FLYTCAM MOTION PICTURES NIGHT OPERAIONS MANUAL

1. PURPOSE : This manual describes operations standards for sUAS flight operations at night. This

manual provides procedures for normal and abnormal operations for night flying. This manual

does not supersed e stricter requirements which are spelled out in the 333 Exemption and

applicable COA’s or section 14 CFR Section 107 and its waivers . Pilots and crews are reminded

that secti on 333 and Part 107 cannot be combined per federal guidance.

2. Definitions :

a. NIGHT: "The time between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of

morning civil twilight, as published in the American Air Almanac, converted to

local time." That's the FAA's definition in FAR 1.1.

b. Participating Person: This is only per sons required for the safe operation of the

aircraft as defined under the preamble to the Part 107. These include the Pilot,

Camera Operator, and Visual Observers.

c. Consenting Non

- Participating Persons: Are not required for the safe

operation of the airc raft. These are people that consent to being present and or

the subject of the aircraft operations such as production set talent and

crewmembers not associated with the aircraft operation. If certain set crew have

aviation backgrounds or prior set experi ence with the UA’s they may be used to

aid in enhancing the safety of the UA operation. But unless trained by Flytcam

standards they will be considered non

- participants for this purpose. Flight

directly over these personnel will be limited to the scope o f the 333 MPTOM

and/or 107.39 Waiver, whichever is applicable. Exceptions, will be any set

personnel coincidentally possess a Part 61 pilot cert for night operations or Part

107 cert with previous night experience.

d. Non

- Consenting, Non

- Participating Perso ns: These are not aware of the UA

operation and have not been briefed to any safety mitigation and are considered

in danger in vicinity of UA operations.

3. Night operations training and currency criteria for the pilot in command.

a. Current Part 61 Pilots fly ing under a 333 exemption or part 107 who have been trained

and are not restricted for night operations for their cert ificates in appropriate category

and class of aircraft where night training is appropriate. This includes airplanes,

helicopters and airships. Aircraft such as powered parachutes, free balloons, and gliders

typically do not receive night training which will subject to sub part b

.

b. Part 61 Pilots flying under a 333 exemption without prior night flight training will receive

1 to 2 hours of ground instruction from a qualified AGI, CFI or DPE on the nightphysiology subjects for visual illusions.

c. Part 107 only pilots will be trained in accordance with subpart b of this section.

d. All pilots in command will demonstrate that they can perfo rm a precise safe takeoff and

landing as well as safely maneuver the aircraft before performing night operations

under Part 107 or 91 rules. Pilots will demonstrate that they can safely navigate the

a ircraft by visual means and can demonstrate they can co mpetently use CRM with visual

observers to aid in enhancing flight safety as appropriate. Pilots must demonstrate t he

ability to adequately handle emergencies as described in the Emergency and Abnormal

Procedures Section. This may include flying beyond the launch site and having the

position lights momentarily extinguished to see if the pilot can use all available means to

recover the aircraft. Use of flight training devices such as simulators maybe used to

meet this requirement.

e. Before any commercial night operation commences the pilot in command will have

performed within 30 days three night flights greater than five minute duration with the

system to be used. P ilot maneuvers the aircraft beyond 500 feet from the launch point

to an altitude of at lea st 100 ft AGL . Pilots will practice in at least one flight to maintain

a safe hover without the use of GPS or other sensor position hold functions. One

landing under non

- h old functions must be performed. Manual flight and landings are

not required for the DJI Mavic systems which do not have user selectable modes. This

requirement will be met in a legacy syste m that does.

4. Night operations training criteria for Visual Ob servers.

a. Receive 1 to 2 hours of ground instruction IAW Section 3 sub part b.

i. This condition will be waived if any VO’s have formal FAA night flying experience

to include student solo night flight within the last two years. Any part 61 pilot

with night experience meets this criteria.

b. Practical training of three night flights giving call outs to the pilot in various

maneuvering configurations as in daylight training standards.

c. VO’s will reasonably demonstrate that they can give the pilot flying an accu rate

depiction of aircraft attitude, altitude and speed as well as proximity of obstacles.

d. VO’s will be trained on various abnormal and emergency procedures and expected

actions to handle the m as appropriate in this manual.e. T his section may be waived if p ilots who meet the requirements under section 3 act as

VO’s.

5. Weather Criteria

a. Cloud and visibility requirements.

i. 1000 Above

ii. 1000 Below

iii. 1SM Lateral from the Clouds

iv. 5 SM of visibility

b. W inds

i. Radius of 200 feet or greater of a structure or 50 ft AGL or a bove the max

structures he ight will follow max operating limits of the aircrafts operations

manual.

ii. Within 200 feet of large structures below 50 ft AGL will be 15 Knots or 2/3’s the

max operating limitation , whichever is less.

iii. Within 50 feet of structures below 50 ft AGL the winds will be no more than 10

Knots or one half the max limits of the operating manual whichever is less.

6. Performance Limitations:

a. Speed: not to exceed 50MPH or 43 Knots or what is reasonable within the vicinity of

multiple close

- in obstacles. PIC’s will u se judgement as to not violate 14 CFR Part 91.13

careless or reckless operation of an aircraft or 107.23.

b. Altitude not to exceed 200 ft AGL or 200 ft above a structure as allowed by 107.29

waiver or applicable 333 exemption amendment.

7. Aircraft and Ground Minimum Equipment List (MEL)

a. An anti

- collision beacon or strobe light viewable up to 3SM or greater.

b. Multicolor positon lights to discern the positions of the front and rear of the aircraft

such as green LED lights in the rear and red LED lights in th e front.

c. Telemetry instrumentation such data that is either downlinked to a smart device app or

interlaced on an On Screen Display (OSD) Device with a viewable video monitor. Must

include at a minimum the following.

i. Ground Speed

ii. Altitudeiii. Attitude

iv. Proxi mity and bearing of the aircraft in relation to the launch point

v. Battery status information which includes the minimum in flight voltage

d. Example of an acceptable devices is the telemetry which is downlinked to the DJI GoApp

for DJI Inspires, Phantoms, Ma vic and the Matrice series using Lightbridge 2. Legacy

equipment that uses DJI iOSD. Note: The attitude indicator that is displayed on the

iOSD uses the Russian standard which shows the bank angle as a third person looking

the tail of the aircraft versu s mimicking a horizon similar to a turn and bank indicator.

The GoApp has a standard artificial horizon ADI.

8. Crew minimum equipment list

a. Flashlight

b. Bright Yellow Vests

c. Two way radio

d. Pilot air band radio as required for ATC or traffic pattern monitori ng.

9. Preflight Actions

a. Area Survey:

i. The Pilot in command will at a minimum conduct a ground survey of the flight

area prior to all night operations. This survey will be conducted to note all

potential obstacles and hazards. These obstacles will be com pared to GEO data

from sources such as Google Earth. This will determine the need for one or

more visual observers to be placed in vicinity of the obstacle if the flight is to be

conducted beyond the near vicinity of the PIC. As a technique, the PIC may

conduct a daylight flight survey to scope out the altitudes of these obstacles and

plan to adjust the altitudes accordingly. This survey will aid in setting an

appropriate return to launch altitude in the event of a lost link.

ii. The PIC will conduct an airspace sur vey using a VFR Sectional Chart to gain

situational awareness of any areas which may have increased air traffic volume.

iii. During crew arrival to site location the PIC will do a walk through with the rest

of the crew all potential obstacles in the area so they are familiar.

b. Aircraft Equipment:

i. All standard preflight actions apply to night operations.

ii. Verify that the battery is fully charged for the b eacon

.

iii. Verify the position lights are in working order.

c. Site safety preflight briefing:

i. This will be accomplished IAW with the briefing guide in the company manual.ii. Emphasis on night operations and additional safety concerns will be discussed.

d. Ground Equ ipment:

i. Verify that all ground two

- way radios are in working order and communications

check is performed at the site locations.

ii. Verify that flashlights are in working order

10. N ight Flying Normal Operations:

a. Set the return home point to a minimum of 25 feet above the highest ob stacle in direct

return path not to exceed 200ft AGL or highest waived altitude for an area.

b. If required use Visual Observers for the following

i. To control access to the area for non

- consenting, non

- participating personnel.

ii. Place Visual observers in vicini ty of obstacles which may be a danger to the

aircraft. Visual observers will be positioned in a manner to see the aircraft

approaching an obstacle laterally as to ensure the altitude clearance.

iii. Obstacle and terrain avoidance will be the priority of visua l observers stationed

for that purpose. All VO’s will look out for non

- participating air traffic and alert

the pilot as soon as possible.

iv. VO’s will scan the sky for any air traffic conflicts as appropriate.

c. If the aircraft moves beyond the immediate vi cinity of the pilot. C onduct an initial flight

at the are a at a reduced pace not to exceed 10MPH or 8 Knots. This will give all crews

an opportunity to get a visual orientation of the aircraft to the obstacles and allow for

flight adjustments to be made prior to flying the aircraft to the planned performance

parameters.

d. The PIC will ensure the aircraft always remains in th e immediate sight line. At no

- time

will the aircraft be positioned or masked behind terrain or obstacle.

e. The use of vision enhancing devices for the sole purpose of navigating the aircraft will

be prohibited with the f ollowing exceptions.

i. Use of the devices are authorized by an FAA waiver.

ii. There will be another qualified pilot who can monitor the flight visually and take

manua l control of the UA in the event of video black out.

iii. The device uses an opaque glass such as the Epson Movio VR glasses which

allow the pilot to see through the glass.f. Pilots will use position lights as a method to orient the aircraft and to verify control and

performance of the UA.

g. Visual observers will be utilized to enhance pilot situational awareness to control and

performance of the aircraft as well as clearing the airspace for traffic. If any situation

occurs where situational awareness is being degraded by any crewmember the pilot will

cease maneuvering and will bring the aircraft back toward the home point . More

discussion on this is presented in the abnormal procedures section.

11. Closed Set Operations

a. Will be conducted in accordance with other company standards and practices as well as

defied by the MPTOM or 107.39 waiver.

b. Visual Observers will be used if any fl ight is near consenting Non

- Participants.

c. Just as in daylight operations all personnel will be thoroughly briefed to the flight

operation.

d. Direct overflight on non

- participating persons will be avoided unless there is adequate

set lighting which facilit ates in safe closed set operations near people. Most cases

closed set work night will be very impractical due to limitations to camera. Some sets

have lights that allow for night shots to be accomplished at intensities which light an

area up almost as if there is daylight.

e. Aircraft will be limited to speeds at or below 15 miles per hour unless the shot is in open

spaces with limited obstacles.

f. Any flight profile that appears to exceed safety limits will be discontinued.

g. Maneuvering near people and ob stacles will be done in an extreme vigilant manner.

h. Use of set radios positioned along a route will be used to alert any crew or talent of

appending dangers the aircraft may pose.

i. Flights over vehicles on controlled or closed roadways will be authoriz ed with caution.

j. Flights over Consenting Non

- Participating people in non

- lit areas is prohibited.

12. A bnormal or Emergency Operations: Most of these procedures are analogous with daytime

operations with added emphasis on night time issues. Refer to company manual for general

operations on any procedure not mentioned in this manual.a. Loss of Visual LOS Contact or visual orientation by the pilot in command with good

down link and GPS

. This procedure assumes mild case to the worst

- case scenario is one

where the aircraft’s position can no longer be discerned visually by the loss of all

external lighting which includes, loss of an independent strobe light, loss of the aircraft

boom marker lights and with some systems loss of the rear mode annunciator light.

Th is would have to be the “perfect storm,” event. The most likely scenario is the loss of

one of the lights such as the anti

- collision strobe. In this case the position should be

available to the pilot to aid in returning to home. If the position lights are lost and the

strobe is available, the concern is safely navigating back to the launch site. Another

possibility of the loss of visual contact to the aircraft could be due to the aircraft lighting

being masked by distant lights of the terrain such as if flying against a lit city backdrop.

If anyone of these lights are lost the following procedure should be robust enough to

safely recover the aircraft

.

i. Cease maneuvering

ii. Place the aircraft in position hold

iii. If the aircraft is not equipped with a pi lot nose camera, the pilot or camera

operator will use the payload camera as an option to aid in returning the

aircraft.

1. Place the camera at the nose of the aircraft if able.

2. Set camera controls to MAX ISO, MAX open Aperture set the shutter

speed to 1/12 th of second. This is so that the camera is maximized for

the lowlight conditions.

3. If able try to key off any known environmental area lighting such as city

lights.

4. VO’s and any available crew members will use whatever light sources

are necessary to acquire the home point through the camera such as

flashing vehicle lights and flash lights.

iv. Climb to 200 feet AGL using telemetry as an aid to verify altitude

.

v. C oordinate issue with VO’s if applicable

vi. I f the VO’s are visual they will give the position and altitude as well as direction

of travel of the UA back to launch point.

vii. Yaw the aircraft until position lights are visible. Once lights are visible use

appropriate s tick commands to bring the aircraft back to launch point. Use the

telemetry to verify the distance to home point is decreasing. If the aircraft

position lights are not visual continue to yaw until the rear annunciator light is

visible. This is an indica tion that the tail is facing toward the home

- point.

viii. If the aircraft is not able to be visually acquired use the data telemetry as a

necessary to orient the nose to the home point.1. On the DJI GoApp this is accomplished two ways. On e is an aircraft

positio n marker of the aircraft in relation to the home point on a

multifunction attitude and positon instrument which resembles a

“Radar Screen.” Yaw the aircraft until the red arrow points toward the

home point and push the pitch stick forward.

2. On the DJI GoApp there is a moving map display that shows the aircraft

position and home point can be used in conjun ction or in lieu of the

“radar screen.”

3. Aircraft using On screen display devices have a pipper or diamond when

centered on the screen shows the aircraft to be pointed toward the

home location.

ix. If the aircraft is re ac quired revert to visual means to naviga te back to h ome

point and land.

x. If the aircraft is not re ac quired use the telemetry data and camera if available to

navigate back. Once overhead the aircraft should become audible to the crew.

Carefully lower the altitude and use any means necessary to acq uire the landing

spot. Have crews shine flashlights IVO of the motor sounds. Once the aircraft is

visual continue to land.

xi. Land as soon as practical and terminate operations with that aircraft until it can

be deduced that safe flying can be accomplished.

b. Loss of Visual Contact or orientation by the pilot in command with loss of downlink

with G P S condition unknown.

i. Perform all steps in section a, with the exception of trying to use the camera

and telemetry as it may not be present.

1. In this step it may be necessary to at tempt to climb above 200 ft AGL a s

a momentary deviation to aid re ac quiring the aircraft. This may be

needed if the aircraft lights are being attenuat ed by surrounding light

sources. A climb to a higher altitude may aid in making the aircraft

more visible above the horizon line. This should only be cone with due

caution to the airspace and surroundings. Once the aircraft is acquired

and the pilot has positive control of the UA. A decent will be

immediately initiated back to regula tory altitudes. Pilots should take

care and note any surrounding conflicts with other air traffic before

opting to do this. Any deviation of altitude in controlled will reported

immediately and an incident report completed and submitt ed if

required.

ii. Note the time of the lost down link.iii. If the aircrafts position and direction is reacquired manually navigate back to

the home point and land.

iv. If the aircraft cannot be reacquired the only option is to place the aircraft into

failsafe return to home.

1. If downlink signal returns refer to section a.

2. If downlink does not return continue to look for the aircraft by scanning

the sky with all available means. Including having a VO go to the last

perceived known positon.

3. Once the aircraft is overhead it should start its auto land sequence

. Clear the landing area of any personnel and equipment until it has

safely landed and shut its motors off.

4. Terminate flight operations

5. If the aircraft never returns this assumes a loss of GPS signal or an error

in the return to home sequence.

a. Alert A TC if applicable

b. Search the last known area of the aircraft as well as an area of

the last known wind directions.

c. Loss of all contact of the aircraft with a degraded or failed GPS.

i. Perform all steps in section b. Placing the aircraft in failsafe may allow the

aircraft to return if the GPS dropout was momentarily.

ii. Have VO’s or any other crew immediately try to find the aircraft.

iii. If contact is able to made land as soon as possible and terminate the flight.

d. Loss of visual contact by the visual observer with the pilot still in contact

.

i. Cease maneuvering

ii. Climb to 200 ft AGL or known safe altitude above obstacles.

iii. Return to Launch Point

1. If VO reacquires the aircraft flight maybe continued if deemed safe to

do so.

2. I f VO does not reacquire the aircraft lan d as soon as practical.

e. Loss of GPS or Downlink : Any indication of a failing GPS or downlink . In the case of a

lost downlink the aircraft ay still have a control or command link. This is not for a

momentary dropout. Momentary dropouts may occur. This is for a full navigation or

downlink dropout.i. Use manual navigation to return home

1. If Downlink is Present use the camera and available telemetry to return

2. If downlink is not present continue to navigate by VLOS until landed and

recovered.

ii. Land as soon as pr actical

iii. Terminate operations until source for lost downlink or GPS can be discerned

f. Loss of command link with good GPS

i. Monitor return home status

1. If link returns land as soon as practical

2. If link fails to return

, clear the landing area until motors s top

ii. Contact ATC if applicable

iii. Terminate the flight until link can be established and source can be determined

g. Uncommanded loss of control of aircraft:

i. Monitor speed and direction of the UA.

ii. Clear the area if applicable

iii. Contact ATC if applicable

iv. Sea rch for lost aircraft if impact site is unknown

h. Possible airspace and aircraft incursions:

i. Discontinue Maneuvering

ii. Descend to the lowest minimum safe altitude for obstacles a nd terrain

iii. Navigate back to the launch point and land until incursion cease s

i. Incursions with non

- consenting non

- participating persons

i. Discontinue Maneuvering

ii. Move the aircraft away from the vicinity of the personiii. Return to launch point

iv. Have VO ’ s approach the person in a cont rolled area once the aircraft is safely

clear of obstacles

v. Land as soon as possibleExamples of the systems and VO techniques

Figure 1 Example of the Typical On Screen Display DJI iOSD

Figure 2. An example of the DJI GoAPP which is used by the DJI Inspire and 3 rd Gen DJI Models

In figure 2. The radar ADI is showing the aircraft in 5 a degree bank turn. The red arrow on the radar is

the po sition of the aircraft in proximity to the home point in relation to where the Pilot is standing. In Home point Indicator

VVI

Speed

ALTITUDE Distance from Home

“ The Radar/ADI Distance from Homethis case it s SSE of the home point. A slight forward diagonal stick movement to the right will bring the

aircraft closer to the home point. The example of the map view on the bottom right shows two useful

pieces of information. The light blue dot showing the pilots controller and direction to the home point

which is left of the pilot. The aircraft in this case is SSW of the home point. In this example the map is

not an accurate correlation to what is b eing displayed on the Radar/ADI and is only being used as an

example.

Figure 3. Visual observer placement.

The VO is placed in a manner so the aircraft is viewed approaching the obstacle laterally

. VOFigure 5 VO ’ s perspective from the profile view of the flight path

Here you can see the VO has a clear view of the aircraft ’ s altitude in relation to approac hing an obstacle.

This allows for the best way to discern if the aircraft is well clear of it or if a climb is required.

Figure 6. VO ’ s perspective from viewing the rear of the aircraft as it approaches an object. 

# “ CLIMB ”Here the VO or the pilot looking at the obstacle and UA head on do not have a reliable awareness of the

proximit y to the object. As long as the PIC keeps the sky in between the object and the UA the pilot has

reasonable assurance that the UA can clear it. At night the ability to see the horizon and sky against an

object maybe degraded which further enhances the issue of safely clearing it. Just like a daytime shot

there maybe instances where the flight will be intentionally below the obstacle for a brief period and

then require a climb to clear it. This is where having the VO viewing the lateral motion as in Figure 5 is

the best method for determining where the AC is relation to the obstacle.

Figure 7 Example of multi

- color position lights.

Figure 8 Position indicators of the rear of the aircraft.

C C



# Straight

and Level Left Bank Right BankFigure 9 Example of the front view of the aircraft through red position lights. C C



# Right Bank Left Bank Straight

and Level