July 20th, 2015

U. S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management System

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE 

Washington, DC 20590

Re: Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act 

and Part 11 of the Federal Aviation Regulations from 14 

CFR Part 21; 14 ,91.7 (a); 91.119; 91.121; 91.151(a); 91.405 

(a); 91.407(a) (1); 91.409 (a) (2); 91.417 (a) & (b).

To whom it may concern:

In accordance with Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and 

Reform Act of 2012 (“Reform Act”) and

14 C.F.R. Part 11, Experience Above LLC, development and operations 

specialists for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“UASs”) which are setup to 

utilize aerial filming and photography for short films, motion pictures, 

and commercial filming, submits this exemption petition application. 

Experience Above LLC seeks exemption from the aforementioned 

listed Federal Aviation Regulations (“FARS”) to permit the commercial 

operation of its UASs providing that the operations are conducted only 

according to that which is provided in this petition for exemption or as 

may be currently or in the future required by the FAA as found in 

Section 333.1, or any other prevailing federal regulations.

As outlined below, our request for exemption would allow the 

operation of small unmanned aircraft systems under established 

preset conditions in the air that are 1) narrow in scope 2) predetermined 3) access controlled and 4) improve upon the safety 

operations that commercial filming currently employ (such as using a 

manned helicopter for aerial footage). Approval of this petition for 

exemption would improve safety as well as provide an opportunity to 

the Secretary of Transportation (the FAA Administrator’s) to 
accomplish their goal to “...establish requirements for the safe 

operation of such aircraft systems in the national airspace system.” 

See Section 333(c) of Reform Act.

The name and address of the applicant is:

Experience Above LLC

Stephan Guarch

260 Crandon Blvd Suite 28

Key Biscayne, FL 33149

Experience Above LLC hereby requests an exemption from the 

following regulations:

● 14 CFR Part 21 

● 14 CFR 61.113 (a) & (b) 

● 14 C.F.R. 91.7 (a) 

● 14 C.F. R. 91.119 

● 14 C.F.R. 91.121 

● 14 CFR 91.151 (a) 

● 14 CFR 91.405 (a) 

● 14 CFR 407 (a) (1) 

● 14 CFR 409 (a) (2) 

● 14CFR417(a)&(b) 

The Experience Above LLC exemption application is intended to 

achieve Congress’ aims in passing Section 333(a) - (c) of the Reform 

Act. The reform act instructs the Secretary of Transportation to give 

consideration to whether or not particular unmanned aircraft systems 

can successfully achieve sufficient safety measures for inclusion in the 
national airspace system (NAS). Such an exemption from the 

regulations will only serve as a temporary measure in anticipation of 

the fulfillment of the rulemaking requirement of Section 332 of the 

Reform Act. In consideration of the petition the Secretary should 

consider which UASs are neither a danger to participants of the NAS or 

the public at large or present the potential to threaten the national 

security of the United States. These factors should be considered 

according to the Reform Act § 333 (a):

• The UAS’s size, weight, speed, and operational capability;

• Operation of the UAS in close proximity to airports and populated 

areas; and

• Operation of the UAS within visual line of sight of the operator.

If the Secretary decides that such vehicles “may operate safely in 

the national airspace system, the Secretary shall establish 

requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft in the national 

airspace system.” Id. §333(c). Experience Above LLC believes the 

provisions found in section 333 of the Reform Act creates an 

obligation for the FAA to process applications for exemption and, if 

necessary, for the FAA to create standards for safe use if such 

standards proposed in this petition for exemption fail to meet 

statutory requirements for approval.

The authority for the FAA to issue such an exemption is expressly 

granted in The Federal Aviation Act. This statutory authority’s terms 

include an exemption for civil aircraft, as defined under §40101 of the 

Federal Aviation Act, and includes UASs, with the intent to exempt 

such from the mandate that every civil aircraft be required to possess 

a valid airworthiness certificate.

If the Administrator finds the exemption request in the public 

interest the Administrator may grant an exemption from requirements 

of the regulations promulgated under subsections (a) or (b) or sections 

44702-44716 of this title. 49 U.S.C. §44701(f); See 49 USC §44711(a); 
49 USC §44704; 14 CFR §91.203 (a) (1).

The Administrator may grant an exemption from a requirement of a 

regulation prescribed under subsection (a) or (b) of this section or any 

sections 44702-44716 of this title if the Administrator finds the 

exemption in the public interest. 49 U.S.C. §44701(f) See also 49 USC 

§44711(a); 49 USC §44704; 14 CFR §91.203 (a) (1).

Experience Above LLC’s UASs are rotorcraft with a combined 

weight, including any necessary added filming equipment, of 55lbs or 

less. The UASs are capable of moving in vertical and horizontal 

positions at the same time. The UASs can hover and are restricted to 

speeds of no more than 25mph as implemented by the duly trained 

operator. UASs operations will always be conducted within the line of 

sight of the operator and will be limited to the confines of a properly 

secured area. For details about what constitutes a properly secured 

area please see the Experience Above LLC’s safety operations manual 

attached as exhibit 1. This application for exemption strongly 

expresses that the structure and operations of these UASs will “not 

create a hazard to users of the national airspace system or the public.” 

Reform Act 333 (b).

It is congress's intent that the FAA allow commercial UAS 

operations to begin immediately through the process of a granted 

exemption as long as the proposed operations satisfy the proper zone 

of safety. The limited size, intended cargo (filming equipment) and 

secure locality ensure there is zero national security threat stemming 

from granting approval of the operations of these particular UASs. The 

administrator should grant this application request because it carries 

out the intent of Section 333 of the Reform Act in addition to the 

authority of the Federal Aviation Act. The grant is in the best interests 

of the public because it limits harmful environmental factors and 

enhances the safety of both the public at large and filming industry 

workers. Applicants hereby request their application for exemption be 

considered and approved as soon as it can be processed.
AIRCRAFT CHARACTERISTICS AND SAFETY LEVEL EQUIVALENTS

The applicant seeks to have this exemption cover only civil aircraft as 

described therein this petition and subject to the limitations proposed 

within this petition or as should be found necessary by the FAA. 

Motion picture filming companies already safely operate using 

combustible manned helicopters or other manned civil aircraft to 

achieve many tasks that non-combustible unmanned UASs can 

accomplish with the equivalent or better level of safety.

Experience Above LLC proposes and agrees to the following limitations 

and conditions for commercial filming UAS operations conducted 

under a granted FAA exemption:

1. The total combined weight of the UASs and attached equipment 

will weigh 55lbs or less. 

2. At all times the pilot will operate the UAS in an unbroken visual 

line of sight (VLOS). 

3. No flight operations will fly for more than 30 consecutive 

minutes without first landing and changing the batteries and 

conducting necessary safety checks. 

4. Once the battery is at 25% the operator must begin return to 

ground procedures. The UASs are not permitted to operate 

below 20% battery. 

5. Maximum flight altitude shall not exceed 400 AGL. 

6. A minimum 3 man crew consisting of the UAS Pilot, Visual 

Observer, and Camera Operator is required to conduct 

operations. 

7. The UASs Pilot in Command (PIC) must have at least 25 

documented hours operating UASs. 

8. The PIC must have the requisite knowledge about the 
components required to build and maintain the particular type 

of UASs type they are operating. 

9. A PIC will not operate an UAS within 5 miles of the center of an 

airport without permission from the local FSDO and clearance 

from the control tower of the airport. 

10.UASs will only operate in a properly secured area. Experience 

Above LLC’s pre flight safety procedures require a secured 

perimeter as described in their pre flight safety operations 

manual. 

11.A mandatory briefing that all participating personnel (persons 

allowed into the filming perimeter) must attend in order to go 

over all pre flight safety issues and procedures for the day. 

12.A UAS may not operate unless persons within 100ft of 

operations have consented to being in the secured area, as 

provided in the Experience Above LLC’s pre operations safety 

manual. With certain enhanced safety procedures the required 

radius may be reduced as low as 30ft as described in the 

manual. No smaller distance radius shall be allowed without the 

express approval of the relevant FSDO. 

13.At all operational times the pilot and observer will be able to 

maintain contact through voice communication. 

14.Operations shall not be permitted in areas that do not have the 

consent of the property owners. 

15.Any necessary required permission and/or permits from 

territorial, state, county or city jurisdictions, local law 

enforcement, fire department, or appropriate government 

agencies will be obtained accordingly. 

16.In the case of emergency, loss of communications or other 

malfunction, the UASs are preset to be able to return to a pre 
specified location in a safe manner. The UASs can abort a flight 

in unexpected situations or other emergencies. 

14 C.F.R. Part 21, Subpart H: Airworthiness Certificates 14 C.F.R. 

§91.203 (a) (1)

FAR §91.203 (a) (1) requires the establishment of a process for the 

granting of airworthiness certificates. The process for obtaining an 

airworthiness certificate is provided for in 14 C.F.R., Subpart H, titled 

Airworthiness Certificates. The small size of the UASs and limited 

perimeter of the secured operations area allow for an equivalent level 

of safety as envisioned in Part 11 and Section 333 of the reform act. 

The FAA is permitted to exempt aircraft from the airworthiness 

certificate requirement as provided in The Federal Aviation Act (49 

U.S.C.§44701 (f)) and Section 333 of the Reform Act. An exemption 

may be permitted after consideration of the size, weight, speed, 

operational capability, distance from airports and amount of persons 

near areas of operation. A careful consideration of these factors 

makes it clear that UASs, lacking an airworthiness certificate, but, 

implementing the proposed conditions and restrictions, can operate 

just as safe if not safer than conventional aircraft with an 

airworthiness certificate.

The UASs weigh less than 55 lbs with a full load and cannot carry a 

pilot or hold any passengers. The UASs do not carry fuel or any other 

explosive or flammable liquids, and will only be operated within the 

secured zone as provided for in the Experience Above LLC’s safety 

manual. The petition for exemption will only allow for tightly 

controlled and very closely observed operations as described in the 

Experience Above LLC’s safety manual. The FAA will be informed in 

advance of the operations area and all local laws will be followed and 

abided by. Experience Above LLC’s UAS operations without an 

airworthiness certificate will be safer than conventional aircraft 

operating with an airworthiness certificate because of the conduct 
limitations provided for in this petition that are inapplicable to the 

latter. The UASs safety requirements are similar to requirements used 

in the production and filming industry for civilian aircraft.

The UASs operations do not pose a threat to the national security of 

the United States, or any locality found within or without the United 

States. The purpose of the operations of the UASs is to create footage 

for the filming commercial and movie industry and is not intended in 

any way for hostile acts. The size, speed, area of operations, absence 

of flammable gasoline or other combustible liquids and limitations on 

payload weight present no credible threat to the United States.

14 C.F.R. §91.7(a): Civil aircraft airworthiness.

A grant of exemption from 91.7 is needed because there will be no 

airworthiness certificate. The airworthy conditions will be determined 

according to the Experience Above LLC’s safety manual. The pre flight 

safety procedures found in the Experience Above LLC’s manual 

provides for an equivalent level of safety. The PIC will be responsible 

for making sure the aircraft is airworthy before each flight.

14 C.F.R. §91.119: Minimum safe altitudes

Section 91.119 establishes the safe altitudes for operations of civil 

aircraft. This request for exemption asks for the submitted UASs to be 

permitted to operate at altitudes up to 400 AGL. All operations will 

occur in a pre secured area where all persons and property present 

will have given their informed consent. The location, size, weight and 

speed of the UASs provide for an equivalent level of safety. 

Conventional aircraft flying below 500 AGL present a much greater risk 

to persons and property than small UASs operating at the same 

altitude. Risks to conventional aircraft that are not applicable to UASs 

include combustible fuel and large payloads. The low altitude will 

actually create an unintended buffer between UASs operating below 

400 AGL and conventional aircraft operating above 500 AGL as 

required by Section 91.119.
Section 91.119(c) provides that no aircraft shall operate within 500 

AGL of any “person, vessel, vehicle or structure”. Due to the

commercial filming nature of the UASs operations, we request filming

operations be permitted from much closer distances. This would all 

take place in accordance with pre flight safety procedures. The 

operations manual provides that all persons within 100ft must give 

their consent to be present and that such permission may be reduced 

to 30ft with enhanced safety procedures in place in addition to the 

mandatory safety briefing involving all persons including the PIC. 

Filming with UASs instead of manned helicopters provides an 

increased level of safety to the public and the crew working on the 

set.

14 C.F.R. §91.121 Altimeter Settings

91.121 contains language requiring an aircraft to maintain an 

altimeter. The UASs do not have a traditional barometric altimeter and 

therefore an exemption may be needed. The UASs are, however, able 

to provide an equivalent level of safety through use of GPS altitude 

equipment. The GPS component attached to the UAS uses a 

communications telemetry data link to send the AGL information to 

the PIC to effectively monitor safety and the flight path. Methods 

include GPS triangulation, digitally encoded barometric altimeter, 

radio altimeter or any combination. The GPS on the UAS transmits the 

appropriate data digitally to a ground readout handheld controlled by 

the PIC. The UAS PIC will reset the altitude to zero before every 

launch.

14 C.F.R. § 91.151(a): Fuel Requirements for Flight in VFR Conditions

Section 91.151 (a) disallows aircraft from flying without first having at 

least 30 minutes of fuel beyond their time to take off and land under 

normal conditions if its during the day and 45 minutes for the night. 

Since the UASs can only operate for 30-45mins total, before landing 

and replacing their batteries, an exemption may be needed. Allowing 

UAS operations until battery life has reached 20% of it’s full strength 
will ensure an equivalent level of safety compared to conventional

aircraft operations with 30 minutes extra fuel. The UAS is set to 

automatically return to a pre determined landing spot in the case of 

emergency and this can be accomplished very quickly. Conventional 

aircraft generally have less flexibility for landing than a small 

lightweight UAS.

14 C.F.R. §91.405 (a); 407 (a) (1); 409 (a) (2); 417(a) & (b): 

Maintenance Inspections

These regulations are for conventional aircraft with an airworthiness 

certificate and are therefore incompatible with the operations of an 

UAS. Experience Above LLC’s UAS operators are the best-suited people 

to perform maintenance on the UASs. This is because they have 

specialized knowledge about the components that a typical aviation 

inspector would lack. The size, payload, location restrictions and 

height limits allow for an equivalent level of safety. Maintenance shall 

be performed on a daily basis as required and a log of all maintenance 

activities kept.

************************************

In accordance with 14 C.F.R. Part 11, the summary below is provided 

for publication in the Federal Register, should it be determined that 

publication is warranted:Applicant seeks an exemption from the 

following rules:

14 C.F.R. §21, subpart H; 14 C.F.R. §§ 61.113( a) & (b); 91.7 (a); 91.119; 

91.121; 91.151(a); 91.405 (a); 91.407 (a) (1); 91.409 (a) (2); 91.409 (a) 

(2) and 91.417 (a) & (b) to operate for commercial purposes small 

unmanned aerial systems (weighing less than 55lbs) for aerial filming 

and photography for short films, motion pictures, and commercial 

filming.

Approval for this section 333 exemption will increase public safety and 

reduce the risk to on set personnel and property. Currently, most 

aerial filming is done by various filming studios using manned 
airplanes. These airplanes weigh thousands of pounds and require the 

use of combustible gasoline in order to operate. In comparison, an 

Unmanned Aerial System can accomplish the same commercial filming 

operations with an equivalent or better level of safety because they 

are lightweight, battery operated, and not equipped to carry persons 

into the NAS.

The Exemption should be granted to allow the commercial 

operation of Experience Above LLC’s UASs under the strict conditions 

outlined above. The UASs are much slower than conventional aircraft 

and operate in a pre secured area, therefore providing an equivalent 

level of safety. The UASs pose a reduced risk to on set filming when 

compared to conventional aircraft near persons and/or property.

Privacy

Permission from property owners will be obtained prior to 

filming. UAS operations may not proceed unless persons proximate to 

the filming set have consented. 
The UAS’s size, weight, speed, operating capabilities, and proximity to 

airports and populated areas all satisfy Section 333 of the Reform Act. 

All operations occur within the visual line of sight of the operator and 

pose no threat to national security. Experience Above LLC kindly 

requests consideration to receive Section 333 exemption grant to 

allow the commercial operation of Experience Above LLC’s UASs in the 

commercial filming industry in accordance to the conditions required, 

or as may be required, and in accordance with the rules and 

procedures found in the attached safety manual.

Sincerely,

________________________

Stephan Guarch

President, Experience Above LLC.