Aerial Imaging Services

508 Silverton Court

 Colorado Springs, CO 80919

(719) 209-8643

 aerial.imagery.co@gmail.com 

Aerial Imaging Services (AIS) Colorado Springs, CO

aerial.imagery.co@gmail.com

September 10, 2015

U. S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management System

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE

Washington, DC 20590

Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act. 

Dear Sir or Madam: 

Aerial Imaging Services (Petitioner), a veteran-owned business and operator of small 

unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) equipped to conduct operations supporting Colorado 

fire and emergency services, police, and local municipalities, surveying for utility, fire, 

search and rescue, and law enforcement by means of aerial photography and

videography, hereby respectfully requests exemption from several provisions under 

Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA 

Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, to allow commercial operations of sUAS in 

the public interest so long as such operations are conducted within and under conditions 

outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA as required by Section 333.

Regulations from which the exemption is requested: 

14 CFR Part 21

14 CFR § 45.23(b) 

14 CFR § 91.109 

14 CFR § 91.151 (a) 

14 CFR § 91.215

14 CFR § 409 (a) (2) 

14 CFR § 91.7 (a)

14 CFR § 91.103

14 CFR § 91.119

14 CFR § 91.203 (a) / (b) 

14 CFR § 91.405 (a) 

14 CFR § 417 (a) & (b) 3 

14 CFR § 91.9 (b) (2) 

14 CFR § 61.3

14 CFR § 91.121 

14 CFR § 91.205(b) 

14 CFR § 407 (a) (1)

14 CFR § 61.113 (a)(b)

Aerial Imaging Services believes an exemption is only needed from the above-listed 

regulatory provisions. To the extent that the FAA believes that additional relief is 

required for Aerial Imaging Services to conduct the operations described here, we 

request an exemption from any such regulatory provisions as well. 

Petitioner:

Ryan Pendleton

Aerial Imaging Services (AIS)

508 Silverton Court, Colorado Springs, CO 80919

Phone: (719) 209-8643 Email: aerial.imagery.co@gmail.com
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Petitioner is an aerospace engineer, satellite system expert, defense program manager, 

and 23-year veteran of the United States Air Force. Petitioner and all other operators 

of the sUAS employed by Aerial Imaging Services have significant experience in 

sUAS operations, including: mission coordination/airspace deconfliction, sUAS 

operations and maintenance, sensor applications, data compilation and analysis, and 

overall program safety.

Co-Petitioner / Collaborative Partner:

Steven Schopper

Audio Visual Specialist

Colorado Springs Fire Department

375 Printers Parkway

Colorado Springs, CO 80910

Email: sschopper@springsgov.com

Co-Petitioner is a 39 year veteran of the fire service. He is a state certified firefighter, 

Nationally Registered EMT and holds a Private Pilot Airmen Certificate. He is 

currently employed by the Colorado Springs Fire Department and his current position 

with them is Audio/Visual Specialist. He is an experienced UAS pilot and is well 

trained in NIMS (National Incident Management System) holding certificates in ICS100, 300 and 700. 

Previous exemptions granted to similar businesses

Exemption No. 12621 8/26/2015 Colorado Aerial Imaging LLC

Exemption No. 12536 8/20/2015 ArgenTech Solutions

Exemption No. 11925 6/26/2015 James Michael Hourihan

Exemption No. 11871 6/23/2015 Pinnacl X, LLC

Vehicles

The sUAS vehicles employed by the petitioner are as follows: DJI Phantom Vision, 

DJI Phantom 3 Standard, DJI Phantom 3 Advanced, DJI Phantom 3 Professional, DJI 

Inspire 1, and 3DR Solo.

These sUAS are commercially provided with well-known capabilities. Each sUAS 

has the built-in capability to limit the height they fly above the ground, to limit the 

radius of the distance they fly from the operator, and to exclude them from class B, C, 

and D airspace and TFR’s (Temporary Flight Restricted) areas. The vehicles also 

have the built in capability to return to the launching point if the wireless control link 

is interrupted or if the operator attempts to exceed any of the height, radius, or 

airspace limitations programmed into them. The vehicles weigh approximately three 

pounds (DJI Phantom 3 series and 3DR solo) to seven pounds (DJI Inspire 1). They
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Vehicles (continued)

have a top speed of approximately 30 knots (DJI Phantom 3 series) to around 47 

knots (DJI Inspire 1 at 42 knots and 3DR Solo at 47 knots). 

All vehicles will be properly maintained including software updates and system 

check/repair as required.

Description of Proposed Operations

The sUAS will not be operated at a speed exceeding the maximum sUAS operating 

airspeed recommended by the aircraft manufacturer, up to 47 knots. 

The sUAS will be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet above ground level 

(AGL).

The sUAS will be operated within visual line of sight (VLOS) of the pilot in 

command (PIC) at all times. The PIC will use human vision unaided by any device 

other than corrective lenses, as specified on the PIC’s FAA-issued airman medical 

certificate or U.S. driver license.

If operations require a visual observer (VO), the sUAS will be operated within the 

visual line of sight (VLOS) of the PIC and VO at all times. The VO may be used to 

satisfy the VLOS requirement as long as the PIC always maintains VLOS capability. 

The VO and PIC will be able to communicate verbally at all times; not by means of 

electronic messaging or texting. The PIC will be designated before the flight and will 

not transfer his or her designation for the duration of the flight. The PIC will ensure 

that the VO can perform the duties required of the VO. 

The sUAS may be operated at night during emergency operations supporting 

fireground operations, structural fires, hazardous material incidents, search and 

rescue, etc. if it is determined by the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) or the 

Incident Commander (IC) that use of the sUAS could play a pivotal role in saving 

human lives or mitigating the incident. During such operations all other system use 

constraints apply and the sUAS will remain within the VLOS of the PIC at all times. 

The operating documents (exemption and all documents needed to operate the sUAS 

and conduct its operations in accordance with the conditions and limitations stated in 

the exemption) will be accessible during sUAS operations.

Any sUAS that has undergone maintenance or alterations that affect the sUAS 

operation or flight characteristics, e.g., replacement of a flight critical component, 
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Description of Proposed Operations (continued)

will undergo a functional test flight test by the PIC with a VO at least 500 feet from 

other people prior to conducting further operations.

Prior to each flight, the PIC will conduct a pre-flight inspection accounting for all 

potential discrepancies, e.g., inoperable components, items, or equipment and 

determine the sUAS is in a condition for safe flight. The operator will follow the 

sUAS manufacturer’s maintenance, overhaul, replacement, inspection, and life limit 

requirements for the aircraft and aircraft components. 

A pre-flight briefing will be conducted in regard to the planned sUAS operations 

prior to each flight mission. It will be mandatory that all personnel who will be 

performing duties associated with the flight be present for the flight briefing. 

The PIC will meet all FAA requirements for operating the sUAS and will 

demonstrate the ability to safely operate the sUAS in a manner consistent with how 

the sUAS will be operated under this exemption, including evasive and emergency 

maneuvers and maintaining appropriate distances from persons, vessels, vehicles and 

structures.

The sUAS will not be operated within five nautical miles of an airport reference point 

(ARP) as denoted in the current FAA Airport/Facility Directory (AFD). For airports 

not denoted with an ARP, the center of the airport symbol as denoted on the current 

FAA-published aeronautical chart, unless a letter of agreement with that airport’s 

management is obtained or otherwise permitted by a COA issued to the exemption 

holder.

The sUAS will not be operated within 500 vertically or 2,000 feet horizontally from a 

cloud or when visibility is less than 3 statute miles from the PIC. 

If the sUAS loses communications or loses its GPS signal, the sUAS will return to a 

pre-determined location within the private or controlled-access property. 

The PIC will abort the flight in the event of unpredicted obstacles or emergencies. 

The PIC will not begin a flight unless there is enough available power for the sUAS

to complete the intended operation with the reserve power recommended by the 

manufacturer.

The UA will remain clear and give way to all manned aviation operations and 

activities at all times. 

The UAS will not be operated by the PIC from any moving device or vehicle. 
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Description of Proposed Operations (continued)

All Flight operations will be conducted at least 500 feet from all nonparticipating 

persons, vessels, vehicles, and structures unless: 

a. Barriers or structures are present that sufficiently protect nonparticipating 

persons from the sUAS and/or debris in the event of an accident. The operator 

will ensure that nonparticipating persons remain under such protection. If a 

situation arises where nonparticipating persons leave such protection and are 

within 500 feet of the sUAS, flight operations will cease immediately in a manner 

ensuring the safety of nonparticipating persons; and 

b. The owner/controller of any vessels, vehicles, or structures has granted

permission for operating closer to those objects and the PIC has made a safety 

assessment of the risk of operating closer to those objects and determined that it 

does not present an undue hazard. 

Note: The PIC, VO, operator trainees or essential persons are exempt from these 

distance restrictions.

Public Interest Motivations for Granting the Petition

1. The Congress of the United States has determined that early accommodation of 

sUAS into the National Airspace System advances the public interest. The Committee 

Report leading the House to adopt H.R. 658 said: "The successful integration of 

unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS) can 

support more than 23,000 high-paying jobs in the United States. . . . The absence of a 

plan to integrate UASs into the NAS is a barrier to such job creation . . . ."1 Granting 

the Petition represents a step toward such integration, in the absence of a 

comprehensive regulatory regime for sUAS, and thus would serve the Congressional

goal and the public interest.

2. Granting the Petition will facilitate a new era in Emergency Response activities, 

one in which the responders themselves have a tool to safely, quickly and remotely 

assess a situation without placing lives in harm’s way. In comparison, the EOD robots 

have saved countless lives since their inception, a feat that will become common 

place for aerial assessments. 

3. Granting the Petition will enable Petitioner to demonstrate the commercial viability 

of creating new safety techniques and tactics with new aeronautical technology, 

thereby improving the efficiency of Emergency Responders around the world and 

making for a safer society. The rules from which Petitioner seeks exemption 

artificially and irrationally limit the effective use of new technologies to expand 
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Public Interest Motivations for Granting the Petition (continued)

Emergency Response safety and improve the efficiency of markets, thereby 

subverting the public interest. 

4. Granting this Petition will enable the Petitioner to help demonstrate that the FAAs 

sUAS FARs are indeed a safe and effective means in which to govern the NAS. He 

will serve as an advocate for the practice of lawful sUAS operations. 

5. Granting the Petition will fulfill the FAA’s own declaration that encouraging new 

aviation technologies advances the public interest. The FAA itself has recognized the 

public interest in its role of "Encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, including 

new aviation technology."2 Granting the Petition will enhance FAA fulfillment of 

that commitment, thereby serving the public interest. Air commerce flourishes in the 

United States because of the rapid pace of innovation in aeronautical and associated 

technologies, followed by their commercialization and their introduction into the 

marketplace. The drone technology that the Petitioner uses exemplifies the latest 

innovative leap forward in aeronautical technology. Preventing it from using this in 

air commerce subverts achievement of the goal. 

6. Granting the Petition will fulfill the Congressional determination that integrating 

sUAS technology into the NAS serves the public interest. Section 330 of the FAA 

Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, specifically recognizes the advantages to air 

commerce obtainable from the deployment of sUAS technologies. It mandated 

several steps by the FAA to accelerate the availability of these technologies in the 

National Airspace System, thereby representing a congressional determination that 

the public interest is served by making these technologies more widely available at 

the earliest practicable date. The Petition represents a way for the FAA to move 

incrementally, while still satisfying its congressional mandate and meeting its 

obligation to enhance the public interest by making new technologies available by 

allowing the use of sUAS technologies in a manner that protects the public and the 

rest of the aviation community from significant risk. The commercial activities by 

Petitioner proposed in the Petition represent contributions to new forms of air 

commerce, thereby fulfilling the FAA’s statutory mandate under the 2012 Act. 

7. Granting the Petition will enhance aviation safety, thereby advancing the public 

interest. The Petitioner has committed itself in the Petition to safety practices that 

reduce or eliminate hazards to aircraft in the National Airspace System and to persons 

and property on the ground. Many others are flying sUAS without regard to these 

hazards. Granting the Petition will offer the Petitioner up as an example of how the 

FAA is willing to accommodate the new technology when it is constrained by 

appropriate limitations to enhance safety. It will also allow the Petitioner to be a role 

model for safe commercial sUAS operations. 
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Conclusion

The development of aerial based imaging technology has allowed for revolutionary 

new resources in the interest of public safety. AIS has the capability to provide this 

valuable support while abiding by all rules and regulations necessary to carry out safe 

and effective operations. The size, speed, operating environment, limitations, and 

level of applicant's experience outlined above provide an "equivalent level of safety 

or better” when operating a sUAS for the public interest as outlined in Section 333 in 

the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. We therefor request approval of 

this Petition for safe, legal, commercial sUAS operation as soon as possible. 

Respectfully, 

Ryan Pendleton

Aerial Imaging Services

Phone: (719) 209-8643

Email: aerial.imagery.co@gmail.com