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.

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 Operation
3. 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 be 
conducted 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 and 
testing 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.

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. 
* 14 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 cruising 
altitude 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 inspection 
to 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