Communi-cate, Inc. Petition for Federal Aviation Ad ministration (FAA) Exemption

Page 1 of 9 Date: 25 Jan 2016

From: Communi-cate, Inc. 2032 E Ocean View Ave, Norfolk, VA 23503, cate@co mmuni-cate.com

To: U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE , Washington, DC 20590

Subject: Communi-cate, Inc. Petition for Federal A viation Administration (FAA) Exemption

Dear U.S. Department of Transportation:

This letter is the application of Communi-cate, Inc ., Petitioner, acting without legal counsel or consulting services, for an exemption seeking relie f from the requirements of the FAA Reform Act and Part 11 of the Federal Aviation Regulations from Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations concerning commercial operation of smal l unmanned aerial vehicles (sUAV) and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-95).

This petition for Section 333 exemption contains ni ne (9) pages and describes the following:

• Introduction and Interests of the Petitioner/Operat or

• Specific Regulations From Which Petitioner Seeks Re lief

• Exemption Requests and Equivalent Levels of Safety

• Communi-cate, Inc. Commercial Flight Operations Pur poses

• Communi-cate, Inc. sUAV / UAS Flight Restrictions a nd Operating Standards

• Public Safety, Public Benefit, and sUAV Safety Feat ures

• Description of Type, Make and Models of sUAV/UAS Re quested

Communi-cate, Inc., respectfully requests an exempt ion under Section 333 based on this petition and the statements it contains to enable u s to operate efficient, limited, low-risk sUAV for commercial purposes for the activities stated i n this petition while respecting at all times the space and privacy of citizens, property, and ke eping our skies safe.

Sincerely,

Cate McCoy, President and Private Pilot Communi-cate, Inc. cate@communi-cate.com (757) 333-6000Communi-cate, Inc. Petition for Federal Aviation Ad ministration (FAA) Exemption

Page 2 of 9 Introduction and Interests of the Petitioner/Operat or The name and address of the Petitioner/Operator: Co mmuni-cate, Inc., 2032 E Ocean View Ave, Norfolk, VA 23503, (757) 333.6000, cate@communi-cat e.com, www.communi-cate.com

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization an d Reform Act of 2012 and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Communi-cate, Inc., Operator of sUAV is equippe d to offer on-demand commercial flight services and training to a variety of industries an d applications, perform the purposes listed in

section Communi-cate, Inc. Commercial Flight Operations Pur poses below, hereby applies for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regul ations (FARs) to allow commercial operation of its sUAV/UAS, so long as such operatio ns are conducted within and under the conditions outlined in this Petition or as may be e stablished by the FAA in an exemption granted under either Section 333 or Section 49 U.S. C. §44701. As described more fully below, the requested exemption will permit the operation o f a UAS under controlled conditions in airspace that is 1) limited; 2) predetermined; and 3) would provide safety enhancements in the fields in which it will operate. Petitioner employ s staff with government clearances. Please direct any question or comment regarding this petit ion to the Petitioner.

The Petitioner is a well-established Virginia corpo ration headed by Cate McCoy, President, who holds project management, business analysis, and pr ivate pilot certifications. For more than 10 years, Communi-cate, Inc. has been providing servic es in the areas of training, programming, web design, graphics design, technology projects, g overnment projects, and logistics consulting at client locations. Communi-cate, Inc. is expandin g into drone inspection and training to take advantage of the in-house manned pilot expertise an d a proven track record of creating training curriculum and delivery of courses to clients and o nsite consulting. Communi-cate, Inc. wishes to give their clients a safer and more cost effecti ve way to perform visual inspections by using drone technology, photography, and videography. Ut ilizing trained and certificated manned aircraft pilots demonstrates Communi-cate, Inc.'s c ommitment to creating a safe environment for everyone involved in drone consulting projects. Every employee involved in sUAV projects are tested on FAA knowledge, operating safety, publ ic safety, and equipment specifications and manuals through product based and knowledge based t ests.

Specific Regulations From Which Petitioner Seeks Re lief

14 C.F.R. Part 21 14 C.F.R. 45.23 (b) 14 C.F.R. 61.113(a) and (b) 14 C.F.R. 91.7 (a) 14 C.F.R. 91.9 (b) (2), 14 C.F.R. 91.109, 14 C.F.R. 91.119, 14 C.F.R. 91.121, 14 C.F.R. 91.151(a), 14 C.F.R. 91.203 (a) & (b), 14 C.F.R. 91 .205 (b), 14 C.F.R. 91.215, 14 C.F.R. (91.401 -91.417)

Petitioner meets all factors and meets all requirem ents that allow the FAA to approve the use of commercial UAS operations by Communi-cate, Inc. Section 333, titled “Special Rules for Certain Unmanned Aircraft Systems”, provides a mech anism for seeking expedited FAA authorization of safe civil UAS operations in the N ational Airspace System (NAS). Section 333(a)Communi-cate, Inc. Petition for Federal Aviation Ad ministration (FAA) Exemption

Page 3 of 9 states that the FAA “shall determine if certain unm anned aircraft systems may operate safely in the national airspace system before completion of t he (comprehensive) plan and rulemaking required by section 332(b)(1) of this Act or the gu idance required by section 334 of this Act.” In Section 332(b)(1), Congress provides a mechanism fo r “expedited operation authorization” if
several factors are met.

Exemption Requests and Equivalent Levels of Safety
Communi-cate, Inc., requests an exemption from the following regulations as well as any additional regulations that may technically apply t o the operation of the sUAV and proposes equivalent levels of safety where practical.

14 CFR Part 21: Airworthiness Certificates

This part establishes the procedures for the issuan ce of an airworthiness certificate. While the FAA continues to work to develop airworth iness standards for Unmanned Aerial Systems, we request an experimental certific ate be issued for the DJI Inspire One,
DJI Matrice and DJI Phantom 3 under either or both of 21.191 Experimental certificates. Experimental certificates are issued for the follow ing 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 compliance with the airworthines s regulations including 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 requir ements 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 permi t our commercial purpose as well. The aircraft will not carry persons or proper ty, will not carry fuel, and will only fly under strict operational requirements. Com bined with the UA's lightweight, being constructed primarily of carbon fiber and plastic, the UA will be at least as safe, if not safer, than a conventio nally certificated aircraft performing the same mission. If an experimental air worthiness certificate is not appropriate for this application, then we request a n exemption of 14 CFR Part 21, Subpart H, and the requirement for an airworthi ness certificate in general, citing the equivalent level of safety outlined in t he previous paragraph.

14 CFR 45.23: Display of marks; General and 45.29 S ize of marks. These regulations provide that each aircraft must display "N" and the aircraft's registration number in letters at least 3 inches high. Additionally, the a ircraft must display the word "EXPERIMENTAL" in letters at least 2 inches high ne ar the entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or pilot station. Because SUAS do not have an entra nce in which the word "EXPERIMENTAL" can be placed and may not have a reg istration number assigned to itCommuni-cate, Inc. Petition for Federal Aviation Ad ministration (FAA) Exemption

Page 4 of 9 by the FAA, Communi-cate, Inc. proposes to achieve an equivalent level of safety by including the word "EXPERIMENTAL" on a placard on t he top of the aircraft so that the PIC (Pilot In Control), VO (Visual Observer) and ot hers in the vicinity of the aircraft while it is preparing for launch will be able to see the designation and at the ground station a banner/flag (similar to Diver Down symbol for SCUBA ) will alert of an "Unmanned Aircraft Ground Station" in letters 3 inches high o r greater.

14 CFR 61.113: Private pilot privileges and limitat ions: Pilot in Command and 61.133 Commercial pilot privileges and limitations. The regulation provides that no person
that holds a Private Pilot certificate may act as pilot in Com mand of an aircraft for compensation or hire. Subparagraph (b) allows a private pilot to act as p ilot in command
of an aircraft in connection with any business or employment if: (1) The flight is only
incidental to that business or employment; and (2) The aircraft does not carry passengers or property for compensation or hire. Communi-cate Inc will not be carrying passengers but will be flying for business purposes , and seek the 333 exemption in order to comply with this CFR.

14 CFR 91.7: Prohibits the Operation of an aircraft without an airworthiness
certificate. As no such certificate will be applicable in the f orm contemplated by the FARs, this Regulation is inapplicable.

14 CFR 91.9: Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements. This regulation provides that no person may operate an a ircraft unless a current, approved flight manual is in the aircraft. We assume that th e intent of this requirement is to ensure that flight manual information is available to the aircrew while operating the aircraft. We request an exemption to this requireme nt since the aircraft is too small to carry onboard documentation. To obtain an equivalen t level of safety and meet the intent of 91.9, Communi-cate, Inc. proposes that a current, approved SUAS Flight Manual be available to the crew at the ground stati on when the aircraft is pre-flight, inflight, and post-flight.

14 CFR 91.109: Flight Instruction; Simulated instru ment flight and certain flight tests. The regulation states, "No person may operate a civ il aircraft that is being used for flight instruction unless that aircraft has fully function ing dual controls." The SUAS groundbased control station consists of a small hand-held radio transmitter and while it does not offer a second set of "controls", both the stud ent and instructor can, and will, operate the single set of controls simultaneously. With both student and instructor having "hands-on" the controls during flight, we fe el that this technique meets the intent 91.109 and provides an equivalent level of s afety.

14 CFR 91.119: Minimum safe altitudes; General. The regulation states that over sparsely populated areas the aircraft cannot be ope rated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure. Since the ty pical mission of the SUAS would be photography or survey of persons, vessels, vehicles or structures it may be necessary toCommuni-cate, Inc. Petition for Federal Aviation Ad ministration (FAA) Exemption

Page 5 of 9 operate closer than 500 feet to the items listed. O perations will only be flown over property or persons where permission has been obtai ned and careful pre-flight planning has been performed. The aircraft will be operated a t a low altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue haza rd to persons or property on the surface. Therefore, we maintain that due to the sma ll size of the UAS, the hazard to persons, vehicles and structures are minimal compar ed to manned aircraft, which should be considered in granting the exemption.

14 CFR 91.121: Altimeter settings. The regulation requires that aircraft shall mainta in cruising altitudes by reference to an altimeter set ting available within 100 NM of the aircraft. The SUAS will always fly below 400 feet A GL 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 launch and recovery point is transmitted via radio from the SUAS on-board computer to the display scre en held by the PIC and VO, providing a constantly updated AGL readout.

14 CFR 91.151: Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions. The regulation provides that no person may begin a flight in an airplane un der day-VFR conditions unless there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended l anding 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 ba ttery operated and the maximum duration of flight from a single battery charge is 24 minutes with a 20% reserve. Since the aircraft will never fly more than 3/4 NM from t he point of intended landing, a full battery charge at launch will ensure that we meet t he reserve energy requirement of this paragraph. We request an exemption to the word "fuel" and ask for an equivalent interpretation with the word "energy".

14 CFR 91.203(a) & (b) Civil aircraft: Certificatio ns required. The regulation provides that an airworthiness certificate, with the registr ation number assigned to the aircraft and a registration certificate must be aboard the a ircraft. Additionally, subparagraph (b) provides that the airworthiness certificate be "dis played at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew." At a maximum gross weight of 5.3 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 a n equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91.203,we propose that documents deem ed appropriate for these 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 t he aircraft, we propose that the information found on airworthiness and registration certificates be permanently affixed to the aircraft via placard containing the followin g information plus the word "EXPERIMENTAL" to satisfy the requirement of 14 CFR 45.23.

14 CFR Subpart E (91.401-91.417): Maintenance, Prev entive Maintenance, Alterations. The regulation provides that the operator is primar ily responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compl iance with part 39 and 43. ParagraphsCommuni-cate, Inc. Petition for Federal Aviation Ad ministration (FAA) Exemption

Page 6 of 9 91.407 and 91.409 require that the aircraft be "app roved 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 a ircraft and "be authorized to approve the aircraft for return to service." The PI C will ensure that the aircraft is in an airworthy condition prior to every flight and in ad dition conduct detailed inspections after every two hours of flight. Maintenance perfor med by the PIC is limited to repairing small cracks, replacing a propeller, checking elect rical connections and updating software and firmware for the on-board computer. Al l other maintenance will be performed by the manufacturer or their designated r epair 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 P IC can ensure an equivalent level of safety.

Public Interest, Public Safety, Public Benefit, and sUAV Safety Features Public interest will be served through lower-cost U AS use as an alternative to expensive manned aircraft image capture making aerial photogr aphy available at a price point that serves a wider public audience than that of manned aircraf t. Public interest is also served through the benefits of reduced cost, improved safety, and impr oved quality of image capture. The public interest is also served by the reduction in environ mental impact of unmanned aircraft battery
fuel vs. manned aircraft combustible fuel.

Public safety is enhanced through the use of batter y powered sUAV which are smaller, lighter and more maneuverable than manned aircraft and oper ate at lower altitudes with no souls on board, reducing aircraft risk levels, enhancing saf ety, and diminishing the likelihood of death or serious bodily injury. With a small payload and max imum flight time under 30 minutes, the commercial operation of sUAV by trained manned airc raft pilots offers little or no risk to national security or public safety. Non sUAV aerial inspections depend on conventional aircraft or humans climbing high on dangerous structures and working in treacherous conditions. The nature of identifying, observing, and measuring obj ect(s) without coming into direct contact with them provides measures of safety not previousl y possible with manned aircraft. As part of its commitment to safety and innovation, Communi-ca te, Inc. asks for this exemption in part, to reduce the risk of injury to its employees and cont ractors who participate in inspection activities that are often at dangerous heights, in disease-potential areas, and in treacherous
terrain or difficult to access infrastructure vanta ge points. Approval of this exemption would thereby enhance safety and fulfill the Secretary of Transportation’s (the FAA Administrator’s) responsibilities to “... establish requirements for t he safe operation of such aircraft systems in the national airspace system.” Section 333(c) of th e FAA Modernization and Reform Act of

2012.

Public benefit is served through Communi-cate, Inc. offering mainstream, affordable, safe sUAV flight services by trained manned aircraft pilots t rained in sUAV flying to the public sector, private industry, and existing clients. sUAV as a flight service is the next step in creating robust capabilities to accurately and safely inspect exist ing infrastructure while simultaneously improving the reliability of remote observation ima ge capture services and reducing the risk toCommuni-cate, Inc. Petition for Federal Aviation Ad ministration (FAA) Exemption

Page 7 of 9 inspectors and observers. By granting Communi-cate, Inc.,’s requested exemptions, the FAA will help drive development of safe and successful comme rcial sUAV flight services that advance the understanding of the public for such operations.

sUAV safety features include built-in capabilities to limit the altitude flown above ground level, to set the radius of the distance flown from the op erators, to set the radius distance flown from Class B, C and D airspace, to set a failsafe autopi lot function that triggers when communication
between the remote control and the sUAV is lost or on manual trigger with the movement of all command sticks from the remote control move to a sp ecific position. sUAV offer increased margins of safety over the use of manned aircraft f or sample activities like electric power line inspection, oil/gas pipeline inspection, advanced a griculture, film and still photography.

Communi-cate, Inc. Commercial Flight Operations Pur poses This exemption request, once granted will allow Pet itioner to operate a sUAV to conduct infrastructure inspections, flare stack inspection, utility-power generation system inspections and patrolling, aerial inspection, photography and videography of residential and commercial real estate, weddings, events, aerial inspection, p hotography and videography of utility infrastructure including but not limited to electri cal power lines, wind turbines and cell towers, pipeline inspection and patrolling, outdoor filmmak ing and cinematography, precision agriculture with on board sensors, wildlife and for estry monitoring and mosquito and insect control, aerial surveying, construction site inspec tion and monitoring, public entity support operations, aerial imaging for safety, monitoring a nd comparing work efforts and completion percentages, and security of controlled environment of various sites, aerial video and live video feed to assist with search and rescue operations un der the authority and support of local authority officials, aerial video and photography f or public and private use including television, public events, and cinematography live feed and liv e newsgathering, training to persons individually and to private/public organizations to increase awareness and improve safety for current and future UAS operations.

Specifically, Communi-cate, Inc., plans to take adv antage of the capabilities of UAS to offer client services in the following areas:

• Aerial filmmaking and photography

• Aerial surveying/mapping/reconnaissance

• Educational and research operations

• Event Photography/Videography

• Infrastructure and facilities inspections and monit oring

• Real estate photography

• Remote sensing and observation for wildlife, forest ry or agriculture purposes

Communi-cate, Inc. sUAV / UAS Flight Restrictions a nd Operating Standards
Communi-cate, Inc., petitions to be allowed to use sUAV for commercial purposes subject to all limitations cited in this application, all limitati ons cited in current FAA regulations, and all futur eCommuni-cate, Inc. Petition for Federal Aviation Ad ministration (FAA) Exemption

Page 8 of 9 limitations that evolve within the FAA regulations, currently including

a. All flight operations will take place under the con trol of a pilot in command (PIC) that has been trained in sUAV flight as well as holding a minimum of a current sport pilot
license and current airman medical certificate unle ss future FAA regulations deem this requirement unnecessary
b. All flight operations will utilize a PIC and a visu al observer (VO) as minimum crew and require PIC and VO to be constantly in Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) of one another at all times as well as be in verbal communication range; corrective lenses cited on PIC and VO U.S. driver's license or pilot's current airman medical certificate will be used

c. All flight operations will be conducted with contin uous VLOS of sUAV with either the PIC

or VO
d. All flight operations will be conducted by a PIC wh o shall have logged at least 25 hours of total time as a sUAV pilot with at least ten hou rs logged in a sUAV of similar make and
model

e. All flight operations will individually be made at a gross weight of 55 pounds or less
f. All flight operations will take place in registered aircraft identified by serial number with N-number identification markings

g. All flight operations will begin with an aircraft g round preflight inspection by the PIC and the aircraft and ground control station must be in a condition for safe flight from takeoff to landing
h. All maintenance and alterations shall be documented in the aircraft maintenance record from time of purchase to time of retirement, and al l manufacturer’s UAS aircraft/component, maintenance, overhaul, replacem ent, inspection, and life limit requirements shall be abided

i. All flight operations will occur at no more than 40 0 ft. AGL j. All flight operations will occur at an airspeed of no more than 87 knots and will never occur at an airspeed that exceeds the aircraft manu facturer's airframe recommended speed maximum
k. All flight operations over private property will be done only if permission of the property owner is granted to Communi-cate, Inc.
l. All flight operations will have any prerequisite re quired permits from state/local
governments

m. All flight operations will avoid densely populated areas , open-air assembly of people , and heavily traveled roads unless previous permissi ons and Certificates of Waiver or Authorization (COA) are sought and received

n. All flight operations will abide by all FAA airspac e requirements including distance from airports and heliports unless a specific COA has be en sought and received

o. All flight operations will be conducted at least 50 0 feet from all nonparticipating persons, vessels, vehicles, and structures unless o perations do not present an undue
hazard and

a. barriers or structures are present that sufficientl y protect nonparticipating persons from debris in the event of an accident wit h PIC and VO ensuring nonparticipating persons remain under such protecti on and if a situation arises where nonparticipating persons leave such protectio n and are within 30 feet ofCommuni-cate, Inc. Petition for Federal Aviation Ad ministration (FAA) Exemption

Page 9 of 9 the sUAV, flight operations will cease immediately
b. aircraft is operated near vessels, vehicles or stru ctures where the land owner/controller has granted permission and/or the PIC has made a safety assessment and accepts the risk of operating closer to those objects

p. Flight operations will be operated at sites that ar e a sufficient distance from populated

areas

q. Flight operations will be conducted in a way that d oes not create hazards to users of the

NAS

r. Flight operations will be conducted in a way that d oes not create hazards to the public

s. Flight operations will give right of way given to a ll other manned aircraft / activities

t. Flight operations will not be conducted from any mo ving device or vehicle

u. Flight operations will not exceed 30 minutes betwee n take off and landing

v. Flight operations will be terminated at 25% battery power or higher

w. Flight operations will not take place more than 200 feet above an elevated platform

x. Flight operations will be operated within the blank et COA for 333 exemptions, specifically,

a. flights at or below 200 feet for aircraft that weig h less than 55 pounds
b. operate during daytime Visual Flight Rules (VFR) co nditions

c. operate within visual line of sight (VLOS) of PIC a nd VO
d. stay distances away from airports or heliports

i. 5 NM from an airport having an operational control tower;
ii. 3 NM from an airport with a published instrument fl ight procedure, but not an operational tower

iii. 2 NM from an airport without a published instrument flight procedure or an operational tower

iv. 2 NM from a heliport with a published instrument f light procedure

y. Flight operations that result in any incident, acci dent, or flight operation that transgresses the lateral or vertical boundaries of the operational area as defined by the applicable COA will be reported to the FAA’s UA S Integration Office (AFS-80) within 24 hours. Additionally, accidents will be re ported to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) per instructions contained on the NTSB Web site: www.ntsb.gov

Description of Type, Make and Models of sUAV/UAS Re quested The Petitioner seeks an exemption to commercially o perate sUAV weighing 55 lbs or less including attached imaging and sensor payloads, spe cifically:

• AeroVironment Qube

• DJI Inspire 1

• DJI Matrice 100

• DJI Phantom 3

• DJI Spreading Wings S1000