**Via	Electronic	Submission	and	U.S.	Mail**

Docket	Management	Facility U.S.	Department	of	Transportation 1200	New	Jersey	Avenue,	S.E. West	Building,	Ground	Floor Room	W12

- 140 Washington,	D.C.	20590

Re: Amendment	to Exemption of Section	333	of	the	FAA	Modernization	and	Reform Act	of	2012.

Exemption No. 12016 Regulatory

Docket No. FAA

–2015

– 0592

Applicant: Vortex	UAS,	LLC Attn:	Vince	Donohue 1112	Valley	Stream	Drive Wheeling,	Illinois	60090 Telephone:	(847)	571

- 8496 Email: vince@vortexuas.com

Dear	Sir	or	Madam:

Please	accept	this	letter	as	the	appl ication	of	Vortex	UAS,	LLC,	for	amendment	to our	Exemption No. 12016 under	Section	333	of	the	FAA	Modernization	and	Reform	Act of	2012 (“FMRA”).

Request for Amendment to exemption includes the following:

1. Addition al aircraft In the Vortex UAS grant of exemption, P age 3 Paragraph 1 under **Condition and Limitations**  : “ Operations authorized by this grant of exemption are limi ted to the DJI Phantom 2 Vision, DJ I Spreading Wings S900, and PrecisionHawk	Hawkeye	Mk −III when weighing less than 55 pounds including pay load. Proposed operations of any other aircraft will require a new petition or a petition to amend this exemption.” T hus
, Vortex UAS requests to included all of the aircraft listed in Attachment 1 and all subsequent modifications, revisions and evolutions of the listed aircraft. The listed aircraft have already been approved under the Exemption received b y Measure, LLC ( Exemption No. 12646), providing precedence for approval.

2 . Change of max imum flying altitude to below 500 feet AGL In the Vortex UAS grant of exemption, P age 3 Paragraph 4 under **Condition and Limitations**  : “The UA must be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet above ground level (AGL). ” Vortex UAS LLC requests the maximum altitude for UAS operations to be amended to “no more that 500 feet above ground level (AGL).”3. sUAS pilot training In the original petition, Vortex UAS requested permis sion to conduct sUAS Pilot Training. Footnote 1 on Page 1 of the Vortex UAS Grant Exemption states:

1 The petitioner also requested authority to conduct UAS training. At this time, the FAA is unable to authorize UAS operations for training until a further a ssessment is completed.

Vortex UAS asks for an expedited review of this request , emphasizing that approval is in the best interest of the Public and the National Airspace to allow Vortex UAS to conduct trai ning for sUAS pilots. Vortex UAS is particularl y suited to conduct such training for the following

reasons: 1. Vortex UAS president, Vincent Donohue
, is uniquely qualified to create coursework and conduct sUAS training. He is a ty pe

- rated, professi onal corporate pilot and CFII for over a decade. Mr. Donohue’s background includes experience as a Naval Aviator, as a pilot in Part 121 operations, Part 135 operations and Part 91 operations. Mr. Donohue holds a Masters degree in Unmanned S ystems Engineering, has a background in remote control aviation and continues to keep current in the RC community . This experience provides Mr. Donohue a unique perspective to understand the inherent risks and safe operation of conducting sUAS operations in the NAS. All proposed Vortex UAS flight training operations wi ll fall under direct supervision of Mr. Donohue. 2. Vortex UAS training covers topics necessary to create the knowledge base required for the safe use of sUAS. These topics include safe flight, aerod ynamics, operator interface, weather, airspace, safet y, miss ion planning, normal and emergency procedures and post

- mission procedures. Vortex UAS course curriculum will track as closely as possible to established FAA Private Pilot certification standards in elements that would be applicable to sUAS operations. 3. A ll Section 333 Exemption holders are required to have a certificated pilot to operate as PI C. However, m ost certificated pilots have no experience with sUAS n or Radio Controlled Aircraft. Thus, the only individuals legally

allowed to operate the aircraft have little to no experience in operating the aircraft. This creates an inherently unsafe environment in which a company holding an exemption hires a certificated pilot to operate the sUAS to remain “legal” but is operating unsafel y due to the pilot’s lack of training. Vortex UAS flight training provides the knowledge and skills necessary for new sUAS pilots to operate in a safe manner. 4. Vortex UAS requests to partner with the FAA in developing the training requirements of the sUAS Pilot’s license and act as a t est bed for the new sUAS pilot certification rules.

Conclusion

The Applicant requests that the FAA grant the amendments to the exemption as proposed.

Respectfully

Submitted, /s/ Vince Donohue Vince Donohue Vortex UAS, LLCAttachment 1

1. 2AgEagle 2. 3D Robotics Aero

- M 3. 3D Robotics Iris 4. 3D Robotics Iris+ 5. 3D Robotics X8 6. 3DRobotics Fixed Wing 7. 3DRobotics Multirotor 8. 3DRobotics Quadrotor 9. 3DR Solo 10. 3DR Spektre 11. 3DRobotics Spektre Industrial Multi

- Rotor Aerial Vehicle 12. 3D Robotic s Solo 13. 3DRobotics X8+ 14. 3D Robotics X8

- M 15. 3D Robotics Y6 16. Aerial Mob Heav y Li fter 17. Aerial Mob Light L ifter 18. Aerial Remote Mineral Detection S ys tem (ARMDS) 19. Aerialtronics Zenith with intergrated Airware sy stem 20. Aerialtronics Altura Zenith ATX8 21. Aerigon 22. Aerobo 23. AeroCine Kopterworx Hammer X12 24. Aeromao AeroMapper 300 25. Aeromao Talon 26. Aeromao Aeromapper 300 27. Aeromao Aeromapper EV

- 2 28. AeroVironment Shrike 29. AeroVironment Puma 30. Aeronavics X4 Titanium 31. Aery on Sky

Ranger 32. Aervonics Sk y J ib frame with a DJ I A2 flight sy stem 33. Aero

- M 34. Aery on Scout 35. Aery on Sky

Ranger 36. AgEagle 37. AgEagle Robotic 38. AgScout 39. AgScout Mini 40. Agribotix Hornet Drone 41. Agribotix Enduro Quad 42. AgriView VK Ranger EX 43. Aibot 44. Aibotix X

- 6 45. Air Rover AR

- 3000 46. AirCover QR

- 425s 47. AirRobot AR 18048. AirRobot AR 100

49. AirRobot AR200 50. Air

- X 51. Align M690 52. Altavian Nova 53. Altavian Nova F6500 54. Altavian Nova R8400 55. Altus X

- 4 56. Altus X

- 8 57. American Drones, LLC Eagle 58. Apprentice 59. Arch Aerial OCTO multi

- rotor UAS 60. Arris hexacoper 61. AR

- 960 Hex Rotor 62. AR

- 540 Quad Rotor 63. ARF

- MikroKopter OktoXL 64. ARF

- MikroKopter OktoXL+ 65. ArrowLite 66. AscTec Falcon 67. AscTec Falcon 8 68. As traeus Aerial Cinema Sy stem V.3CS 69. Atlantic RC Aircraft LC04 70. Auburn Trimble UX5 71. Auburn War Eagle 72. Auburn Eas yS tar 73. Auburn 74. AV44 75. Bixler 3DR Plane 76. Blade 350QX 77. Bixler 2 78. Boomerang Carbon Fiber Frame (The Identified Sy stem) 79. Bormatec Maja UAV 80. BOSH Technologies Super Swiper 81. Bumblebee

- S 82. C

- Astral Bramor gEO 83. CarbonCore Octocopter 1000 84. Carbon Core Cortex Quadcopter 85. CCO w/Wkm M 86. Chameleon Pro 87. CinesStar 88. Cinestar 6 89. Cinestar X8 90. Cinestar 8 91. Cinestar 8 HL 92. Cinestar 8 Okto XL 93. Coaxial Quad Multirotor VAO1

- V1 94. Coaxial Quad Multirotor VAO2

- V2 95. CopelandRED LLC Delta Wing Aircraft 96. Cy berQuad Maxi97. DJIFlame Wheel F450

98. DJIFlame Wheel F550 99. DAx8 100. DJII nspire 101. DJI Inspire 1 102. DJII nspire 2 103. DJIM P330z 104. DJIPhantom 105. DJIPhantom 1 106. DJIPhantom 2 107. DJIPhantom 2+ 108. DJIPhantom 2 Vision 109. DJIPhantom 2 Vision+ 110. DJIPhantom Vision + 111. DJIPhantom 3 112. DJIPhantom FC40 113. DJISprea ding Wings S900 114. DJISpreading Wings S1000 115. DJISpreading Wings S1000+ 116. DJIS800 117. DJIS800 EVO 118. DJIT600 119. Draganfly er Guardian 120. Draganfly er X4ES 121. Draganfly er X4P 122. Draganfly er X6 123. DT

- 18 124. DYS D800

- X8 125. Eagle VTO L 126. Eagle V2 127. E

- Flite Apprentice 128. Event 38 E384 129. F

- 450 130. Falcon VTOL 131. Fire Fl y 6 132. First Aerial Responder UAV 133. Flame Wheel G4 7.8 Sky crane 134. Flying

- Cam 3.0 SARAH 135. Foxtech Kraken 130 V2 136. FreeFl y S ys tems ALTA RTF 137. FreeFl y S ys tems Octocopter Airframe (Legacy) 138. G4 139. G4 models 140. GeoStar 141. GerMAP G220 142. GerMAP G180 143. goFarm GF

- 1 144. Gry phon Dy namics X8 145. GT80X146. Harris 18 HL

147. HEFF 148. Helicopters West DJII nspire 149. Helicopters West SkyJ ib 8 150. Helios 960 151. Hawkey e Mk

- III 152. HexaCrafter HC

- 1100 85. 153. HexaCrafter HO

- 1250 154. HH Blade 350QX2 AP 155. Hobbyking	“Bixler”	Fixed	Wing	Trainer 156. HoneyComb AgDrone 157. Horizon Hobby

Blade 350 Qx2 quadcopter 158. Hoverfl y LiveSk y, BigSk y 60 and H

- Frame 159. Hubsan X4 micro drone 160. HVP 14301 Multi Rotor 161. I dentified Sy stem 162. I MT Global xFold Cinema 163. Indago 164. InovalDrone: Inova One 165. InstantEy e Mk

- 2 166. InstantEy e Mk

- 2 Gen2 167. Intuitive Aerial Aeragon 168. K130 Oc tocopter 169. KongCopter X8 170. Kopterworx Hammer X12 171. L atitude HQ

- 4 Hy

brid Multirotor 172. LB700 173. L eading Edge Precision Vision 10 174. L eptron Avenger 175. L ewis Realty

Associates Hexacopter 650 176. L iberty

1 177. L ockheed Martin Desert Hawk II I 178. L ockheed Martin Indago 179. Matrix quad copter 180. MaxFlight 181. MD4

- 200 182. MD4

- 1000 183. Mikrokopter 2.5 184. MLB Compan y Super Bat 185. MU

- 1H 186. Multirotor G4 7.8 Sky crane 187. Nighthawk 188. Nighthawk VTOL 189. OktoXL6S12 190. PAG X4 191. Parksone Radian RTF 192. Parrot Bebop drone 193. Parrot PF 725100 Bebop Drone 14MP 194. Parrot Sky controller195. Patriot X4

196. Patriot X8 197. Finwing Penguin V2 198. Birdsey eview FireFly 6 199. Phoenix 200. Phoenix VTOL 201. Phoenix 60 202. Phoenix 60L E 203. Pixhawk 204. Precision Drone Pacesetter 205. PrecisionHawk 206. PrecisionHawk Hawkey e Mk

- III 207. PrecisionHawk Lancaster 208. Precision Lancaster MK3 209. Prioria Hex 210. Prioria’s	Maveric 211. Pulse Aerospace, PA 01 Vapor 212. Pulse Aerospace Pulse Vapor 35 213. Pulse Vapor 214. Puma AE DDL 215. PV 14817 Multi Rotor 216. PV HL 1 217. PV HL 2 218. Q1 219. Quadcopter LL C MikroKopter 220. Quiet UAV 221. Qube 222. R/C Rotors and Aerial Media: Matrix Prof. Multi Rotor Frame & Octo Heav y Lift Prof. Mul ti Rotor 223. Frame Ronin Edition Microdrones:MD4

- 1000 224. RCTimer Hexacopter 225. RDASS 226. REHawk 500 227. REHawk 680 228. RF

- 70 229. Riegl RiCopter 230. RITEWING	Z3	Spade	47” 231. Ritewing	Drake	60” 232. RITEWING	Z3	Spade	70” 233. RITEWING	Z4	Spade	52 ” 234. RMAX 235. Roboflight 236. Rotomotion SR

- 15 237. RV Jet 238. Scout X4 239. SD02 240. Seahawk 1.2 241. SelectTech	Geospacial’s	EH

- 4 242. SenseFl y eBee243. SenseFl y eBee RTK

244. SenseFl y eXom 245. Sensurion Magpie MP

- 1 246. Service

- Drone Recon One 247. Service

- Drone Blackbird 248. SH 900 249. ShadowHawk 250. Shrike 251. Sirius 252. SkyCatch 253. Sky Jib 8 v.2 Heavy

L ifter 254. Sky Phill y M I 255. Sky walker Aero 256. Sky walker Fl yi ng Wing X8 257. SnapRoll Media SUAS 258. Solutions Phoenix 30 259. Steadi Drone 260. Steadidrone Quad 261. Steady drone QU4D 262. Steadidrone Mavik 263. SuperX/P2 Multirotor 264. Swift Radioplanes Lynx 265. Tali 500 266. Talon 120L E 267. Tarot FY690S Hexacopter 268. Tarot quadcopter 269. Tarot 680pro 270. Tarot 690 271. Tarot 900 272. Tarot 960 273. Tarot T

- 15 274. Tarot T15 C/F Folding Octocopter 275. Tarot T18 UAV 276. Tarot T690 277. Tarot T810 278. Tarot T960 279. Tarsier S ys tems MoAC 280. Tayzu Robotics Titan X8 281. TBS Discovery

Pro 282. Team Black Sheep Discovery Pro Tarot T15 283. T

- Rex 700E F3C 284. TREX 800E DFC PRO 285. Trimble UX5 286. Trimble UX5 hp 287. Trimble ZX5 288. Turningy

Talon 500 289. TUP X8

- 800 290. Turbo Ace CINEWING 6 291. TurboAce Matrix

- G quadcopter292. Turbo Ace matrix

- E

293. Turbo Ace MATRIX

- 1 294. U AV Solutions Phoenix 60 295. Universey e Penguin 296. Unmanned	Flying	Rolling	Orb	“UFRO” 297. US2 GreenHawk 298. UtiliCopter I TX8 299. VA03

- v1 300. VA04

- v1 301. VA07

- v1 302. Viking UAS Multicopter (VTOL) 303. Viking UAS FF

- X4/X8 304. VK

- Patriot X4/X8 305. Viking UAS Patriot X4/X8 Multirotor 306. Viking UAS X6 Model 800 307. Viking UAS Viking ONE 308. VK

- 450 309. Viking Unmanned Aerial Sy stems, LLC AgriView VK Ranger EX 310. Viking VK

- FF

- X4 311. VK

- Ranger EX

- SAR Fixed Wing UAS 312. Volantex Raptor Tar ot T

- 18 313. Volt Aerial Robotics Octane 314. Vulcan frame controlled by a DJIA2 flight controller 315. Vulcan Mantis 316. Vulcan Octocopter 317. Vulcan Raven 318. Vulcan UAV 319. Walkera TALI H500 320. Walkera Scout X4 321. Wookong DJ I 5800 322. xCel Dro nes XD550CDR 323. XFold Rig with four configurations: Quadcopter, Hexcopter, Octocopter and x12Copter 324. X8

- M