t hat no pers o n may oper a te a civil aircraft unless it is in airwor t hy condition.

S hould the exemption be granted all o wing commercial opera t ion of the DJI Phantom 2 without an

airworthiness certific a te, no standard will exist for airworthiness of the DJI Phantom 2. Given the size of

the ai r c raft and the requirements that the o perator has agreed to as relates to airworthiness, as set f or t h in

the att a ched manuals, an equi v alent level o f safety will be achieved by ensuring compliance with the

AirView manuals prior to each flight. The FAA has granted exemptions to conduct similar operations in

Exemptions 11062 through 11067, 110 8 0, 11109, a n d11110.

14 C.F.R. § 91.119(c): Minimum Safe Altitudes.

Section 91. 1 19 establis h es safe al t i t udes for op e ration of civil aircraft. S p ecific a lly, 91.119(c) limi t s

aircraft flyi n g over areas other than congested a r eas to an al t itude of 500 feet above the surface, except

over open water or sparsely populated a r eas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated cl o s er than

500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.

As set forth herein, the DJI Phantom 2 will never operate at higher than 400 feet AGL. It will, however,

be operated to avoid congested or po p ula t ed areas that are d e picted in yellow on VFR sectional c h arts.

Beca u s e aerial survey work must be acc o mplished at relatively low altitudes a nd at altitudes less than 5 0 0

feet AGL, an exempti o n from Section 91.119(c) is needed.

The equivalent level of safety will be achieved given the size, weight, speed, and material with which the

DJI Phantom 2 is built. A lso, no flight will be tak e n without the permissi o n of the landowner or those

who control the land as well as local officials. Beca u s e of advance notice to the landowner, all affec t ed

individua l s will be a w are of the s u rvey flights. Compared to aerial survey operations con d ucted with

aircraft or rot o rcraft weighing far more than 5.5 lbs. and carrying flammable f uel, any risk associ a ted with

these o pe r ations will be far less than the risks currently posed by conventional aircraft oper a ting at or

below 500 feet AGL. Indeed, the low

- altitude operations o f the UAS w i ll maintain separation b e tween

these small

- UAS operations a nd the operations o f conventional aircraft t h at must comply with Section

91.119. The FAA has granted exemptions to conduct similar operations in Exemptions 11062 through

11067, 110 8 0, and 1110.

14 C.F.R. § 91.405(a); 407(a)(1); 409(a)(2); 417(a) & (b): Maintenance Inspections

Section 91. 4 05(a) requires that an aircraft opera t or or owner “shall have t hat aircraft inspected as

prescribed in subpart E of this part a nd shall be t ween required inspec t i o ns, except as provided in

paragraph (c) of this s e ction, have discrepancies repaired as prescrib e d in part 43 of this chapter

. . . . ”

Section 9 1.407 simil a

rly makes reference to r equirements in Part 43; Section 91. 4 09(a)(2) requires an

an n ual inspecti o n for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate. Section 91. 4 17(a) requires the owner or

operator to keep records showi n g certain maintenance work that has been acc o mplished by certific a ted

mechanics, under Part 43, or lice n s e d pilots and records of a pproval of the aircraft for return to s e rvice.

Maintenance of the DJI Phantom 2 will be accomplished by the owner/operator pursuant to the manuals

attached as c o nfidential e x hibits. An e quivalent level of safety will be achi ev ed because the UAS is small

in size, will carry a small pa y load, will oper a tion only in r estricted pr e determined areas and is not a

complex mechanical device. As provided in the attac h ed manuals, the operat o r will ensure t hat the UAS is

in worki n g order prior to initia t ing flight, perfo r m required maintenance, and keep a log of any

maintenance t hat is perfo rm ed; more o v er, the operator is the p erson most familiar with the aircraft a nd is

best suited to maintain the ai r c raft in an a i rworthy co n dition and to ensure an e quivalent level of safety.

The FAA has granted ex emptions for similar o p erations in Ex e m ptions 11062 through 11067, 1 1080,

1110 9

, 11110, and 11112.

. AirView is seeking relief from all FARs above preventing applicant from conducting aerial imaging at levels

less than 400ft and at speeds well under 100mph, and with a maximum flig ht time of 25 minutes,. The UAS

to be used are DJI Phantom 2 and other models which are all below 5 5 pounds weight to include imaging orsensing equipment. These UA S meet the definition of "small unmanned aircraft" found in section 331 "The

Reform Act". In order to obtain high quality photography and video the UAS will be u sed at speeds much

less than its top speed . Due to the UAS being battery powered there are no combustible fuels on board.

Maximum flight time for these particular UAS is a 25 minutes battery life and flights will be terminated

within 25% of batter y life remaining. Given the size, weight, speed, and limited operating area associated

wi th the aircraft to be utilized AirView find s this exception to be reasonable with an equivalent, or greater,

level of safety to be reached by the operator.

Safety:

1 ) AirView do es not operate within 5 miles of an airport unless prior contact to Air Traffic Control or the

airport manag er has been made and authorize d

2) AirView will pilot the UAS through remote control by line of sight

3) The AirView UAS uses GPS and a flig ht safety feature whereby it returns to a pre

- programmed

position and then slowly lands if communication with the remote control pilot is lost.

4) AirView actively analyze s flight data and other sources of information to constantly update and

enhance safety protocols.

5) AirView conduct s extensive pre

- flight inspections during which safety carries primary importance.

6) AirView always obtain all necessary permissions prior to operation.

7) AirView has procedures in place to abort flights in the event of safety breaches or potential danger and or

inclement weather.

Public Interest

The use of a UAS in the insurance industry provides both insurance companies and customers a higher level

of service. For the insurance company, the use of the UAS will expedite the claims process and provide

better information relating to claims. For the customer, claim s can be processed more quickly and

accurately.

The use of a UAS for building security and structural assessments or inspections provides benefit to

building owners and also to people that live in and near the building. Data provided by AirView will

enhance the level of safety for people living in or near the building by highlighting potentially dangerous

situations.

Use of a UAS for these instances benefits the general public because it is much more efficient and safer than

traditional ways of using a plane or helicopter to achieve the same result. We can now provide this level of

service while being c onservative with fuel, time, emissions, noise, and other resources. Considering size,

weight, speed, and absence of comb ustible fuels, the UAS will pose much less of a safety concern for the

general public when compared to larger manned aircraft.

Sincerel y

,

David Mauer