James E. Mackler Member 615.251.5569 (t) 615.251.5551 (f) jmackler@fbtlaw.com February 16 , 2016

The Pinnacle at Symphony Place | 1 50 3rd Avenue South , Suite 1900 | Nashville, Tennessee 37201 | 615.251.5550 www. frostbrowntodd.com Offices in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia U. S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12

- 140, Washington, DC 20590
Re: Request for Amendment to 11063A

PETITION FOR AMENDMENT
Dear Sir or Madam:
In November of 2014, the FAA issued Snaproll Media, LLC (“Snaproll”) one of the original six commercial use exemptions pursuant to section 333 of the 2012 FAA Modernization of Reform Act (exemption #11063A). The exemption was for the purpose of conducting unmanned aircraft operations for closed

- set motion picture and television production and data collection. Since that time Snaproll has conducted thousands of flights, legally, safely, and without a single incident. Snaproll hereby requests an amendment to the exemption allowing flights to be conducted at night.
UAS operations at night are at least as safe as the use of manned aircraft for the same purpose provided that the operator employs appropriate safety protocols and training. Snaproll has logged 9 6 governmentally approved night UAS flights in Europe, Russia, and China without incident and developed comprehensive safety protocols for night operations. The company hasU. S. Department of Transportation

February 16 , 2016 Page 2

The Pinnacle at Symphony Place | 1 50 3rd Avenue South , Suite 1900 | Nashville, Tennessee 37201 | 615.251.5550 www. frostbrowntodd.com Offices in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia mitigated potential risks to other air traffic as well as persons and property on t he ground through the use of comprehensive control measures and pilot training.
Snaproll’s request is supported by two proprietary documents submitted via email. First, Snaproll is providing its night operations logs documenting its experience with night operations abroad. Second, Snaproll is providing an amendment to its Operations Manual concerning Night Operations. All Snaproll pilots hold Private or Commercial Airmen Certificates meaning they have already received FAA Approved Night Operations traini ng and are qualified to fly manned aircraft at night. This same night operations training is included in Snaproll’s checkout process and ground school training which is administered by an FAA Certified Flight or Ground
Instructor.
Snaproll understands t he critical importance of the ability to “see and avoid” other air traffic as well as being seen by other traffic. All of Snaproll’s aircraft are equipped with position, and anti

- collision lighting per FAR 91.209. These lights are in the standard aircraft colors and positions, making them as easy to see in the night sky as any other aircraft. The extreme contrast provided by LED lights against the dark sky provides a greater level of visibility than is obtained during daytime operations. Additionally, Sna proll’s operating procedures include a daytime scout of the flight path/area to ensure there are no obstacles which may become hidden at night. Snaproll understands that wire strike avoidance is of special emphasis. As you will see from the operating manu al, Snaproll takes all appropriate precautions, including special notation during our daytime scout to avoid such hazards.U. S. Department of Transportation

February 16 , 2016 Page 3

The Pinnacle at Symphony Place | 1 50 3rd Avenue South , Suite 1900 | Nashville, Tennessee 37201 | 615.251.5550 www. frostbrowntodd.com Offices in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia No additional regulatory exemption will be necessary to conduct unmanned operations at night. The following regulations were given special consideration as they pertain to night operations of civil aircraft.

● 91.151(a)(2)

- Regarding fuel reserves, part (a) of this section is limited to airplanes and part (b) of this section is limited to rotorcraft. The regulation does not address the operation of UAS. If, however, the administrator should choose to apply either subsection (a)(2) or section (b) to the use of unmanned aircraft then the following is submitted as a petiti on for exemption from this rule. Section 91.151(a) requires airp lane pilots to begin operations with not less than 30 minutes of reserve fuel for daytime operations and 45 minutes of reserve fuel during night operations. This is an increase of 50 percent for night operations. Snaproll Media’s Operating Handbook will
be updated to include the provision that all night operations be conducted with at least 50 percent more fuel reserve than is required for daytime flight.

● 91.205

- This section, regarding required equipment, applies only to aircraft with a Standard category U.S. Airworthiness Certificate. No exemption is needed.

● 91.209

- Lights. No exemption is needed as the lighting requirements of this subsection will be met.

○ Position lights are equipped.

○ Anti

- collision lights are equipped.U. S. Department of Transportation

February 16 , 2016 Page 4

The Pinnacle at Symphony Place | 1 50 3rd Avenue South , Suite 1900 | Nashville, Tennessee 37201 | 615.251.5550 www. frostbrowntodd.com Offices in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia Snaproll’s proposed night operations constitute a higher level of safety than is possible with manned helicopters when used for the same purpose. Just as during daylight hours, it is

s afer to fly UAS in close proximity to people and property than it is to fly a manned helicopter at the same distance. Many closed set filming operations must be performed at night. In those instances, the film currently uses manned aircraft. Replacing the se helicopters with UAS immediately provides a safer environment at night just as it does during the day.
Additionally, atmospheric stability is greater at night, and solar interference on GPS systems is reduced compared to daytime conditions resulting in an improved level safety at night.
This requested amendment is in the public interest. Snaproll has been approached by movie production companies for closed set filming and engineering /inspection companies to provide services, such as infrared imaging, which can only be conducted at night. In addition to the considerable cost savings, Snaproll’s services provide a means of performing inspections and data collection from hard to reach and dangerous locations while keeping humans safely on the ground. The proposed operations constitute a significant increase in safety over the use of manned aircraft. As required by the current exemption, all operations are conducted in restricted access environments with the required separation from non

- participants. This separation further insures public safety in the event of a mishap.
As this is an amendment to an existing exemption, Snaproll respectfully submits that, as an amendment to an existing exemption, good cause exists to grant this request without the publicati on of notice in the Federal Registrar for the requested amendment.U. S. Department of Transportation

February 16 , 2016 Page 5

The Pinnacle at Symphony Place | 1 50 3rd Avenue South , Suite 1900 | Nashville, Tennessee 37201 | 615.251.5550 www. frostbrowntodd.com Offices in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia If I can be of any assistance to further expedite this petition, please do not hesitate to contact me at (615) 251

- 5569 or at my email jmackler@f btlaw.com

. Sincerely yours,

___________________ James E Mackler, Esq.

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0132498.0631106 4849

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