Motion Picture and Television

sUAS Flight Operation and Procedures Manual

CineDrones, LLC

1372 N Goldenrod Road STE 23 • Orlando, FL 32807

Phone: (407) 985-3508

president@cinedrones.com

www.CineDrones.com
Table of Contents 

1. Introduction 

A. Purpose 4B. Pilot/Operator Organization 4C. Persons Authorized 

4D. Area of Operations 4E. Plan of Activities 5F. Permission to 

Operate 5G. Security 6H. Briefing of Pilot/Production Personnel 6 I. 

Certification/Airworthiness 7J. Pilot Personnel/Minimum 

Requirements 7 K. Communications 8L. Accident Notification 8M. 

Recall/Stop Procedures 8N. Aerobatic Competency 8O. Aerobatic 

Competency 92. Company Organization 

A. Chief Pilot 9B. Pilot in Command 10Appendix A1 List of 

Approved Pilots 112 List of Approved Aircraft 123 Permission 

Acquisition Form (sample) 13 1. IntroductionA. Purpose 

This manual has been developed by "CineDrones, LLC” hereafter 

referred to as "CineDrones", in conjunction with an application for a 

Certificate of Waiver ofAuthorization of the provisions of FAR 91.119 

(b) and (c) for the purposes offilming. CineDrones pilots and other 

company personnel when applicable will comply with the policies, 

procedures and conditions of this manual, whenever motion picture or 

television flight operations are performed that require a Waiver of 

Authorization as mentioned above. 

B. Pilot In Charge/Operator Organization 

Michael Fortin - 1372 N Goldenrod Road STE 23, Orland, FL 32807 

(407) 985-3508 office 

FAR 91.119 (c) is waived only with respect to those persons, vehicles 

and structures directly involved in the performance of the actual 

filming. The certificate holder shall ensure that no persons are allowed 

within 500 feet of the area.D. Area of Operations 

CineDrones approved area of operations will be the continental United 

States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii. 
E. Plan of Activities 

At least three (3) days prior to any scheduled filming, CineDrones will 

submit a written plan of activities to the local FSDO having jurisdiction 

over that area. The plan ofactivities should include the 

following:(1) Dates and times for all flights. 

(2) Name and phone number of person responsible for the filming 

production event.(3) Name and phone number of person responsible 

for aircraft.(4) Make, model, and serial or N-number of aircraft to be 

used and type of airworthiness certificate, including category. 

(5) Name and certificate number of pilots involved in the filming 

production Event.(6) A statement that the waiver holder has obtained 

permission from property owners and/or local officials to conduct the 

filming production event. The 

list of those who gave permission must be made available to the 

inspector upon request from the waiver holder.(7) Signature of 

waiver holder or representative.(8) A description of the flight activity 

including maps or diagrams of any area, city, town, county, and/or 

State over which filming will be conducted and the minimum altitudes 

essential to accomplish the operations. 

The three (3) day notification equipment may be waived, however, the 

operator should contact the FSDO as soon as possible with this request 

and be prepared to explain in detail why the three (3) day notification is 

not practical. 

F. Permission to Operate

Before any flight operations is conducted at less than 500 feet under the 

provisions of the certificate of waiver and this manual, the operator will 

obtain permission to conduct these operations from property owners 

and local officials as necessary or appropriate. Persons from whom 

permission may be required are listed below: 

(1) Property owners(2) Law enforcement officials(3) Fire 

department officials(4) Local, State and Federal government(5) Air 
traffic controlThe Sky Shot personnel obtaining such permission will 

do so in writing whenever practical, however, verbal permission is 

acceptable otherwise. A standardpermission form is provided in 

Appendix A and may be used when obtainingwritten permission. 

CineDrones personnel will assure a sufficient number of those forms 

are available at the job site. Written permission forms will be 

maintained at the job site until flight operations are completed, and then 

turned into the chief pilot to be kept on file for a minimum of six (6) 

months. These forms will be made availablefor inspection by the 

FAA or other official personnel upon request.G. SecurityPrior to 

any flight operation the operator will coordinate with 

appropriateproduction personnel to devise a plan of securing the 

area(s) of operation from all unauthorized persons and vehicles. 

Provisions will be made to immediately discontinue operations should 

the area(s) become unsecured or for any otherreason in the interest of 

safety. 

H. Briefing of Pilot/Production PersonnelPrior to the start of any 

operation under the provisions of this manual, the pilot in command 

will conduct a briefing of all procedures to participating personnel of 

the risks involved, emergency procedures, and safeguards to be 

followed during the filming production event. Personnel will also be 

briefed on additional provisions that may be issued by the FSDO that 

has geographic responsibility for the operational area, including the 

location of boundaries or time limits. The briefing shall cover: 

• Authorization for motion picture and television certificate of waiver 

and the attached special provisions• Operations manual• Plan of 

activities 

• Radio Communications• Takeoff procedures• Aviation activities 

to be conducted during the filming production event • Approach and 

landing procedures• Recall procedures• Emergency procedures• 

Risks to participating personnel• How to control nonparticipating 

persons 

I. Certification/AirworthinessAll CineDrones aircraft used in 

operations requiring a waiver of FAR 91 .119 (b) and (c) for 
the purpose of filming must be identified by serial number, registered 

in accordance with 14 CFR part 47, and have identification (NNumber) markings in accordance with 14 CFR part 45, Subpart C. 

Markings must be as large as practicable. 

J. Pilot Personnel/Minimum RequirementsThe pilot/operator shall 

establish and specify the minimum pilot requirements.Minimum 

requirements shall meet or exceed the following:(1) A current U.S. 

private pilot certificate(2) PIC must have accumulated and logged, in 

a manner consistent with 14 CFR § 61.51 (b), a 

minimum of 200 flight cycles and 25 hours of total time as a UAS 

rotorcraft pilot and at least ten hours logged as a UAS pilot with a 

similar UAS type (single blade or multirotor). 

(3) Prior to operations conducted for the purpose of motion picture 

filming (or similar operations), the PIC must have accumulated and 

logged, in a manner consistent with 14 CFR § 61.51 (b), a minimum of 

five hours as UAS pilot operating the make and model of UAS to be 

utilized for operations under the exemption and three take-offs and 

three landings in the preceding 90 days. 

(4) Prior to any flight operations authorized by this grant of exemption, 

the PIC and visual observer (VO) must have successfully completed a 

qualification process, as outlined in the operator’s manual. As this is a 

requirement stipulated by the operator, the test must be developed and 

implemented by a qualified person designated at the sole discretion of 

the operator. A record of completion of this qualification process must 

be documented and made available to the Administrator upon request. 

(5) Prior to operations conducted for the purpose of motion picture 

filming (or similar operations), a flight demonstration, administered by 

an operator-approved and -qualified pilot must be successfully 

completed and documented. This documentation must be available for 

review upon request by the Administrator. Because the knowledge and 

airmanship test qualifications have been developed by the operator, and 

there are no established practical test standards that support a 

jurisdictional FAA FSDO evaluation and approval of company 

designated examiners, the petitioner will conduct these tests in 
accordance with the operator’s manual. 

K. CommunicationsPrior to the start of any operation covered by this 

manual, the pilot in command will formulate a plan to provide 

communications capability to all participants during the actual 

operation and filming. Oral, visual or radio communications may be 

used as long as it is effective and is capable of keeping the participants 

continuously appraised of the current status of the operation.L. 

Accident NotificationShould an accident or incident requiring 

notification of the NTSB occur, the notification requirements of FAR 

Part 830 would comply.M. Recall/Stop ProceduresRadio 

communication, oral, visual or a combination will be utilized to keep 

the participants continuously apprised of the current status of operation. 

L. Special ProvisionsThe controls, procedures, and conditions set 

forth in CineDrones motion picture and television operations manual is 

the primary assurance that persons on thesurface will not be 

jeopardized.The aircraft and pilots used under this authorization 

and/or waiver will only be those specified in the CineDrones motion 

picture and television operations manual (“Appendix A” page 11) or 

associated plan of activities. Each pilot’s name and certificate number 

shall appear on each daily plan of activity. All UAS’s and pilot(s) 

participating in the activity shall be available for FAA inspection 

before the scheduled event.Each pilot-in-command conducting 

operations authorized under this certificate understands the conditions 

of issuance, and that it constitutes a waiver of FAR 91.119 (b) and (c) 

.UAS takeoff and landing areas will be protected in a manner that 

willprevent unauthorized persons from entering the takeoff and 

landing area.CineDrones will ensure that the participating persons 

involved in the operations are thoroughly briefed on special procedures, 

communication, emergency procedures, and on the provisions of the 

authorization and/or waiver before beginning the activities. No person 

may participate in any event unless that person has received a briefing 

on the provisions of the waiver. 

2. Company OrganizationA. Chief Pilot/PICDuties and 
Responsibilities:• Final word in the formulation of policy and 

procedures concerning this manual. 

• Act as liaison between CineDrones and the FAA on matter 

concerning this manual. • Assure that each approved pilot is issued a 

copy of this manual and obtain a signed statement from each that they 

have read and understand its contents.• Maintain a current copy of 

this manual at the main base of operations for CineDrones. • 

Responsible for assuring that all revisions to this manual are distributed 

and processed properly.• Must approve or disapprove each proposed 

job or operation performed by CineDrones under the provisions of this 

manual.• Assume the responsibilities of pilot in command when 

acting as such.• The chief pilot may delegate functions to other 

personnel but retainsresponsibility.B. Pilot in CommandDuties 

and Responsibilities:• Assure that aircraft to be flown is in airworthy 

condition and all inspections and required maintenance have been 

performed as per appropriate FAR's.• Acquire permission from the 

chief pilot before any operation under theprovisions of this 

manual.• Be very knowledgeable of the contents of this manual and 

abide by theprocedures, policies and conditions contained herein.• 

Coordinate with movie and television personnel to formulate plans, 

routes, locations, etc. with safety of all persons involved in the primary 

concern.• Maintain their copy of this manual in current condition and 

have it on site at anyjob or operation requiring the waiver.• The 

pilot in command may delegate functions to other personnel, but retains 

responsibility. 

Appendix A .1List of Approved Pilots Chief Pilot/PIC Name 

:Certificate Number : 

Grade : PrivateMedical Class/Date : third Contact Number 

:PilotsName :Certificate Number : Grade :Medical Class/Date : 

Contact Number : 

Appendix A .2 List of Approved Aircraft Make and Model 

Registration Number 

 DJI Model S900 awaiting Registration Number from 

FAA 
 DJI S900 Operations manual http://download.djiinnovations.com/downloads/s900/en/S900_User_Manual_v1.0_e

n.pdf

  DJI Model S1000 awaiting Registration Number from 

FAA 

 DJI S1000 Operations manual http://download.djiinnovations.com/downloads/s1000 

_plus/en/S1000_Plus_release_note_en.pdf 

Appendix A .3  CineDrones

Permission Acquisition Form

In signing this form, I am giving the pilots of CineDrones,.

Permission to operatetheir aircraft at less than 500 

feet from property, or in some jurisdiction in which I 

amresponsible for or affiliated with, for the purpose of 

film or television production. 

Name: 

Title:

Basis of Authority to Grant Permission: 

Location:  

Date of Operation: 

Signature 

__________________________________________________ Date 

__________________________