Section	333	Petition	to	the	Federal	Aviation	Administration

Name:	Lance	Zaal

Address:	1002	Glynn	Springs	Dr,	Williamsburg	VA,	23188

Mailing	address:	PO	Box	5757	Williamsburg,	VA	23188

Current	business:	Innovation	Works	LLC,	EIN	273327070

Applicable regulations from which relief is required (CFRs) and Proposed Operations:

I	currently	own	and	operate	a	disabled	veteran	owned	business,	with	several	businesses	under	

it.	We	serve the	federal	government,	local	government,	private	businesses,	and	individual	

consumers.	would	like	to	employ	a	drone	for	the	following	commercial	uses:

We	will	produce	aerial still	photography	and	videography for	businesses,	government entities,

and	individuals: including	real	estate,	construction	projects,	engineering,	architecture,	survey	

and	mapping,	live	video	feed	of	events,	coverage	of	special	events,	television,	legal	and	

insurance	industries,	marketing/advertising,	and to	provide live	video	feed	to	assist	with search	

and	rescue	operations.	We	plan	to	serve	golf	courses,	home	owners,	real	estate	firms,	the	city	

fire	and	police	departments,	non-profits	(we	currently	serve	a	zoo),	national	parks	(New	

Orleans	Jazz National	Historic	Park	is	a	customer	of	ours),	and	others.

Many	of	our	business	ventures are	dependent on	marketing	and	promotion,	and	the	ability	to	

leverage	a	UAS	will	provide	added	value	to	these	efforts.

Safety	Guidelines:

The	drone	operators	we	would	use	are	already	experienced	in	flying	the	drone	and	will	

continue	to	use	safe	practices.	In	addition,	we	would	operate	the	drone	in	teams	of	two	to	

three	people,	and	will	follow	all	legal	requirements	outlining	safe drone	use. We	do	not	want	to	

damage	our	investment,	nor	create	unnecessary liability	to	ourselves,	nor	our	business	

reputation	by	operating	the	UAS	unsafely.	We	believe	in	doing	no	harm,	and	will	operate	the	

UAS	safely	and	ethically.	

We will perform pre-flight inspections, and maintenance and repair as needed to ensure that the 

UAS is in a condition for safe flight. The manual provided with the DJI Phantom 3 Professional 

will provide guidance. This specific drone is equipped with numerous safety features. If the 

Intelligent Flight Battery is running low, or if the Phantom 3 loses the connection with the

remote controller for any reason, the aircraft will automatically return to the takeoff point and 

land safely.

However, we didn’t just take the manufacturers word- we have already tested this to make sure 

that this feature works in a safe area before deploying it. We also purchased safety add-ons for 

the drone, such as propeller guards and carbon-fiber coated blades to improve performance and 
mitigate unexpected risks, such as wildlife or debris that the UAS may come into contact with.

Myself and Terrence will be operating the UAS. We have more than 60 hours of flight

experience flying with the model we would employ. We have operated the UAS safely and 

legally, and will continue to do so.

We will not operate in the vicinity of airports, will maintain flight below 400ft, maintain visual 

line of sight (VLOS), and will not operate in locations that pose a risk to civilians. The drone is 

not capable of exceeding regulated speed limit for UAS. 
Exemption	in	Public	Interest:

Our	business	currently	serves	cities,	counties,	national	parks,	and	non-profit	organizations.	We	

intend	to	use	the	drone	to	enhance	our	services	and	the	benefit	to	our	clients	by	providing	

aerial	videography	and	photography.	In	addition,	our	availability to	our	city,	with	which	we	

currently	work	with, for	public	safety	needs will	provide	a	public	benefit.	Furthermore,	there	is	

an	economic benefit	in	our	ability	to	generate	additional	tax	revenue	and	to	create	more	jobs.

Make,	Model,	and	Registration	Number:

DJI	Phantom	3	Professional,	Registration	number	FA3FH3HTM3