U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, DC 20590

Re: Petition from Mark Rhoades and Enterprise Publishing for an Exemption Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and

Reform Act of 2012

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Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 ("Reform Act”) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Mark Rhoades (pilot) and Enterprise Publishing Company hereby applies for an exemption from the Federal Aviation Regulations identified below, to allow commercial operation of small unmanned aerial vehicles (i.e., "small unmanned aircraft" or "UAS") for photography for news coverage as well as various marketing applications. This exemption is made based on information outlined in this Petition for Exemption as well as the DJI Phantom 2 User Manual, (collectively referred to as "Manufacturer's Manuals”). Because of size limitations on Regulations.gov, the

manufacturers manuals are submitted here as URLs for download and inspection.

Phantom 2

Phantom 2 User Manual

http://download.dji-innovations.com/downloads/phantom_2/en/ PHANTOM2_User_Manual_v1.4_en.pdf

Phantom 2 Smart Flight Battery Safety Guidelines

http://download.dji-innovations.com/downloads/phantom_2_vision_plus/ Smart_Flight_Battery_Safety_Guidelines.pdf

Contents of the petition

1. Description of Petitioner

2. Description of Proposed Operation3. Public Interest

4. Regulations From Which Exemption is Sought

14 CFR §§ 61.101(e)(4) and (5): Recreational Pilot Privileges and

Limitations 14 CFR §§ 61.113(a): Private Pilot Privileges and Limitations 14 CFR §§ 61.315(a): Sport Pilot Privileges and Limitations 14 CFR §§ 91.7(a): Civil Aircraft Airworthiness 14 CFR §§ 91.119(c): Minimum Safe Altitudes 14 CFR §§ 91.121: Altimeter Settings 14 CFR §§ 91.151(a)(1): Fuel Requirements for Flight in VFR Conditions 14 CFR §§ 91.405(a): Maintenance Inspections 14 CFR §§ 91.407(a)(1): Maintenance Inspections 14 CFR §§ 91.409(a)(1) and (2): Maintenance Inspections 14 CFR §§ 91.417(a) and (b): Maintenance Inspections

5. Summary for Publication in the Federal Register

6. Conclusion

I. Description of Petitioner Mark Rhoades, with Enterprise Publishing will be the pilot in command for all Drone operations for any news coverage or marketing needs. Rhoades has a current medical certificate, and is also has a current pilots’ license with over 300 total hours of flight time, including over 20 hours of instrument training.

The Enterprise Publishing company is a family-owned newspaper group which has been in business for over 140 years. The group owns 12 community weekly newspapers, and is headquartered in Blair, NE. The UAS use will be mostly limited to the Blair, NE area, but would be used in any of the other markets on occasion depending on news coverage and or marketing needs.In accordance with 14 C.F.R. § 11.81(a), the following information is presented in support of its Petition for Exemption. The contact

information for Petitioner is as follows :

Mark Rhoades

Publisher Enterprise Publishing Company

138 North 16th

PO Box 328

Blair, NE 68008 Phone (402) 426-2121

E-mail: mrhoades@enterprisepub.com www.enterprisepub.com & www.enterprisepub.biz

II. Description of Proposed Operation

In our community newspaper, we have often used aerial photos to give our readers a unique perspective on various events, or projects in our communities. Our best use of aerial photography was in our coverage of a months long flood in our area in 2011. We took to the skies on a weekly basis to document this historic event, and even printed a book with the photos.

While we will continue to use an airplane for some aerial photos, our plans for use of a UAS will offer us the opportunity to take photos and video from a lower altitude, as well as get unique angles and close-ups for our photos

videos.

We also plan to use the UAS for marketing purposes such as photos and video for real estate for sale, business photos and other times where normal photography may not work as well.

All flights will be conducted in accordance with FAA regulations, restrictions set forth in any grant of exemption and Lab-based safety protocols. Flights will remain below 400 feet and will normally be conducted below 200 feet and in Class G airspace. Any flights within controlled airspace will beconducted according to the restrictions set forth in any grant of exemption, including prior notification to the airport manager, filing of NOTAMs and/or any other required actions.

III. Public Interest

The public interest will be served by granting the Enterprise Publishing Company Petition for Exemption as a UAS will be a significantly important tool in the future for a wide array of businesses, including news organizations. The public's interest will also be served by the operational goal to produce impactful local news. UAS and the cameras they carry have a clear First Amendment protected purpose, and their safe and ethical use will provide news consumers with greater perspective on their

communities and news events of interest. With our newspaper and publishing experience, knowledge of journalism ethics and rules, any UAS use will be held to the highest journalistic standards.

IV. Regulations from Which Exemption is Sought

Mark Rhoades, and the Enterprise Publishing Company seeks relief from 61.101(e)(4) and (5), 61.113(a), 61.315(a), 91.7(a), 91.119(c), 91.121, 91.151(a)(1), 91.405(a), 91.407(a)(1). 91.409(a)(1) and (2), and 91.417(a) and (b) in order to conduct the operations described in this document. The relief is identical to that sought and granted to other petitioners

As has been granted in other petitions, the UAS proposed by the petitioner is the DJI Phantom 2, and as such, in accordance with the statutory criteria provided in Section 333 of Public Law 112

− 95 in reference to 49 U.S.C. § 44704, and in consideration of the size, weight, speed, and limited operating area associated with the aircraft and its operation, the Secretary of Transportation has

determined that this aircraft meets the conditions of Section 333. In other petitions, the FAA has found that relief from14 CFR part 21, Certification procedures for products and parts, Subpart H— Airworthiness Certificates, and any associated noise certification andtesting requirements of part 36, is not necessary. We believe our operations fall under this same logic, and request similar relief

.

As a general matter, the Enterprise operations will provide an equivalent level of safety during its operations. The UAS being employed is lightweight, has no flammable fuel or other lubricants, operates at very slow speeds, and stays well below any conflicting air traffic. The UAS in this petition weighs significantly less than 55 pounds when outfitted with all equipment and batteries. All activities will be closely monitored by Mark Rhoades, a qualified pilot in command as well as a visual observer, and all emergency systems, such as lost signal emergency return protocols, will be enabled on each flight. The equivalent level of safety will be achieved through the employment of flight manual and maintenance manual procedures, pilot training, checklists and site criteria, restrictions in any grant of exemption and proper risk management procedures

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The specific regulations we are seeking relief from are:

14 C.F.R. §§ 61.101(e)(4) and (5), 61.113 (a) and (b), 61.315(a): Privileges and restrictions on Recreational, Sport and Private pilots

The Enterprise Publishing Company requests exemptions from 14 C.F.R.§§61.101(e)(4) and (5); 61.113 (a) and (b); and 61.315(a) which prohibits pilots holding sport, recreational, or private pilot certificates from acting as the pilot in command of an aircraft that is operating for compensation or hire. Previous grants of exemption and publicly announced FAA policy have stated that PICs holding these certificates can operate UAS commercially and they can provide an equivalent level of safety in doing so

.* 1 4 C.F.R. § 91.7(a), Civil aircraft airworthiness

The Petitioner requests an exemption from the civil aircraft worthiness requirement under 91.7(a). Section 333 permits the FAA to exempt aircraft from the requirements of an airworthiness certificate upon consideration of the size, weight, speed,operational capability, and proximity to airports and populated areas of the identified UAS. The FAA has determined that such certificates are not necessary for UAS. Without such a certificate, the Petitioner will be unable to comply with §91.7(a). In other grants of exemption, the FAA has determined that the pilot may determine the aircraft is in an airworthy condition prior to flight. The Petitioner requests the FAA make such a determination here as it has in numerous other grants of exemption. If such a grant is made, relief from 91.7(b) is not necessary.

* 14 C.F.R. 91.119, Minimum safe altitudes Mark Rhoades and Enterprise Publishing Company requests an exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 91.119 which provides for a minimum safe altitude requirement under which aircraft may operate. Under Section 333 grants of exemption already issued, as well as guidelines for model aircraft, UAS must fly no higher than 400 feet AGL. The 400- foot ceiling for UAS operations and the minimum altitude set forth in 14 CFR § 91.119 are in conflict. Relief from this regulation, plus a similar altitude ceiling set forth in other grants of exemption, will ensure UAS operations at lower altitudes will not interfere with manned aircraft. Relief from this regulation also assists in the required line of sight (LOS) restrictions in similar grants of exemption. Given the lightweight nature of the aircraft, the closer operating environments, restrictions in other grants of exemption and operational safety practices, relief from 91.119 provides an equivalent level of safety

* 14 C.F.R. § 91.121, Altimeter settings

The Petitioner requests an exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 91.121, which requires a pilot in command operating an aircraft to maintain cruisingaltitude or flight level by reference to an altimeter that is set to the elevation of the departure airport or barometric pressure. The UAS described in this petition uses a combination of an onboard barometer and GPS to determine altitude, and that barometric pressure is not manually adjustable. An equivalent level of safety is achieved through the use of live telemetry relayed from the UAS to the ground station, allowing the PIC to monitor the altitude at all times to ensure compliance with any altitude restrictions

.

* 14 C.F.R. § 91.151(b), Fuel requirements for flight in VFR

conditions

The Petitioner requests an exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 91.151(b) which requires a fuel reserve beyond what is needed to land at the intended point. All flights will be conducted in VFR conditions, but as there is no fuel in the aircraft, no fuel reserve can be maintained. And, given that the UAS in this petition are battery powered, the flights will be substantially shorter than the manned aircraft the regulation is directed toward. The UAS flights will last less than 20 minutes, which is less time than the VFR fuel reserve time. An equivalent level of safety is achieved through careful monitoring of the battery onboard and landing with 25 percent of battery power remaining

.

*14 C.F.R. §§ 91.405(a), 91.407(a)(1) and (2); 91.409(a)(2); and 91.417(a) and (b), Maintenance Inspections

The Petitioner requests an exemption from 14 C.F.R. §§ 91.405(a), 91.407(a) (1) and (2); 91.409(a)(2); and 91.417(a) and (b) which specify maintenance and inspection standards in reference to 14 C.F.R. Part 43. Relief is sought because Part 43 and these sections only apply to aircraft with an airworthiness certificate, which the UAS in this petition will not have and the FAA has determined are not needed. All maintenance and inspections will be conducted in accordance with the Operations Manual for the UAS set forth in this petition. Prior to each flight, the PIC will conduct a pre-flight inspectionto determine airworthiness and any issues found during that pre-flight inspection will be immediate cause for the device to be grounded until the issue is fixed. Once the maintenance or repair issue is fixed, a test flight will be conducted outdoors in a restricted access area where only the pilot and visual observer will be allowed to ensure safety. Once the repair has been verified and airworthiness established, the UAS can return to service. Logs of any and all repairs or part replacements will be kept and made available upon request.

v. Summary for Publication in the Federal Register

We believe that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition in the Federal Register because the requested exemption would not set a precedent and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to the petitioner.

VI. Conclusion

Given that the FAA has the authority under Section 333 of the FMRA and 14 C.F.R. Part 11 to grant exemptions to permit commercial UAS operations, and the petition requests relief identical to previous petitioners, we ask that the FAA grant this request for exemption to allow Mark Rhoades and Enterprise Publishing Company, to conduct commercial UAS operations. We believe the petition satisfies the requirements of Section 333, and that the public interest is greatly served by allowing the company to conduct news gathering using UAS. We ask that you grant this exemption with all due speed.

Respectfully,

Mark Rhoades

Publisher Enterprise Publishing Company

Blair NE, 68008