340 Woodpecker Ridge Santa Cruz, CA 95060

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-426
- 3733 F: 831
-426
- 5666 regulatory@

jobyaviation.com U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12 - 140, 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
**RE: Exemption Request Under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 and 14**  **C.F.R. Part 11** 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, Joby Aviation LLC requests exemption from the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) as detailed below, or as deemed appropriate by the administrator . This exemption would allow Joby Aviation to perform aeronautical research and development utilizing small remotely piloted scale model aircraft at our facility in Northern California . Joby Aviation was founded in 2009 with the intent to engage in the design, research, and development of transformative electric and hybrid
- electric airc raft designs and technologies. Of particular interest to the company are configurations which marry efficient fixed wing flight with vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilites. 1 Additionally, Joby Aviation is also working in partnership with NASA on the conventional takeoff and landing LEAPTech/SCEPTOR project which explores distributed electric propulsion concepts. 2,3 The company is comprised of individuals with extensive unmanned as well as manned flight experience, and has exper ience (via an earli er project) performing R&D/aerial data collection under COA. 4 The full scale S4 from Joby Aviation is a 4 seat, 4,000lb, winged tilt
- rotor capable of both conventional take
- off and landing, as well as vertical take
- off and landing. In support of our efforts to develop this aircraft, Joby Aviation intends to test and validate software, hardware, and aerodynamic design features using the following small scale, remotely piloted, electric aircraft platforms during tethered ground tests as well as free fli ght tests as appropriate :1) S4
- MH : a sub 5 lb. hex
- copter of carbon fiber tube and plastic construction , featuring tilting motor

pylons. This platform will be used for initial software development of VTOL control laws and redundancy evaluations. 2) "S4
- SS L " is a highly representative quarter- scale model of the S4 tiltrotor . The airframe is of carbon fiber composite construction, with metal hardware and is capable of both vertical take
- off and landing as well as conventional take off and landing operati ons, with a weight of less than 55 lbs, and a maximum speed below 60 knots . 3) "S4
- SS" is structurally identical to "S4
- SSL " but will carry additi onal hardware , software, and batteries. This is our highest fidelity quarter
- scale model of S4. This platform has a takeoff weight of 62.5 lbs (+/
- 5lbs) , and a maximum speed below 85 kts. The operation of these aircraft will be in accordance with the following constraints, as well as any additional constraints the administrator deems appropriate, at all times: 1. F lights will be in Class G airspace at less than 400 feet AGL. 2. The UAS will be operated over private property owned by the company, or private property with the permission of the owner. 3. The UAS will not be operated over populated areas, or the person or property of non participants. 4. The UAS will not be operated within 5NM of a public use airport, unless approved by the airport owner and authorized by the administrator and/or controlling agency. 5. Flight o perations will be limited to daytime , visual meteorological conditions. 6. The aircraft will remain within visual line of sight of the operator/observer at all times. 7. A NOTAM will be issued prior to such flight operations as deemed necessary by the FAA. 8. All flight test operations will involve the use of spotters to ensure that the UAS remains well clear of manned aircraft . 9. If deemed necessary by the administrator, t h e a i rcra ft w ill b e U .S . reg i stere d an d d i s p l a y t h e N --- nu m be r . 10. The P ilot in command (PIC) /Operator will possess the appropriate FAA Airman Certificates and have extensive manned and unmanned aircraft experience 11. No operator or observer will engage in, nor may an operator or observer permit, any activity during a critical phase of flight which could distract any operator or observer fro m th e performanc e o f his/he r dutie s o r interfer e i n an y wa y wit h th e prope r conduct of his/he r duties . 12. The PIC will conduc t a pre -flight inspection prior to each flight so as to ensure the airworthiness of the UAS, ground station, and associated systems and hardware are in a condition for safe operation. 13. The PIC and observers will maintain two -way communications with each other during all operations; if unable to maintain two -way communications, or if any condition occurs thatmay otherwise cause the operation to be unsafe, the operator will immediately conclude the

flight operation . 14. All flights will be conducted below 8 7 knots 15. All flight tests will be in accordance with a briefed flight test plan . 16. During the generation of each flight test plan, the PIC/Operator will perform a thorough risk assessment to ensure operational safety. 17. All flights will be performed in accordance with all FAA regulations other than those specifically waived by this request . 18. The airworthiness of these aircraft will be established and maintained by our team according to certification criteria such as MIL
- HDBK 516B, supported by significant background experience in manned and unmanned aircraft design, construction, and operations . 19. Flight critical parameters such as battery charge state, quality of radio and telemetry links, etc. will monitored in realtime to provide the operator with notice of any failures or out of specification parameters. 20. If deemed necessary, the a ir craft will employ a means to restrict their operation to the designated test areas, either by physical tether, obstruction, or GPS based flight termination features (geofencing) . Additionally, the large protected areas around our test sites coupled with th e intentionally restricted range of our aircraft will help to ensure the aircraft remain within the test areas. **The regulations from which relief is requested are as follows:** 

 14 C.F.R. Part 21, Subpart H  14 C.F.R. §91.203(a) and (b)  14 C.F.R. §45.23(b)  14 C.F.R.§61.23(a)  14 C.F.R. §61.113(a) and (b)  14 C.F.R. §61.133(a)  14 C.F.R. §91.7(a)  14 C.F.R. §91.9  14 C.F.R. §91.119  14 C.F.R. §91.121  14 C.F.R.§91.151(a) and (b)  14 C.F.R. Subpart E (§91.401 - §91.417) **APPENDIX Specific Exemption Requests**  **and Equivalent Level of Safety Showings 14 C.F.R. Part 21, Subpart H: Airworthiness Certificates**  This part specifies that civil aircraft must have an airworthiness certificate. Considering the small size of the aircraft included in this request, the limi ted and controlled test environment which is protected from non
- participants , visual line of sight operations with additional spotters to ensure deconfliction with any low flying air-traffic, the experienced engineering team which is overseeing all operations,and the use of industry standards in conjunction with aircraft specific standards that exceed industry

standards to establish and maintain airworthiness and flight safety of our flight test articles, we feel that an appropriate level of safety is reached. **14 C.F.R. §91.203(a) and (b) -** **- - C**  **ivil aircraft: Certifications required.**  Section 91.203 requires all civil aircraft to have a certificate of airworthiness , and certifica te of registration . Part 21, Subpart H, entitled Airworthiness Certificates, establishes the procedural requirements for the issuance of airworthiness certificates as required by FAR §91.203(a). Joby Aviation requests an exemption from these rules and will utilize an internal airwo rthiness process based on MIL
- HDBK 516B, and internally generated standards which draw on other existing standards as appropriate for our aircraft. The airworthiness documentation, and registration information shall be retained by the ground based UAS operators. Such an exemption meets the requirements of an equivalent level of safety under Part 11 and Section 333 of the Reform Act. The Federal Aviation Act and Section 333 of the R eform Act both authorize the FAA to exempt aircraft from the requirement for an airworthiness certificate, upon consideration of the size, weight, speed, operational capability, and proximity to airports and populated areas of the UAS involved.
**14 C.F.R. §45.23(b)**  **- -** **- Display of marks; general.** These regulations provide that each aircraft must display "N" and the aircraft's registration number in letters at least 3 inches high. Additionally, the aircraft must display the word "EXPERIMENTAL" in letters a t least 2 inches high near the entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or pilot station. Given the size of the UAS, this requirement is impossible to match. The equivalent level of safety will be achieved by having the registered N
- --number in 1 inch lettering on the side of the fuselage and/or wing. **14 C.F.R. §61.23(a) -** **- - Medical**  **certificates: Requirement and duration.**  Regulations provide that a person must hold at least a second class medical certificate when exercising:
• Second
- in - command privileges of an airline transport pilot certificate in part 121 of this chapter (other than operations specified in paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section); or
• Privileges of a commercial pilot certificate "U nder Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) Part 1, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines a medical certificate as "acceptable evidence of physical fitness on a form prescribed by the Administrator." 5 Given the size of the UAS in this petition and the limited flight area and the safety features integrated in the autopilot Joby Aviation believes that an Equivalent Level of Safety can be reached if the operator has a valid , state issued drivers license. D espite t his belief Joby Aviation retains operators holding at least a class III FAA airman medical certificates.**14 C.F.R. §61.113(a) and (b), §61.133 -** **- - Private Pilot Privileges and Limitations: Pilot in Command;** 

**Commercial Pilot Privileges and Lim itations**  Subsections (a) and (b) of §61.113 prohibit private pilots from operating aircraft in commercial operations, and §61.133(a) requires an individual operating an aircraft for compensation or hire to hold a commercial pilot certificate. Joby Aviatio n requests an exemption from 14 C.F.R. §61.113(a) and (b) and 14 C.F.R. §61.133(a) so that the above mentioned UAS platforms may be operated by individuals who h old a private pilot certificate (or higher) . Given no person or property of any third party sha ll be carried, and considering the small size, low speed, and limited operating areas , we feel that the FAA should permit operation of our UAS by operators with a private pilot certificate when the conditions described above have been satisfi ed. These cond itions are in accordance with those set forth in Volume 16, Chapter 4, Section 1 of FAA Order 8900.1. As such, we feel that operations of these UAS, as set forth above, meets or exceeds the present level of safety provided under 14 C.F.R. §61 .113(a) and (b) and §61.133(a). **14 C.F.R. §91.7(a) -**  **- - Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements**  This regulation requires that no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is i n airworthy condition. Joby Aviation requests that an exemp tion be granted allowing commercial operation without an airworthiness certificate. Given the size of the aircraft and the procedure of utilizing MIL-HDBK 516B, an equivalent level of safety will be achieved. The FAA has granted exemptions for similar operations in Exemptions 11062 through 11067, 11080 and 11110. **14 C.F.R. §91.9(b) -** **- - Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements.**  This regulation provides that no person may operate an aircraft unless a current, approved flight manual is in the aircraft. Joby Aviation determines that the intent of this requirement is to ensure that flight manual information is available to the aircre w while operating the aircraft. Joby Aviation requests an exe mption to this requirement, and believes that an equivalent level of safety will be achieved by having the ground based operators in possession of the operating limitations and flight manuals during all flight operations. The FAA has granted exemptions for similar operations in Exemptions **14 C.F.R. §91.119 -** **- - Minimum safe altitudes: General.**  T he regulation provides that over sparsely populated areas the aircraft cannot be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure. Since the UAS in this exem ption will be operating at less than 400 feet AGL, this requirement cannot be followed without increasing the probability of encountering other aircraft operating in the airpace . Given that Joby Aviation aircraft will only operate over private property with t he permission of the land owner, any person or property on the ground will belong to that of the operator, or with their written permission.In these cases, the land owner will be briefed on the route of flight and the associated risks to persons

and property on the ground. We maintain that due to the small size of the UAS, the hazard to persons, vessels, vehicles, and structures is not comparable to manned aircraft and should be considered in granting the exemption. Furthermore, Joby Aviation will not operate over congested areas nor ov er any open air assembly of persons. In the event of power unit failure , our larger platforms (S4SSL and S4SS) are able to continue to operate and land safely, this allows the PIC to conduct a landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the grou nd. Our smallest aircraft (S4MH) may not have this redundancy initially, however it will be incorporated early on, and given that it weighs less than 5 pounds, operates only at low hover speeds, and will be flown in accordance with the sound judgment of ou r engineering team, we feel this platform does not pose a significant threat to any persons or property on the ground, and zero threat to non
- participants. The FAA has granted exemptions for similar operations in Exemptions 11062 through 11067, 11080 and 11110. **14 C.F.R. §91.121 -** **- - Altimeter settings.**  The regulation states that aircraft shall maintain cruising altitudes by reference to an altimeter setting available within 100 nautical miles of the aircraft. The UAS will fly below 400 feet AGL and will not need to maintain hemispherical crui sing altitudes in order to de conflict with other aircraft, or to comply with ATC cruise clearances . To provide an equivalent level of safety, the autopilot calculates the reference altitu de (ground level) via the on - board GPS during the pre
-flight initialization . The GPS and barometer data are then used to calculate the altitude in
-flight. The FAA has granted exemptions for similar operations in Exemptions 11062 through 11067, 11080 and 11110. **14 C.F.R. §91.15 1(a)**  **- -** **- Fuel r equirements for flight in VFR**  **conditions.** The regulation states that no person may begin a fl ight in an airplane under day VFR conditions unless there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing and to fly thereafter for at least 30 minutes. As the aircraft in this request will be operating in the immediate area of their departure and arrival point at all times, are electric
- powered and endurance restricted to less than 30 minutes in the interest of avoiding an increase in t he mass and scale of the aircraft, this requirement would not increase the safety of the operators or any person or property on the ground . An equivalent level of s afety is achieved through a battery charge state monitoring system, which features aural a nnunciations of low battery conditions, and visual annunciations as well as real time monitoring of these, and other flight critical parameters on the ground station . Joby Aviation aircraft will be operated such that they will land with at least 10 minute s of battery power remaining in reserve . Since all operations are within a short range of the observer, and real
-time, multi operator monitoring is taking place, this will a llow the aircraft to safely and consistently land without risk of in flight exhaustion of energy .The FAA has granted exemptions for similar operations in Exemptions 2689F, 5745, 10673, 10808 and

Exemptions 11062, through11067, 11080 and 11110. **14 C.F.R. Subpart E(§91.401 -** **- -§91.417)**  **- -**  **- Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, and Alterations**  The regulation provides that the operator is primarily responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compliance with part 39 and 43. Paragraphs 91.407 and 91.409 require that the aircraft be "approved for return to service by a person authorized under 43.7" after maintenance and inspection. Joby Aviation seeks to authorize the PIC to perform and/or oversee maintenance and inspection of the aircraft and will allow the PIC to "be authorized to approve the aircraft for return to service." The PIC will ensure that the aircraft is in an airworthy condition prior to flight and conduct det ailed inspections after every 5 flight/operation hours, in addition to normal pre
flight checks before each flight . Any discrepancies found with the aircraft shall be reported to appropriate personal on the engineering team who will be considered specialists in their respective fields, and most suited to collaborate on returning the aircraft to service. The PIC will document any wo rk performed in accordance with 91.417, and will utilize a checklist before each flight. We feel that due to the size, ease of access, construction, and simplicity of the aircraft, the PIC can best ensure an equivalent level of safety is maintained during fli ght testing operations. The FAA has granted exemptions for similar operations in Exemptions 11062 through 11067, 11080 and 11110. **Public Interest** Joby Aviation contends that this request is in the public interest as it reduces the risks of flight testin g our aircraft, and decrease the time and cost required to deploy new, time and energy efficient technologies to market. The exemptions also permit our company to keep our operations within the United States which benefits the domestic economy, increases our chances of success by eliminating the costs associated with relocating the company, allows the company to pull from the pool of domestic engineers, and helps to drive domestic innovation and technological developments. **Summary for the Federal Register:** Joby Aviation seeks exemption from 14 C.F.R. Part 21, Subpart H, §91.203(a) and (b), §61.23(a), §61.113(a) and (b), §61.133(a), §91.7(a), §91.9, §91.119, §91.121,.§91.151(a) and (b) and 14 C.F.R. Subpart E (§91.401
- ¬ §91 .417) in order to allow for research and development to take place utilizing unmanned small scale models of a civil aircraft the company is developing. These exemptions would permit the use of smaller scale UAS in place of full scale manned aircraft, which is in the public interest as it reduces the risks of flight testing, and decreases the time and cost required to deploy new, time and energy efficient technologies to market. All flights will be performed over private property, or as approved by the admi nistrator, below 400 feet above ground level, at low speeds, and within visual line of sight of the FAA pilot certificate holding operator and experienced ground observers. The aircraft will be maintained by an experienced engineering team according to ind ustry best practices for airworthiness, maintenance, and continued operational safety.Sincerely,

Brett Golds mith Joby Aviation 340 Woodpecker Ridge Santa Cruz, CA 95060 P: 831 -426 - 3733 F: 831 -426 - 5666 regulatory@jobyaviation.com
References: 1) http://www.jobyaviation.com/about/ 2) http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/Features/leaptech.html 3) http://aero.larc.nasa.gov/files/2012/11/Distributed
- Electric
- Propulsion
-Aircraft.pdf 4) Joby Energy, Inc. conducted extensive UAS operations under a COA from October 2010 to October 2011 5) https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/medical_certi fication/faq/response1/