July 20th

, 2015

United States Departme nt of T ra ns po rtation Docket Management Sys tem
1200 New J er sey Ave, S E W ashi ng ton DC 20590

D ea r Sir or Mada m,

Pursua nt to Section 333 of t he FAA Modernization a nd Reform Act of 2012, 14 CF R P ar t 21 (H) , Our Town

Sarasota an op er ator of an Unma nn ed Ai rcra ft System (“UAS”) requests exemptions from several provisions of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) in accordance with Section 333 of the FAA
Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. Our Town Sarasota use is for aer ial pho togra phy /videog ra phy
f or n ews gatheri ng, inspections, agricultu re , R ea l Estate

, s earc h a nd rescue, news mi ss ions, which will help enhance and maintain the quality of life

, and he re by a pp li es for an exe mp tion from t he Fe d era l

Av iation Regulati ons to a ll ow comme rc ial op er ation of it s UAS.

Mr. Michael Pe nn o w ns a nd op era tes “O ur Town S ar asota”, a lo ca l news a nd information we bsit e. T he pub li ca tion focuses on SW Florida/Florida along with national and international travel tours

. It reaches over two million people a year from around the United States and globally.

Exemption Request under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 and 14 C.F.R.

Part 11

P ar t 21 (H) Cer t ifi ca tion pro ce du re s for products a nd parts, Ai rw orthiness Cer t ifi ca tes
P ar t 45.32 ( b) Di splay of M ar kings 14 C.F.R. § 61.113(a) and (b) Private pilot privileges 14 C.F.R. § 61.133(a) Commercial pilot privileges 14 C.F.R. § 91.7(a) and (b) Civil aircraft airworthiness

14 C.F.R. § 91.103 (b)( 2) P re f li ght action

14 C.F.R. § 91.105 F lig ht crew me mb er s at stations 14 C.F.R. § 91.109(a) Flight Instruction 14 C.F.R. § 91.119 Minimum safe altitudes 14 C.F.R. § 91.121 Altimeter Settings 14 C.F.R. § 91.151(a) Fuel requirements for Flight in VFR Conditions 14 C.F.R. § 91.203(a)( 1) and (2) Civil aircraft certifications 14 C.F.R. § 91.405; 407; 409; 417 Maintenance Inspections

Our Town Sarasota requests an exemption from the following regulations as well as any additional regulations that may technically apply to the operation of the sUAV System. We request exemption from the following regulations:1. 14 CFR Part 21, Airworthiness Certificates. This part establishes the procedures for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate. While the FAA continues to work to develop airworthiness standards for Unmanned Aerial Systems, we request an experimental certificate be issued for the DJI 3 under the following regulation 21.191, Experimental certificates. Experimental certificates are issued for the following purposes:

a. Research and Development. Testing new aircraft design concepts, new aircraft equipment, new aircraft installations, new aircraft operating techniques, or new uses for aircraft.
b. Showing compliance with regulations, conducting flight tests and other operations to show

com pliance with the airworthiness regulations which include flights to show compliance for issuance of type and supplemental type certificates, flights to substantiate major design changes, and flights to show compliance with the function and reliability requ irements of the regulations. Since the experimental certificate can be used for commercial purposes such as market surveys, sales demonstrations, and customer crew training, we would expect that an experimental certificate would permit our commercial purpo se as well. The aircraft will not carry persons or property, will not carry fuel, and will only fly under strict operational requirements. Combined with the UAS's light weight, being constructed primarily of plastic, we propose that the UAS will be at leas t as safe, if not safer, than a conventionally certificated aircraft performing the same mission. If an experimental airworthiness certificate is not appropriate for this application, then we request an exemption of 14 CFR Part 21, Subpart H, and the requi rement for an air worthiness certificate in general, citing the equivalent level of safety outlined in the previous paragraph.

2. 14 CFR 45.23, Display of marks, General and 45.29 Size of Marks. The regulation requires that when marks include only the Roman capital letter "N" and the registration number is displayed on limited, restricted or light

- sport category aircraft or experimental or provisionally certificated aircraft, the operator must also display on that aircraft near each entrance to the cabin, c ockpit, or pilot station, in letters not less than 2 inches nor more than 6 inches high, the words "limited," "restricted," "light

sport," "experimental," or "provisional," as applicable. Even though the UAS will have no airworthiness certificate, an exemp tion may be needed as the UAS will have no entrance to the cabin, cockpit or pilot station on which the word “Experimental” can be placed. Given the size of the UAS, two

- inch lettering will be impossible. The word “Experimental” will be placed on the fuselage in compliance with §45.29 (f). The equivalent level of safety will be provided by having the UAS marked on its fuselage as required by §45.29 (f) where the pilot, observer and others working with the UAS will see the identification of the UAS as “Exper imental.”

3. Sections 61.113 (a) & (b), Private Pilot Privileges, Limitations, and Command. Sections 61.113 (a) & (b) limit private pilots to non

- commercial operations. Because the UAS will not carry a pilot or passengers, the proposed operations can achieve the equivalent level of safety of current operations by requiring the PIC operating the aircraft to operate under the supervision of a private pilot’s license holder rather than a commercial pilot’s license holder. Unlike a conventional aircraft that carries the pilot and passengers, the sUAS is remotely controlled with no living thing on board. The area of operation iscontrolled and restricted, and all flights are planned and coordinated in advance as set forth in the GOM. The level of safety provided by the requirements included in the GOM exceed that provided by a single individual holding a commercial pilot’s certificate operating a conventional aircraft. The risks associated with the operation of the sUAS are so diminished from the level of risk asso ciated with commercial operations contemplated by Part 61 when drafted, that allowing operations of the sUAS as requested with a private pilot in a supervisory role aiding the PIC exceeds the present level of safety achieved by 14 C.F.R. §61.113 (a) & (b).

4. 14 CFR 91.7, Prohibits the Operation of an aircraft without an airworthiness certificate. Because this regulation is inapplicable to this UAS, no such certificate will be applicable in the form contemplated by
the FARs.

5. 14 CFR 91.9 Civil Aircraft Flight Manual, Marking, and Placard Requirements. This regulation provides that no person may operate an aircraft unless a current, approved flight manual is in the aircraft. We assume that the intent of this requirement is to ensure that flight manual info rmation is available to the aircrew while operating the aircraft. We request an exemption to this requirement since the aircraft is not only too small to carry documentation, the documentation would not be available to the crew during flight operations. To obtain an equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91.9, we propose that a current, approved sUAS Flight Manual must be available to the crew at the ground station anytime the aircraft is in, or preparing for, flight.

6. 14 CFR 91.109 Flight Instruction, Simulated Instrument Flight and Certain Flight Tests. The regulation states "No person may operate a civil aircraft that is being used for flight instruction unless that aircraft has fully functioning dual controls." The sUAS System ground

- based co ntrol station consists of a hand

held radio transmitter and while it does not offer a second set of "controls", both the student and instructor can, and will, operate the single set of controls simultaneously. With both student and instructor having "hands

- on" the controls during flight, this technique meets the intent 91.109 and provides an equivalent level of safety.

7. 14 CFR 91.119, Minimum safe altitudes: General. The regulation states that over sparsely populated areas the aircraft cannot be operated c loser than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure. Since the typical mission of the sUAS would be photography or survey of persons, vessels, vehicles or structures it would be necessary to operate closer than 500 feet to the items listed. Th erefore we maintain that due to the small size of the UAS, the hazard to persons, vehicles and structures is minimal compared to manned aircraft, which should be considered in granting the exemption.

8. 14 CFR 91.121, Altimeter Settings. The regulation requ ires that aircraft shall maintain cruising altitudes by reference to an altimeter setting available within 100 NM of the aircraft. The sUAS will always fly below 400 feet AGL and will not need to maintain cruising altitudes in order to prevent conflict wit h other aircraft. An Above Ground Level altimeter measurement above the takeoff point is transmitted via
radio from the sUAS on

- board computer to the display screen held by the PIC, providing a constantlyupdated AGL readout.

9. 14 CFR 91.151, Fuel Requirements for Flight in VFR Conditions. The regulation provides that no person may begin a flight in an airplane under day - vFR conditions unless there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing and to fly after that for at least 30 minutes. We feel the intention of this paragraph is to provide an energy reserve as a safety buffer for delays to landing. The sUAV is battery operated and the maximum duration of flight from a single battery charge is 23 minutes with a 25% reserve warning to return . Since the aircraft will never fly more than 3/4 NM from the point of intended landing, a full battery charge at launch will ensure that we meet the reserve energy requirement of this paragraph. We request an exemption to the word "fuel" and ask for an equivalent interpretation with the word "energy".

10. 14 CFR 91.203(a) & (b), Civil aircraft: Certifications Required. The regulation provides that an airworthiness certificate, with the registration number assigned to the aircraft and a registration
certifica te must be aboard the aircraft. Additionally, subparagraph (b) provides that the airworthiness certificate be "displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew." At a maximum gross weight of 3 pounds, the sUAS is too small to carry documentation, does not have an entrance, and is not capable of carrying passengers or crew. To obtain an equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91.203, we propose that documents deemed appropriate for this aircraft by the FAA
will be co

- located with the crew at the ground control station and available for inspection upon request. In order to identify the aircraft, we propose that the information found on airworthiness and registration certificates be permanently affixed to the aircraft via placard containing the following information plus the word "EXPERIMENTAL" to satisfy the requirement of 14 CFR 45.23.

11. 14 CFR Subpart E 91.401 - 91.417, Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, and Alterations. The regulation provides that the operator is primarily responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compliance with part 39 and 43. Paragraphs 91.407 and 91.409 require that the aircraft be "approved for return to service by a person authorized under 43.7" after maintenance and inspection. It is our intention that the PIC perform maintenance and inspection of the aircraft and "be authorized to approve the aircraft for return to service." The PIC will ensure that the aircraft is in an airworthy condition prior to every flight and in addition conduct detailed inspections after every two hours of flight. Maintenance performed by the PIC is limited to repairing small cracks, replacing a propeller, checking electrical connections and updating software and firmware for the on

- board computer. All other maintenance will be performed by the manufacturer or their designated repair facility. The PIC will document work performed in accordance with 91.417. We feel that due to the size, construction, and simplicity of the aircraft, the PIC can ensure an equivalent level of safety. All preflight checks will be signed, dated and retained and available at the request of the FAA. Unmanned Aircraft System sUAVs are often seen as superior to helicopters as an aerial video gathering pla tform due to the smaller devices cheaper equipment and personnel cost, reduced noise and as such, a much smaller environmental impact which promotes public safety.Our Town Sarasota i s in possession of a DJI Phantom 3 Professional.

T he UAS op er ated by Our Town Sarasota wei ghs 3 lb. , incl ud i ng al l p ar ts a nd pi ece s. It has a ma xi mum speed of 45 m il es per hour, ca n hov er , a nd can si mu ltaneously mo ve v er ti ca ll y a nd ho r iz onta ll y. Our

Town Sarasota w il l only operate the UAS in li ne of sight.

Thi s UAS ha s fli ght control usi ng a re mote control operati ng t he 2.400 GHz

- 2.483 GHz f re qu ency in

comp li anc e with t he FCC Re gu lations.

At a ny ti me that c ommun i ca t io n i s lost, t he UAS w il l re tur n to its take off location at a hei ght of

a pp ro xi mately 150 fee t

.

T he UAS locks onto mu ltiple sate lli tes to estab lis h a home po si tion prior to f li gh t

. Al l fl i gh t s w il l be

ope ra ted within li ne of si ght by t he p il ot a nd obs er v er

.

Maxi mum f li ght ti me of each eve nt w il l be li mited to 15 mi nu tes or le ss , this w il l leave approximate ly

25% of reserve ti me on the UAS.

The U AS is preprogrammed to not be able to fly within 5 miles of airports and in any no fly zones

, which

w il l ensure no da ng er t o m a nn ed ai rc raft t ra ffi c.

Pre flig ht pro ce du re w il l be a s fo ll ows:

1. Po we r s upp ly test of UAS, Contro ll er , FPV, a nd DJI a pp li ca tion de vi ce (sm ar t phon e );

2. Ca li b ra tion of compa ss ;

3. W ea ther conside ra tions;

4. F li ght obstructions;

5. GPS lock of no les s than 6 sate lli tes;

6. Li nk b et ween controller a nd UA S;

7. Li nk b et ween a pp li cation a nd UAS.

Al l maintenance of t he UAS w il l be c ondu cte d in acc ordance with al l m a nu f ac tur er ’s spec ifi ca tions

. Al l

maintenance a nd re pai r/ mod ifi ca tions w il l be logged in a permane nt fil e f or futur e re f ere nc e

. A l l of t he
latest fi rm wa re w il l be upd a te d a s n ee ded vi a t he DJI soft war e a s well a s controll er ca li b ra tions.T he use of the UAS by Our Town Sarasota w il l bene fi t t he pub li c g re atly by connecti ng

t he world thr ough new s g atheri ng, education, information a nd alerti ng t he pub li c to a ny

po ss ible problems, acc ident s or natural disast er s. Mr

. Michael Pe nn ha s experience i n pub li ca tion of t he n ew s for over 20 years a nd h e i s t he owner of O ur Town Sar asota.

In acc ordance with t he st atutor y cr it er ia provided in Sec tion 333 of P ub li c Law 11 2- 95 in
ref ere nce to 49 US C Se ction 44704, a nd in conside ra tion of the informa ti on provided

a bo ve, t he Se cr et ar y of T ra ns po rtation should d eter mi ne that this ai rcra ft meets t he
conditions of Se ction 333. In prio r p et i t ions a pp roved by t he F AA , t he FAA found that

e nh an ce d safety achieved usi ng a UAS with t he spec ifi ca tions des cr ibed by t he petitioner in such p et itions a nd which ca rried no pa ss e ng er s or cr e w, g a ve the FAA good ca use to fi nd that t he UAS operation enabled by this exe mp tion i s in the pub li c int ere st. T his specific petition i s sa me or is s ub stantially similar to such petitions which were granted

a nd shoul d also be g ra nted f or t he sa me r ea sons a s stated therei n.

T he g ra nti ng of this exe mp tion i s in t he pub li c int ere st because t he UAS would be used
to promote t he County of S ara sot a, SW Florida , e nhance information sharing and bring about positive changes and efficiencies

. It will also be us ed t o a ss ist in news gath er i ng and sharing with other media, s earc h a nd re sc ue a nd pub li ca tion of c er tain R ea l Estat e, and inspections

.

If

you ha ve a ny qu estions pl ea se cont ac t the und ersi gn ed a tt orney at the information at the top of thi s le tt er

.

Sincerely,



### Sara Blackwell

Sar a Bl ac k we ll

T he Bl ac k we ll Firm