Purpose: COA Petition for Waiver under FAA Section 333

Petitioner: David C. Tinnell Jr.

D.O.B: 6/22/1966

Date: 9/11/2015

I, David C. Tinnell Jr., petitioner, am seeking a waiver under the civil operator’s designation for the operation 

of one (1) UAV to be used in private business. The purpose of the business and subsequent aerial videography 

is to satisfy customer requests for: property inspections, construction documentation, other aerial 

videography needs as requested. 

The UAV being utilized is the DJI Phantom 3 Professional Quadcopter in fully stock configuration, no 

modifications or additional payloads will be made or used at any time. This UAV has a built in camera/gimbal 

system. The DJI Phantom3 Professional has the following built-in safeguards:

 Max speed of 33 mph

 Auto Take-Off

 Return to home on lost signal/low battery

 Rotor Guards

 GPS guidance with programmable Geofence to restrict drone to specified area

 Built-in No Fly Zones based on FAA regulations (updated regularly)

 400’ max height AGL

Operational/Safety Procedures:

 All batteries tested and charged pre-flight

 All UAS components (rotors, cables, antennas, connectors, etc) inspected every pre-flight

 All DJI software/firmware updates maintained for all systems

 Repair/replacement of any failed or suspect component prior to any flight

 UAV will not be flown if gusty or high wind conditions exist.

 The UAV will not be flown if all pre-flight safety checks are not fully met.

The DJI Phantom 3 Professional is fully FCC compliant and operates within the following frequency spectrums

 Quad Copter/Controller- 2.400 GHz-2.483 GHz

 Live View system- 2.4GHz ISM

PIC Qualifications

I have flown the DJI Phantom for two years as part of my employment with the Taylor County School District in 

Campbellsville, KY. I have over 200 hrs. of flight experience with this platform and have completed numerous 

online trainings/videos as part of my efforts to become a safe UAV operator. As always, a second visual 

observer is utilized and I will continue this practice as part of safe UAV operations.
Medical

I, David C. Tinnell, have no known or existing medical conditions that would preclude safe operation of the 

UAV. I wear doctor prescribed corrective lenses and hold a valid KY driver’s license for both passenger vehicle 

and motorcycle.

UAS Operations:

The UAS listed above will be operated within all manufacturers recommended parameters and procedures 

during each flight, as well as all procedures and mandates from the FAA. At no time will the safety of anyone 

on the ground or in the air be compromised or placed at risk by the operation of this UAV. This UAV will not 

be operated within the FAA established No-Fly zones of any commercial airport without first seeking approval 

from said airport tower per FAA guidelines.

The UAV will only be operated in the vicinity of minimally populated areas only and will be utilized in 

collection of video on unpopulated or vacant properties, etc. The 100’ rule of minimum distance from all 

personnel and maximum height of 400’ will be strictly followed. A second person will be used as a spotter on 

each flight. The UAV will never exceed the factory preset maximum speed of 33mph or 400’ maximum height 

AGL. Visual Line Of Sight of the UAV will always be maintained, the UAV will never be purposely flown out of 

VLOS.